The Lamp That Went Out | Page 6

A few moments' further inspection showed him what he wanted to know. The garden extended to the beginning of the park-like grounds which surrounded the old house with the mansard roof. A tall iron railing separated the garden from the park, but this railing did not extend down as far as the quiet lane. Where it ended there was a light, well-built wooden fence. Along the street side of the fence there was a high thick hedge. Muller walked along this hedge until he came to a little gate. Then crossing the street, he saw that the house whose windows glistened in the sunlight was a house which he knew well from its other side, its front facade.
Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away from this to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He examined every foot of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen that was of any interest to him-not a footprint, or anything to prove that some one else had passed that way a short time before. And yet it would have been impossible to pass that way without leaving some trace, for the ground was cut up in all directions by mole hills.
Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as would come into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse had been found. There was nothing to be seen there either, and Muller was obliged to acknowledge that he had discovered nothing that would lead to an understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, the broken willow twig should prove to be a clue. He sprang back across the ditch, turned up the edges of his trousers where they had been moistened by the dew and walked slowly along the dusty street. He was no longer alone in the lane. An old man, accompanied by a large dog, came out from one of the new houses and walked towards the detective, he was very evidently going in the direction of the elder-tree, which had already been such a centre of interest that morning. When he met Muller, the old man halted, touched his cap and asked in a confidential tone: "I suppose you've been to see the place already?"
"Which place?" was Muller's reserved answer.
Why, I mean the place where they found the man who was murdered. They found him under that elder-tree. My wife just heard of it and told me. I suppose everybody round here will know it soon."
"Was there a man murdered here?" asked Muller, as if surprised by the news.
"Yes, he was shot last night. Only I don't understand why I didn't hear the shot. I couldn't sleep a wink all night for the pain in my bones."
"You live near here, then?"
"Yes, I live in No.1. Didn't you see me coming out?"
"I didn't notice it. I came across the wet meadows and I stooped to turn up my trousers so that they wouldn't get dusty - it must have been then you came out."
"Why, then you must have been right near the place I was talking about. Do you see that elder tree there? It's the only one in the street, and the girl who brings the milk found the man under it. The police have been here already and have taken him away. They discovered him about six o'clock and now it's just seven."
"And you hadn't any suspicion that this dreadful thing was happening so near you?" asked the detective casually.
"I didn't know a thing, sir, not a thing. There couldn't have been a fight or I would have heard it. But I don't know why I didn't hear the shot."
"Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of your pain," said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside the man back to the place from which he had just come.
The old man shook his head. "No, I tell you I didn't close an eye all night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked two pipes before I put out the light, and then I heard every hour strike all night long and it wasn't until nearly five o'clock, when it was almost dawn, that I dozed off a bit."
"Then it is astonishing that you didn't hear anything!"
"Sure it's astonishing! But it's still more astonishing that my dog Sultan didn't hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, I'd have you know. He'll growl if anybody passes through the street after dark, and I don't see why he didn't notice what was going on over there last night. If a man's attacked, he generally calls for help; it's a queer business all right."
"Well, Sultan, why didn't you make a noise?" asked Muller, patting the dog's broad head. Sultan growled and walked on