Watson is the doctor in charge of an army hospital at Musgrave Manor in Northumberland; when his assistant, Dr. Bob Sexton, is attacked, Watson asks Holmes for help. On their arrival they find the body of Geoffrey Musgrave, head of the family. The following day Geoffrey's young sister Sally performs the "Musgrave Ritual", which passes the house and estate to her elder brother Phillip. Holmes questions the butler, Alfred Brunton, who is subsequently dismissed for drunkenness. The next day Phillip Musgrave is murdered and Inspector Lestrade suspects the butler for the crime, although the butler is now missing. Holmes realises that the key to the mystery may be in the text of the Musgrave Ritual, which contains oblique references to chess moves. Holmes decodes the ritual, using the staff and patients of the house as chess pieces to play a game on the chequered floor of the main hall. He deduces that the ritual refers to a cellar below the hall: on examining the area he finds the body of the missing butler. Holmes poses as the Butler's corpse, and tricks Sexton into unveiling himself as the murderer. Holmes explains that Sexton had found a land grant and was murdering the family in order to gain the benefits.
6 окт 2024
