A friend sends them to
him from India. And the animals are not the only wild
things in the garden; there are also gipsies. My
stepfather likes these wild people, and they can come
and go where they like. Poor Julia and I had very
unhappy lives. We had no servants. They always left
because they were afraid of my stepfather, and we had
to do all the work in the house. Julia was only thirty
when she died, and her hair was already grey, like my
hair now.'
'When did she die?' asked Sherlock Holmes.
'She died two years ago, and that's why I'm here. We
never met anybody in the country, but sometimes we
visited some of my family who live near London. There
Julia met a young man who asked to marry her. My
stepfather agreed, but soon after this she died.' Miss
Stoner put her hand over her eyes and cried for a
minute.
Sherlock Holmes was listening with his eyes closed,
but now he opened them and looked at Helen Stoner.
'Tell me everything about her death,' he said.
'I can remember it all very well. It was a terrible
time!' she answered. 'Our three bedrooms are all
downstairs. First there is my stepfather's room. Julia's
room is next to his, and my room is next to Julia's. The
rooms all have windows on the garden side of the
house, and doors which open into the corridor. One
evening our stepfather was smoking his strong India