The Murchison Murders by Arthur W. Upfield

Author:Arthur W. Upfield [Upfield, Arthur W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781925416138
Publisher: ETT Imprint
Published: 2015-11-08T16:00:00+00:00

A Bush Detective’s Conclusions

Manning’s probable reasoning might be put thus:

“Assuming that a man intended to copy the details of Upfield’s murder plot, and that he burned the body of his victim in the open bush, the first stockman who chanced to pass the site of the fire would examine the ashes, and would logically ask himself: ‘What fool went to the trouble of burning a kangaroo here?’

“In Central Australia kangaroo-shooters would not earn tobacco money if they spent time burning the carcases of kangaroos in the open bush; but they most certainly would burn carcases of animals they shot near a dwelling or a water-dam to destroy pollution.

“Whoever burned Carron’s body near the hut and bore at the 183-mile Reserve knew the plot of Upfield’s book, and appreciated the value – to himself – of allaying suspicion regarding a fire site. Wherever he destroyed Carron’s body, he had to create a false reason as to the purpose of the fire, besides providing a superficial reason for the situation of the fire.

“That Government Reserve is an excellent place in two respects. Those respects are applicable also to Challi Bore. Maddison at the hut, and Ryan at his camp, would assuredly burn carcases from time to time: Maddison from duly, Ryan for his own health. Maddison would burn carcases of kangaroos that had lingered at the bore – smelling the water till they died; and Ryan would burn the carcases of kangaroos he shot during his work and took into his camp for meat; mutton from Narndee not being regularly purchased. At both places would be a quantity of animal bones, and at both places the burning of animal bones would be a normal task.

“To sum up: Whoever destroyed those three men had first to find a place where a fire would not arouse suspicion, and had then to avert suspicion of the real reason of the fires by providing evidence that kangaroo carcases had been burned for a normal reason. Both at Challi Bore and the Reserve a chance visitor would remark that at the former Ryan had left a clean camp, and at the letter the boundary-rider had recently done his work.

“It remains to be explained, if only animal carcases were destroyed, why the burned bones should further have been broken up small.”

By this, or an almost similar chain of reasoning, Sergeant Manning would be entitled to argue that the man calling himself “Snowy” Rowles either had killed the three men for their small property effect, or knew what had become of them. If Rowles had indeed killed those three, he must have planned to do so. It was highly improbable that he would be roused to three separate killings by passion or on abnormal impulse. It the first assumption was correct, Rowles must be thoroughly cold blooded and callous – a cunning and highly dangerous personality.

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