Arthur Doyle - The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes

"But surely," said I, "the vampire was not necessarily a dead man? A living person might have the habit. I have read, for example, of the old sucking the blood of the young in order to retain their youth."

"You are right, Watson. It mentions the legend in one of these references. But are we to give serious attention to such things? This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply. I fear that we cannot take Mr. Robert Ferguson very seriously. Possibly this note may be from him and may throw some light upon what is worrying him."

He took up a second letter which had lain unnoticed upon the table while he had been absorbed with the first. This he began to read with a smile of amusement upon his face which gradually faded away into an expression of intense interest and concentration. When he had finished he sat for some little time lost in thought with the letter dangling from his fingers. Finally, with a start, he aroused himself from his reverie.

"Cheeseman's, Lamberley. Where is Lamberley, Watson?"

"It is in Sussex, South of Horsham."

"Not very far, eh? And Cheeseman's?"

"I know that country, Holmes. It is full of old houses which are named after the men who built them centuries ago. You get Odley's and Harvey's and Carriton's – the folk are forgotten but their names live in their houses."

"Precisely," said Holmes coldly. It was one of the peculiarities of his proud, self-contained nature that though he docketed any fresh information very quietly and accurately in his brain, he seldom made any acknowledgment to the giver. "I rather fancy we shall know a good deal more about Cheeseman's, Lamberley, before we are through. The letter is, as I had hoped, from Robert Ferguson. By the way, he claims acquaintance with you."

"With me!"

"You had better read it."

He handed the letter across. It was headed with the address quoted.

DEAR MR. HOLMES note 2:

I have been recommended to you by my lawyers, but

indeed the matter is so extraordinarily delicate that it is most

difficult to discuss. It concerns a friend for whom I am

acting. This gentleman married some five years ago a Peruvian

lady the daughter of a Peruvian merchant, whom he had

met in connection with the importation of nitrates. The lady

was very beautiful, but the fact of her foreign birth and of

her alien religion always caused a separation of interests and

of feelings between husband and wife, so that after a time

his love may have cooled towards her and he may have

come to regard their union as a mistake. He felt there were

sides of her character which he could never explore or

understand. This was the more painful as she was as loving

a wife as a man could have – to all appearance absolutely

devoted.

Now for the point which I will make more plain when we

meet. Indeed, this note is merely to give you a general idea

of the situation and to ascertain whether you would care to

interest yourself in the matter. The lady began to show

some curious traits quite alien to her ordinarily sweet and

gentle disposition. The gentleman had been married twice

and he had one son by the first wife. This boy was now

fifteen, a very charming and affectionate youth, though

unhappily injured through an accident in childhood. Twice

the wife was caught in the act of assaulting this poor lad in

the most unprovoked way. Once she struck him with a stick

and left a great weal on his arm.

This was a small matter, however, compared with her

conduct to her own child, a dear boy just under one year of

age. On one occasion about a month ago this child had

been left by its nurse for a few minutes. A loud cry from the

baby, as of pain, called the nurse back. As she ran into the

room she saw her employer, the lady, leaning over the baby

and apparently biting his neck. There was a small wound in

the neck from which a stream of blood had escaped. The

nurse was so horrified that she wished to call the husband,

but the lady implored her not to do so and actually gave her

five pounds as a price for her silence. No explanation was

ever given, and for the moment the matter was passed over.

It left, however, a terrible impression upon the nurse's

mind, and from that time she began to watch her mistress

closely and to keep a closer guard upon the baby, whom she

tenderly loved. It seemed to her that even as she watched

the mother, so the mother watched her, and that every time

she was compelled to leave the baby alone the mother was

waiting to get at it. Day and night the nurse covered the

child, and day and night the silent, watchful mother seemed

to be lying in wait as a wolf waits for a lamb. It must read

most incredible to you, and yet I beg you to take it seriously, for a child's life and a man's sanity may depend

upon it.

At last there came one dreadful day when the facts could

no longer be concealed from the husband. The nurse's nerve

had given way; she could stand the strain no longer, and

she made a clean breast of it all to the man. To him it

seemed as wild a tale as it may now seem to you. He knew

his wife to be a loving wife, and, save for the assaults

upon her stepson, a loving mother. Why, then, should

she wound her own dear little baby? He told the nurse that

she was dreaming, that her suspicions were those of a

lunatic, and that such libels upon her mistress were not to be

tolerated. While they were talking a sudden cry of pain was

heard. Nurse and master rushed together to the nursery.

Imagine his feelings, Mr. Holmes, as he saw his wife rise

from a kneeling position beside the cot and saw blood upon

the child's exposed neck and upon the sheet. With a cry of

horror, he turned his wife's face to the light and saw blood

all round her lips. It was she – she beyond all question —

who had drunk the poor baby's blood.

So the matter stands. She is now confined to her room.

There has been no explanation. The husband is half demented. He knows, and I know, little of vampirism beyond

the name. We had thought it was some wild tale of foreign

parts. And yet here in the very heart of the English Sussex —

well, all this can be discussed with you in the morning. Will

you see me? Will you use your great powers in aiding a

distracted man? If so, kindly wire to Ferguson, Cheeseman's,

Lamberley, and I will be at your rooms by ten o'clock.

Yours faithfully,

ROBERT FERGUSON.

P. S. I believe your friend Watson played Rugby for

Blackheath when I was three-quarter for Richmond. It is the

only personal introduction which I can give.

"Of course I remembered him," said I as I laid down the letter. "Big Bob Ferguson, the finest three-quarter Richmond ever had. He was always a good-natured chap. It's like him to be so concerned over a friend's case."

Holmes looked at me thoughtfully and shook his head. "I never get your limits, Watson," said he. "There are unexplored possibilities about you. Take a wire down, like a good fellow. 'Will examine your case with pleasure.' "

"Your case!"

"We must not let him think that this agency is a home for the weak-minded. Of course it is his case. Send him that wire and let the matter rest till morning."

Promptly at ten o'clock next morning Ferguson strode into our room. I had remembered him as a long, slab-sided man with loose limbs and a fine turn of speed which had carried him round many an opposing back. There is surely nothing in life more painful than to meet the wreck of a fine athlete whom one has known in his prime. His great frame had fallen in, his flaxen hair was scanty, and his shoulders were bowed. I fear that I roused corresponding emotions in him.