untitled Page 7
what the future held for him he would always be a
part of it. The last course of the meal was ending;
the talk of the soldiers was diminishing, as the port
wine was passed around the table from officer to
officer. Each filled his glittering crystal wine glass for
the toast to the king and the regiment.
It was all there. One could see it in the tradition of
not letting the wine decanter touch the table as it
was passed from man to man. Never give in, never
quit -and he was part of it. The Regiment!
The chairs moved back from the table as the officers
rose to the ring of the colonel’s voice throughout the
hall. “Gentlemen, the king.” The glasses were
raised.. .
The brandy and soda had done its work that night,
Praed Street Irregular Cecil Ryder, Jr. (left) and Luther Norris (PSI founder) but only for the night. It seemed so long ago yet it
had only been a few short weeks before that he had
stood with his brother officers and they had raised
P a g e 2 8
T h e S o l a r P o n s G a z e t t e
F e a t u r e d C a s e I I
him and strike a savage blow with a mallet.
Why isn’t this as likely as Pons’ own deduc-
( w w w . S o l a r P o n s . c o m
tion that a very large, strong, man crept the
length of the room, unnoticed, and struck?
The Adventure of the Defeated
Doctor
Pons points out that a jealous rival would likely
The Further Adventures
have continued savaging the body after the
of Solar Pons, 1979
initial stroke caused death. This is a sound
(Basil Copper)
proposition.
The Case
But why did the investigators seem to so
Sculptor Romaine Schneider is
lightly dismiss robbery? It is true that one of
found dead in his studio, brutally
the constables says that nothing appears to
bludgeoned from behind with his
be missing. But, building on the point above,
own mallets. Inspector Jamison
either a fellow sculptor or rival (not a sworn
and his colleague, Inspector Buckfast, are at a loss
enemy) visited Schnedier to procure some-
and the former consults Solar Pons at Praed Street.
thing, whether damaging to himself or to
Pons finds a preponderance of large, powerfully built
further his own career?
men populating the case.
After Pons refers to Jamison as obtuse and plod-
Quotes
ding, Parker tells Pons that he is being un-
Parker: He (Jamison) is exploiting your talents,
usually generous. Ignoring Parker’s ques-
Pons.
tionable observation, Pons’ attitude towards
Pons: Possibly, Parker, possibly. Though it
Jamison in this case seems a bit harsh.
would not do to underestimate the doggedness
of Inspector Jamison. Obtuse he may be occa-
When Jamison, quite reasonably, tells Pons
sionally – and plodding certainly – but method
where the dead man lived, Pons cuts him
and devotion to duty usually get him to his desti-
off:
nation in the end.
Yes, yes, Jamison. I am tolerably
familiar with the area. Get to the
Pons: Come, Jamison. How many times have I
facts and leave the guide book de-
told you? No visible motive – there is always
tails to friend Parker here when he
a motive for every crime, however pointless
comes to write the case up.
it may appear to the casual bystander.
Pons is not in a very good mood this day. He
Comments
manages to be condescending to Jamison
Pons assumes that the killer snuck across the
while denigrating Parker, who has done
room, undetected by Schneider until the
nothing to deserve it. Perhaps Pons did not
last instant. This seems dubious and worthy
have enough coffee in the morning.
of a little second guessing. Because there
were no signs of forced entry, certainly it
was possible that Schneider admitted his
killer into the house, not suspecting any
danger. Thus, he continued with his work,
allowing his visitor to stealthily move behind
Basil Copper
P a g e 2 9
T h e S o l a r P o n s G a z e t t e
F u r t h e r T h o u g h t s :
T h e D o g i n t h e M a n g e r
B y B o b B y r n e
For a variety of reasons, I am not always at liberty to
see Solar Pons’ involvement!
disclose fully certain matters related to the cases I
chronicle. Perhaps the points concealed are too deli-
The Common Elements of Crime
cate, or I withhold them from a sense of patriotism. It
One evening, as we sat in comfortable silence in our
is not uncommon for unproven speculation, while
Praed Street lodgings, I pointed out to Pons that the
perhaps extremely likely to be accurate, to have an
Jepson case flew in the face of one of Pons’ ac-
adverse effect upon some persons or institutions
cepted principles of investigation.
and a sense of responsibility stays my pen. There are
also more mundane reasons, such as space limita-
Intrigued by my assertion, he asked me to continue. I
tions or the flow of the story, which preclude inclu-
showed that all four men invited to Stoke Poges for
sion. Regardless, I have chosen here to jot down
the weekend had more than adequate means, mo-
some thoughts related to the diabolical Ahab Jepson.
tive and opportunity to kill Jepson. Pons had often
lectured me on the importance of looking for these
A Sense of Deja Vu
elements in a case. Yet all of those characteristics
When Pons discovered the hidden chain mechanism,
served only as red herrings, leading the police fur-
there was something familiar about it. But I was cer-
ther away from the true culprit.
tain that I had never assisted Pons in a similar mat-
ter! It was only some time later I realized that sub-
He agreed, but added “You have cast too narrow a
consciously, I was recalling the Sherlock Holmes ad-
net, Parker. I believe that I mentioned at the time,
venture at Thor Bridge. The former Maria Pinto ar-
those men had all won the suits brought against
ranged her own death to throw suspicion on her hus-
them by Jepson. It was he who had the strong motive
band and their governess. Though he did not men-
of hatred. By inviting them to his house, he provided
tion Holmes’ case, I am sure that Pons was aware of
himself with the opportunity. He certainly had the
the similarity as he investigated. It was simply to
means. I believe it was Sir Malcolm who volunteered
avoid disclosure of my obtuseness that I failed to link
that Ahab Jepson was dying. That single fact made
the two case when I presented this one to the public.
Jepson a much more likely suspect. Who had the
most to gain by his death? Since he was terminally
His Finest Production
ill, he would gain a great deal of joy in his waning
I cannot say that I was a fan of Ahab Jepson’s body
days if he could spur a murder charge against one or
of work. He was doomed to pale in comparison with
more of his guests.”
his wonderfully talented father. But as a performer in
his own right, he simply was inadequate. The local
I understood Pons’ explanation, but I remained con-
press mentioned that his last project had been a
vinced that the Jepson suicide was in contrast to the
version of Jane Annie, a, frankly, forgettable collabo-
applied analysis of means, motive and opportunity.
ration between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and J.M. Bar-
Pons merely believed that I was being uncommonly
rie. I venture to say that if he had plotted any of his
stubborn.
original melodramas as well as the elaborate sce-
nario he devised for his own death, he would have
enjoyed a smash hit. Perhaps he was saving his best
work for last. His only flaw was that he did not fore-
P a g e 3 0
T h e S o l a r P o n s G a z e t t e
THE BEST SUBSTITUTE FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES KNOWN
- Vincent Starrett
The Solar Pons Gazette is the on-line Newsletter of www.SolarPons.com, the world’s only internet site dedi-cated to Solar Pons. The Gazette is published each summer with a year-end special as practicable. The Gazette is free of charge.
For questions, comments, or to contribute to the next issue of The Solar Pons Gazette, contact Bob Byrne at admin@SolarPons.com.
Solar Pons and all of August Derleth’s writings are the property of The Estate of August Derleth and protected under applicable copyright laws.
To learn more about August Derleth, visit the August Derleth Society’s website at: http://www.derleth.org/
2007 Summer (pdf), untitled
Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
Share this book with friends