The Adventure of the Unpaid Fare

Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard has come across town to 221B Baker Street to discuss with the master detective the curious circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Bevin Radcliffe.

Radcliffe, an assistant curator at the Museum, was found Wednesday evening, strangled in a four-wheeler carriage, near the Park. The victim was inexplicably attired in a cabman's uniform.

At the Hotel inquiries disclosed that Isadora Chamberlain, wife of guest Luther Chamberlain, had returned from the Theatre on the night of the murder via the cab in question.

Mrs. Chamberlain tearfully insists she left the cabby in good health and swears she has no idea why Radcliffe would wish to pose as a carriage driver.

Unable to develop a solid lead, Inspector Gregson traced the carriage to the cab's owner Austin Kitchener. While Kitchener admits Radcliffe did indeed pay for a week's use of a clean cab and a fresh set of driver's clothes, Kitchener could never learn what use the assistant curator had made of either the four-wheeler or his cabman's apparel.

Before expressing a theory, Holmes suggests a visit to the scene of the crime.

An examination of the murder carriage reveals some loose change under the seat cushions, a bundle of what appears to be Radcliffe's evening clothes, a flower petal, and a Theatre ticket stub.