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The three leading figures in this Adventure are Neil Gibson, a famous gold-mining magnate, his wife, and their children's young governess, the attractive Miss Dunbar. The wife was found in the grounds of Thor Place, nearly half a mile from the house, late at night, clad in her dinner dress, with a revolver bullet through her brain. No weapon was found near her. There was no trace of a struggle, but in her loft hand was clutched a note reading: "I will be at Thor Bridge at nine o'clock.—G. Dunbar." Later, the police discovered on the floor of the wardrobe in the governess's room a revolver with one discharged chamber and a calibre which corresponded with the bullet. Miss Dunbar, when arrested, could prove no alibi—on the contrary. she admitted she was near Thor Bridge, the scene of the tragedy, about the time of Mrs. Gibson's death. She also admitted writing the note, but would say no more.
Gibson urges Sherlock Holmes to spare neither trouble nor expense to clear Miss Dunbar. "It's very black against her," he admits. "I can't deny that. . . . And there is no doubt that my wife was bitterly jealous."
The revolver is found to belong to Gibson, but there is no evidence that he had been out of doors, since his return from town at five o'clock. Miss Dunbar, on the other hand, admitted making the appointment with Mrs. Gibson.
On viewing the scene of the tragedy, Sherlock Holmes's careful examination of the bridge reveals a small and apparently recently-made chip on the parapet. "It took some violence to do that," said Holmes, thoughtfully. "It was a hard knock. In a curious place, too. It was not from above but from below, for you see that it is on the lower edge of the parapet."
As the following instalment shows, this apparently insignificant chip in the stone was really the clue to the solution of the mystery.
We were compelled to spend the night at Winchester, as the formalities had not yet been completed, but next morning, in the company of Mr. Joyce Cummings, the rising barrister who was entrusted with the defence, we were allowed to see the young lady in her cell. I had expected from all that we had heard to see a beautiful woman, but I can never forget the effect which Miss Dunbar produced upon me. It was no wonder that even the masterful millionaire had found in her something more powerful than himself—something which could control and guide him. One felt, too, as one looked at that strong, clear-cut and yet sensitive face, that even should she be capable of some impetuous deed, none the less there was an innate
Copyright, 1922. by A. Conan Doyle.
