The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne Read Free Book Online Page B

in the house at that moment who was unhandicapped in the search
for truth. The inspector had arrived in it to find a man dead and a man
missing. It was extremely probable, no doubt, that the missing man
had shot the dead man. But it was more than extremely probable, it was
almost certain that the Inspector would start with the idea that this
extremely probable solution was the one true solution, and that, in
consequence, he would be less disposed to consider without prejudice any
other solution. As regards all the rest of them—Cayley, the guests,
the servants—they also were prejudiced; in favour of Mark (or possibly,
for all he knew, against Mark); in favour of, or against, each other;
they had formed some previous opinion, from what had been said that
morning, of the sort of man Robert was. No one of them could consider
the matter with an unbiased mind.
    But Antony could. He knew nothing about Mark; he knew nothing about
Robert. He had seen the dead man before he was told who the dead man
was. He knew that a tragedy had happened before he knew that anybody was
missing. Those first impressions, which are so vitally important, had
been received solely on the merits of the case; they were founded on the
evidence of his senses, not on the evidence of his emotions or of other
people's senses. He was in a much better position for getting at the
truth than was the Inspector.
    It is possible that, in thinking this, Antony was doing Inspector Birch
a slight injustice. Birch was certainly prepared to believe that Mark
had shot his brother. Robert had been shown into the office (witness
Audrey); Mark had gone in to Robert (witness Cayley); Mark and Robert
had been heard talking (witness Elsie); there was a shot (witness
everybody); the room had been entered and Robert's body had been found
(witness Cayley and Gillingham). And Mark was missing. Obviously,
then, Mark had killed his brother: accidentally, as Cayley believed, or
deliberately, as Elsie's evidence seemed to suggest. There was no point
in looking for a difficult solution to a problem, when the easy solution
had no flaw in it. But at the same time Birch would have preferred the
difficult solution, simply because there was more credit attached to
it. A "sensational" arrest of somebody in the house would have given him
more pleasure than a commonplace pursuit of Mark Ablett across
country. Mark must be found, guilty or not guilty. But there were other
possibilities. It would have interested Antony to know that, just at the
time when he was feeling rather superior to the prejudiced inspector,
the Inspector himself was letting his mind dwell lovingly upon
the possibilities in connection with Mr. Gillingham. Was it only a
coincidence that Mr. Gillingham had turned up just when he did? And Mr.
Beverley's curious answers when asked for some account of his friend.
An assistant in a tobacconist's, a waiter! An odd man, Mr. Gillingham,
evidently. It might be as well to keep an eye on him.

Chapter VI - Outside or Inside?
*
    The guests had said good-bye to Cayley, according to their different
manner. The Major, gruff and simple: "If you want me, command me.
Anything I can do—Good-bye"; Betty, silently sympathetic, with
everything in her large eyes which she was too much overawed to tell;
Mrs. Calladine, protesting that she did not know what to say, but
apparently finding plenty; and Miss Norris, crowding so much into one
despairing gesture that Cayley's unvarying "Thank you very much" might
have been taken this time as gratitude for an artistic entertainment.
    Bill had seen them into the car, had taken his own farewells (with a
special squeeze of the hand for Betty), and had wandered out to join
Antony on his garden seat.
    "Well, this is a rum show," said Bill as he sat down.
    "Very rum, William."
    "And you actually walked right into it?"
    "Right into it," said Antony.
    "Then you're the man I want. There are all sorts of rumours and
mysteries about, and that inspector fellow simply