Windows To The World

WOBBLE TO DEATH

by Peter Lovesey


'For the benefit  of those of you unable to read I shall repeat the rules. You may go as you please for six days and nights finishing next Saturday evening at half past ten o'clock.....Five hundred pounds and the belt to the winner, the Champion Pedestrian of The World. Good Luck to you all. Then go!... You poor bastards.'

Agricultural Hall

 So begins a six day marathon known in some circles as a wobble taking place in the great Agricultural Hall in the late 1800's London. Many considered these races infernally barbarous while others like the promoter of the event held the opinion that events such as these showcased endurance, persistence and the will to conquer which were the premier qualities of the time.


In this situation as in others in the world there were two classes of competitors. On the inner one -eight mile of the track moved the stars, while the lesser paticipants moved in an outer circle one seventh of a mile. Just as there were two classes of railway travel, public houses with different rooms the promoters justified giving a leg up to the proven best.

But just a day into the running one of the  favored stars of the race Charles Darrell is dead. The cause of death is initially thought to be tetanus because the victim had suffered severe cramping and he had run barefoot for several laps because he had developed blisters on his feet. The Agricultural Hall had of course has the detritus of many livestock shows still lingering and so the theory was plausible. Eventually it was determined that the actually cause of death was strychnine which was in those days used as a stimulant at a low doses. Some how Darrell had been fed a massive dose. Naturally his trainer Sam Monk was eyed with suspicion especially after he is soon found dead as well , a possible suicide.


Sergeant Cribb and his sidekick Constable Thackeray were involved in the investigation going through the suspects from the athletes, to the promoters while the week wore on and the press accounts followed a well accepted pattern. Initially the race was labelled as the "Islington Mix', then the 'Herriott's Wobble' and by the end of the week 'the Cruelty Show at the Agricultural Hall'. But the stalls were filling, the betting was more and more active, the band continued to play and more interest was indeed taken as athletes dropped out and the favorites stayed the course.


Peter Lovesey make the scene very real.  You can almost smell the desperation and the left  over aroma of animals and fog. In the end the simple motives are usually the best: love, hate or money. You can pick and choose in this mystery.