October 10, 2025 • 21 mins
17 - Hurd's Information. The Opal Serpent by Fergus Hume.
An old pawnbroker is found strangled with his lips pinned together with an opal serpent broach. He has a beautiful daughter who is apparently the heir of his large estate. But another claimant has made herself known as the actual daughter of the pawnbroker. Follow detective Hurd as he unravels the convoluted mystery of the old man’s death and attempts to determine who is the rightful heir.
An old pawnbroker is found strangled with his lips pinned together with an opal serpent broach. He has a beautiful daughter who is apparently the heir of his large estate. But another claimant has made herself known as the actual daughter of the pawnbroker. Follow detective Hurd as he unravels the convoluted mystery of the old man’s death and attempts to determine who is the rightful heir.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seventeen of The Opal Serpent by Fergus Hume. This
Librivoc's recording is in the public domain. Heard's information for
the next day or two, Paul was kept closely to
work in the office, reading a number of tales which
were awaiting his judgment. After hours, he several times tried
(00:23):
to see Billy Heard, but was unable to meet him.
He left a note at the Scotland Yard office asking
if Heard had received his communication regarding Missus Krill, and
if so, what he proposed to do concerning it. Heard
did not reply to this note, and Paul was growing
puzzled over the silence of the detective. At length, the
(00:47):
answer came not in writing, but in the person of
Heard himself, who called on Beecot. The young man had
just finished his frugal meal and was settling down to
an evening's work when there came a knock to the door. Heard,
dressed in his usual brown suit, presented himself looking cool
(01:07):
and composed, but he was more excited than one would imagine,
as Paul saw from the expression of his eyes. The
detective accepted a cup of coffee and lighted his pipe.
Then he sat down in the arm chair on the
opposite side of the fireplace and prepared to talk. Paul
heaped on coals with a lavish hand, little as he
(01:30):
could afford this extravagance, as the night was cold, and
he guessed that Herd had much to say. So on
the whole they had a very comfortable and interesting conversation.
I suppose you are pleased to see me, asked Herd,
puffing meditatively at his briar. Paul nodded very glad. He answered,
(01:51):
that is if you have done anything about Missus Krill, well,
drawed the detective, smiling. I have been investigating that murder case,
Lady Rachel Sandals, said Becot eagerly, is it really murder?
I think so, though some folks think its suicide. Curious
that you should have stumbled across that, young lord went
(02:12):
on heard musingly, and more curious still that he should
have been in the room with Missus Krill without recollecting
the name. There was a great fuss made about it
at the time. Oh, I can understand, Lord George, said
Becot promptly. The murder, if it is one, took place
(02:33):
before he was born, and as there seems to have
been some scandal in the matter. The family hushed it up.
This young fellow probably gathered scraps of information from old servants.
But from what he said to me in the cab,
I think he knows very little, quite enough to put
me on the track of Lemuel Crule's reason for leaving
(02:54):
christ Church is that the reason. Yes, twenty three years ago,
he left christ Church at the very time Lady Rachel
was murdered in his public house. Then he disappeared for
a time and turned up a year later in gwyn
Street with a young wife whom he had married in
the meantime Sylvia's mother exactly, and miss Norman was born
(03:18):
a year later. She's nearly twenty one, isn't she? Yes,
she will be twenty one in three months. Heard nod
it gravely the time corresponds said he as the crime
was committed twenty three years back, and Lord George is
only twenty. I can understand how he knows so little
about it. Pult Dinny connect missus Krill with a man
(03:41):
who died in wyn Street. No. She explained that the
name of Krill appeared only a few times in the
papers and was principally set forth with the portrait in
the handbills. I shouldn't think Lord George was the kind
of young man to bother about handbills. All the same,
he might have heard talk at his club. Everyone isn't
(04:03):
so stupid. No, But at all events, he did not
seem to connect Missus Krill with the dead man, and
even with regard to the death of his aunt, he
fancied she might not be the same woman. What an
ass he must be, said Hurd contemptuously. I don't think
he has much brain, confessed Paul, shrugging his shoulders. But
(04:25):
he asked me if I thought Missus Krill was the
same as the landlady of the Red Pig. I denied
that she was. I don't like telling lies, but in
this case I hope the departure from truth will be pardoned.
You did very right, said the detective. The fewer people
know about these matters the better, especially a chatterbox like
(04:47):
this young fool. Do you know him, Yes, under the
name of Count de la Tour, But I know of
him in another way, which I'll reveal later. Hay is
still fleecing him, he is, But Lord George seems to
be growing suspicious of Hay and Paul related the conversation
(05:07):
he had had with the young man, heard grunted. I'm sorry,
he said. I want to catch Hay red handed, and
if Lord George grows too clever, I may not be
able to do so, well, said Paul rather impatiently. Never
mind about that, fellow, just now, but tell me what
you have discovered. Oh, A lot of interesting things. When
(05:30):
I got your letter, of course, I at once connected
the Opal Serpent with Aaron Norman, and his change of
name with the murder. I knew that Norman came to
wind Street over twenty years ago. That came out in
the evidence connected with his death. Therefore putting two and
two together. I searched in the newspapers of that period
(05:51):
and found what I wanted, a report of the case.
Precisely after that, I hunted up the records at Scotland
Yard for further details that were not made public. So
I got the whole story together. And I am pretty
certain that Aaron Norman, or as he was then Lemuel Krill,
murdered Lady Rachel for the sake of that precious brooch, Ah,
(06:15):
said Paul, drawing in a breath. Now I understand why
he fainted when he saw it again, No wonder, considering
it was connected in his mind with the death of
Lady Rachel. Quite so, and no wonder the man kept
looking over his shoulder in the expectation of being tapped
on the shoulder by a policeman. I don't wonder also
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that he locked up the house and kept his one
eye on the ground, and went the church secretly to pray.
What a life he must have led upon my soul.
Bad as the man was. I'm sorry for him, so my,
I said Paul. And after all, he's Sylvia's father. Poor
girl to have a murderer for a father. Beecock turned pale.
(07:01):
I love Sylvia for herself, he said, with an effort.
And if her father had committed twenty murders, I would
not let her go. But she must never know, no,
said Heard, stretching his hand across and giving Paul a
friendly grip. And I knew you'd stick to her. It
wouldn't be fair to blame the girl for what her
(07:21):
father did before she was born. We must keep everything
from her, heard, I'll marry her and take her abroad
sooner than she should learn of this previous murder. But
how did it happen, I'll tell you in a few minutes,
Heard rose and began to pace the narrow limits of
the attic. By the way, do you know that Norman
(07:44):
was a secret drinker of brandy? Paul nodded and told
the detective what he had learned from Missus Krill. Heard
was much struck with the intelligence I see, said he
what Missus Crill says is quite true. Drink does change
the ordinary nature into the opposite. Krill sober was a
(08:05):
timid rabbit. Krill drunk was a murderer and a thief.
Good lord, and how he'd drank, how do you know, well,
confessed heard, nursing his chin. Pasha and I went to
search the Wwynn Street house to find, if possible, the
story alluded to in the scrap of paper Deborah Junk found.
(08:27):
We couldn't drop across anything of that sort. But in
Norman's bedroom, which nobody ever entered, we found brandy bottles
by the score under the bed, ranged along the walls,
filling cupboards stowed away in boxes. I had the curiosity
to count them. Those we found ran up to five hundred,
(08:48):
and lord knows how many more he must have got
rid of. When he found the bottles crowding him inconveniently.
I expect he got drunk every night, said Paul, thinking
he locked up Sylvia and Debora in the upper room.
I can understand now why he did so. He could
go to the cellar and take possession of the shop
(09:09):
key left on the nail by Bart. Then free from
all intrusion, he could drink till reeling, not that I
think he ever did real when on Bee caught mindful
of what missus Krill had said, he could stand a lot.
I expect the brandy only converted him into a demon
and a clever business man, said Hurd. You know Aaron
(09:31):
Norman was not clever over the books. Bart sold those.
But from all accounts he was a shylock when dealing
after seven o'clock in the pawnbroking way. I understand now
sober he was a timid fool drunk, he was a bold,
clever villain. My poor Sylvia, what a father, sighed Paul.
(09:54):
But this crime, I'll tell you about it. Lamuel Krill
and his wife kept the Red Pig at christ Church,
a little public house. It is on the outskirts of
the town, frequented by farm labors and such like. The
business was pretty good, but the couple didn't look to
make in their fortune. Missus Crill was a farmer's daughter.
(10:17):
The Buckinghamshire farmer said Paul, how do you know, oh,
on receiving information, missus Crill told you so well, considering
the murder of lady Rachel, she would have done better
to hold her tongue and have commenced life with her
dead husband's money under a new name. She's a clever woman, too,
(10:37):
mused herd. I can't understand her being so unnecessarily frank.
Never mind, go on, said Paul, impatiently heard, returned to
his seat and refilled his pipe. Well, then, he continued,
Krill got drunk and gave his wife great trouble. Sometimes
he thrashed her and blackened her eyes. And he treated
(11:00):
their daughter badly too. How old was a daughter? I
can't say. Why do you ask? I'll tell you later.
Go on, please, Well, then, missus Crill always revenged herself
on her husband when he was sober and timid, so
the couple were evenly matched. Krill was master when drunk,
and his wife mistress when he was sober. A kind
(11:23):
of seesaw sort of life they must have led. Where
does lady Rachel come in? What an impatient chap you are,
remonstrated herd in a friendly tone. I'm coming to that now.
Lady Rachel quarreled with her father over some young artist
she wanted to marry. He would not allow lover to
(11:43):
come to the hall, so Lady Rachel said she would
kill herself rather than give him up. And she did,
said Paul, thinking of the suicide theory, there you go again.
How am I to tell you all? When you interrupt,
I beg your pardon. I won't do so again, heard
nodded smilingly, and continued. One night, it was dark and stormy,
(12:07):
Lady Rachel had a royal row with her father. Then
she ran out of the hall, saying her father would
never see her alive again. She may have intended to
commit suicide, certainly, or she may have intended to join
her lover in London. But whatever she intended to do,
the rain cooled her. She staggered into christ Church and
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fell down insensible at the door of the Red Pig.
Missus Krill brought her indoors and laid her on a bed.
Did she know who the lady was heard shook his head.
She said in her evidence that she did not, but
living in the neighborhood she certainly must have seen Lady Rachel.
Sometimes Krill was drunk as usual. He had been boozing
(12:53):
all day with a skipper of some craft at Southampton.
He was good for nothing, So missus Crew did everything,
she declares. She went to bed at eleven, leaving Lady
Rachel sleeping. Did Lady Rachel recover her senses, yes, according
to missus Krill, but she refused to say who she was,
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and merely stated that she would sleep at the Red
Pig that night and would go on to London next morning.
Missus Krill swore that Lady Rachel had no idea of
committing suicide. Well about midnight, missus Krill, who slept in
one room with her daughter, was awakened by loud shouts.
She sprang to her feet and hurried out. Her daughter
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came also as she had been awakened and was terrified.
Missus Krill found that her husband was raving mad with
drink and smashing the furniture in the room below the skipper.
What was the skipper's name, Jessop Jarvie Jessop well, He
also rather drunk, was retiring to bed and stoppumbled by
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chance in the lady Rachel's room. He found her quite
dead and shouted for assistance. The poor lady had a
silk handkerchief she wore tied tightly around her throat and
fastened to the bedpost. When Jessop saw this, he ran
out of the inn in dismay. Missus Crill descended to
give the alarm to her neighbors, but Krill struck her
(14:22):
down and struck his daughter, also making her mouth bleed,
and opal brooch that lady Rachel Wore was missing, but
missus Crill only knew of that. The next day. She
was insensible from the blow given by Krill, and the
daughter ran out to get assistance. When the neighbors entered,
Krill was gone, and notwithstanding all the search made for him,
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he could not be found, and Jessop he turned up
and explained that he had been frightened on finding the
woman dead. But the police found him on his craft
at Southampton, and he gave evidence. He said that Krill,
when drunk, was like a demon, as missus Crill told you,
had left the room several times. The last time he
(15:08):
came back, he and the skipper had a final drink,
and then Jessup retired to find the body. It was
supposed by the police that Krill had killed Lady Rachel
for the sake of the brooch, which could not be discovered.
But the brooch hold on, I know what you are
about to say. Will come to that shortly. Let me
(15:30):
finish this yarn first. It was also argued that from
Lady Rachel's last words to her father, and from the
position of the body tied by the neck to the bedpost,
that she had committed suicide. Missus Krill, as I said,
declared the deceased lady never mentioned the idea of making
away with herself. However, Crill's flight and the chance that
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being drunk he might have strangled the lady for the
sake of the brooch while out of the room made
me let me think he was the culprit, especially as
Jessop said that Krill had noticed a broach and commented
on the opals. He was a traveler in jewels once,
according to his wife, yes, and left the turn innkeeper.
(16:16):
Afterwards he vanished, as I say, and became a pawnbroker
in Gwynn Street. Well, the jury at the inquests could
not agree. Some thought Lady Rachel had committed suicide and
others that Krill had murdered her. Then the family didn't
want a scandal, so in one way or another, the
matter was hushed up. The jury brought in a verdict
(16:37):
of suicide by a majority of one, so you can
see how equally they were divided. Lady Rachel's body was
laid in the family vault and nothing more was heard
of Lemuel Krill. What did missus Crill do? She stopped
on at the inn. As she told you, people were
sorry for her and helped her, so she did very well.
(17:01):
Mother and daughter have lived at the Red Pig all
these years, highly respected until they saw the handbills about Krill.
Then the money was clean. But as the circumstances of
Lady Rachel's fate was so old, nobody thought of mentioning
it till this young lord did so to you and I,
(17:22):
as you see, have hunted out the details. What has
your opinion heard, asked Paul, deeply interested. Oh, I think
Krill murdered the woman and then cut to London. That
accountslor is looking over his shoulder, et cetera, about which
we talked. But how did he get the money to
start as a bookseller? Premises are not least in Wynn
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Street for nothing? Will he might have got money on
the brooch. No, the brooch was pawned by a nautical gentleman.
Paul started up. Captain Jessup, Perhaps you remember, he said excitedly, Ah,
said Hurd, puffing his with satisfaction. I see you understand.
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I mentioned that about the brooch to hear what you
would say. Yes, Jessop must have pawned the brooch at Stoley,
and it must have been Jessop who came with a
note for the jewels to posh hah, said Paul, walking
excitedly about the room. Then it would seem that Jessop
and Krill were in league. I think so, said Hurd,
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staring at the fire. And yet I am not sure.
Jessop may have found that Krill had killed the woman
and then have made him give up the brooch, which
he afterwards pawned at Stoley. Though why he should go
near missus Crill's old home, I can't understand. Is slowly
near her old home? Yes, in Buckinghamshire. However, after pawning
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the brooch, I expect Jessop lost sight of Krill till
he must have come across him a few days before
the crime. Then he must have made Krill signed the
paper ordering the jewels to be given up by Posh
so that he might get money, A kind of blackmail
in fact, well, said Herd doubtfully. After all, Jessop might
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have killed Krill himself. But how did Jessop get the brooch?
Ah that I can't tell you unless Norman himself picked
it up in the street. We must find these things out.
I'm going the christ Church to make inquiries. I'll let
you know what I discovered and heard Rose one minute,
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said Paul hastily. Do you think miss Krill is the
dead man's child? Of course, Jesus like her mother as
two peas. Why do you ask? Paul detailed what Sylvia
and Deborah had said. So if she is over thirty,
said Becot, she can't be Krill's child, or else she
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must have been born before Krill married his wife. In
either case, she has no right to the money. It's strange,
said Herd, musing Lee, I'll have to look into that. Meanwhile,
I've got plenty to do. There's another thing I have
to say. You'll confuse me, be caught. What is it?
The sugar? And that? Hawker and Paul related what Sylvia
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had said about thuggism. Herd sat down and stared. That
must be boss, he said, looking at the novel. And
yet it's mighty queer, I say. He took the three volumes.
Will you lend me these? Yes, be careful, they are
not mine. I'll be careful. But I can't dip into
them just yet, nor can I go into that hindoo business,
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let alone this age of miss Krill. The first thing
I have to do is to go to christ Church
and see and see if Missus Krill was at home
on the night of the sixth of July. Herd started, Oh,
he said, dryly, the night the crime was committed. You mean, well,
I didn't intend to look up that point, as I
(20:59):
do not see how missus Crill can be implicated. However,
I'll take a note of that. And this he did,
and then continued, But I'm anxious to find Jessup. I
shouldn't be at all surprised to learn that he'd committed
the double crime. The double crime. Yes, he might have
strangled Lady Rachel and, twenty years later, have killed Krill.
(21:22):
I can't be sure, but I think he is the
guilty person. End of chapter seventeen.
Chapter seventeen of The Opal Serpent by Fergus Hume. This
Librivoc's recording is in the public domain. Heard's information for
the next day or two, Paul was kept closely to
work in the office, reading a number of tales which
were awaiting his judgment. After hours, he several times tried
(00:23):
to see Billy Heard, but was unable to meet him.
He left a note at the Scotland Yard office asking
if Heard had received his communication regarding Missus Krill, and
if so, what he proposed to do concerning it. Heard
did not reply to this note, and Paul was growing
puzzled over the silence of the detective. At length, the
(00:47):
answer came not in writing, but in the person of
Heard himself, who called on Beecot. The young man had
just finished his frugal meal and was settling down to
an evening's work when there came a knock to the door. Heard,
dressed in his usual brown suit, presented himself looking cool
(01:07):
and composed, but he was more excited than one would imagine,
as Paul saw from the expression of his eyes. The
detective accepted a cup of coffee and lighted his pipe.
Then he sat down in the arm chair on the
opposite side of the fireplace and prepared to talk. Paul
heaped on coals with a lavish hand, little as he
(01:30):
could afford this extravagance, as the night was cold, and
he guessed that Herd had much to say. So on
the whole they had a very comfortable and interesting conversation.
I suppose you are pleased to see me, asked Herd,
puffing meditatively at his briar. Paul nodded very glad. He answered,
(01:51):
that is if you have done anything about Missus Krill, well,
drawed the detective, smiling. I have been investigating that murder case,
Lady Rachel Sandals, said Becot eagerly, is it really murder?
I think so, though some folks think its suicide. Curious
that you should have stumbled across that, young lord went
(02:12):
on heard musingly, and more curious still that he should
have been in the room with Missus Krill without recollecting
the name. There was a great fuss made about it
at the time. Oh, I can understand, Lord George, said
Becot promptly. The murder, if it is one, took place
(02:33):
before he was born, and as there seems to have
been some scandal in the matter. The family hushed it up.
This young fellow probably gathered scraps of information from old servants.
But from what he said to me in the cab,
I think he knows very little, quite enough to put
me on the track of Lemuel Crule's reason for leaving
(02:54):
christ Church is that the reason. Yes, twenty three years ago,
he left christ Church at the very time Lady Rachel
was murdered in his public house. Then he disappeared for
a time and turned up a year later in gwyn
Street with a young wife whom he had married in
the meantime Sylvia's mother exactly, and miss Norman was born
(03:18):
a year later. She's nearly twenty one, isn't she? Yes,
she will be twenty one in three months. Heard nod
it gravely the time corresponds said he as the crime
was committed twenty three years back, and Lord George is
only twenty. I can understand how he knows so little
about it. Pult Dinny connect missus Krill with a man
(03:41):
who died in wyn Street. No. She explained that the
name of Krill appeared only a few times in the
papers and was principally set forth with the portrait in
the handbills. I shouldn't think Lord George was the kind
of young man to bother about handbills. All the same,
he might have heard talk at his club. Everyone isn't
(04:03):
so stupid. No, But at all events, he did not
seem to connect Missus Krill with the dead man, and
even with regard to the death of his aunt, he
fancied she might not be the same woman. What an
ass he must be, said Hurd contemptuously. I don't think
he has much brain, confessed Paul, shrugging his shoulders. But
(04:25):
he asked me if I thought Missus Krill was the
same as the landlady of the Red Pig. I denied
that she was. I don't like telling lies, but in
this case I hope the departure from truth will be pardoned.
You did very right, said the detective. The fewer people
know about these matters the better, especially a chatterbox like
(04:47):
this young fool. Do you know him, Yes, under the
name of Count de la Tour, But I know of
him in another way, which I'll reveal later. Hay is
still fleecing him, he is, But Lord George seems to
be growing suspicious of Hay and Paul related the conversation
(05:07):
he had had with the young man, heard grunted. I'm sorry,
he said. I want to catch Hay red handed, and
if Lord George grows too clever, I may not be
able to do so, well, said Paul rather impatiently. Never
mind about that, fellow, just now, but tell me what
you have discovered. Oh, A lot of interesting things. When
(05:30):
I got your letter, of course, I at once connected
the Opal Serpent with Aaron Norman, and his change of
name with the murder. I knew that Norman came to
wind Street over twenty years ago. That came out in
the evidence connected with his death. Therefore putting two and
two together. I searched in the newspapers of that period
(05:51):
and found what I wanted, a report of the case.
Precisely after that, I hunted up the records at Scotland
Yard for further details that were not made public. So
I got the whole story together. And I am pretty
certain that Aaron Norman, or as he was then Lemuel Krill,
murdered Lady Rachel for the sake of that precious brooch, Ah,
(06:15):
said Paul, drawing in a breath. Now I understand why
he fainted when he saw it again, No wonder, considering
it was connected in his mind with the death of
Lady Rachel. Quite so, and no wonder the man kept
looking over his shoulder in the expectation of being tapped
on the shoulder by a policeman. I don't wonder also
(06:38):
that he locked up the house and kept his one
eye on the ground, and went the church secretly to pray.
What a life he must have led upon my soul.
Bad as the man was. I'm sorry for him, so my,
I said Paul. And after all, he's Sylvia's father. Poor
girl to have a murderer for a father. Beecock turned pale.
(07:01):
I love Sylvia for herself, he said, with an effort.
And if her father had committed twenty murders, I would
not let her go. But she must never know, no,
said Heard, stretching his hand across and giving Paul a
friendly grip. And I knew you'd stick to her. It
wouldn't be fair to blame the girl for what her
(07:21):
father did before she was born. We must keep everything
from her, heard, I'll marry her and take her abroad
sooner than she should learn of this previous murder. But
how did it happen, I'll tell you in a few minutes,
Heard rose and began to pace the narrow limits of
the attic. By the way, do you know that Norman
(07:44):
was a secret drinker of brandy? Paul nodded and told
the detective what he had learned from Missus Krill. Heard
was much struck with the intelligence I see, said he
what Missus Crill says is quite true. Drink does change
the ordinary nature into the opposite. Krill sober was a
(08:05):
timid rabbit. Krill drunk was a murderer and a thief.
Good lord, and how he'd drank, how do you know, well,
confessed heard, nursing his chin. Pasha and I went to
search the Wwynn Street house to find, if possible, the
story alluded to in the scrap of paper Deborah Junk found.
(08:27):
We couldn't drop across anything of that sort. But in
Norman's bedroom, which nobody ever entered, we found brandy bottles
by the score under the bed, ranged along the walls,
filling cupboards stowed away in boxes. I had the curiosity
to count them. Those we found ran up to five hundred,
(08:48):
and lord knows how many more he must have got
rid of. When he found the bottles crowding him inconveniently.
I expect he got drunk every night, said Paul, thinking
he locked up Sylvia and Debora in the upper room.
I can understand now why he did so. He could
go to the cellar and take possession of the shop
(09:09):
key left on the nail by Bart. Then free from
all intrusion, he could drink till reeling, not that I
think he ever did real when on Bee caught mindful
of what missus Krill had said, he could stand a lot.
I expect the brandy only converted him into a demon
and a clever business man, said Hurd. You know Aaron
(09:31):
Norman was not clever over the books. Bart sold those.
But from all accounts he was a shylock when dealing
after seven o'clock in the pawnbroking way. I understand now
sober he was a timid fool drunk, he was a bold,
clever villain. My poor Sylvia, what a father, sighed Paul.
(09:54):
But this crime, I'll tell you about it. Lamuel Krill
and his wife kept the Red Pig at christ Church,
a little public house. It is on the outskirts of
the town, frequented by farm labors and such like. The
business was pretty good, but the couple didn't look to
make in their fortune. Missus Crill was a farmer's daughter.
(10:17):
The Buckinghamshire farmer said Paul, how do you know, oh,
on receiving information, missus Crill told you so well, considering
the murder of lady Rachel, she would have done better
to hold her tongue and have commenced life with her
dead husband's money under a new name. She's a clever woman, too,
(10:37):
mused herd. I can't understand her being so unnecessarily frank.
Never mind, go on, said Paul, impatiently heard, returned to
his seat and refilled his pipe. Well, then, he continued,
Krill got drunk and gave his wife great trouble. Sometimes
he thrashed her and blackened her eyes. And he treated
(11:00):
their daughter badly too. How old was a daughter? I
can't say. Why do you ask? I'll tell you later.
Go on, please, Well, then, missus Crill always revenged herself
on her husband when he was sober and timid, so
the couple were evenly matched. Krill was master when drunk,
and his wife mistress when he was sober. A kind
(11:23):
of seesaw sort of life they must have led. Where
does lady Rachel come in? What an impatient chap you are,
remonstrated herd in a friendly tone. I'm coming to that now.
Lady Rachel quarreled with her father over some young artist
she wanted to marry. He would not allow lover to
(11:43):
come to the hall, so Lady Rachel said she would
kill herself rather than give him up. And she did,
said Paul, thinking of the suicide theory, there you go again.
How am I to tell you all? When you interrupt,
I beg your pardon. I won't do so again, heard
nodded smilingly, and continued. One night, it was dark and stormy,
(12:07):
Lady Rachel had a royal row with her father. Then
she ran out of the hall, saying her father would
never see her alive again. She may have intended to
commit suicide, certainly, or she may have intended to join
her lover in London. But whatever she intended to do,
the rain cooled her. She staggered into christ Church and
(12:29):
fell down insensible at the door of the Red Pig.
Missus Krill brought her indoors and laid her on a bed.
Did she know who the lady was heard shook his head.
She said in her evidence that she did not, but
living in the neighborhood she certainly must have seen Lady Rachel.
Sometimes Krill was drunk as usual. He had been boozing
(12:53):
all day with a skipper of some craft at Southampton.
He was good for nothing, So missus Crew did everything,
she declares. She went to bed at eleven, leaving Lady
Rachel sleeping. Did Lady Rachel recover her senses, yes, according
to missus Krill, but she refused to say who she was,
(13:15):
and merely stated that she would sleep at the Red
Pig that night and would go on to London next morning.
Missus Krill swore that Lady Rachel had no idea of
committing suicide. Well about midnight, missus Krill, who slept in
one room with her daughter, was awakened by loud shouts.
She sprang to her feet and hurried out. Her daughter
(13:37):
came also as she had been awakened and was terrified.
Missus Krill found that her husband was raving mad with
drink and smashing the furniture in the room below the skipper.
What was the skipper's name, Jessop Jarvie Jessop well, He
also rather drunk, was retiring to bed and stoppumbled by
(14:00):
chance in the lady Rachel's room. He found her quite
dead and shouted for assistance. The poor lady had a
silk handkerchief she wore tied tightly around her throat and
fastened to the bedpost. When Jessop saw this, he ran
out of the inn in dismay. Missus Crill descended to
give the alarm to her neighbors, but Krill struck her
(14:22):
down and struck his daughter, also making her mouth bleed,
and opal brooch that lady Rachel Wore was missing, but
missus Crill only knew of that. The next day. She
was insensible from the blow given by Krill, and the
daughter ran out to get assistance. When the neighbors entered,
Krill was gone, and notwithstanding all the search made for him,
(14:46):
he could not be found, and Jessop he turned up
and explained that he had been frightened on finding the
woman dead. But the police found him on his craft
at Southampton, and he gave evidence. He said that Krill,
when drunk, was like a demon, as missus Crill told you,
had left the room several times. The last time he
(15:08):
came back, he and the skipper had a final drink,
and then Jessup retired to find the body. It was
supposed by the police that Krill had killed Lady Rachel
for the sake of the brooch, which could not be discovered.
But the brooch hold on, I know what you are
about to say. Will come to that shortly. Let me
(15:30):
finish this yarn first. It was also argued that from
Lady Rachel's last words to her father, and from the
position of the body tied by the neck to the bedpost,
that she had committed suicide. Missus Krill, as I said,
declared the deceased lady never mentioned the idea of making
away with herself. However, Crill's flight and the chance that
(15:54):
being drunk he might have strangled the lady for the
sake of the brooch while out of the room made
me let me think he was the culprit, especially as
Jessop said that Krill had noticed a broach and commented
on the opals. He was a traveler in jewels once,
according to his wife, yes, and left the turn innkeeper.
(16:16):
Afterwards he vanished, as I say, and became a pawnbroker
in Gwynn Street. Well, the jury at the inquests could
not agree. Some thought Lady Rachel had committed suicide and
others that Krill had murdered her. Then the family didn't
want a scandal, so in one way or another, the
matter was hushed up. The jury brought in a verdict
(16:37):
of suicide by a majority of one, so you can
see how equally they were divided. Lady Rachel's body was
laid in the family vault and nothing more was heard
of Lemuel Krill. What did missus Crill do? She stopped
on at the inn. As she told you, people were
sorry for her and helped her, so she did very well.
(17:01):
Mother and daughter have lived at the Red Pig all
these years, highly respected until they saw the handbills about Krill.
Then the money was clean. But as the circumstances of
Lady Rachel's fate was so old, nobody thought of mentioning
it till this young lord did so to you and I,
(17:22):
as you see, have hunted out the details. What has
your opinion heard, asked Paul, deeply interested. Oh, I think
Krill murdered the woman and then cut to London. That
accountslor is looking over his shoulder, et cetera, about which
we talked. But how did he get the money to
start as a bookseller? Premises are not least in Wynn
(17:43):
Street for nothing? Will he might have got money on
the brooch. No, the brooch was pawned by a nautical gentleman.
Paul started up. Captain Jessup, Perhaps you remember, he said excitedly, Ah,
said Hurd, puffing his with satisfaction. I see you understand.
(18:04):
I mentioned that about the brooch to hear what you
would say. Yes, Jessop must have pawned the brooch at Stoley,
and it must have been Jessop who came with a
note for the jewels to posh hah, said Paul, walking
excitedly about the room. Then it would seem that Jessop
and Krill were in league. I think so, said Hurd,
(18:25):
staring at the fire. And yet I am not sure.
Jessop may have found that Krill had killed the woman
and then have made him give up the brooch, which
he afterwards pawned at Stoley. Though why he should go
near missus Crill's old home, I can't understand. Is slowly
near her old home? Yes, in Buckinghamshire. However, after pawning
(18:48):
the brooch, I expect Jessop lost sight of Krill till
he must have come across him a few days before
the crime. Then he must have made Krill signed the
paper ordering the jewels to be given up by Posh
so that he might get money, A kind of blackmail
in fact, well, said Herd doubtfully. After all, Jessop might
(19:09):
have killed Krill himself. But how did Jessop get the brooch?
Ah that I can't tell you unless Norman himself picked
it up in the street. We must find these things out.
I'm going the christ Church to make inquiries. I'll let
you know what I discovered and heard Rose one minute,
(19:29):
said Paul hastily. Do you think miss Krill is the
dead man's child? Of course, Jesus like her mother as
two peas. Why do you ask? Paul detailed what Sylvia
and Deborah had said. So if she is over thirty,
said Becot, she can't be Krill's child, or else she
(19:50):
must have been born before Krill married his wife. In
either case, she has no right to the money. It's strange,
said Herd, musing Lee, I'll have to look into that. Meanwhile,
I've got plenty to do. There's another thing I have
to say. You'll confuse me, be caught. What is it?
The sugar? And that? Hawker and Paul related what Sylvia
(20:13):
had said about thuggism. Herd sat down and stared. That
must be boss, he said, looking at the novel. And
yet it's mighty queer, I say. He took the three volumes.
Will you lend me these? Yes, be careful, they are
not mine. I'll be careful. But I can't dip into
them just yet, nor can I go into that hindoo business,
(20:38):
let alone this age of miss Krill. The first thing
I have to do is to go to christ Church
and see and see if Missus Krill was at home
on the night of the sixth of July. Herd started, Oh,
he said, dryly, the night the crime was committed. You mean, well,
I didn't intend to look up that point, as I
(20:59):
do not see how missus Crill can be implicated. However,
I'll take a note of that. And this he did,
and then continued, But I'm anxious to find Jessup. I
shouldn't be at all surprised to learn that he'd committed
the double crime. The double crime. Yes, he might have
strangled Lady Rachel and, twenty years later, have killed Krill.
(21:22):
I can't be sure, but I think he is the
guilty person. End of chapter seventeen.
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