It is absolutely unique, and its value can only be conjectured, butthe reward offered of ￡1000 is certainly not within a twentiethpart of the market price.”
“A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!” The commissionaireplumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us.
“That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there aresentimental considerations in the background which would inducethe Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but recoverthe gem.”
“It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,” Iremarked.
“Precisely so, on December 22d, just five days ago. John Horner,a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady’sjewel-case. The evidence against him was so strong that thecase has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account ofthe matter here, I believe.” He rummaged amid his newspapers,glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, doubledit over, and read the following paragraph:
“Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, wasbrought up upon the charge of having upon the 22d inst., abstractedfrom the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable gemknown as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder, upper-attendant at thehotel, gave his evidence to the effect that he had shown Hornerup to the dressing-room of the Countess of Morcar upon the dayof the robbery in order that he might solder the second bar of thegrate, which was loose. He had remained with Horner some littletime, but had finally been called away. On returning, he found thatHorner had disappeared, that the bureau had been forced open, andthat the small morocco casket in which, as it afterwards transpired,the Countess was accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying emptyupon the dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Hornerwas arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be foundeither upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maidto the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder’s cry of dismayon discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room,where she found matters as described by the last witness. InspectorBradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest of Horner, whostruggled frantically, and protested his innocence in the strongestterms. Evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having beengiven against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarilywith the offence, but referred it to the Assizes. Horner, who hadshown signs of intense emotion during the proceedings, faintedaway at the conclusion and was carried out of court.”
“Hum! So much for the police-court,” said Holmes thoughtfully,tossing aside the paper. “The question for us now to solve is thesequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one endto the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other.
You see, Watson, our little deductions have suddenly assumed amuch more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone;the stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr.
Henry Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the othercharacteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must setourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and ascertainingwhat part he has played in this little mystery. To do this, we musttry the simplest means first, and these lie undoubtedly in anadvertisement in all the evening papers. If this fail, I shall haverecourse to other methods.”
“What will you say?”
“Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then:
‘Found at the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat.
Mr. Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this eveningat 221B, Baker Street.’
That is clear and concise.”
“Very. But will he see it?”
“Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to apoor man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared byhis mischance in breaking the window and by the approach ofPeterson that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then hemust have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drophis bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause himto see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention toit. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency andhave this put in the evening papers.”
“In which, sir?”
“Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James’s, Evening News,Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you.”
“Very well, sir. And this stone?”
“Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, Peterson,just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me, forwe must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the onewhich your family is now devouring.”
When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stoneand held it against the light. “It’s a bonny thing,” said he. “Just seehow it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus ofcrime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits. In thelarger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed.
This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banksof the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable in havingevery characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shadeinstead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinisterhistory. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide,and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grainweight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so prettya toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I’ll lockit up in my strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to saythat we have it.”
“Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?”
“I cannot tell.”
“Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker,had anything to do with the matter?”
“It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an absolutelyinnocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carryingwas of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold.