‘Why did you need to hold on?’
‘Well, we didn’t really think we needed to, because we’d been along to make sure the cart was securely fastened.’
‘And was it?’
‘Well, it seemed to be, but we weren’t asked to test the fastenings. They
‘So why did you hold on to the cart?’
‘Well, rope gives a bit when you put any strain on it, and the cart wobbled a bit when he mounted it.’
‘And after he had mounted it?’
‘We left the stage, as we’d been told to do.’
‘Where did you go?’
‘Oh, well, over the road to get a quick one before the pub closed. When we came back to help with the clearing up, there was all this schemozzle – people talking, girls crying and the poor chap done for.’
That seemed to be all from the two students. The police then turned their attention to Ernest Farrow.
‘Wasn’t it a risky thing to entrust the safety precautions to two inexperienced students, Mr Farrow?’
‘But I didn’t!’ exclaimed Ernest, too indignant at this suggestion to feel alarmed by the presence of police. ‘I
‘So you really tested the safety measures yourself?’
‘Certainly I did. The cord which anchored the cart was perfectly secure. The person to blame for this regrettable affair is the practical joker who hid our wedges and untied the cord which fastened the cart to the back of the stage. I only hope his conscience is giving him hell. All the same, I can’t understand what could have happened. The wedges were only an extra precaution, after all. We had held more than one rehearsal without them, and the rake of the stage isn’t enough to send the cart careering away like that.’
‘Why, then, did you decide to use them?’
‘One of the girls – the ladies – got nervous, so I had them made just to pacify her.’
‘But at that last performance they were missing?’
‘Yes. We couldn’t hold up the opera looking for them, so we carried on, but I assure you, Detective- Superintendent, that the cart was perfectly safe when I left it. I secured it myself and inspected my fastenings just before I had to go on in front of the curtain for my last bit of dialogue.’
‘The cord was knotted to secure it?’
‘Certainly.’
‘Are you an expert on knots, Mr Farrow?’
‘I wouldn’t claim that, but I was a Scout and knowing about knots was part of Scout training.’
‘So what kind of knot did you use to secure the cart?’
‘The same as I would use to secure a boat – a round turn and two half-hitches. You can’t have anything much more secure than that.’
‘What, in your opinion, then, caused this fastening to come undone and release the cart?’
‘Human agency, as I said, Detective-Superintendent. A stupid, thoughtless, pinheaded practical joke by one of the students. I only wish Denbigh could find out which one.’
‘We’ve inspected the stage, sir. As you say, it slants gently down towards the footlights. Is that usual?’
‘Yes, I think so. It gives a better view of the people coming on-stage from near the back.’
‘Is the stage at the College where, I understand, the earlier rehearsals took place, similarly tilted?’
‘No. It’s just a flat platform. It’s not the College stage; just a big dais in the music room.’
‘So a student might not have realised the danger at the town hall. Thank you, sir. I think that’s all. Oh, one more thing.’
‘Yes? I may tell you, Detective-Superintendent, that the thriller programmes put out by the BBC have familiarised me with that particular gambit.’
‘Sir?’
‘This business of pretending you’ve finished with a witness and then suddenly throwing a question at him, thinking him to have been disarmed.’
‘Oh, dear me, sir, we don’t work along those sort of lines, I assure you. Still, if you feel like that, I will save my question for another time.’
‘No, no. Out with it, please. I am not a nervous man, but I dislike being left on tenter-hooks.’
‘Very well, sir. You are an officer of your operatic society, I believe?’
‘I’m the honorary treasurer, yes.’
‘I notice that you are inclined to place the blame for what has occurred on the College, sir. I suppose you’re quite sure none of your members might have had a spite against the gentleman?’
