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- Артур Конан Дойл
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- Tales of Terror and Mystery
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- Стр. 69/137
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(
b
)
To
the
Big
Ben
Colliery
;
(
c
)
To
the
Perseverance
Colliery
.
"
Of
these
the
Big
Ben
line
is
not
more
than
a
quarter
of
a
mile
long
,
and
ends
at
a
dead
wall
of
coal
waiting
removal
from
the
mouth
of
the
mine
.
Nothing
had
been
seen
or
heard
there
of
any
special
.
The
Carnstock
Iron
Works
line
was
blocked
all
day
upon
the
3rd
of
June
by
sixteen
truckloads
of
hematite
.
It
is
a
single
line
,
and
nothing
could
have
passed
.
As
to
the
Perseverance
line
,
it
is
a
large
double
line
,
which
does
a
considerable
traffic
,
for
the
output
of
the
mine
is
very
large
.
On
the
3rd
of
June
this
traffic
proceeded
as
usual
;
hundreds
of
men
including
a
gang
of
railway
platelayers
were
working
along
the
two
miles
and
a
quarter
which
constitute
the
total
length
of
the
line
,
and
it
is
inconceivable
that
an
unexpected
train
could
have
come
down
there
without
attracting
universal
attention
.
It
may
be
remarked
in
conclusion
that
this
branch
line
is
nearer
to
St
.
Helens
than
the
point
at
which
the
engine
-
driver
was
discovered
,
so
that
we
have
every
reason
to
believe
that
the
train
was
past
that
point
before
misfortune
overtook
her
.
"
As
to
John
Slater
,
there
is
no
clue
to
be
gathered
from
his
appearance
or
injuries
.
We
can
only
say
that
,
so
far
as
we
can
see
,
he
met
his
end
by
falling
off
his
engine
,
though
why
he
fell
,
or
what
became
of
the
engine
after
his
fall
,
is
a
question
upon
which
I
do
not
feel
qualified
to
offer
an
opinion
.
"
In
conclusion
,
the
inspector
offered
his
resignation
to
the
Board
,
being
much
nettled
by
an
accusation
of
incompetence
in
the
London
papers
.
A
month
elapsed
,
during
which
both
the
police
and
the
company
prosecuted
their
inquiries
without
the
slightest
success
.
A
reward
was
offered
and
a
pardon
promised
in
case
of
crime
,
but
they
were
both
unclaimed
.
Every
day
the
public
opened
their
papers
with
the
conviction
that
so
grotesque
a
mystery
would
at
last
be
solved
,
but
week
after
week
passed
by
,
and
a
solution
remained
as
far
off
as
ever
.
In
broad
daylight
,
upon
a
June
afternoon
in
the
most
thickly
inhabited
portion
of
England
,
a
train
with
its
occupants
had
disappeared
as
completely
as
if
some
master
of
subtle
chemistry
had
volatilized
it
into
gas
.
Indeed
,
among
the
various
conjectures
which
were
put
forward
in
the
public
Press
,
there
were
some
which
seriously
asserted
that
supernatural
,
or
,
at
least
,
preternatural
,
agencies
had
been
at
work
,
and
that
the
deformed
Monsieur
Caratal
was
probably
a
person
who
was
better
known
under
a
less
polite
name
.
Others
fixed
upon
his
swarthy
companion
as
being
the
author
of
the
mischief
,
but
what
it
was
exactly
which
he
had
done
could
never
be
clearly
formulated
in
words
.
Amongst
the
many
suggestions
put
forward
by
various
newspapers
or
private
individuals
,
there
were
one
or
two
which
were
feasible
enough
to
attract
the
attention
of
the
public
.
One
which
appeared
in
The
Times
,
over
the
signature
of
an
amateur
reasoner
of
some
celebrity
at
that
date
,
attempted
to
deal
with
the
matter
in
a
critical
and
semi
-
scientific
manner
.
An
extract
must
suffice
,
although
the
curious
can
see
the
whole
letter
in
the
issue
of
the
3rd
of
July
.
"
It
is
one
of
the
elementary
principles
of
practical
reasoning
,
"
he
remarked
,
"
that
when
the
impossible
has
been
eliminated
the
residuum
,
HOWEVER
IMPROBABLE
,
must
contain
the
truth
.
It
is
certain
that
the
train
left
Kenyon
Junction
.
It
is
certain
that
it
did
not
reach
Barton
Moss
.
It
is
in
the
highest
degree
unlikely
,
but
still
possible
,
that
it
may
have
taken
one
of
the
seven
available
side
lines
.
It
is
obviously
impossible
for
a
train
to
run
where
there
are
no
rails
,
and
,
therefore
,
we
may
reduce
our
improbables
to
the
three
open
lines
,
namely
the
Carnstock
Iron
Works
,
the
Big
Ben
,
and
the
Perseverance
.
Is
there
a
secret
society
of
colliers
,
an
English
Camorra
,
which
is
capable
of
destroying
both
train
and
passengers
?
It
is
improbable
,
but
it
is
not
impossible
.
I
confess
that
I
am
unable
to
suggest
any
other
solution
.
I
should
certainly
advise
the
company
to
direct
all
their
energies
towards
the
observation
of
those
three
lines
,
and
of
the
workmen
at
the
end
of
them
.
A
careful
supervision
of
the
pawnbrokers
’
shops
of
the
district
might
possibly
bring
some
suggestive
facts
to
light
.
"
The
suggestion
coming
from
a
recognized
authority
upon
such
matters
created
considerable
interest
,
and
a
fierce
opposition
from
those
who
considered
such
a
statement
to
be
a
preposterous
libel
upon
an
honest
and
deserving
set
of
men
.
The
only
answer
to
this
criticism
was
a
challenge
to
the
objectors
to
lay
any
more
feasible
explanations
before
the
public
.
In
reply
to
this
two
others
were
forthcoming
(
Times
,
July
7th
and
9th
)
.
The
first
suggested
that
the
train
might
have
run
off
the
metals
and
be
lying
submerged
in
the
Lancashire
and
Staffordshire
Canal
,
which
runs
parallel
to
the
railway
for
some
hundred
of
yards
.
This
suggestion
was
thrown
out
of
court
by
the
published
depth
of
the
canal
,
which
was
entirely
insufficient
to
conceal
so
large
an
object
.
The
second
correspondent
wrote
calling
attention
to
the
bag
which
appeared
to
be
the
sole
luggage
which
the
travellers
had
brought
with
them
,
and
suggesting
that
some
novel
explosive
of
immense
and
pulverizing
power
might
have
been
concealed
in
it
.
The
obvious
absurdity
,
however
,
of
supposing
that
the
whole
train
might
be
blown
to
dust
while
the
metals
remained
uninjured
reduced
any
such
explanation
to
a
farce
.
The
investigation
had
drifted
into
this
hopeless
position
when
a
new
and
most
unexpected
incident
occurred
.
This
was
nothing
less
than
the
receipt
by
Mrs
.
McPherson
of
a
letter
from
her
husband
,
James
McPherson
,
who
had
been
the
guard
on
the
missing
train
.
The
letter
,
which
was
dated
July
5th
,
1890
,
was
posted
from
New
York
and
came
to
hand
upon
July
14th
.
Some
doubts
were
expressed
as
to
its
genuine
character
but
Mrs
.
