The Weight of the Evidence Read Free

be fairly hot, and would pretty well bury itself where it fell. Neither of these phenomena was observed. We must conclude, then, that someone took this massive and unlikely object and deliberately pitched it down on top of the victim. Why?’
    ‘Why indeed, Mr Appleby. Why indeed.’
    ‘I don’t mean what was the motive for the total crime. I mean simply, what was the motive for proceeding in just this way? It cut out – or, speaking theoretically, all but cut out – the best security which a murderer can achieve: the appearance of natural death. Pitch a coping-stone at a man – or a piece of lead roofing or a shower of tiles – and it may remain possible so to fix things that the appearance of accident results. But this does not apply to a meteorite, because meteorites are not part of the customary furniture of roofs.’ Appleby paused. ‘You must forgive the obviousness of all this. We’re considering the facts. And what, when one comes to think of it, constitutes a thing a fact? Its obviousness, I should say. Do you agree?’
    Hobhouse, very properly ignoring this invitation to metaphysical discussion, shook his head. ‘You might be hoisting a meteorite to a museum or store-room or such like on an upper storey. And it might fall and kill somebody. And then you might be so scared–’
    ‘Quite so. In theory the possibility of simple misadventure remains. But, in practice, wouldn’t you say it could be ignored?’
    ‘I don’t know as to that.’ Infinite caution was plainly Hobhouse’s line. ‘After all, there is a sort of store-room just in the appropriate place. You can’t quite ignore that.’ And he laid the stem of his pipe on the plan before them.
    ‘True enough. And in a tower which actually overshadows the spot where Pluckrose was sitting. But there is no provision for hauling up heavy objects from the Wool Court. What is provided is a sort of lift or hoist inside the building itself. One could hardly rig up a heavy affair of beams and pulleys on an outside wall without being spotted. Nor, when the lift was available, would it be sensible.’
    ‘Unless the meteorite was too heavy for the lift.’
    ‘To be sure. Suppose, then, that somebody about the university had a meteorite he wanted to store, and that he decided on this place in the tower. The lift is too small, or otherwise unsuitable. Wouldn’t he then find some more convenient place altogether? Or, if he decided to persevere, is it believable that he would attempt the whole laborious business himself, rather than call in porters and so forth, who would make comparatively light of the job?’
    ‘But suppose, Mr Appleby, that some sort of secrecy was intended? A point about this out-of-the-way store-room in the tower is that it seems hardly ever visited. Suppose the meteorite was to be some sort of scientific surprise, so that the fellow who found it wanted to keep it quiet for a time–’
    ‘Then, I agree, this particular store-room wouldn’t be a bad place. But only if the thing could be got unobtrusively up in the lift. To rig up some sort of derrick at a window in broad daylight–’
    ‘The Wool Court is fairly secluded.’ Hobhouse was obstinate. ‘And the fellow mightn’t mind being seen just by some stray colleague. He’d reckon on simply tipping him the wink not to talk about his innocent little surprise.’
    ‘Very well. But it’s all slightly improbable?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And we are then to suppose that this same fellow panics when the accident occurs, and keeps quiet for more than twenty-four hours thereafter?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘That in itself being another improbability?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And to postulate the coincidence of two minor improbabilities is to establish a major improbability?’
    Hobhouse took his pipe from his mouth and smiled. ‘Wasn’t there one of the ancients, Mr Appleby, that always used questions to put one down?’
    ‘Socrates. And the method must often have been extremely tiresome. But I say