2 A Tragic Discovery

Chapter 2 A Tragic Discovery "They still clung to the hope that the trainer had taken the horse out for an early morning ride, but their hearts sank when they spotted, a quarter of a mile from the stables, Straker's overcoat flapping from a bush. Just beyond this, at the bottom of a bowl-shaped hollow, they found the unfortunate trainer's dead body. "His head had been badly hurt by a cruel blow from some heavy weapon, and his thigh had been wounded by a sharp instrument. He must have put up a strong fight against his attacker because in his right hand was a small knife covered in blood. In his left, he clasped a red silk cravat, which Baxter recognized as belonging to the stranger who visited the stables. "Once he'd recovered, Hunter confirmed that the stranger had been wearing that same cravat. He was equally sure the stranger had, while

standing at the window, drugged his curried mutton. "As for the missing horse, there were hoof prints in the mud at the bottom of the hollow where Straker was found, but nowhere else. Search parties have been out and a large reward has been offered, but as of now—some thirty-six hours later—there's still no sign of Silver Blaze. "The remains of Ned Hunter's curried mutton were found to contain traces of powder from the drug opium. The people at the house who ate the same dish that night suffered no ill effects." "And what progress have the police made so far?" I asked.

"Inspector Gregory, who's leading the investigation, had no trouble finding the suspicious stranger, who was staying at an inn in Tavistock. His name is Fitzroy Simpson. He's a well-educated fellow from a wealthy family who has thrown away a fortune by betting on the horses. Inspector Gregory discovered the man had bet five thousand pounds against Silver Blaze. "After he was arrested, Simpson claimed he'd come down to Dartmoor in the hope of getting some information about the King's Pyland horses, and also about Desborough, another horse running in the Wessex Cup, who is at the nearby Mapleton Stables.

"Simpson didn't deny his actions as described by the maid and the stableboy, but insisted his only purpose had been to obtain first-hand information. When he was told his cravat had been found in the dead man's hand, Simpson turned very pale. He was unable to explain how this had happened. "Simpson's walking stick had a knob handle made of lead, which could have been used as a club to inflict the head injury suffered by the trainer. Yet there was no wound on Simpson, even though the blood on Straker's knife suggests he managed to hurt his attacker." "Is it possible that the blood on Straker's knife is his own?" I wondered. "You said he'd been wounded in the thigh, and he may have

accidentally done this to himself while under attack." "That's quite possible," said Holmes, "and it deals with one of Simpson's main arguments against his arrest: namely, his lack of a wound." "Do the police have any idea how the crime played out?" "They imagine that Simpson somehow obtained a duplicate key, opened the stable door, and kidnapped the horse. The bridle's missing, so he must have put it on. Simpson was leading the horse across the moor when he encountered Straker, who had come chasing after him. The two men fought, and Simpson killed Straker without receiving any injury from Straker's knife.

Then Simpson might have led Silver Blaze to some secret hiding place, or else the horse bolted while the men were struggling and is now wandering the moors."