The Case of the Returning Husband

It was the second Saturday of April 1894 when a small matter from a respectable Bayswater address brought us out before noon - Mrs Anstey, of Bayswater Terrace, lately widowed by the wreck of the *Glamorgan* off the Cape, now besieged by a man who claimed to be her husband.

"He arrived on Tuesday evening, Mr Holmes, with a beard, much weathered, the right look of my Edward. He knew the drawer in the morning-room; he knew Mary's nickname for the cat. My brother-in-law and our solicitor swear it is not him. The will is to be read on Monday. They are to swear before a magistrate that he is an impostor. Sir, I cannot say."

We walked across to Bayswater Terrace through a sharp spring afternoon. As we turned out of Bayswater Terrace I observed a thickset man in iron-grey at the corner, who watched our hansom turn - broken-nosed, knuckles scarred, very still beneath a low hat - and was gone before we reached the next gate.

Mrs Anstey met us at her own door. The man at her hearth - a weathered, courteous gentleman of forty-five - rose at our entrance and addressed me as "the doctor." Mr Reginald Anstey, the brother-in-law, stood at the window with the family's solicitor, Mr Burrage, and a pile of papers between them.

The Scene

Hand-drawn Anstey case map showing the Bayswater drawing-room and morning-room, Lloyd's manifest route, and Channel Islands trust papers. — The ground in question.

Setting: Mrs Anstey's drawing-room, Bayswater Terrace, West London
Time: Saturday afternoon, second Saturday of April 1894
Weather: Bright; a clean spring sky; the trees in Hyde Park in early leaf
Atmosphere: A respectable widow's drawing-room kept in mourning order; the morning-room beyond opened by a half-glazed door; a small black-bordered photograph of the dead husband on the mantel.

The Suspects

The returning man

The apparent husband, Edward Anstey

A weathered gentleman of forty-five, lately of the South African veld, his beard grown and his hands brown. He spoke English with the cadence of an English gentleman; he knew the morning-room drawer's stiff right-hand handle and Mary the cat's nickname. He had no documents but his face.
Mr Reginald Anstey

The dead husband's elder brother; refusing the recognition

A florid, prosperous man of fifty, who had taken charge of the estate's papers since the *Glamorgan* and had transferred several investments to Channel Islands holdings through the autumn. He insisted the man was an impostor; he had refused even the look of the eyes.
Mr Burrage

Solicitor of the Anstey family

A spare, careful man of fifty-five, who had administered the estate since November and had advised, with Mr Reginald, the Channel Islands transfers. He stood with Mr Reginald in refusing recognition.
Mr Pegg

Family servant, twenty-one years

A spare, faithful manservant of sixty, who had served Edward Anstey from his coming-of-age. He had been at Mrs Anstey's hearth on Tuesday evening and had said simply, looking the visitor in the eye, "Welcome home, sir."

The Evidence

The morning-room drawer

The morning-room desk's right-hand drawer was stiff and required a particular lift-and-pull. The visitor lifted it and pulled it without instruction at his first afternoon's calling. None of the household servants beyond Mr Pegg knew the trick of it.
Mary's nickname for the cat

The household cat had a nickname Mary, the youngest daughter, used in private conversation with her father at bedtime - "Whiskers-with-a-W." The visitor used it on Tuesday evening; the child cried for joy.
The Channel Islands transfers

Mr Reginald Anstey's instructions to Mr Burrage through November and December had transferred eight thousand pounds of the estate's investments into Channel Islands holdings under a trust nominally for the children. The trust's beneficiary, on close inspection, was Mr Reginald himself in the event of any dispute exceeding twelve months.
Mr Pegg's recognition

The faithful manservant had welcomed the visitor on Tuesday evening with "Welcome home, sir," without hesitation. He had served Edward Anstey from boyhood. He had no part in any administration of the estate and no advantage in either recognition.
The Glamorgan's manifest

The Glamorgan's passenger-manifest of the August voyage had recorded Edward Anstey at the cabin No. 14. The Lloyd's of London survivors' record was incomplete; the wreck had been rough; three passengers had not been accounted for at the inquest. The incomplete manifest was the loud doubt of Mr Reginald's case.

Statements & Testimony

The visitor Reliable

Claiming to be Edward Anstey

“"I came ashore at Mossel Bay clinging to a spar, sir. I was nursed in a Boer farmhouse for some months and could not write because I could not write. I made my way home as soon as I had speech and means. I am sorry to have given you so much grief."”
Mr Pegg Reliable

Family servant

“"It is the Master, Mr Holmes. I should know him in any country. He has the same way of taking off his coat at the hall-stand and the same trick of the morning-room's drawer. I welcomed him as I should have welcomed him from any voyage."”

The Scene

The Suspects

The Evidence

The morning-room drawer

Mary's nickname for the cat

The Channel Islands transfers

Mr Pegg's recognition

The Glamorgan's manifest

Statements & Testimony

Your Verdict