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-Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
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-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
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-almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
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-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
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-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
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-
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-Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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-Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
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-Posting Date: April 18, 2011 [EBook #1661]
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-First Posted: November 29, 2002
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-Language: English
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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES ***
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-Produced by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez
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-THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
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-
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-by
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-
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-SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
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-
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-
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-
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- I. A Scandal in Bohemia
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- II. The Red-headed League
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- III. A Case of Identity
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- IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
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- V. The Five Orange Pips
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- VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip
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- VII. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
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-VIII. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
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- IX. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
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- X. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
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- XI. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
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- XII. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
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-ADVENTURE I. A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA
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-
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-I.
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-
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-To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard
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-him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses
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-and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt
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-any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that
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-one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but
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-admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect
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-reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a
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-lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never
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-spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They
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-were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the
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-veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner
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-to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely
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-adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which
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-might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a
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-sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power
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-lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a
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-nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and
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-that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable
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-memory.
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-
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-I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us
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-away from each other. My own complete happiness, and the
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-home-centred interests which rise up around the man who first
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-finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to
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-absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of
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-society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in
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-Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from
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-week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the
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-drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still,
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-as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his
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-immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in
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-following out those clues, and clearing up those mysteries which
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-had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time
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-to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons
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-to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up
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-of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee,
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-and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so
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-delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland.
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-Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely
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-shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of
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-my former friend and companion.
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-
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-One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was
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-returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to
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-civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I
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-passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated
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-in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the
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-Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes
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-again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers.
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-His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw
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-his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against
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-the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head
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-sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who
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-knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their
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-own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his
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-drug-created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new
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-problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which
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-had formerly been in part my own.
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-
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-His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, I
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-think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly
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-eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars,
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-and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he
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-stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular
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-introspective fashion.
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-
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-"Wedlock suits you," he remarked. "I think, Watson, that you have
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-put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you."
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-
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-"Seven!" I answered.
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-
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-"Indeed, I should have thought a little more. Just a trifle more,
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-I fancy, Watson. And in practice again, I observe. You did not
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-tell me that you intended to go into harness."
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-
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-"Then, how do you know?"
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-
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-"I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting
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-yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and
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-careless servant girl?"
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-
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-"My dear Holmes," said I, "this is too much. You would certainly
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-have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true
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-that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful
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-mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can't imagine how you
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-deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has
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-given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it
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-out."
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-
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-He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands
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-together.
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-
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-"It is simplicity itself," said he; "my eyes tell me that on the
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-inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it,
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-the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they
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-have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round
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-the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it.
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-Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile
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-weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting
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-specimen of the London slavey. As to your practice, if a
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-gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black
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-mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge
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-on the right side of his top-hat to show where he has secreted
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-his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce
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-him to be an active member of the medical profession."
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-
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-I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his
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-process of deduction. "When I hear you give your reasons," I
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-remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously
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-simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each
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-successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you
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-explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good
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-as yours."
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-
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-"Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing
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-himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe.
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-The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen
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-the steps which lead up from the hall to this room."
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-
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-"Frequently."
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-
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-"How often?"
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-
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-"Well, some hundreds of times."
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-
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-"Then how many are there?"
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-
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-"How many? I don't know."
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-
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-"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is
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-just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps,
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-because I have both seen and observed. By-the-way, since you are
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-interested in these little problems, and since you are good
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-enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you
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-may be interested in this." He threw over a sheet of thick,
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-pink-tinted note-paper which had been lying open upon the table.
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-"It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud."
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-
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-The note was undated, and without either signature or address.
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-
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-"There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight
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-o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a
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-matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of
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-the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may
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-safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which
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-can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all
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-quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do
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-not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask."
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-
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-"This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that
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-it means?"
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-
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-"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before
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-one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit
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-theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself.
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-What do you deduce from it?"
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-
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-I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was
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-written.
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-
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-"The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked,
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-endeavouring to imitate my companion's processes. "Such paper
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-could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly
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-strong and stiff."
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-
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-"Peculiar--that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not an
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-English paper at all. Hold it up to the light."
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-
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-I did so, and saw a large "E" with a small "g," a "P," and a
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-large "G" with a small "t" woven into the texture of the paper.
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-
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-"What do you make of that?" asked Holmes.
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-
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-"The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather."
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-
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-"Not at all. The 'G' with the small 't' stands for
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-'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a
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-customary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for
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-'Papier.' Now for the 'Eg.' Let us glance at our Continental
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-Gazetteer." He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves.
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-"Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking
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-country--in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. 'Remarkable as being
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-the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous
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-glass-factories and paper-mills.' Ha, ha, my boy, what do you
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-make of that?" His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue
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-triumphant cloud from his cigarette.
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-
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-"The paper was made in Bohemia," I said.
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-
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-"Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you
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-note the peculiar construction of the sentence--'This account of
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-you we have from all quarters received.' A Frenchman or Russian
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-could not have written that. It is the German who is so
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-uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover
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-what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper and
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-prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, if
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-I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts."
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-
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-As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and
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-grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the
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-bell. Holmes whistled.
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-
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-"A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing
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-out of the window. "A nice little brougham and a pair of
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-beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money in
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-this case, Watson, if there is nothing else."
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-
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-"I think that I had better go, Holmes."
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-
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-"Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my
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-Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity
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-to miss it."
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-
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-"But your client--"
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-
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-"Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here he
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-comes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your best
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-attention."
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-
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-A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and
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-in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there
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-was a loud and authoritative tap.
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-
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-"Come in!" said Holmes.
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-
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-A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six
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-inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His
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-dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked
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-upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed
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-across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while
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-the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined
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-with flame-coloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch
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-which consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended
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-halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with
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-rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence
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-which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a
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-broad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper
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-part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black
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-vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment,
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-for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower
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-part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character,
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-with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive
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-of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.
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-
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-"You had my note?" he asked with a deep harsh voice and a
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-strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He
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-looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to
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-address.
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-
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-"Pray take a seat," said Holmes. "This is my friend and
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-colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me
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-in my cases. Whom have I the honour to address?"
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-
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-"You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman.
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-I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour
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-and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most
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-extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate
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-with you alone."
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-
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-I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me
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-back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say
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-before this gentleman anything which you may say to me."
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-
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-The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. "Then I must begin," said
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-he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at
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-the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At
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-present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it
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-may have an influence upon European history."
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-
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-"I promise," said Holmes.
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-
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-"And I."
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-
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-"You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "The
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-august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to
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-you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have
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-just called myself is not exactly my own."
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-
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-"I was aware of it," said Holmes dryly.
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-
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-"The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution
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-has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense
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-scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of
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-Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House
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-of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia."
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-
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-"I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself
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-down in his armchair and closing his eyes.
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-
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-Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid,
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-lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him
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-as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe.
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-Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his
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-gigantic client.
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-
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-"If your Majesty would condescend to state your case," he
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-remarked, "I should be better able to advise you."
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-
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-The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in
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-uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he
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-tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. "You
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-are right," he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to
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-conceal it?"
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-
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-"Why, indeed?" murmured Holmes. "Your Majesty had not spoken
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-before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich
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-Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and
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-hereditary King of Bohemia."
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-
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-"But you can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down
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-once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you
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-can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in
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-my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not
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-confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I
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-have come incognito from Prague for the purpose of consulting
|
|
|
-you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a
|
|
|
-lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known
|
|
|
-adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor," murmured Holmes without
|
|
|
-opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of
|
|
|
-docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it
|
|
|
-was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not
|
|
|
-at once furnish information. In this case I found her biography
|
|
|
-sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a
|
|
|
-staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep-sea
|
|
|
-fishes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Let me see!" said Holmes. "Hum! Born in New Jersey in the year
|
|
|
-1858. Contralto--hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera
|
|
|
-of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in
|
|
|
-London--quite so! Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled
|
|
|
-with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and
|
|
|
-is now desirous of getting those letters back."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely so. But how--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Was there a secret marriage?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No legal papers or certificates?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I fail to follow your Majesty. If this young person should
|
|
|
-produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is
|
|
|
-she to prove their authenticity?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is the writing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pooh, pooh! Forgery."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My private note-paper."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Stolen."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My own seal."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Imitated."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My photograph."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Bought."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We were both in the photograph."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an
|
|
|
-indiscretion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was mad--insane."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have compromised yourself seriously."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was only Crown Prince then. I was young. I am but thirty now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It must be recovered."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We have tried and failed."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your Majesty must pay. It must be bought."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She will not sell."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Stolen, then."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked
|
|
|
-her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. Twice
|
|
|
-she has been waylaid. There has been no result."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No sign of it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Absolutely none."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem," said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But a very serious one to me," returned the King reproachfully.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the
|
|
|
-photograph?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To ruin me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But how?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am about to be married."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So I have heard."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the
|
|
|
-King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her
|
|
|
-family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a
|
|
|
-doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And Irene Adler?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it. I
|
|
|
-know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul
|
|
|
-of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and
|
|
|
-the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry
|
|
|
-another woman, there are no lengths to which she would not
|
|
|
-go--none."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are sure that she has not sent it yet?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am sure."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And why?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the
|
|
|
-betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, then we have three days yet," said Holmes with a yawn. "That
|
|
|
-is very fortunate, as I have one or two matters of importance to
|
|
|
-look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in
|
|
|
-London for the present?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the
|
|
|
-Count Von Kramm."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray do so. I shall be all anxiety."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, as to money?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have carte blanche."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Absolutely?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom
|
|
|
-to have that photograph."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And for present expenses?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak
|
|
|
-and laid it on the table.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in
|
|
|
-notes," he said.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and
|
|
|
-handed it to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And Mademoiselle's address?" he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, St. John's Wood."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes took a note of it. "One other question," said he. "Was the
|
|
|
-photograph a cabinet?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, good-night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon
|
|
|
-have some good news for you. And good-night, Watson," he added,
|
|
|
-as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. "If
|
|
|
-you will be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three
|
|
|
-o'clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-II.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-At three o'clock precisely I was at Baker Street, but Holmes had
|
|
|
-not yet returned. The landlady informed me that he had left the
|
|
|
-house shortly after eight o'clock in the morning. I sat down
|
|
|
-beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him,
|
|
|
-however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his
|
|
|
-inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and
|
|
|
-strange features which were associated with the two crimes which
|
|
|
-I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the
|
|
|
-exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own.
|
|
|
-Indeed, apart from the nature of the investigation which my
|
|
|
-friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of
|
|
|
-a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a
|
|
|
-pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the
|
|
|
-quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most
|
|
|
-inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable
|
|
|
-success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to
|
|
|
-enter into my head.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was close upon four before the door opened, and a
|
|
|
-drunken-looking groom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an
|
|
|
-inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room.
|
|
|
-Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in the use of
|
|
|
-disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it
|
|
|
-was indeed he. With a nod he vanished into the bedroom, whence he
|
|
|
-emerged in five minutes tweed-suited and respectable, as of old.
|
|
|
-Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in
|
|
|
-front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again
|
|
|
-until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the
|
|
|
-chair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's quite too funny. I am sure you could never guess how I
|
|
|
-employed my morning, or what I ended by doing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I can't imagine. I suppose that you have been watching the
|
|
|
-habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual. I will tell you,
|
|
|
-however. I left the house a little after eight o'clock this
|
|
|
-morning in the character of a groom out of work. There is a
|
|
|
-wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsey men. Be one of
|
|
|
-them, and you will know all that there is to know. I soon found
|
|
|
-Briony Lodge. It is a bijou villa, with a garden at the back, but
|
|
|
-built out in front right up to the road, two stories. Chubb lock
|
|
|
-to the door. Large sitting-room on the right side, well
|
|
|
-furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those
|
|
|
-preposterous English window fasteners which a child could open.
|
|
|
-Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window
|
|
|
-could be reached from the top of the coach-house. I walked round
|
|
|
-it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without
|
|
|
-noting anything else of interest.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that
|
|
|
-there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the
|
|
|
-garden. I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses,
|
|
|
-and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two
|
|
|
-fills of shag tobacco, and as much information as I could desire
|
|
|
-about Miss Adler, to say nothing of half a dozen other people in
|
|
|
-the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested, but
|
|
|
-whose biographies I was compelled to listen to."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what of Irene Adler?" I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, she has turned all the men's heads down in that part. She is
|
|
|
-the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. So say the
|
|
|
-Serpentine-mews, to a man. She lives quietly, sings at concerts,
|
|
|
-drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for
|
|
|
-dinner. Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings.
|
|
|
-Has only one male visitor, but a good deal of him. He is dark,
|
|
|
-handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and
|
|
|
-often twice. He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton, of the Inner Temple. See
|
|
|
-the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him
|
|
|
-home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him.
|
|
|
-When I had listened to all they had to tell, I began to walk up
|
|
|
-and down near Briony Lodge once more, and to think over my plan
|
|
|
-of campaign.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This Godfrey Norton was evidently an important factor in the
|
|
|
-matter. He was a lawyer. That sounded ominous. What was the
|
|
|
-relation between them, and what the object of his repeated
|
|
|
-visits? Was she his client, his friend, or his mistress? If the
|
|
|
-former, she had probably transferred the photograph to his
|
|
|
-keeping. If the latter, it was less likely. On the issue of this
|
|
|
-question depended whether I should continue my work at Briony
|
|
|
-Lodge, or turn my attention to the gentleman's chambers in the
|
|
|
-Temple. It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my
|
|
|
-inquiry. I fear that I bore you with these details, but I have to
|
|
|
-let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the
|
|
|
-situation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am following you closely," I answered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab
|
|
|
-drove up to Briony Lodge, and a gentleman sprang out. He was a
|
|
|
-remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently
|
|
|
-the man of whom I had heard. He appeared to be in a
|
|
|
-great hurry, shouted to the cabman to wait, and brushed past the
|
|
|
-maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly
|
|
|
-at home.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He was in the house about half an hour, and I could catch
|
|
|
-glimpses of him in the windows of the sitting-room, pacing up and
|
|
|
-down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms. Of her I could see
|
|
|
-nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than
|
|
|
-before. As he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a gold watch from
|
|
|
-his pocket and looked at it earnestly, 'Drive like the devil,' he
|
|
|
-shouted, 'first to Gross & Hankey's in Regent Street, and then to
|
|
|
-the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if
|
|
|
-you do it in twenty minutes!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I should not do
|
|
|
-well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau,
|
|
|
-the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under
|
|
|
-his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of
|
|
|
-the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall
|
|
|
-door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment,
|
|
|
-but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a
|
|
|
-sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing
|
|
|
-whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her
|
|
|
-landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked
|
|
|
-twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could
|
|
|
-object. 'The Church of St. Monica,' said I, 'and half a sovereign
|
|
|
-if you reach it in twenty minutes.' It was twenty-five minutes to
|
|
|
-twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My cabby drove fast. I don't think I ever drove faster, but the
|
|
|
-others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their
|
|
|
-steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid
|
|
|
-the man and hurried into the church. There was not a soul there
|
|
|
-save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who
|
|
|
-seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three
|
|
|
-standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side
|
|
|
-aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church.
|
|
|
-Suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to
|
|
|
-me, and Godfrey Norton came running as hard as he could towards
|
|
|
-me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What then?' I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was half-dragged up to the altar, and before I knew where I was
|
|
|
-I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear,
|
|
|
-and vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and generally
|
|
|
-assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler, spinster, to
|
|
|
-Godfrey Norton, bachelor. It was all done in an instant, and
|
|
|
-there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady
|
|
|
-on the other, while the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was
|
|
|
-the most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in my
|
|
|
-life, and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just
|
|
|
-now. It seems that there had been some informality about their
|
|
|
-license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them
|
|
|
-without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky appearance
|
|
|
-saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in
|
|
|
-search of a best man. The bride gave me a sovereign, and I mean
|
|
|
-to wear it on my watch-chain in memory of the occasion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This is a very unexpected turn of affairs," said I; "and what
|
|
|
-then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if
|
|
|
-the pair might take an immediate departure, and so necessitate
|
|
|
-very prompt and energetic measures on my part. At the church
|
|
|
-door, however, they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and
|
|
|
-she to her own house. 'I shall drive out in the park at five as
|
|
|
-usual,' she said as she left him. I heard no more. They drove
|
|
|
-away in different directions, and I went off to make my own
|
|
|
-arrangements."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Which are?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the
|
|
|
-bell. "I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to
|
|
|
-be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want
|
|
|
-your co-operation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall be delighted."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You don't mind breaking the law?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not in the least."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nor running a chance of arrest?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not in a good cause."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, the cause is excellent!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I am your man."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was sure that I might rely on you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what is it you wish?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to
|
|
|
-you. Now," he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that
|
|
|
-our landlady had provided, "I must discuss it while I eat, for I
|
|
|
-have not much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must
|
|
|
-be on the scene of action. Miss Irene, or Madame, rather, returns
|
|
|
-from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You must leave that to me. I have already arranged what is to
|
|
|
-occur. There is only one point on which I must insist. You must
|
|
|
-not interfere, come what may. You understand?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am to be neutral?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small
|
|
|
-unpleasantness. Do not join in it. It will end in my being
|
|
|
-conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards the
|
|
|
-sitting-room window will open. You are to station yourself close
|
|
|
-to that open window."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are to watch me, for I will be visible to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what
|
|
|
-I give you to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of
|
|
|
-fire. You quite follow me?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Entirely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is nothing very formidable," he said, taking a long cigar-shaped
|
|
|
-roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke-rocket,
|
|
|
-fitted with a cap at either end to make it self-lighting.
|
|
|
-Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire,
|
|
|
-it will be taken up by quite a number of people. You may then
|
|
|
-walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten
|
|
|
-minutes. I hope that I have made myself clear?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am to remain neutral, to get near the window, to watch you,
|
|
|
-and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry
|
|
|
-of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then you may entirely rely on me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is excellent. I think, perhaps, it is almost time that I
|
|
|
-prepare for the new role I have to play."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in
|
|
|
-the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist
|
|
|
-clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white
|
|
|
-tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and
|
|
|
-benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have
|
|
|
-equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His
|
|
|
-expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every
|
|
|
-fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as
|
|
|
-science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in
|
|
|
-crime.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was a quarter past six when we left Baker Street, and it still
|
|
|
-wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in
|
|
|
-Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just
|
|
|
-being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge,
|
|
|
-waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such
|
|
|
-as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes' succinct description,
|
|
|
-but the locality appeared to be less private than I expected. On
|
|
|
-the contrary, for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood, it was
|
|
|
-remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily dressed men
|
|
|
-smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors-grinder with his
|
|
|
-wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a nurse-girl, and
|
|
|
-several well-dressed young men who were lounging up and down with
|
|
|
-cigars in their mouths.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of
|
|
|
-the house, "this marriage rather simplifies matters. The
|
|
|
-photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The chances are
|
|
|
-that she would be as averse to its being seen by Mr. Godfrey
|
|
|
-Norton, as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his
|
|
|
-princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the
|
|
|
-photograph?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where, indeed?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is most unlikely that she carries it about with her. It is
|
|
|
-cabinet size. Too large for easy concealment about a woman's
|
|
|
-dress. She knows that the King is capable of having her waylaid
|
|
|
-and searched. Two attempts of the sort have already been made. We
|
|
|
-may take it, then, that she does not carry it about with her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Her banker or her lawyer. There is that double possibility. But
|
|
|
-I am inclined to think neither. Women are naturally secretive,
|
|
|
-and they like to do their own secreting. Why should she hand it
|
|
|
-over to anyone else? She could trust her own guardianship, but
|
|
|
-she could not tell what indirect or political influence might be
|
|
|
-brought to bear upon a business man. Besides, remember that she
|
|
|
-had resolved to use it within a few days. It must be where she
|
|
|
-can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But it has twice been burgled."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pshaw! They did not know how to look."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But how will you look?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will not look."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will get her to show me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But she will refuse."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She will not be able to. But I hear the rumble of wheels. It is
|
|
|
-her carriage. Now carry out my orders to the letter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As he spoke the gleam of the side-lights of a carriage came round
|
|
|
-the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which
|
|
|
-rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge. As it pulled up, one of
|
|
|
-the loafing men at the corner dashed forward to open the door in
|
|
|
-the hope of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by another
|
|
|
-loafer, who had rushed up with the same intention. A fierce
|
|
|
-quarrel broke out, which was increased by the two guardsmen, who
|
|
|
-took sides with one of the loungers, and by the scissors-grinder,
|
|
|
-who was equally hot upon the other side. A blow was struck, and
|
|
|
-in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was
|
|
|
-the centre of a little knot of flushed and struggling men, who
|
|
|
-struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. Holmes
|
|
|
-dashed into the crowd to protect the lady; but just as he reached
|
|
|
-her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood
|
|
|
-running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to
|
|
|
-their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other, while
|
|
|
-a number of better-dressed people, who had watched the scuffle
|
|
|
-without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to
|
|
|
-attend to the injured man. Irene Adler, as I will still call her,
|
|
|
-had hurried up the steps; but she stood at the top with her
|
|
|
-superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall, looking
|
|
|
-back into the street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Is the poor gentleman much hurt?" she asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He is dead," cried several voices.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no, there's life in him!" shouted another. "But he'll be
|
|
|
-gone before you can get him to hospital."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He's a brave fellow," said a woman. "They would have had the
|
|
|
-lady's purse and watch if it hadn't been for him. They were a
|
|
|
-gang, and a rough one, too. Ah, he's breathing now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He can't lie in the street. May we bring him in, marm?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable
|
|
|
-sofa. This way, please!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Slowly and solemnly he was borne into Briony Lodge and laid out
|
|
|
-in the principal room, while I still observed the proceedings
|
|
|
-from my post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but the
|
|
|
-blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay
|
|
|
-upon the couch. I do not know whether he was seized with
|
|
|
-compunction at that moment for the part he was playing, but I
|
|
|
-know that I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life
|
|
|
-than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was
|
|
|
-conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited
|
|
|
-upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery
|
|
|
-to Holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted
|
|
|
-to me. I hardened my heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under
|
|
|
-my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are
|
|
|
-but preventing her from injuring another.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes had sat up upon the couch, and I saw him motion like a man
|
|
|
-who is in need of air. A maid rushed across and threw open the
|
|
|
-window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the
|
|
|
-signal I tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of "Fire!" The
|
|
|
-word was no sooner out of my mouth than the whole crowd of
|
|
|
-spectators, well dressed and ill--gentlemen, ostlers, and
|
|
|
-servant-maids--joined in a general shriek of "Fire!" Thick clouds
|
|
|
-of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window. I
|
|
|
-caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later the voice
|
|
|
-of Holmes from within assuring them that it was a false alarm.
|
|
|
-Slipping through the shouting crowd I made my way to the corner
|
|
|
-of the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my
|
|
|
-friend's arm in mine, and to get away from the scene of uproar.
|
|
|
-He walked swiftly and in silence for some few minutes until we
|
|
|
-had turned down one of the quiet streets which lead towards the
|
|
|
-Edgeware Road.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You did it very nicely, Doctor," he remarked. "Nothing could
|
|
|
-have been better. It is all right."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have the photograph?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I know where it is."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how did you find out?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She showed me, as I told you she would."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am still in the dark."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I do not wish to make a mystery," said he, laughing. "The matter
|
|
|
-was perfectly simple. You, of course, saw that everyone in the
|
|
|
-street was an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I guessed as much."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in
|
|
|
-the palm of my hand. I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand
|
|
|
-to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That also I could fathom."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then they carried me in. She was bound to have me in. What else
|
|
|
-could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room
|
|
|
-which I suspected. It lay between that and her bedroom, and I was
|
|
|
-determined to see which. They laid me on a couch, I motioned for
|
|
|
-air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your
|
|
|
-chance."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How did that help you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was all-important. When a woman thinks that her house is on
|
|
|
-fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she
|
|
|
-values most. It is a perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have
|
|
|
-more than once taken advantage of it. In the case of the
|
|
|
-Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in
|
|
|
-the Arnsworth Castle business. A married woman grabs at her baby;
|
|
|
-an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to
|
|
|
-me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house more precious
|
|
|
-to her than what we are in quest of. She would rush to secure it.
|
|
|
-The alarm of fire was admirably done. The smoke and shouting were
|
|
|
-enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The
|
|
|
-photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the
|
|
|
-right bell-pull. She was there in an instant, and I caught a
|
|
|
-glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it
|
|
|
-was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed
|
|
|
-from the room, and I have not seen her since. I rose, and, making
|
|
|
-my excuses, escaped from the house. I hesitated whether to
|
|
|
-attempt to secure the photograph at once; but the coachman had
|
|
|
-come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to
|
|
|
-wait. A little over-precipitance may ruin all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now?" I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Our quest is practically finished. I shall call with the King
|
|
|
-to-morrow, and with you, if you care to come with us. We will be
|
|
|
-shown into the sitting-room to wait for the lady, but it is
|
|
|
-probable that when she comes she may find neither us nor the
|
|
|
-photograph. It might be a satisfaction to his Majesty to regain
|
|
|
-it with his own hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And when will you call?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall
|
|
|
-have a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage
|
|
|
-may mean a complete change in her life and habits. I must wire to
|
|
|
-the King without delay."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We had reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He was
|
|
|
-searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There were several people on the pavement at the time, but the
|
|
|
-greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had
|
|
|
-hurried by.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I've heard that voice before," said Holmes, staring down the
|
|
|
-dimly lit street. "Now, I wonder who the deuce that could have
|
|
|
-been."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-III.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I slept at Baker Street that night, and we were engaged upon our
|
|
|
-toast and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed
|
|
|
-into the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have really got it!" he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by
|
|
|
-either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not yet."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you have hopes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have hopes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, come. I am all impatience to be gone."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We must have a cab."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, my brougham is waiting."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then that will simplify matters." We descended and started off
|
|
|
-once more for Briony Lodge.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Irene Adler is married," remarked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Married! When?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yesterday."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But to whom?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To an English lawyer named Norton."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But she could not love him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am in hopes that she does."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And why in hopes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Because it would spare your Majesty all fear of future
|
|
|
-annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your
|
|
|
-Majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, there is no reason
|
|
|
-why she should interfere with your Majesty's plan."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is true. And yet--Well! I wish she had been of my own
|
|
|
-station! What a queen she would have made!" He relapsed into a
|
|
|
-moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in
|
|
|
-Serpentine Avenue.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood
|
|
|
-upon the steps. She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped
|
|
|
-from the brougham.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I believe?" said she.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am Mr. Holmes," answered my companion, looking at her with a
|
|
|
-questioning and rather startled gaze.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She
|
|
|
-left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing
|
|
|
-Cross for the Continent."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and
|
|
|
-surprise. "Do you mean that she has left England?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Never to return."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And the papers?" asked the King hoarsely. "All is lost."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We shall see." He pushed past the servant and rushed into the
|
|
|
-drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was
|
|
|
-scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and
|
|
|
-open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before
|
|
|
-her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small
|
|
|
-sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a
|
|
|
-photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler
|
|
|
-herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to
|
|
|
-"Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for." My friend
|
|
|
-tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at
|
|
|
-midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,--You really did it very well. You
|
|
|
-took me in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a
|
|
|
-suspicion. But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I
|
|
|
-began to think. I had been warned against you months ago. I had
|
|
|
-been told that if the King employed an agent it would certainly
|
|
|
-be you. And your address had been given me. Yet, with all this,
|
|
|
-you made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after I became
|
|
|
-suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind
|
|
|
-old clergyman. But, you know, I have been trained as an actress
|
|
|
-myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage
|
|
|
-of the freedom which it gives. I sent John, the coachman, to
|
|
|
-watch you, ran up stairs, got into my walking-clothes, as I call
|
|
|
-them, and came down just as you departed.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I followed you to your door, and so made sure that I was
|
|
|
-really an object of interest to the celebrated Mr. Sherlock
|
|
|
-Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and
|
|
|
-started for the Temple to see my husband.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by
|
|
|
-so formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when
|
|
|
-you call to-morrow. As to the photograph, your client may rest in
|
|
|
-peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he. The King may
|
|
|
-do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly
|
|
|
-wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a
|
|
|
-weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might
|
|
|
-take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to
|
|
|
-possess; and I remain, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- "Very truly yours,
|
|
|
- "IRENE NORTON, née ADLER."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What a woman--oh, what a woman!" cried the King of Bohemia, when
|
|
|
-we had all three read this epistle. "Did I not tell you how quick
|
|
|
-and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen?
|
|
|
-Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a
|
|
|
-very different level to your Majesty," said Holmes coldly. "I am
|
|
|
-sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty's business
|
|
|
-to a more successful conclusion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the contrary, my dear sir," cried the King; "nothing could be
|
|
|
-more successful. I know that her word is inviolate. The
|
|
|
-photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am glad to hear your Majesty say so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what way I can
|
|
|
-reward you. This ring--" He slipped an emerald snake ring from
|
|
|
-his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your Majesty has something which I should value even more
|
|
|
-highly," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have but to name it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This photograph!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The King stared at him in amazement.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Irene's photograph!" he cried. "Certainly, if you wish it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I thank your Majesty. Then there is no more to be done in the
|
|
|
-matter. I have the honour to wish you a very good-morning." He
|
|
|
-bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the
|
|
|
-King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his
|
|
|
-chambers.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom
|
|
|
-of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were
|
|
|
-beaten by a woman's wit. He used to make merry over the
|
|
|
-cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And
|
|
|
-when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her
|
|
|
-photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-ADVENTURE II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the
|
|
|
-autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a
|
|
|
-very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair.
|
|
|
-With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when
|
|
|
-Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door
|
|
|
-behind me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear
|
|
|
-Watson," he said cordially.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was afraid that you were engaged."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So I am. Very much so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I can wait in the next room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and
|
|
|
-helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no
|
|
|
-doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of
|
|
|
-greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small
|
|
|
-fat-encircled eyes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Try the settee," said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and
|
|
|
-putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in
|
|
|
-judicial moods. "I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love
|
|
|
-of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum
|
|
|
-routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by
|
|
|
-the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you
|
|
|
-will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own
|
|
|
-little adventures."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me," I
|
|
|
-observed.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we
|
|
|
-went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary
|
|
|
-Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary
|
|
|
-combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more
|
|
|
-daring than any effort of the imagination."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my
|
|
|
-view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you
|
|
|
-until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to
|
|
|
-be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call
|
|
|
-upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to
|
|
|
-be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some
|
|
|
-time. You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique
|
|
|
-things are very often connected not with the larger but with the
|
|
|
-smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for
|
|
|
-doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I
|
|
|
-have heard it is impossible for me to say whether the present
|
|
|
-case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is
|
|
|
-certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to.
|
|
|
-Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to
|
|
|
-recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend
|
|
|
-Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the
|
|
|
-peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every
|
|
|
-possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard some
|
|
|
-slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide
|
|
|
-myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my
|
|
|
-memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the
|
|
|
-facts are, to the best of my belief, unique."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some
|
|
|
-little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the
|
|
|
-inside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down the
|
|
|
-advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper
|
|
|
-flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and
|
|
|
-endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the
|
|
|
-indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor
|
|
|
-bore every mark of being an average commonplace British
|
|
|
-tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey
|
|
|
-shepherd's check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat,
|
|
|
-unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy
|
|
|
-Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as
|
|
|
-an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a
|
|
|
-wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether,
|
|
|
-look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save
|
|
|
-his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and
|
|
|
-discontent upon his features.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes' quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook
|
|
|
-his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances.
|
|
|
-"Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual
|
|
|
-labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has
|
|
|
-been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of
|
|
|
-writing lately, I can deduce nothing else."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger
|
|
|
-upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr.
|
|
|
-Holmes?" he asked. "How did you know, for example, that I did
|
|
|
-manual labour. It's as true as gospel, for I began as a ship's
|
|
|
-carpenter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger
|
|
|
-than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more
|
|
|
-developed."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that,
|
|
|
-especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you
|
|
|
-use an arc-and-compass breastpin."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for
|
|
|
-five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the
|
|
|
-elbow where you rest it upon the desk?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, but China?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right
|
|
|
-wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small
|
|
|
-study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature
|
|
|
-of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a
|
|
|
-delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I
|
|
|
-see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter
|
|
|
-becomes even more simple."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. "Well, I never!" said he. "I
|
|
|
-thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see
|
|
|
-that there was nothing in it, after all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I begin to think, Watson," said Holmes, "that I make a mistake
|
|
|
-in explaining. 'Omne ignotum pro magnifico,' you know, and my
|
|
|
-poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I
|
|
|
-am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, I have got it now," he answered with his thick red finger
|
|
|
-planted halfway down the column. "Here it is. This is what began
|
|
|
-it all. You just read it for yourself, sir."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I took the paper from him and read as follows:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late
|
|
|
-Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now
|
|
|
-another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a
|
|
|
-salary of 4 pounds a week for purely nominal services. All
|
|
|
-red-headed men who are sound in body and mind and above the age
|
|
|
-of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at
|
|
|
-eleven o'clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7
|
|
|
-Pope's Court, Fleet Street."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What on earth does this mean?" I ejaculated after I had twice
|
|
|
-read over the extraordinary announcement.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when
|
|
|
-in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?"
|
|
|
-said he. "And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us
|
|
|
-all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this
|
|
|
-advertisement had upon your fortunes. You will first make a note,
|
|
|
-Doctor, of the paper and the date."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months
|
|
|
-ago."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock
|
|
|
-Holmes," said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; "I have a small
|
|
|
-pawnbroker's business at Coburg Square, near the City. It's not a
|
|
|
-very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than
|
|
|
-just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants,
|
|
|
-but now I only keep one; and I would have a job to pay him but
|
|
|
-that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the
|
|
|
-business."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he's not such a youth,
|
|
|
-either. It's hard to say his age. I should not wish a smarter
|
|
|
-assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better
|
|
|
-himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after
|
|
|
-all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employé who
|
|
|
-comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience
|
|
|
-among employers in this age. I don't know that your assistant is
|
|
|
-not as remarkable as your advertisement."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, he has his faults, too," said Mr. Wilson. "Never was such a
|
|
|
-fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought
|
|
|
-to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar
|
|
|
-like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his
|
|
|
-main fault, but on the whole he's a good worker. There's no vice
|
|
|
-in him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He is still with you, I presume?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple
|
|
|
-cooking and keeps the place clean--that's all I have in the
|
|
|
-house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very
|
|
|
-quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads
|
|
|
-and pay our debts, if we do nothing more.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The first thing that put us out was that advertisement.
|
|
|
-Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight
|
|
|
-weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why that?' I asks.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why,' says he, 'here's another vacancy on the League of the
|
|
|
-Red-headed Men. It's worth quite a little fortune to any man who
|
|
|
-gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than
|
|
|
-there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits' end what
|
|
|
-to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's
|
|
|
-a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why, what is it, then?' I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a
|
|
|
-very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of
|
|
|
-my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting
|
|
|
-my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't know much of what
|
|
|
-was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he
|
|
|
-asked with his eyes open.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Never.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one
|
|
|
-of the vacancies.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And what are they worth?' I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight,
|
|
|
-and it need not interfere very much with one's other
|
|
|
-occupations.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears,
|
|
|
-for the business has not been over-good for some years, and an
|
|
|
-extra couple of hundred would have been very handy.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Tell me all about it,' said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well,' said he, showing me the advertisement, 'you can see for
|
|
|
-yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address
|
|
|
-where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out,
|
|
|
-the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah
|
|
|
-Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself
|
|
|
-red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-headed men;
|
|
|
-so when he died it was found that he had left his enormous
|
|
|
-fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the
|
|
|
-interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of
|
|
|
-that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to
|
|
|
-do.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'But,' said I, 'there would be millions of red-headed men who
|
|
|
-would apply.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Not so many as you might think,' he answered. 'You see it is
|
|
|
-really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had
|
|
|
-started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the
|
|
|
-old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no use your
|
|
|
-applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but
|
|
|
-real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to apply, Mr.
|
|
|
-Wilson, you would just walk in; but perhaps it would hardly be
|
|
|
-worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the sake of a
|
|
|
-few hundred pounds.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves,
|
|
|
-that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed
|
|
|
-to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter I
|
|
|
-stood as good a chance as any man that I had ever met. Vincent
|
|
|
-Spaulding seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might
|
|
|
-prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for
|
|
|
-the day and to come right away with me. He was very willing to
|
|
|
-have a holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for
|
|
|
-the address that was given us in the advertisement.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From
|
|
|
-north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in
|
|
|
-his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement.
|
|
|
-Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope's Court
|
|
|
-looked like a coster's orange barrow. I should not have thought
|
|
|
-there were so many in the whole country as were brought together
|
|
|
-by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they
|
|
|
-were--straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay;
|
|
|
-but, as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real
|
|
|
-vivid flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I
|
|
|
-would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear
|
|
|
-of it. How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and
|
|
|
-pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up
|
|
|
-to the steps which led to the office. There was a double stream
|
|
|
-upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back
|
|
|
-dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found
|
|
|
-ourselves in the office."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your experience has been a most entertaining one," remarked
|
|
|
-Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge
|
|
|
-pinch of snuff. "Pray continue your very interesting statement."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs
|
|
|
-and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that
|
|
|
-was even redder than mine. He said a few words to each candidate
|
|
|
-as he came up, and then he always managed to find some fault in
|
|
|
-them which would disqualify them. Getting a vacancy did not seem
|
|
|
-to be such a very easy matter, after all. However, when our turn
|
|
|
-came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of
|
|
|
-the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he
|
|
|
-might have a private word with us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,' said my assistant, 'and he is
|
|
|
-willing to fill a vacancy in the League.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has
|
|
|
-every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so
|
|
|
-fine.' He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and
|
|
|
-gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he
|
|
|
-plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my
|
|
|
-success.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It would be injustice to hesitate,' said he. 'You will,
|
|
|
-however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.'
|
|
|
-With that he seized my hair in both his hands, and tugged until I
|
|
|
-yelled with the pain. 'There is water in your eyes,' said he as
|
|
|
-he released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we
|
|
|
-have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and
|
|
|
-once by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler's wax which
|
|
|
-would disgust you with human nature.' He stepped over to the
|
|
|
-window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the
|
|
|
-vacancy was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below,
|
|
|
-and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there
|
|
|
-was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the
|
|
|
-manager.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of
|
|
|
-the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are
|
|
|
-you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I answered that I had not.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"His face fell immediately.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I am
|
|
|
-sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the
|
|
|
-propagation and spread of the red-heads as well as for their
|
|
|
-maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a
|
|
|
-bachelor.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I was
|
|
|
-not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for
|
|
|
-a few minutes he said that it would be all right.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'In the case of another,' said he, 'the objection might be
|
|
|
-fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a
|
|
|
-head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your
|
|
|
-new duties?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,'
|
|
|
-said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!' said Vincent Spaulding.
|
|
|
-'I should be able to look after that for you.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What would be the hours?' I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ten to two.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now a pawnbroker's business is mostly done of an evening, Mr.
|
|
|
-Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just
|
|
|
-before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little in
|
|
|
-the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man,
|
|
|
-and that he would see to anything that turned up.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Is 4 pounds a week.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And the work?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Is purely nominal.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What do you call purely nominal?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the
|
|
|
-building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole
|
|
|
-position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You
|
|
|
-don't comply with the conditions if you budge from the office
|
|
|
-during that time.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It's only four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,'
|
|
|
-said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No excuse will avail,' said Mr. Duncan Ross; 'neither sickness
|
|
|
-nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose
|
|
|
-your billet.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And the work?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Is to copy out the "Encyclopaedia Britannica." There is the first
|
|
|
-volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and
|
|
|
-blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be
|
|
|
-ready to-morrow?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Certainly,' I answered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you
|
|
|
-once more on the important position which you have been fortunate
|
|
|
-enough to gain.' He bowed me out of the room and I went home with
|
|
|
-my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased
|
|
|
-at my own good fortune.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in
|
|
|
-low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the
|
|
|
-whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its
|
|
|
-object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past
|
|
|
-belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay
|
|
|
-such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the
|
|
|
-'Encyclopaedia Britannica.' Vincent Spaulding did what he could to
|
|
|
-cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the
|
|
|
-whole thing. However, in the morning I determined to have a look
|
|
|
-at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a
|
|
|
-quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, I started off for
|
|
|
-Pope's Court.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as
|
|
|
-possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross
|
|
|
-was there to see that I got fairly to work. He started me off
|
|
|
-upon the letter A, and then he left me; but he would drop in from
|
|
|
-time to time to see that all was right with me. At two o'clock he
|
|
|
-bade me good-day, complimented me upon the amount that I had
|
|
|
-written, and locked the door of the office after me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the
|
|
|
-manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my
|
|
|
-week's work. It was the same next week, and the same the week
|
|
|
-after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I
|
|
|
-left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only
|
|
|
-once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at
|
|
|
-all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an
|
|
|
-instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet
|
|
|
-was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk
|
|
|
-the loss of it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about
|
|
|
-Abbots and Archery and Armour and Architecture and Attica, and
|
|
|
-hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B's before very
|
|
|
-long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly
|
|
|
-filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole
|
|
|
-business came to an end."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To an end?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my work as
|
|
|
-usual at ten o'clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a
|
|
|
-little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the
|
|
|
-panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for yourself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet
|
|
|
-of note-paper. It read in this fashion:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- IS
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- DISSOLVED.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- October 9, 1890.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the
|
|
|
-rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so
|
|
|
-completely overtopped every other consideration that we both
|
|
|
-burst out into a roar of laughter.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot see that there is anything very funny," cried our
|
|
|
-client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. "If you can
|
|
|
-do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no," cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from
|
|
|
-which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for
|
|
|
-the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you
|
|
|
-will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it.
|
|
|
-Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the
|
|
|
-door?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called
|
|
|
-at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything
|
|
|
-about it. Finally, I went to the landlord, who is an accountant
|
|
|
-living on the ground-floor, and I asked him if he could tell me
|
|
|
-what had become of the Red-headed League. He said that he had
|
|
|
-never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan
|
|
|
-Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well,' said I, 'the gentleman at No. 4.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What, the red-headed man?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh,' said he, 'his name was William Morris. He was a solicitor
|
|
|
-and was using my room as a temporary convenience until his new
|
|
|
-premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Where could I find him?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17
|
|
|
-King Edward Street, near St. Paul's.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was
|
|
|
-a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever
|
|
|
-heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what did you do then?" asked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my
|
|
|
-assistant. But he could not help me in any way. He could only say
|
|
|
-that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite
|
|
|
-good enough, Mr. Holmes. I did not wish to lose such a place
|
|
|
-without a struggle, so, as I had heard that you were good enough
|
|
|
-to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it, I came right
|
|
|
-away to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you did very wisely," said Holmes. "Your case is an
|
|
|
-exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it.
|
|
|
-From what you have told me I think that it is possible that
|
|
|
-graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Grave enough!" said Mr. Jabez Wilson. "Why, I have lost four
|
|
|
-pound a week."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes, "I do
|
|
|
-not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary
|
|
|
-league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some
|
|
|
-30 pounds, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have
|
|
|
-gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have
|
|
|
-lost nothing by them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are,
|
|
|
-and what their object was in playing this prank--if it was a
|
|
|
-prank--upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it
|
|
|
-cost them two and thirty pounds."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. And, first,
|
|
|
-one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who
|
|
|
-first called your attention to the advertisement--how long had he
|
|
|
-been with you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"About a month then."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How did he come?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In answer to an advertisement."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Was he the only applicant?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I had a dozen."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why did you pick him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Because he was handy and would come cheap."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At half-wages, in fact."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face,
|
|
|
-though he's not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon
|
|
|
-his forehead."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. "I thought
|
|
|
-as much," said he. "Have you ever observed that his ears are
|
|
|
-pierced for earrings?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he
|
|
|
-was a lad."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Hum!" said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. "He is still
|
|
|
-with you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And has your business been attended to in your absence?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing to complain of, sir. There's never very much to do of a
|
|
|
-morning."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an
|
|
|
-opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day is
|
|
|
-Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, Watson," said Holmes when our visitor had left us, "what
|
|
|
-do you make of it all?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I make nothing of it," I answered frankly. "It is a most
|
|
|
-mysterious business."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is the less
|
|
|
-mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless
|
|
|
-crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is
|
|
|
-the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this
|
|
|
-matter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What are you going to do, then?" I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To smoke," he answered. "It is quite a three pipe problem, and I
|
|
|
-beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes." He curled
|
|
|
-himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his
|
|
|
-hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his
|
|
|
-black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird.
|
|
|
-I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and
|
|
|
-indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly sprang out of his
|
|
|
-chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put
|
|
|
-his pipe down upon the mantelpiece.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he
|
|
|
-remarked. "What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare
|
|
|
-you for a few hours?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very
|
|
|
-absorbing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then put on your hat and come. I am going through the City
|
|
|
-first, and we can have some lunch on the way. I observe that
|
|
|
-there is a good deal of German music on the programme, which is
|
|
|
-rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is
|
|
|
-introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short
|
|
|
-walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular
|
|
|
-story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky,
|
|
|
-little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy
|
|
|
-two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in
|
|
|
-enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded
|
|
|
-laurel-bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and
|
|
|
-uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with
|
|
|
-"JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced
|
|
|
-the place where our red-headed client carried on his business.
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side
|
|
|
-and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between
|
|
|
-puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down
|
|
|
-again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally
|
|
|
-he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously
|
|
|
-upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up
|
|
|
-to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a
|
|
|
-bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step
|
|
|
-in.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you," said Holmes, "I only wished to ask you how you would
|
|
|
-go from here to the Strand."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Third right, fourth left," answered the assistant promptly,
|
|
|
-closing the door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Smart fellow, that," observed Holmes as we walked away. "He is,
|
|
|
-in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring
|
|
|
-I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known
|
|
|
-something of him before."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Evidently," said I, "Mr. Wilson's assistant counts for a good
|
|
|
-deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you
|
|
|
-inquired your way merely in order that you might see him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The knees of his trousers."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what did you see?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What I expected to see."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why did you beat the pavement?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We
|
|
|
-are spies in an enemy's country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg
|
|
|
-Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the
|
|
|
-corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a
|
|
|
-contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. It was
|
|
|
-one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City
|
|
|
-to the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the immense
|
|
|
-stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward,
|
|
|
-while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of
|
|
|
-pedestrians. It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line
|
|
|
-of fine shops and stately business premises that they really
|
|
|
-abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square
|
|
|
-which we had just quitted.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Let me see," said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing
|
|
|
-along the line, "I should like just to remember the order of the
|
|
|
-houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of
|
|
|
-London. There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist, the little
|
|
|
-newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank,
|
|
|
-the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building
|
|
|
-depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now,
|
|
|
-Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A
|
|
|
-sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where
|
|
|
-all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no
|
|
|
-red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a
|
|
|
-very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All
|
|
|
-the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect
|
|
|
-happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the
|
|
|
-music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes
|
|
|
-were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the
|
|
|
-relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was
|
|
|
-possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature
|
|
|
-alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and
|
|
|
-astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction
|
|
|
-against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally
|
|
|
-predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from
|
|
|
-extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was
|
|
|
-never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been
|
|
|
-lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his
|
|
|
-black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase
|
|
|
-would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning
|
|
|
-power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were
|
|
|
-unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a
|
|
|
-man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When I saw him
|
|
|
-that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I
|
|
|
-felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set
|
|
|
-himself to hunt down.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor," he remarked as we
|
|
|
-emerged.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it would be as well."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This
|
|
|
-business at Coburg Square is serious."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why serious?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to
|
|
|
-believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being
|
|
|
-Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help
|
|
|
-to-night."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At what time?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ten will be early enough."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall be at Baker Street at ten."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger,
|
|
|
-so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket." He waved his
|
|
|
-hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the
|
|
|
-crowd.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was
|
|
|
-always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings
|
|
|
-with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had
|
|
|
-seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that
|
|
|
-he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to
|
|
|
-happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and
|
|
|
-grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought
|
|
|
-over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed
|
|
|
-copier of the "Encyclopaedia" down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg
|
|
|
-Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me.
|
|
|
-What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed?
|
|
|
-Where were we going, and what were we to do? I had the hint from
|
|
|
-Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker's assistant was a
|
|
|
-formidable man--a man who might play a deep game. I tried to
|
|
|
-puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside
|
|
|
-until night should bring an explanation.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my
|
|
|
-way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker
|
|
|
-Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered
|
|
|
-the passage I heard the sound of voices from above. On entering
|
|
|
-his room I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men,
|
|
|
-one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police
|
|
|
-agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a
|
|
|
-very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! Our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his
|
|
|
-pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack.
|
|
|
-"Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me
|
|
|
-introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in
|
|
|
-to-night's adventure."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We're hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see," said Jones in
|
|
|
-his consequential way. "Our friend here is a wonderful man for
|
|
|
-starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do
|
|
|
-the running down."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,"
|
|
|
-observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir," said
|
|
|
-the police agent loftily. "He has his own little methods, which
|
|
|
-are, if he won't mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical
|
|
|
-and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It
|
|
|
-is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of
|
|
|
-the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly
|
|
|
-correct than the official force."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right," said the
|
|
|
-stranger with deference. "Still, I confess that I miss my rubber.
|
|
|
-It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I
|
|
|
-have not had my rubber."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think you will find," said Sherlock Holmes, "that you will
|
|
|
-play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and
|
|
|
-that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merryweather,
|
|
|
-the stake will be some 30,000 pounds; and for you, Jones, it will
|
|
|
-be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a
|
|
|
-young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his
|
|
|
-profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on
|
|
|
-any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John
|
|
|
-Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been
|
|
|
-to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and
|
|
|
-though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to
|
|
|
-find the man himself. He'll crack a crib in Scotland one week,
|
|
|
-and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next.
|
|
|
-I've been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him
|
|
|
-yet."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night.
|
|
|
-I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I
|
|
|
-agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is
|
|
|
-past ten, however, and quite time that we started. If you two
|
|
|
-will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the
|
|
|
-second."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive
|
|
|
-and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in
|
|
|
-the afternoon. We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit
|
|
|
-streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We are close there now," my friend remarked. "This fellow
|
|
|
-Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the
|
|
|
-matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also. He is
|
|
|
-not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession.
|
|
|
-He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as
|
|
|
-tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we
|
|
|
-are, and they are waiting for us."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had
|
|
|
-found ourselves in the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and,
|
|
|
-following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a
|
|
|
-narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us.
|
|
|
-Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive
|
|
|
-iron gate. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding
|
|
|
-stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Mr.
|
|
|
-Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us
|
|
|
-down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a
|
|
|
-third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all
|
|
|
-round with crates and massive boxes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are not very vulnerable from above," Holmes remarked as he
|
|
|
-held up the lantern and gazed about him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nor from below," said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon
|
|
|
-the flags which lined the floor. "Why, dear me, it sounds quite
|
|
|
-hollow!" he remarked, looking up in surprise.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!" said Holmes
|
|
|
-severely. "You have already imperilled the whole success of our
|
|
|
-expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit
|
|
|
-down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a
|
|
|
-very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his
|
|
|
-knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens,
|
|
|
-began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few
|
|
|
-seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again
|
|
|
-and put his glass in his pocket.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We have at least an hour before us," he remarked, "for they can
|
|
|
-hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed.
|
|
|
-Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their
|
|
|
-work the longer time they will have for their escape. We are at
|
|
|
-present, Doctor--as no doubt you have divined--in the cellar of
|
|
|
-the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr.
|
|
|
-Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to
|
|
|
-you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of
|
|
|
-London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at
|
|
|
-present."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is our French gold," whispered the director. "We have had
|
|
|
-several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your French gold?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources
|
|
|
-and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of
|
|
|
-France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to
|
|
|
-unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The
|
|
|
-crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between
|
|
|
-layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at
|
|
|
-present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the
|
|
|
-directors have had misgivings upon the subject."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Which were very well justified," observed Holmes. "And now it is
|
|
|
-time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an
|
|
|
-hour matters will come to a head. In the meantime Mr.
|
|
|
-Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And sit in the dark?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and
|
|
|
-I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have your
|
|
|
-rubber after all. But I see that the enemy's preparations have
|
|
|
-gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And,
|
|
|
-first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men,
|
|
|
-and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us
|
|
|
-some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate,
|
|
|
-and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a
|
|
|
-light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no
|
|
|
-compunction about shooting them down."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case
|
|
|
-behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front
|
|
|
-of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness--such an absolute
|
|
|
-darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot
|
|
|
-metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready
|
|
|
-to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves worked
|
|
|
-up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and
|
|
|
-subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the
|
|
|
-vault.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They have but one retreat," whispered Holmes. "That is back
|
|
|
-through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have
|
|
|
-done what I asked you, Jones?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent
|
|
|
-and wait."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but
|
|
|
-an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must
|
|
|
-have almost gone and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs
|
|
|
-were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my
|
|
|
-nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my
|
|
|
-hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle
|
|
|
-breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper,
|
|
|
-heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note
|
|
|
-of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case
|
|
|
-in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint
|
|
|
-of a light.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then
|
|
|
-it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then,
|
|
|
-without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand
|
|
|
-appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the
|
|
|
-centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more the
|
|
|
-hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then
|
|
|
-it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark
|
|
|
-again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between
|
|
|
-the stones.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending,
|
|
|
-tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon
|
|
|
-its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed
|
|
|
-the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut,
|
|
|
-boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand
|
|
|
-on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and
|
|
|
-waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another
|
|
|
-instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after
|
|
|
-him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face
|
|
|
-and a shock of very red hair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's all clear," he whispered. "Have you the chisel and the
|
|
|
-bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the
|
|
|
-collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of
|
|
|
-rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed
|
|
|
-upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes' hunting crop came
|
|
|
-down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone
|
|
|
-floor.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes blandly. "You have no
|
|
|
-chance at all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So I see," the other answered with the utmost coolness. "I fancy
|
|
|
-that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his
|
|
|
-coat-tails."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There are three men waiting for him at the door," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I
|
|
|
-must compliment you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And I you," Holmes answered. "Your red-headed idea was very new
|
|
|
-and effective."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones. "He's quicker
|
|
|
-at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the
|
|
|
-derbies."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,"
|
|
|
-remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists.
|
|
|
-"You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have
|
|
|
-the goodness, also, when you address me always to say 'sir' and
|
|
|
-'please.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"All right," said Jones with a stare and a snigger. "Well, would
|
|
|
-you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry
|
|
|
-your Highness to the police-station?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is better," said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow
|
|
|
-to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the
|
|
|
-detective.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Really, Mr. Holmes," said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them
|
|
|
-from the cellar, "I do not know how the bank can thank you or
|
|
|
-repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated
|
|
|
-in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts
|
|
|
-at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr.
|
|
|
-John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small expense over
|
|
|
-this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond
|
|
|
-that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in
|
|
|
-many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of
|
|
|
-the Red-headed League."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You see, Watson," he explained in the early hours of the morning
|
|
|
-as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, "it
|
|
|
-was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible
|
|
|
-object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of
|
|
|
-the League, and the copying of the 'Encyclopaedia,' must be to get
|
|
|
-this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of
|
|
|
-hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but,
|
|
|
-really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was
|
|
|
-no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by the colour of his
|
|
|
-accomplice's hair. The 4 pounds a week was a lure which must draw
|
|
|
-him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands?
|
|
|
-They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary
|
|
|
-office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and
|
|
|
-together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the
|
|
|
-week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for
|
|
|
-half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive
|
|
|
-for securing the situation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But how could you guess what the motive was?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a
|
|
|
-mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The
|
|
|
-man's business was a small one, and there was nothing in his
|
|
|
-house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and
|
|
|
-such an expenditure as they were at. It must, then, be something
|
|
|
-out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant's
|
|
|
-fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the
|
|
|
-cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Then
|
|
|
-I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I
|
|
|
-had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in
|
|
|
-London. He was doing something in the cellar--something which
|
|
|
-took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once
|
|
|
-more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel
|
|
|
-to some other building.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I
|
|
|
-surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was
|
|
|
-ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind.
|
|
|
-It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the
|
|
|
-assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had
|
|
|
-never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his
|
|
|
-face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have
|
|
|
-remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of
|
|
|
-those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they
|
|
|
-were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and
|
|
|
-Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I
|
|
|
-had solved my problem. When you drove home after the concert I
|
|
|
-called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank
|
|
|
-directors, with the result that you have seen."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how could you tell that they would make their attempt
|
|
|
-to-night?" I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that
|
|
|
-they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson's presence--in other
|
|
|
-words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential
|
|
|
-that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the
|
|
|
-bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than
|
|
|
-any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape.
|
|
|
-For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You reasoned it out beautifully," I exclaimed in unfeigned
|
|
|
-admiration. "It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings
|
|
|
-true."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It saved me from ennui," he answered, yawning. "Alas! I already
|
|
|
-feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort
|
|
|
-to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little
|
|
|
-problems help me to do so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you are a benefactor of the race," said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, perhaps, after all, it is of
|
|
|
-some little use," he remarked. "'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre
|
|
|
-c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-ADVENTURE III. A CASE OF IDENTITY
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes as we sat on either side
|
|
|
-of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely
|
|
|
-stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We
|
|
|
-would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere
|
|
|
-commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window
|
|
|
-hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the
|
|
|
-roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the
|
|
|
-strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the
|
|
|
-wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and
|
|
|
-leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with
|
|
|
-its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and
|
|
|
-unprofitable."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And yet I am not convinced of it," I answered. "The cases which
|
|
|
-come to light in the papers are, as a rule, bald enough, and
|
|
|
-vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to
|
|
|
-its extreme limits, and yet the result is, it must be confessed,
|
|
|
-neither fascinating nor artistic."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a
|
|
|
-realistic effect," remarked Holmes. "This is wanting in the
|
|
|
-police report, where more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the
|
|
|
-platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details, which to an
|
|
|
-observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter. Depend
|
|
|
-upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I smiled and shook my head. "I can quite understand your thinking
|
|
|
-so," I said. "Of course, in your position of unofficial adviser
|
|
|
-and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout
|
|
|
-three continents, you are brought in contact with all that is
|
|
|
-strange and bizarre. But here"--I picked up the morning paper
|
|
|
-from the ground--"let us put it to a practical test. Here is the
|
|
|
-first heading upon which I come. 'A husband's cruelty to his
|
|
|
-wife.' There is half a column of print, but I know without
|
|
|
-reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of
|
|
|
-course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the
|
|
|
-bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of
|
|
|
-writers could invent nothing more crude."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed, your example is an unfortunate one for your argument,"
|
|
|
-said Holmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. "This
|
|
|
-is the Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged
|
|
|
-in clearing up some small points in connection with it. The
|
|
|
-husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the
|
|
|
-conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of
|
|
|
-winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling
|
|
|
-them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely
|
|
|
-to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. Take a
|
|
|
-pinch of snuff, Doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over
|
|
|
-you in your example."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in
|
|
|
-the centre of the lid. Its splendour was in such contrast to his
|
|
|
-homely ways and simple life that I could not help commenting upon
|
|
|
-it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah," said he, "I forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks.
|
|
|
-It is a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia in return for my
|
|
|
-assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And the ring?" I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which
|
|
|
-sparkled upon his finger.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in
|
|
|
-which I served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide it
|
|
|
-even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of
|
|
|
-my little problems."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And have you any on hand just now?" I asked with interest.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature of
|
|
|
-interest. They are important, you understand, without being
|
|
|
-interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in
|
|
|
-unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation,
|
|
|
-and for the quick analysis of cause and effect which gives the
|
|
|
-charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the
|
|
|
-simpler, for the bigger the crime the more obvious, as a rule, is
|
|
|
-the motive. In these cases, save for one rather intricate matter
|
|
|
-which has been referred to me from Marseilles, there is nothing
|
|
|
-which presents any features of interest. It is possible, however,
|
|
|
-that I may have something better before very many minutes are
|
|
|
-over, for this is one of my clients, or I am much mistaken."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted
|
|
|
-blinds gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street.
|
|
|
-Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite
|
|
|
-there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck,
|
|
|
-and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was
|
|
|
-tilted in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her
|
|
|
-ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous,
|
|
|
-hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated
|
|
|
-backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove
|
|
|
-buttons. Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves
|
|
|
-the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp
|
|
|
-clang of the bell.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his
|
|
|
-cigarette into the fire. "Oscillation upon the pavement always
|
|
|
-means an affaire de coeur. She would like advice, but is not sure
|
|
|
-that the matter is not too delicate for communication. And yet
|
|
|
-even here we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously
|
|
|
-wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom
|
|
|
-is a broken bell wire. Here we may take it that there is a love
|
|
|
-matter, but that the maiden is not so much angry as perplexed, or
|
|
|
-grieved. But here she comes in person to resolve our doubts."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons
|
|
|
-entered to announce Miss Mary Sutherland, while the lady herself
|
|
|
-loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed
|
|
|
-merchant-man behind a tiny pilot boat. Sherlock Holmes welcomed
|
|
|
-her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable, and,
|
|
|
-having closed the door and bowed her into an armchair, he looked
|
|
|
-her over in the minute and yet abstracted fashion which was
|
|
|
-peculiar to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you not find," he said, "that with your short sight it is a
|
|
|
-little trying to do so much typewriting?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I did at first," she answered, "but now I know where the letters
|
|
|
-are without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purport
|
|
|
-of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear
|
|
|
-and astonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. "You've
|
|
|
-heard about me, Mr. Holmes," she cried, "else how could you know
|
|
|
-all that?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Never mind," said Holmes, laughing; "it is my business to know
|
|
|
-things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others
|
|
|
-overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege,
|
|
|
-whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had
|
|
|
-given him up for dead. Oh, Mr. Holmes, I wish you would do as
|
|
|
-much for me. I'm not rich, but still I have a hundred a year in
|
|
|
-my own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, and
|
|
|
-I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to
|
|
|
-the ceiling.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss
|
|
|
-Mary Sutherland. "Yes, I did bang out of the house," she said,
|
|
|
-"for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr.
|
|
|
-Windibank--that is, my father--took it all. He would not go to
|
|
|
-the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he
|
|
|
-would do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done,
|
|
|
-it made me mad, and I just on with my things and came right away
|
|
|
-to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your father," said Holmes, "your stepfather, surely, since the
|
|
|
-name is different."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny,
|
|
|
-too, for he is only five years and two months older than myself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And your mother is alive?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I wasn't best pleased, Mr.
|
|
|
-Holmes, when she married again so soon after father's death, and
|
|
|
-a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father
|
|
|
-was a plumber in the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidy
|
|
|
-business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the
|
|
|
-foreman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell the
|
|
|
-business, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines.
|
|
|
-They got 4700 pounds for the goodwill and interest, which wasn't
|
|
|
-near as much as father could have got if he had been alive."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes impatient under this
|
|
|
-rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he
|
|
|
-had listened with the greatest concentration of attention.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your own little income," he asked, "does it come out of the
|
|
|
-business?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncle
|
|
|
-Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4 1/2 per
|
|
|
-cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can
|
|
|
-only touch the interest."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You interest me extremely," said Holmes. "And since you draw so
|
|
|
-large a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the
|
|
|
-bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in
|
|
|
-every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely
|
|
|
-upon an income of about 60 pounds."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I could do with much less than that, Mr. Holmes, but you
|
|
|
-understand that as long as I live at home I don't wish to be a
|
|
|
-burden to them, and so they have the use of the money just while
|
|
|
-I am staying with them. Of course, that is only just for the
|
|
|
-time. Mr. Windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays it
|
|
|
-over to mother, and I find that I can do pretty well with what I
|
|
|
-earn at typewriting. It brings me twopence a sheet, and I can
|
|
|
-often do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-"This is my friend, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as
|
|
|
-freely as before myself. Kindly tell us now all about your
|
|
|
-connection with Mr. Hosmer Angel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A flush stole over Miss Sutherland's face, and she picked
|
|
|
-nervously at the fringe of her jacket. "I met him first at the
|
|
|
-gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father tickets
|
|
|
-when he was alive, and then afterwards they remembered us, and
|
|
|
-sent them to mother. Mr. Windibank did not wish us to go. He
|
|
|
-never did wish us to go anywhere. He would get quite mad if I
|
|
|
-wanted so much as to join a Sunday-school treat. But this time I
|
|
|
-was set on going, and I would go; for what right had he to
|
|
|
-prevent? He said the folk were not fit for us to know, when all
|
|
|
-father's friends were to be there. And he said that I had nothing
|
|
|
-fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much
|
|
|
-as taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do,
|
|
|
-he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went,
|
|
|
-mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it
|
|
|
-was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I suppose," said Holmes, "that when Mr. Windibank came back from
|
|
|
-France he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, and
|
|
|
-shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying
|
|
|
-anything to a woman, for she would have her way."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see. Then at the gasfitters' ball you met, as I understand, a
|
|
|
-gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask if
|
|
|
-we had got home all safe, and after that we met him--that is to
|
|
|
-say, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that father
|
|
|
-came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the house
|
|
|
-any more."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, you know father didn't like anything of the sort. He
|
|
|
-wouldn't have any visitors if he could help it, and he used to
|
|
|
-say that a woman should be happy in her own family circle. But
|
|
|
-then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to
|
|
|
-begin with, and I had not got mine yet."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But how about Mr. Hosmer Angel? Did he make no attempt to see
|
|
|
-you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, father was going off to France again in a week, and Hosmer
|
|
|
-wrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see each
|
|
|
-other until he had gone. We could write in the meantime, and he
|
|
|
-used to write every day. I took the letters in in the morning, so
|
|
|
-there was no need for father to know."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk that
|
|
|
-we took. Hosmer--Mr. Angel--was a cashier in an office in
|
|
|
-Leadenhall Street--and--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What office?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That's the worst of it, Mr. Holmes, I don't know."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where did he live, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He slept on the premises."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you don't know his address?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No--except that it was Leadenhall Street."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where did you address your letters, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To the Leadenhall Street Post Office, to be left till called
|
|
|
-for. He said that if they were sent to the office he would be
|
|
|
-chaffed by all the other clerks about having letters from a lady,
|
|
|
-so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn't
|
|
|
-have that, for he said that when I wrote them they seemed to come
|
|
|
-from me, but when they were typewritten he always felt that the
|
|
|
-machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he
|
|
|
-was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think
|
|
|
-of."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was most suggestive," said Holmes. "It has long been an axiom
|
|
|
-of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.
|
|
|
-Can you remember any other little things about Mr. Hosmer Angel?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He was a very shy man, Mr. Holmes. He would rather walk with me
|
|
|
-in the evening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to
|
|
|
-be conspicuous. Very retiring and gentlemanly he was. Even his
|
|
|
-voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he
|
|
|
-was young, he told me, and it had left him with a weak throat,
|
|
|
-and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech. He was always
|
|
|
-well dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes were weak, just
|
|
|
-as mine are, and he wore tinted glasses against the glare."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, and what happened when Mr. Windibank, your stepfather,
|
|
|
-returned to France?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed that we
|
|
|
-should marry before father came back. He was in dreadful earnest
|
|
|
-and made me swear, with my hands on the Testament, that whatever
|
|
|
-happened I would always be true to him. Mother said he was quite
|
|
|
-right to make me swear, and that it was a sign of his passion.
|
|
|
-Mother was all in his favour from the first and was even fonder
|
|
|
-of him than I was. Then, when they talked of marrying within the
|
|
|
-week, I began to ask about father; but they both said never to
|
|
|
-mind about father, but just to tell him afterwards, and mother
|
|
|
-said she would make it all right with him. I didn't quite like
|
|
|
-that, Mr. Holmes. It seemed funny that I should ask his leave, as
|
|
|
-he was only a few years older than me; but I didn't want to do
|
|
|
-anything on the sly, so I wrote to father at Bordeaux, where the
|
|
|
-company has its French offices, but the letter came back to me on
|
|
|
-the very morning of the wedding."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It missed him, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir; for he had started to England just before it arrived."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! that was unfortunate. Your wedding was arranged, then, for
|
|
|
-the Friday. Was it to be in church?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be at St. Saviour's, near
|
|
|
-King's Cross, and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the St.
|
|
|
-Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were
|
|
|
-two of us he put us both into it and stepped himself into a
|
|
|
-four-wheeler, which happened to be the only other cab in the
|
|
|
-street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler
|
|
|
-drove up we waited for him to step out, but he never did, and
|
|
|
-when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one
|
|
|
-there! The cabman said that he could not imagine what had become
|
|
|
-of him, for he had seen him get in with his own eyes. That was
|
|
|
-last Friday, Mr. Holmes, and I have never seen or heard anything
|
|
|
-since then to throw any light upon what became of him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated," said
|
|
|
-Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, no, sir! He was too good and kind to leave me so. Why, all
|
|
|
-the morning he was saying to me that, whatever happened, I was to
|
|
|
-be true; and that even if something quite unforeseen occurred to
|
|
|
-separate us, I was always to remember that I was pledged to him,
|
|
|
-and that he would claim his pledge sooner or later. It seemed
|
|
|
-strange talk for a wedding-morning, but what has happened since
|
|
|
-gives a meaning to it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Most certainly it does. Your own opinion is, then, that some
|
|
|
-unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir. I believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he
|
|
|
-would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw
|
|
|
-happened."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you have no notion as to what it could have been?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One more question. How did your mother take the matter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She was angry, and said that I was never to speak of the matter
|
|
|
-again."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And your father? Did you tell him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had
|
|
|
-happened, and that I should hear of Hosmer again. As he said,
|
|
|
-what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of
|
|
|
-the church, and then leaving me? Now, if he had borrowed my
|
|
|
-money, or if he had married me and got my money settled on him,
|
|
|
-there might be some reason, but Hosmer was very independent about
|
|
|
-money and never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet, what
|
|
|
-could have happened? And why could he not write? Oh, it drives me
|
|
|
-half-mad to think of it, and I can't sleep a wink at night." She
|
|
|
-pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob
|
|
|
-heavily into it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall glance into the case for you," said Holmes, rising, "and
|
|
|
-I have no doubt that we shall reach some definite result. Let the
|
|
|
-weight of the matter rest upon me now, and do not let your mind
|
|
|
-dwell upon it further. Above all, try to let Mr. Hosmer Angel
|
|
|
-vanish from your memory, as he has done from your life."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then you don't think I'll see him again?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I fear not."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then what has happened to him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will leave that question in my hands. I should like an
|
|
|
-accurate description of him and any letters of his which you can
|
|
|
-spare."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I advertised for him in last Saturday's Chronicle," said she.
|
|
|
-"Here is the slip and here are four letters from him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. And your address?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. Angel's address you never had, I understand. Where is your
|
|
|
-father's place of business?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers
|
|
|
-of Fenchurch Street."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will
|
|
|
-leave the papers here, and remember the advice which I have given
|
|
|
-you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it
|
|
|
-to affect your life."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are very kind, Mr. Holmes, but I cannot do that. I shall be
|
|
|
-true to Hosmer. He shall find me ready when he comes back."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-For all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was
|
|
|
-something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which
|
|
|
-compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon
|
|
|
-the table and went her way, with a promise to come again whenever
|
|
|
-she might be summoned.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips
|
|
|
-still pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him,
|
|
|
-and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down
|
|
|
-from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a
|
|
|
-counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with
|
|
|
-the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up from him, and a look of
|
|
|
-infinite languor in his face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found
|
|
|
-her more interesting than her little problem, which, by the way,
|
|
|
-is rather a trite one. You will find parallel cases, if you
|
|
|
-consult my index, in Andover in '77, and there was something of
|
|
|
-the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however,
|
|
|
-there were one or two details which were new to me. But the
|
|
|
-maiden herself was most instructive."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite
|
|
|
-invisible to me," I remarked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to
|
|
|
-look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring
|
|
|
-you to realise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of
|
|
|
-thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace.
|
|
|
-Now, what did you gather from that woman's appearance? Describe
|
|
|
-it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a
|
|
|
-feather of a brickish red. Her jacket was black, with black beads
|
|
|
-sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her
|
|
|
-dress was brown, rather darker than coffee colour, with a little
|
|
|
-purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and
|
|
|
-were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn't
|
|
|
-observe. She had small round, hanging gold earrings, and a
|
|
|
-general air of being fairly well-to-do in a vulgar, comfortable,
|
|
|
-easy-going way."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Pon my word, Watson, you are coming along wonderfully. You have
|
|
|
-really done very well indeed. It is true that you have missed
|
|
|
-everything of importance, but you have hit upon the method, and
|
|
|
-you have a quick eye for colour. Never trust to general
|
|
|
-impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details. My
|
|
|
-first glance is always at a woman's sleeve. In a man it is
|
|
|
-perhaps better first to take the knee of the trouser. As you
|
|
|
-observe, this woman had plush upon her sleeves, which is a most
|
|
|
-useful material for showing traces. The double line a little
|
|
|
-above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table,
|
|
|
-was beautifully defined. The sewing-machine, of the hand type,
|
|
|
-leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side
|
|
|
-of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the
|
|
|
-broadest part, as this was. I then glanced at her face, and,
|
|
|
-observing the dint of a pince-nez at either side of her nose, I
|
|
|
-ventured a remark upon short sight and typewriting, which seemed
|
|
|
-to surprise her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It surprised me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But, surely, it was obvious. I was then much surprised and
|
|
|
-interested on glancing down to observe that, though the boots
|
|
|
-which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were
|
|
|
-really odd ones; the one having a slightly decorated toe-cap, and
|
|
|
-the other a plain one. One was buttoned only in the two lower
|
|
|
-buttons out of five, and the other at the first, third, and
|
|
|
-fifth. Now, when you see that a young lady, otherwise neatly
|
|
|
-dressed, has come away from home with odd boots, half-buttoned,
|
|
|
-it is no great deduction to say that she came away in a hurry."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by
|
|
|
-my friend's incisive reasoning.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving
|
|
|
-home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right
|
|
|
-glove was torn at the forefinger, but you did not apparently see
|
|
|
-that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink. She had
|
|
|
-written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have been
|
|
|
-this morning, or the mark would not remain clear upon the finger.
|
|
|
-All this is amusing, though rather elementary, but I must go back
|
|
|
-to business, Watson. Would you mind reading me the advertised
|
|
|
-description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I held the little printed slip to the light.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Missing," it said, "on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman
|
|
|
-named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height;
|
|
|
-strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in
|
|
|
-the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted
|
|
|
-glasses, slight infirmity of speech. Was dressed, when last seen,
|
|
|
-in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert
|
|
|
-chain, and grey Harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters over
|
|
|
-elastic-sided boots. Known to have been employed in an office in
|
|
|
-Leadenhall Street. Anybody bringing--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That will do," said Holmes. "As to the letters," he continued,
|
|
|
-glancing over them, "they are very commonplace. Absolutely no
|
|
|
-clue in them to Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac once. There
|
|
|
-is one remarkable point, however, which will no doubt strike
|
|
|
-you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They are typewritten," I remarked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not only that, but the signature is typewritten. Look at the
|
|
|
-neat little 'Hosmer Angel' at the bottom. There is a date, you
|
|
|
-see, but no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is
|
|
|
-rather vague. The point about the signature is very suggestive--in
|
|
|
-fact, we may call it conclusive."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Of what?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it
|
|
|
-bears upon the case?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able
|
|
|
-to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise were
|
|
|
-instituted."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters,
|
|
|
-which should settle the matter. One is to a firm in the City, the
|
|
|
-other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking
|
|
|
-him whether he could meet us here at six o'clock tomorrow
|
|
|
-evening. It is just as well that we should do business with the
|
|
|
-male relatives. And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the
|
|
|
-answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem
|
|
|
-upon the shelf for the interim."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers
|
|
|
-of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action that I felt that
|
|
|
-he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy
|
|
|
-demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had
|
|
|
-been called upon to fathom. Once only had I known him to fail, in
|
|
|
-the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler
|
|
|
-photograph; but when I looked back to the weird business of the
|
|
|
-Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with
|
|
|
-the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle
|
|
|
-indeed which he could not unravel.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the
|
|
|
-conviction that when I came again on the next evening I would
|
|
|
-find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up
|
|
|
-to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary
|
|
|
-Sutherland.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own
|
|
|
-attention at the time, and the whole of next day I was busy at
|
|
|
-the bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon six
|
|
|
-o'clock that I found myself free and was able to spring into a
|
|
|
-hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I might be too
|
|
|
-late to assist at the dénouement of the little mystery. I found
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes alone, however, half asleep, with his long, thin
|
|
|
-form curled up in the recesses of his armchair. A formidable
|
|
|
-array of bottles and test-tubes, with the pungent cleanly smell
|
|
|
-of hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent his day in the
|
|
|
-chemical work which was so dear to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no, the mystery!" I cried.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon.
|
|
|
-There was never any mystery in the matter, though, as I said
|
|
|
-yesterday, some of the details are of interest. The only drawback
|
|
|
-is that there is no law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who was he, then, and what was his object in deserting Miss
|
|
|
-Sutherland?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The question was hardly out of my mouth, and Holmes had not yet
|
|
|
-opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in the
|
|
|
-passage and a tap at the door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This is the girl's stepfather, Mr. James Windibank," said
|
|
|
-Holmes. "He has written to me to say that he would be here at
|
|
|
-six. Come in!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some
|
|
|
-thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a
|
|
|
-bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and
|
|
|
-penetrating grey eyes. He shot a questioning glance at each of
|
|
|
-us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard, and with a
|
|
|
-slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good-evening, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes. "I think that
|
|
|
-this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an
|
|
|
-appointment with me for six o'clock?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not
|
|
|
-quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland
|
|
|
-has troubled you about this little matter, for I think it is far
|
|
|
-better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite
|
|
|
-against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable,
|
|
|
-impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily
|
|
|
-controlled when she has made up her mind on a point. Of course, I
|
|
|
-did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the
|
|
|
-official police, but it is not pleasant to have a family
|
|
|
-misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless
|
|
|
-expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the contrary," said Holmes quietly; "I have every reason to
|
|
|
-believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Mr. Windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves. "I am
|
|
|
-delighted to hear it," he said.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a curious thing," remarked Holmes, "that a typewriter has
|
|
|
-really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless
|
|
|
-they are quite new, no two of them write exactly alike. Some
|
|
|
-letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one
|
|
|
-side. Now, you remark in this note of yours, Mr. Windibank, that
|
|
|
-in every case there is some little slurring over of the 'e,' and
|
|
|
-a slight defect in the tail of the 'r.' There are fourteen other
|
|
|
-characteristics, but those are the more obvious."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We do all our correspondence with this machine at the office,
|
|
|
-and no doubt it is a little worn," our visitor answered, glancing
|
|
|
-keenly at Holmes with his bright little eyes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study,
|
|
|
-Mr. Windibank," Holmes continued. "I think of writing another
|
|
|
-little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its
|
|
|
-relation to crime. It is a subject to which I have devoted some
|
|
|
-little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come
|
|
|
-from the missing man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not
|
|
|
-only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will
|
|
|
-observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen
|
|
|
-other characteristics to which I have alluded are there as well."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Mr. Windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. "I
|
|
|
-cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes,"
|
|
|
-he said. "If you can catch the man, catch him, and let me know
|
|
|
-when you have done it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly," said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in
|
|
|
-the door. "I let you know, then, that I have caught him!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What! where?" shouted Mr. Windibank, turning white to his lips
|
|
|
-and glancing about him like a rat in a trap.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, it won't do--really it won't," said Holmes suavely. "There
|
|
|
-is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too
|
|
|
-transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that
|
|
|
-it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That's
|
|
|
-right! Sit down and let us talk it over."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a
|
|
|
-glitter of moisture on his brow. "It--it's not actionable," he
|
|
|
-stammered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am very much afraid that it is not. But between ourselves,
|
|
|
-Windibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a
|
|
|
-petty way as ever came before me. Now, let me just run over the
|
|
|
-course of events, and you will contradict me if I go wrong."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his
|
|
|
-breast, like one who is utterly crushed. Holmes stuck his feet up
|
|
|
-on the corner of the mantelpiece and, leaning back with his hands
|
|
|
-in his pockets, began talking, rather to himself, as it seemed,
|
|
|
-than to us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The man married a woman very much older than himself for her
|
|
|
-money," said he, "and he enjoyed the use of the money of the
|
|
|
-daughter as long as she lived with them. It was a considerable
|
|
|
-sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have
|
|
|
-made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it.
|
|
|
-The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate
|
|
|
-and warm-hearted in her ways, so that it was evident that with
|
|
|
-her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would
|
|
|
-not be allowed to remain single long. Now her marriage would
|
|
|
-mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her
|
|
|
-stepfather do to prevent it? He takes the obvious course of
|
|
|
-keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of
|
|
|
-people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not
|
|
|
-answer forever. She became restive, insisted upon her rights, and
|
|
|
-finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain
|
|
|
-ball. What does her clever stepfather do then? He conceives an
|
|
|
-idea more creditable to his head than to his heart. With the
|
|
|
-connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself,
|
|
|
-covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with
|
|
|
-a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice
|
|
|
-into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the
|
|
|
-girl's short sight, he appears as Mr. Hosmer Angel, and keeps off
|
|
|
-other lovers by making love himself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never
|
|
|
-thought that she would have been so carried away."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very likely not. However that may be, the young lady was very
|
|
|
-decidedly carried away, and, having quite made up her mind that
|
|
|
-her stepfather was in France, the suspicion of treachery never
|
|
|
-for an instant entered her mind. She was flattered by the
|
|
|
-gentleman's attentions, and the effect was increased by the
|
|
|
-loudly expressed admiration of her mother. Then Mr. Angel began
|
|
|
-to call, for it was obvious that the matter should be pushed as
|
|
|
-far as it would go if a real effect were to be produced. There
|
|
|
-were meetings, and an engagement, which would finally secure the
|
|
|
-girl's affections from turning towards anyone else. But the
|
|
|
-deception could not be kept up forever. These pretended journeys
|
|
|
-to France were rather cumbrous. The thing to do was clearly to
|
|
|
-bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it
|
|
|
-would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and
|
|
|
-prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to
|
|
|
-come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a Testament, and
|
|
|
-hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening
|
|
|
-on the very morning of the wedding. James Windibank wished Miss
|
|
|
-Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as to
|
|
|
-his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not
|
|
|
-listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her,
|
|
|
-and then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished
|
|
|
-away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a
|
|
|
-four-wheeler and out at the other. I think that was the chain of
|
|
|
-events, Mr. Windibank!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes
|
|
|
-had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold
|
|
|
-sneer upon his pale face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you
|
|
|
-are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is
|
|
|
-you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing
|
|
|
-actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door
|
|
|
-locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal
|
|
|
-constraint."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking
|
|
|
-and throwing open the door, "yet there never was a man who
|
|
|
-deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a
|
|
|
-friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!"
|
|
|
-he continued, flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon
|
|
|
-the man's face, "it is not part of my duties to my client, but
|
|
|
-here's a hunting crop handy, and I think I shall just treat
|
|
|
-myself to--" He took two swift steps to the whip, but before he
|
|
|
-could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs,
|
|
|
-the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we could see Mr.
|
|
|
-James Windibank running at the top of his speed down the road.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he
|
|
|
-threw himself down into his chair once more. "That fellow will
|
|
|
-rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and
|
|
|
-ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not
|
|
|
-entirely devoid of interest."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I
|
|
|
-remarked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, of course it was obvious from the first that this Mr.
|
|
|
-Hosmer Angel must have some strong object for his curious
|
|
|
-conduct, and it was equally clear that the only man who really
|
|
|
-profited by the incident, as far as we could see, was the
|
|
|
-stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together,
|
|
|
-but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was
|
|
|
-suggestive. So were the tinted spectacles and the curious voice,
|
|
|
-which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. My
|
|
|
-suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in
|
|
|
-typewriting his signature, which, of course, inferred that his
|
|
|
-handwriting was so familiar to her that she would recognise even
|
|
|
-the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated facts,
|
|
|
-together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same
|
|
|
-direction."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how did you verify them?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I
|
|
|
-knew the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed
|
|
|
-description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the
|
|
|
-result of a disguise--the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I
|
|
|
-sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me
|
|
|
-whether it answered to the description of any of their
|
|
|
-travellers. I had already noticed the peculiarities of the
|
|
|
-typewriter, and I wrote to the man himself at his business
|
|
|
-address asking him if he would come here. As I expected, his
|
|
|
-reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but
|
|
|
-characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter from
|
|
|
-Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the
|
|
|
-description tallied in every respect with that of their employé,
|
|
|
-James Windibank. Voilà tout!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And Miss Sutherland?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old
|
|
|
-Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger
|
|
|
-cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.'
|
|
|
-There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much
|
|
|
-knowledge of the world."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-ADVENTURE IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the
|
|
|
-maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran
|
|
|
-in this way:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from
|
|
|
-the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy.
|
|
|
-Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery perfect.
|
|
|
-Leave Paddington by the 11:15."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me.
|
|
|
-"Will you go?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I really don't know what to say. I have a fairly long list at
|
|
|
-present."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you. You have been looking
|
|
|
-a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good,
|
|
|
-and you are always so interested in Mr. Sherlock Holmes' cases."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained
|
|
|
-through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack
|
|
|
-at once, for I have only half an hour."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had at least had the
|
|
|
-effect of making me a prompt and ready traveller. My wants were
|
|
|
-few and simple, so that in less than the time stated I was in a
|
|
|
-cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock
|
|
|
-Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt
|
|
|
-figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey
|
|
|
-travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is really very good of you to come, Watson," said he. "It
|
|
|
-makes a considerable difference to me, having someone with me on
|
|
|
-whom I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is always either worthless
|
|
|
-or else biassed. If you will keep the two corner seats I shall
|
|
|
-get the tickets."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of
|
|
|
-papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged
|
|
|
-and read, with intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until
|
|
|
-we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a
|
|
|
-gigantic ball and tossed them up onto the rack.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not a word. I have not seen a paper for some days."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just
|
|
|
-been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the
|
|
|
-particulars. It seems, from what I gather, to be one of those
|
|
|
-simple cases which are so extremely difficult."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That sounds a little paradoxical."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But it is profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a
|
|
|
-clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more
|
|
|
-difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, however, they
|
|
|
-have established a very serious case against the son of the
|
|
|
-murdered man."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a murder, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing for
|
|
|
-granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into
|
|
|
-it. I will explain the state of things to you, as far as I have
|
|
|
-been able to understand it, in a very few words.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Boscombe Valley is a country district not very far from Ross, in
|
|
|
-Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in that part is a
|
|
|
-Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned
|
|
|
-some years ago to the old country. One of the farms which he
|
|
|
-held, that of Hatherley, was let to Mr. Charles McCarthy, who was
|
|
|
-also an ex-Australian. The men had known each other in the
|
|
|
-colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to
|
|
|
-settle down they should do so as near each other as possible.
|
|
|
-Turner was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his
|
|
|
-tenant but still remained, it seems, upon terms of perfect
|
|
|
-equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son,
|
|
|
-a lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same
|
|
|
-age, but neither of them had wives living. They appear to have
|
|
|
-avoided the society of the neighbouring English families and to
|
|
|
-have led retired lives, though both the McCarthys were fond of
|
|
|
-sport and were frequently seen at the race-meetings of the
|
|
|
-neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants--a man and a girl.
|
|
|
-Turner had a considerable household, some half-dozen at the
|
|
|
-least. That is as much as I have been able to gather about the
|
|
|
-families. Now for the facts.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On June 3rd, that is, on Monday last, McCarthy left his house at
|
|
|
-Hatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the
|
|
|
-Boscombe Pool, which is a small lake formed by the spreading out
|
|
|
-of the stream which runs down the Boscombe Valley. He had been
|
|
|
-out with his serving-man in the morning at Ross, and he had told
|
|
|
-the man that he must hurry, as he had an appointment of
|
|
|
-importance to keep at three. From that appointment he never came
|
|
|
-back alive.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"From Hatherley Farm-house to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a
|
|
|
-mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One
|
|
|
-was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was
|
|
|
-William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr. Turner. Both
|
|
|
-these witnesses depose that Mr. McCarthy was walking alone. The
|
|
|
-game-keeper adds that within a few minutes of his seeing Mr.
|
|
|
-McCarthy pass he had seen his son, Mr. James McCarthy, going the
|
|
|
-same way with a gun under his arm. To the best of his belief, the
|
|
|
-father was actually in sight at the time, and the son was
|
|
|
-following him. He thought no more of the matter until he heard in
|
|
|
-the evening of the tragedy that had occurred.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The two McCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder,
|
|
|
-the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly
|
|
|
-wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the
|
|
|
-edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who is the daughter of
|
|
|
-the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the
|
|
|
-woods picking flowers. She states that while she was there she
|
|
|
-saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr.
|
|
|
-McCarthy and his son, and that they appeared to be having a
|
|
|
-violent quarrel. She heard Mr. McCarthy the elder using very
|
|
|
-strong language to his son, and she saw the latter raise up his
|
|
|
-hand as if to strike his father. She was so frightened by their
|
|
|
-violence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached
|
|
|
-home that she had left the two McCarthys quarrelling near
|
|
|
-Boscombe Pool, and that she was afraid that they were going to
|
|
|
-fight. She had hardly said the words when young Mr. McCarthy came
|
|
|
-running up to the lodge to say that he had found his father dead
|
|
|
-in the wood, and to ask for the help of the lodge-keeper. He was
|
|
|
-much excited, without either his gun or his hat, and his right
|
|
|
-hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On
|
|
|
-following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the
|
|
|
-grass beside the pool. The head had been beaten in by repeated
|
|
|
-blows of some heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were such as
|
|
|
-might very well have been inflicted by the butt-end of his son's
|
|
|
-gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the
|
|
|
-body. Under these circumstances the young man was instantly
|
|
|
-arrested, and a verdict of 'wilful murder' having been returned
|
|
|
-at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the
|
|
|
-magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next
|
|
|
-Assizes. Those are the main facts of the case as they came out
|
|
|
-before the coroner and the police-court."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I could hardly imagine a more damning case," I remarked. "If
|
|
|
-ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so
|
|
|
-here."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing," answered Holmes
|
|
|
-thoughtfully. "It may seem to point very straight to one thing,
|
|
|
-but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it
|
|
|
-pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something
|
|
|
-entirely different. It must be confessed, however, that the case
|
|
|
-looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very
|
|
|
-possible that he is indeed the culprit. There are several people
|
|
|
-in the neighbourhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, the
|
|
|
-daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his
|
|
|
-innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect
|
|
|
-in connection with the Study in Scarlet, to work out the case in
|
|
|
-his interest. Lestrade, being rather puzzled, has referred the
|
|
|
-case to me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are
|
|
|
-flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly
|
|
|
-digesting their breakfasts at home."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am afraid," said I, "that the facts are so obvious that you
|
|
|
-will find little credit to be gained out of this case."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," he
|
|
|
-answered, laughing. "Besides, we may chance to hit upon some
|
|
|
-other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to
|
|
|
-Mr. Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting
|
|
|
-when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by
|
|
|
-means which he is quite incapable of employing, or even of
|
|
|
-understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly
|
|
|
-perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the right-hand
|
|
|
-side, and yet I question whether Mr. Lestrade would have noted
|
|
|
-even so self-evident a thing as that."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How on earth--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness
|
|
|
-which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this
|
|
|
-season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less
|
|
|
-and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until
|
|
|
-it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the
|
|
|
-jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated
|
|
|
-than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits looking
|
|
|
-at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a
|
|
|
-result. I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and
|
|
|
-inference. Therein lies my métier, and it is just possible that
|
|
|
-it may be of some service in the investigation which lies before
|
|
|
-us. There are one or two minor points which were brought out in
|
|
|
-the inquest, and which are worth considering."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What are they?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It appears that his arrest did not take place at once, but after
|
|
|
-the return to Hatherley Farm. On the inspector of constabulary
|
|
|
-informing him that he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not
|
|
|
-surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts.
|
|
|
-This observation of his had the natural effect of removing any
|
|
|
-traces of doubt which might have remained in the minds of the
|
|
|
-coroner's jury."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was a confession," I ejaculated.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, for it was followed by a protestation of innocence."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at
|
|
|
-least a most suspicious remark."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the contrary," said Holmes, "it is the brightest rift which I
|
|
|
-can at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be,
|
|
|
-he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the
|
|
|
-circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared
|
|
|
-surprised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I
|
|
|
-should have looked upon it as highly suspicious, because such
|
|
|
-surprise or anger would not be natural under the circumstances,
|
|
|
-and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His
|
|
|
-frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent
|
|
|
-man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and
|
|
|
-firmness. As to his remark about his deserts, it was also not
|
|
|
-unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of
|
|
|
-his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that very day
|
|
|
-so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and
|
|
|
-even, according to the little girl whose evidence is so
|
|
|
-important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The
|
|
|
-self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark
|
|
|
-appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a
|
|
|
-guilty one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I shook my head. "Many men have been hanged on far slighter
|
|
|
-evidence," I remarked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is the young man's own account of the matter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters,
|
|
|
-though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive.
|
|
|
-You will find it here, and may read it for yourself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire
|
|
|
-paper, and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the
|
|
|
-paragraph in which the unfortunate young man had given his own
|
|
|
-statement of what had occurred. I settled myself down in the
|
|
|
-corner of the carriage and read it very carefully. It ran in this
|
|
|
-way:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called
|
|
|
-and gave evidence as follows: 'I had been away from home for
|
|
|
-three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the
|
|
|
-morning of last Monday, the 3rd. My father was absent from home at
|
|
|
-the time of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he
|
|
|
-had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after
|
|
|
-my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and,
|
|
|
-looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out
|
|
|
-of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was
|
|
|
-going. I then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of
|
|
|
-the Boscombe Pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit
|
|
|
-warren which is upon the other side. On my way I saw William
|
|
|
-Crowder, the game-keeper, as he had stated in his evidence; but
|
|
|
-he is mistaken in thinking that I was following my father. I had
|
|
|
-no idea that he was in front of me. When about a hundred yards
|
|
|
-from the pool I heard a cry of "Cooee!" which was a usual signal
|
|
|
-between my father and myself. I then hurried forward, and found
|
|
|
-him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much surprised at
|
|
|
-seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A
|
|
|
-conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows,
|
|
|
-for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his
|
|
|
-passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned
|
|
|
-towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more than 150 yards,
|
|
|
-however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me
|
|
|
-to run back again. I found my father expiring upon the ground,
|
|
|
-with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun and held him in
|
|
|
-my arms, but he almost instantly expired. I knelt beside him for
|
|
|
-some minutes, and then made my way to Mr. Turner's lodge-keeper,
|
|
|
-his house being the nearest, to ask for assistance. I saw no one
|
|
|
-near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by
|
|
|
-his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and
|
|
|
-forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know, no
|
|
|
-active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: Did your father make any statement to you before
|
|
|
-he died?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some
|
|
|
-allusion to a rat.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: What did you understand by that?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was
|
|
|
-delirious.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: What was the point upon which you and your father
|
|
|
-had this final quarrel?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: I should prefer not to answer.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: I am afraid that I must press it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: It is really impossible for me to tell you. I can
|
|
|
-assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which
|
|
|
-followed.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: That is for the court to decide. I need not point
|
|
|
-out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case
|
|
|
-considerably in any future proceedings which may arise.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: I must still refuse.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: I understand that the cry of 'Cooee' was a common
|
|
|
-signal between you and your father?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: It was.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: How was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw
|
|
|
-you, and before he even knew that you had returned from Bristol?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness (with considerable confusion): I do not know.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions
|
|
|
-when you returned on hearing the cry and found your father
|
|
|
-fatally injured?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: Nothing definite.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Coroner: What do you mean?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Witness: I was so disturbed and excited as I rushed out into
|
|
|
-the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet
|
|
|
-I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay
|
|
|
-upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be
|
|
|
-something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps.
|
|
|
-When I rose from my father I looked round for it, but it was
|
|
|
-gone.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, it was gone.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You cannot say what it was?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, I had a feeling something was there.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'How far from the body?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'A dozen yards or so.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And how far from the edge of the wood?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'About the same.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Then if it was removed it was while you were within a dozen
|
|
|
-yards of it?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, but with my back towards it.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This concluded the examination of the witness."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see," said I as I glanced down the column, "that the coroner
|
|
|
-in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy.
|
|
|
-He calls attention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his
|
|
|
-father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his
|
|
|
-refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and
|
|
|
-his singular account of his father's dying words. They are all,
|
|
|
-as he remarks, very much against the son."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon
|
|
|
-the cushioned seat. "Both you and the coroner have been at some
|
|
|
-pains," said he, "to single out the very strongest points in the
|
|
|
-young man's favour. Don't you see that you alternately give him
|
|
|
-credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too
|
|
|
-little, if he could not invent a cause of quarrel which would
|
|
|
-give him the sympathy of the jury; too much, if he evolved from
|
|
|
-his own inner consciousness anything so outré as a dying
|
|
|
-reference to a rat, and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No,
|
|
|
-sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what
|
|
|
-this young man says is true, and we shall see whither that
|
|
|
-hypothesis will lead us. And now here is my pocket Petrarch, and
|
|
|
-not another word shall I say of this case until we are on the
|
|
|
-scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be
|
|
|
-there in twenty minutes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was nearly four o'clock when we at last, after passing through
|
|
|
-the beautiful Stroud Valley, and over the broad gleaming Severn,
|
|
|
-found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A
|
|
|
-lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking, was waiting for
|
|
|
-us upon the platform. In spite of the light brown dustcoat and
|
|
|
-leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic
|
|
|
-surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of
|
|
|
-Scotland Yard. With him we drove to the Hereford Arms where a
|
|
|
-room had already been engaged for us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have ordered a carriage," said Lestrade as we sat over a cup
|
|
|
-of tea. "I knew your energetic nature, and that you would not be
|
|
|
-happy until you had been on the scene of the crime."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was very nice and complimentary of you," Holmes answered. "It
|
|
|
-is entirely a question of barometric pressure."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade looked startled. "I do not quite follow," he said.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How is the glass? Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud
|
|
|
-in the sky. I have a caseful of cigarettes here which need
|
|
|
-smoking, and the sofa is very much superior to the usual country
|
|
|
-hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable that I
|
|
|
-shall use the carriage to-night."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade laughed indulgently. "You have, no doubt, already formed
|
|
|
-your conclusions from the newspapers," he said. "The case is as
|
|
|
-plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer
|
|
|
-it becomes. Still, of course, one can't refuse a lady, and such a
|
|
|
-very positive one, too. She has heard of you, and would have your
|
|
|
-opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing
|
|
|
-which you could do which I had not already done. Why, bless my
|
|
|
-soul! here is her carriage at the door."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the
|
|
|
-most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Her
|
|
|
-violet eyes shining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon her
|
|
|
-cheeks, all thought of her natural reserve lost in her
|
|
|
-overpowering excitement and concern.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" she cried, glancing from one to the
|
|
|
-other of us, and finally, with a woman's quick intuition,
|
|
|
-fastening upon my companion, "I am so glad that you have come. I
|
|
|
-have driven down to tell you so. I know that James didn't do it.
|
|
|
-I know it, and I want you to start upon your work knowing it,
|
|
|
-too. Never let yourself doubt upon that point. We have known each
|
|
|
-other since we were little children, and I know his faults as no
|
|
|
-one else does; but he is too tender-hearted to hurt a fly. Such a
|
|
|
-charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I hope we may clear him, Miss Turner," said Sherlock Holmes.
|
|
|
-"You may rely upon my doing all that I can."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you have read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion?
|
|
|
-Do you not see some loophole, some flaw? Do you not yourself
|
|
|
-think that he is innocent?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that it is very probable."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There, now!" she cried, throwing back her head and looking
|
|
|
-defiantly at Lestrade. "You hear! He gives me hopes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am afraid that my colleague
|
|
|
-has been a little quick in forming his conclusions," he said.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But he is right. Oh! I know that he is right. James never did
|
|
|
-it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the
|
|
|
-reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because
|
|
|
-I was concerned in it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In what way?" asked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had
|
|
|
-many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that
|
|
|
-there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always
|
|
|
-loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young
|
|
|
-and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he
|
|
|
-naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there
|
|
|
-were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And your father?" asked Holmes. "Was he in favour of such a
|
|
|
-union?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, he was averse to it also. No one but Mr. McCarthy was in
|
|
|
-favour of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as
|
|
|
-Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you for this information," said he. "May I see your father
|
|
|
-if I call to-morrow?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am afraid the doctor won't allow it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The doctor?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, have you not heard? Poor father has never been strong for
|
|
|
-years back, but this has broken him down completely. He has taken
|
|
|
-to his bed, and Dr. Willows says that he is a wreck and that his
|
|
|
-nervous system is shattered. Mr. McCarthy was the only man alive
|
|
|
-who had known dad in the old days in Victoria."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! In Victoria! That is important."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, at the mines."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner
|
|
|
-made his money."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, certainly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to
|
|
|
-me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will tell me if you have any news to-morrow. No doubt you
|
|
|
-will go to the prison to see James. Oh, if you do, Mr. Holmes, do
|
|
|
-tell him that I know him to be innocent."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will, Miss Turner."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if
|
|
|
-I leave him. Good-bye, and God help you in your undertaking." She
|
|
|
-hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we
|
|
|
-heard the wheels of her carriage rattle off down the street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am ashamed of you, Holmes," said Lestrade with dignity after a
|
|
|
-few minutes' silence. "Why should you raise up hopes which you
|
|
|
-are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I
|
|
|
-call it cruel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy," said
|
|
|
-Holmes. "Have you an order to see him in prison?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, but only for you and me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have
|
|
|
-still time to take a train to Hereford and see him to-night?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ample."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very
|
|
|
-slow, but I shall only be away a couple of hours."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through
|
|
|
-the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel,
|
|
|
-where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a
|
|
|
-yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin,
|
|
|
-however, when compared to the deep mystery through which we were
|
|
|
-groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the
|
|
|
-action to the fact, that I at last flung it across the room and
|
|
|
-gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the
|
|
|
-day. Supposing that this unhappy young man's story were
|
|
|
-absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely
|
|
|
-unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between
|
|
|
-the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when,
|
|
|
-drawn back by his screams, he rushed into the glade? It was
|
|
|
-something terrible and deadly. What could it be? Might not the
|
|
|
-nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts?
|
|
|
-I rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper, which
|
|
|
-contained a verbatim account of the inquest. In the surgeon's
|
|
|
-deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left
|
|
|
-parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been
|
|
|
-shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot
|
|
|
-upon my own head. Clearly such a blow must have been struck from
|
|
|
-behind. That was to some extent in favour of the accused, as when
|
|
|
-seen quarrelling he was face to face with his father. Still, it
|
|
|
-did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his
|
|
|
-back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call
|
|
|
-Holmes' attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying
|
|
|
-reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be
|
|
|
-delirium. A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become
|
|
|
-delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how
|
|
|
-he met his fate. But what could it indicate? I cudgelled my
|
|
|
-brains to find some possible explanation. And then the incident
|
|
|
-of the grey cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were true the
|
|
|
-murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his
|
|
|
-overcoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to
|
|
|
-return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was
|
|
|
-kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off. What a
|
|
|
-tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was! I
|
|
|
-did not wonder at Lestrade's opinion, and yet I had so much faith
|
|
|
-in Sherlock Holmes' insight that I could not lose hope as long
|
|
|
-as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young
|
|
|
-McCarthy's innocence.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone,
|
|
|
-for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The glass still keeps very high," he remarked as he sat down.
|
|
|
-"It is of importance that it should not rain before we are able
|
|
|
-to go over the ground. On the other hand, a man should be at his
|
|
|
-very best and keenest for such nice work as that, and I did not
|
|
|
-wish to do it when fagged by a long journey. I have seen young
|
|
|
-McCarthy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what did you learn from him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Could he throw no light?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None at all. I was inclined to think at one time that he knew
|
|
|
-who had done it and was screening him or her, but I am convinced
|
|
|
-now that he is as puzzled as everyone else. He is not a very
|
|
|
-quick-witted youth, though comely to look at and, I should think,
|
|
|
-sound at heart."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot admire his taste," I remarked, "if it is indeed a fact
|
|
|
-that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as
|
|
|
-this Miss Turner."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly,
|
|
|
-insanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was
|
|
|
-only a lad, and before he really knew her, for she had been away
|
|
|
-five years at a boarding-school, what does the idiot do but get
|
|
|
-into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a
|
|
|
-registry office? No one knows a word of the matter, but you can
|
|
|
-imagine how maddening it must be to him to be upbraided for not
|
|
|
-doing what he would give his very eyes to do, but what he knows
|
|
|
-to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort
|
|
|
-which made him throw his hands up into the air when his father,
|
|
|
-at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss
|
|
|
-Turner. On the other hand, he had no means of supporting himself,
|
|
|
-and his father, who was by all accounts a very hard man, would
|
|
|
-have thrown him over utterly had he known the truth. It was with
|
|
|
-his barmaid wife that he had spent the last three days in
|
|
|
-Bristol, and his father did not know where he was. Mark that
|
|
|
-point. It is of importance. Good has come out of evil, however,
|
|
|
-for the barmaid, finding from the papers that he is in serious
|
|
|
-trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and
|
|
|
-has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the
|
|
|
-Bermuda Dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I
|
|
|
-think that that bit of news has consoled young McCarthy for all
|
|
|
-that he has suffered."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But if he is innocent, who has done it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah! who? I would call your attention very particularly to two
|
|
|
-points. One is that the murdered man had an appointment with
|
|
|
-someone at the pool, and that the someone could not have been his
|
|
|
-son, for his son was away, and he did not know when he would
|
|
|
-return. The second is that the murdered man was heard to cry
|
|
|
-'Cooee!' before he knew that his son had returned. Those are the
|
|
|
-crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk
|
|
|
-about George Meredith, if you please, and we shall leave all
|
|
|
-minor matters until to-morrow."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke
|
|
|
-bright and cloudless. At nine o'clock Lestrade called for us with
|
|
|
-the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe
|
|
|
-Pool.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is serious news this morning," Lestrade observed. "It is
|
|
|
-said that Mr. Turner, of the Hall, is so ill that his life is
|
|
|
-despaired of."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"An elderly man, I presume?" said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"About sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life
|
|
|
-abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This
|
|
|
-business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was an old friend
|
|
|
-of McCarthy's, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I
|
|
|
-have learned that he gave him Hatherley Farm rent free."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes! In a hundred other ways he has helped him. Everybody
|
|
|
-about here speaks of his kindness to him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Really! Does it not strike you as a little singular that this
|
|
|
-McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have
|
|
|
-been under such obligations to Turner, should still talk of
|
|
|
-marrying his son to Turner's daughter, who is, presumably,
|
|
|
-heiress to the estate, and that in such a very cocksure manner,
|
|
|
-as if it were merely a case of a proposal and all else would
|
|
|
-follow? It is the more strange, since we know that Turner himself
|
|
|
-was averse to the idea. The daughter told us as much. Do you not
|
|
|
-deduce something from that?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We have got to the deductions and the inferences," said
|
|
|
-Lestrade, winking at me. "I find it hard enough to tackle facts,
|
|
|
-Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are right," said Holmes demurely; "you do find it very hard
|
|
|
-to tackle the facts."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it
|
|
|
-difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And that is--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that
|
|
|
-all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog," said Holmes,
|
|
|
-laughing. "But I am very much mistaken if this is not Hatherley
|
|
|
-Farm upon the left."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, that is it." It was a widespread, comfortable-looking
|
|
|
-building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches
|
|
|
-of lichen upon the grey walls. The drawn blinds and the smokeless
|
|
|
-chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight
|
|
|
-of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We called at the door,
|
|
|
-when the maid, at Holmes' request, showed us the boots which her
|
|
|
-master wore at the time of his death, and also a pair of the
|
|
|
-son's, though not the pair which he had then had. Having measured
|
|
|
-these very carefully from seven or eight different points, Holmes
|
|
|
-desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed
|
|
|
-the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent
|
|
|
-as this. Men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of
|
|
|
-Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed
|
|
|
-and darkened. His brows were drawn into two hard black lines,
|
|
|
-while his eyes shone out from beneath them with a steely glitter.
|
|
|
-His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips
|
|
|
-compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long,
|
|
|
-sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal
|
|
|
-lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated
|
|
|
-upon the matter before him that a question or remark fell
|
|
|
-unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a quick,
|
|
|
-impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and silently he made his way
|
|
|
-along the track which ran through the meadows, and so by way of
|
|
|
-the woods to the Boscombe Pool. It was damp, marshy ground, as is
|
|
|
-all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon
|
|
|
-the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either
|
|
|
-side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and
|
|
|
-once he made quite a little detour into the meadow. Lestrade and
|
|
|
-I walked behind him, the detective indifferent and contemptuous,
|
|
|
-while I watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the
|
|
|
-conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a
|
|
|
-definite end.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The Boscombe Pool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water
|
|
|
-some fifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the
|
|
|
-Hatherley Farm and the private park of the wealthy Mr. Turner.
|
|
|
-Above the woods which lined it upon the farther side we could see
|
|
|
-the red, jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich
|
|
|
-landowner's dwelling. On the Hatherley side of the pool the woods
|
|
|
-grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass
|
|
|
-twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds
|
|
|
-which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which
|
|
|
-the body had been found, and, indeed, so moist was the ground,
|
|
|
-that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the
|
|
|
-fall of the stricken man. To Holmes, as I could see by his eager
|
|
|
-face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read
|
|
|
-upon the trampled grass. He ran round, like a dog who is picking
|
|
|
-up a scent, and then turned upon my companion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What did you go into the pool for?" he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some weapon
|
|
|
-or other trace. But how on earth--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its
|
|
|
-inward twist is all over the place. A mole could trace it, and
|
|
|
-there it vanishes among the reeds. Oh, how simple it would all
|
|
|
-have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo
|
|
|
-and wallowed all over it. Here is where the party with the
|
|
|
-lodge-keeper came, and they have covered all tracks for six or
|
|
|
-eight feet round the body. But here are three separate tracks of
|
|
|
-the same feet." He drew out a lens and lay down upon his
|
|
|
-waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time rather to
|
|
|
-himself than to us. "These are young McCarthy's feet. Twice he
|
|
|
-was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are
|
|
|
-deeply marked and the heels hardly visible. That bears out his
|
|
|
-story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Then here are
|
|
|
-the father's feet as he paced up and down. What is this, then? It
|
|
|
-is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this?
|
|
|
-Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite
|
|
|
-unusual boots! They come, they go, they come again--of course
|
|
|
-that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?" He ran up
|
|
|
-and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until we
|
|
|
-were well within the edge of the wood and under the shadow of a
|
|
|
-great beech, the largest tree in the neighbourhood. Holmes traced
|
|
|
-his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon
|
|
|
-his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a long time he
|
|
|
-remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks,
|
|
|
-gathering up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope and
|
|
|
-examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of
|
|
|
-the tree as far as he could reach. A jagged stone was lying among
|
|
|
-the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then
|
|
|
-he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the
|
|
|
-highroad, where all traces were lost.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It has been a case of considerable interest," he remarked,
|
|
|
-returning to his natural manner. "I fancy that this grey house on
|
|
|
-the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a
|
|
|
-word with Moran, and perhaps write a little note. Having done
|
|
|
-that, we may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab,
|
|
|
-and I shall be with you presently."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove
|
|
|
-back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he
|
|
|
-had picked up in the wood.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This may interest you, Lestrade," he remarked, holding it out.
|
|
|
-"The murder was done with it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see no marks."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There are none."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How do you know, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The grass was growing under it. It had only lain there a few
|
|
|
-days. There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. It
|
|
|
-corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other
|
|
|
-weapon."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And the murderer?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears
|
|
|
-thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes Indian
|
|
|
-cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his
|
|
|
-pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be
|
|
|
-enough to aid us in our search."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade laughed. "I am afraid that I am still a sceptic," he
|
|
|
-said. "Theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a
|
|
|
-hard-headed British jury."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nous verrons," answered Holmes calmly. "You work your own
|
|
|
-method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon,
|
|
|
-and shall probably return to London by the evening train."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And leave your case unfinished?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, finished."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But the mystery?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is solved."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who was the criminal, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The gentleman I describe."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But who is he?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Surely it would not be difficult to find out. This is not such a
|
|
|
-populous neighbourhood."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am a practical man," he said,
|
|
|
-"and I really cannot undertake to go about the country looking
|
|
|
-for a left-handed gentleman with a game leg. I should become the
|
|
|
-laughing-stock of Scotland Yard."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"All right," said Holmes quietly. "I have given you the chance.
|
|
|
-Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before
|
|
|
-I leave."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where
|
|
|
-we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in
|
|
|
-thought with a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds
|
|
|
-himself in a perplexing position.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Look here, Watson," he said when the cloth was cleared "just sit
|
|
|
-down in this chair and let me preach to you for a little. I don't
|
|
|
-know quite what to do, and I should value your advice. Light a
|
|
|
-cigar and let me expound."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- "Pray do so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, now, in considering this case there are two points about
|
|
|
-young McCarthy's narrative which struck us both instantly,
|
|
|
-although they impressed me in his favour and you against him. One
|
|
|
-was the fact that his father should, according to his account,
|
|
|
-cry 'Cooee!' before seeing him. The other was his singular dying
|
|
|
-reference to a rat. He mumbled several words, you understand, but
|
|
|
-that was all that caught the son's ear. Now from this double
|
|
|
-point our research must commence, and we will begin it by
|
|
|
-presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What of this 'Cooee!' then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, obviously it could not have been meant for the son. The
|
|
|
-son, as far as he knew, was in Bristol. It was mere chance that
|
|
|
-he was within earshot. The 'Cooee!' was meant to attract the
|
|
|
-attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with. But
|
|
|
-'Cooee' is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used
|
|
|
-between Australians. There is a strong presumption that the
|
|
|
-person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was
|
|
|
-someone who had been in Australia."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What of the rat, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened
|
|
|
-it out on the table. "This is a map of the Colony of Victoria,"
|
|
|
-he said. "I wired to Bristol for it last night." He put his hand
|
|
|
-over part of the map. "What do you read?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"ARAT," I read.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now?" He raised his hand.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"BALLARAT."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. That was the word the man uttered, and of which his
|
|
|
-son only caught the last two syllables. He was trying to utter
|
|
|
-the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is wonderful!" I exclaimed.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down
|
|
|
-considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point
|
|
|
-which, granting the son's statement to be correct, was a
|
|
|
-certainty. We have come now out of mere vagueness to the definite
|
|
|
-conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only
|
|
|
-be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could
|
|
|
-hardly wander."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the
|
|
|
-ground I gained the trifling details which I gave to that
|
|
|
-imbecile Lestrade, as to the personality of the criminal."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But how did you gain them?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of
|
|
|
-trifles."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length
|
|
|
-of his stride. His boots, too, might be told from their traces."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, they were peculiar boots."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But his lameness?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The impression of his right foot was always less distinct than
|
|
|
-his left. He put less weight upon it. Why? Because he limped--he
|
|
|
-was lame."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But his left-handedness."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded
|
|
|
-by the surgeon at the inquest. The blow was struck from
|
|
|
-immediately behind, and yet was upon the left side. Now, how can
|
|
|
-that be unless it were by a left-handed man? He had stood behind
|
|
|
-that tree during the interview between the father and son. He had
|
|
|
-even smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my special
|
|
|
-knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to pronounce as an Indian
|
|
|
-cigar. I have, as you know, devoted some attention to this, and
|
|
|
-written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different
|
|
|
-varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. Having found the
|
|
|
-ash, I then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss
|
|
|
-where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of the variety
|
|
|
-which are rolled in Rotterdam."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And the cigar-holder?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he
|
|
|
-used a holder. The tip had been cut off, not bitten off, but the
|
|
|
-cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt pen-knife."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes," I said, "you have drawn a net round this man from which
|
|
|
-he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as
|
|
|
-truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the
|
|
|
-direction in which all this points. The culprit is--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. John Turner," cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of
|
|
|
-our sitting-room, and ushering in a visitor.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. His
|
|
|
-slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of
|
|
|
-decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and
|
|
|
-his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual
|
|
|
-strength of body and of character. His tangled beard, grizzled
|
|
|
-hair, and outstanding, drooping eyebrows combined to give an air
|
|
|
-of dignity and power to his appearance, but his face was of an
|
|
|
-ashen white, while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were
|
|
|
-tinged with a shade of blue. It was clear to me at a glance that
|
|
|
-he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray sit down on the sofa," said Holmes gently. "You had my
|
|
|
-note?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, the lodge-keeper brought it up. You said that you wished to
|
|
|
-see me here to avoid scandal."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And why did you wish to see me?" He looked across at my
|
|
|
-companion with despair in his weary eyes, as though his question
|
|
|
-was already answered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes," said Holmes, answering the look rather than the words. "It
|
|
|
-is so. I know all about McCarthy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The old man sank his face in his hands. "God help me!" he cried.
|
|
|
-"But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I give you
|
|
|
-my word that I would have spoken out if it went against him at
|
|
|
-the Assizes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am glad to hear you say so," said Holmes gravely.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It
|
|
|
-would break her heart--it will break her heart when she hears
|
|
|
-that I am arrested."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It may not come to that," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter
|
|
|
-who required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests.
|
|
|
-Young McCarthy must be got off, however."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for
|
|
|
-years. My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a
|
|
|
-month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand
|
|
|
-and a bundle of paper before him. "Just tell us the truth," he
|
|
|
-said. "I shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson
|
|
|
-here can witness it. Then I could produce your confession at the
|
|
|
-last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall
|
|
|
-not use it unless it is absolutely needed."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's as well," said the old man; "it's a question whether I
|
|
|
-shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I
|
|
|
-should wish to spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the
|
|
|
-thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but
|
|
|
-will not take me long to tell.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil
|
|
|
-incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of
|
|
|
-such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years,
|
|
|
-and he has blasted my life. I'll tell you first how I came to be
|
|
|
-in his power.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap
|
|
|
-then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at
|
|
|
-anything; I got among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck
|
|
|
-with my claim, took to the bush, and in a word became what you
|
|
|
-would call over here a highway robber. There were six of us, and
|
|
|
-we had a wild, free life of it, sticking up a station from time
|
|
|
-to time, or stopping the wagons on the road to the diggings.
|
|
|
-Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under, and our party
|
|
|
-is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and
|
|
|
-we lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers
|
|
|
-and six of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of
|
|
|
-their saddles at the first volley. Three of our boys were killed,
|
|
|
-however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of
|
|
|
-the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the
|
|
|
-Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his
|
|
|
-wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every
|
|
|
-feature. We got away with the gold, became wealthy men, and made
|
|
|
-our way over to England without being suspected. There I parted
|
|
|
-from my old pals and determined to settle down to a quiet and
|
|
|
-respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in
|
|
|
-the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money,
|
|
|
-to make up for the way in which I had earned it. I married, too,
|
|
|
-and though my wife died young she left me my dear little Alice.
|
|
|
-Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down
|
|
|
-the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word, I turned
|
|
|
-over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All was
|
|
|
-going well when McCarthy laid his grip upon me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in
|
|
|
-Regent Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his
|
|
|
-foot.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Here we are, Jack,' says he, touching me on the arm; 'we'll be
|
|
|
-as good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son, and
|
|
|
-you can have the keeping of us. If you don't--it's a fine,
|
|
|
-law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman
|
|
|
-within hail.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking
|
|
|
-them off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land
|
|
|
-ever since. There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness;
|
|
|
-turn where I would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my
|
|
|
-elbow. It grew worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more
|
|
|
-afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he
|
|
|
-wanted he must have, and whatever it was I gave him without
|
|
|
-question, land, money, houses, until at last he asked a thing
|
|
|
-which I could not give. He asked for Alice.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"His son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as I was
|
|
|
-known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that
|
|
|
-his lad should step into the whole property. But there I was
|
|
|
-firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that
|
|
|
-I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that
|
|
|
-was enough. I stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do
|
|
|
-his worst. We were to meet at the pool midway between our houses
|
|
|
-to talk it over.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I
|
|
|
-smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone.
|
|
|
-But as I listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in
|
|
|
-me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my
|
|
|
-daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she
|
|
|
-were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I
|
|
|
-and all that I held most dear should be in the power of such a
|
|
|
-man as this. Could I not snap the bond? I was already a dying and
|
|
|
-a desperate man. Though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb,
|
|
|
-I knew that my own fate was sealed. But my memory and my girl!
|
|
|
-Both could be saved if I could but silence that foul tongue. I
|
|
|
-did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply as I have sinned,
|
|
|
-I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl
|
|
|
-should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more
|
|
|
-than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction
|
|
|
-than if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought
|
|
|
-back his son; but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I
|
|
|
-was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in
|
|
|
-my flight. That is the true story, gentlemen, of all that
|
|
|
-occurred."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, it is not for me to judge you," said Holmes as the old man
|
|
|
-signed the statement which had been drawn out. "I pray that we
|
|
|
-may never be exposed to such a temptation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I pray not, sir. And what do you intend to do?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you
|
|
|
-will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the
|
|
|
-Assizes. I will keep your confession, and if McCarthy is
|
|
|
-condemned I shall be forced to use it. If not, it shall never be
|
|
|
-seen by mortal eye; and your secret, whether you be alive or
|
|
|
-dead, shall be safe with us."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Farewell, then," said the old man solemnly. "Your own deathbeds,
|
|
|
-when they come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace
|
|
|
-which you have given to mine." Tottering and shaking in all his
|
|
|
-giant frame, he stumbled slowly from the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate
|
|
|
-play such tricks with poor, helpless worms? I never hear of such
|
|
|
-a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words, and say,
|
|
|
-'There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a
|
|
|
-number of objections which had been drawn out by Holmes and
|
|
|
-submitted to the defending counsel. Old Turner lived for seven
|
|
|
-months after our interview, but he is now dead; and there is
|
|
|
-every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live happily
|
|
|
-together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests upon their
|
|
|
-past.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-ADVENTURE V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes
|
|
|
-cases between the years '82 and '90, I am faced by so many which
|
|
|
-present strange and interesting features that it is no easy
|
|
|
-matter to know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however,
|
|
|
-have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have
|
|
|
-not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend
|
|
|
-possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of
|
|
|
-these papers to illustrate. Some, too, have baffled his
|
|
|
-analytical skill, and would be, as narratives, beginnings without
|
|
|
-an ending, while others have been but partially cleared up, and
|
|
|
-have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture and
|
|
|
-surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to
|
|
|
-him. There is, however, one of these last which was so remarkable
|
|
|
-in its details and so startling in its results that I am tempted
|
|
|
-to give some account of it in spite of the fact that there are
|
|
|
-points in connection with it which never have been, and probably
|
|
|
-never will be, entirely cleared up.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The year '87 furnished us with a long series of cases of greater
|
|
|
-or less interest, of which I retain the records. Among my
|
|
|
-headings under this one twelve months I find an account of the
|
|
|
-adventure of the Paradol Chamber, of the Amateur Mendicant
|
|
|
-Society, who held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a
|
|
|
-furniture warehouse, of the facts connected with the loss of the
|
|
|
-British barque "Sophy Anderson", of the singular adventures of the
|
|
|
-Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the
|
|
|
-Camberwell poisoning case. In the latter, as may be remembered,
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to
|
|
|
-prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that
|
|
|
-therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a
|
|
|
-deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the
|
|
|
-case. All these I may sketch out at some future date, but none of
|
|
|
-them present such singular features as the strange train of
|
|
|
-circumstances which I have now taken up my pen to describe.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales
|
|
|
-had set in with exceptional violence. All day the wind had
|
|
|
-screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that
|
|
|
-even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced
|
|
|
-to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and
|
|
|
-to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which
|
|
|
-shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like
|
|
|
-untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew
|
|
|
-higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in
|
|
|
-the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the
|
|
|
-fireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while I at the
|
|
|
-other was deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea-stories until
|
|
|
-the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text,
|
|
|
-and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of
|
|
|
-the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to her mother's, and for a
|
|
|
-few days I was a dweller once more in my old quarters at Baker
|
|
|
-Street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why," said I, glancing up at my companion, "that was surely the
|
|
|
-bell. Who could come to-night? Some friend of yours, perhaps?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Except yourself I have none," he answered. "I do not encourage
|
|
|
-visitors."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A client, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If so, it is a serious case. Nothing less would bring a man out
|
|
|
-on such a day and at such an hour. But I take it that it is more
|
|
|
-likely to be some crony of the landlady's."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes was wrong in his conjecture, however, for there
|
|
|
-came a step in the passage and a tapping at the door. He
|
|
|
-stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from himself and
|
|
|
-towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Come in!" said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man who entered was young, some two-and-twenty at the
|
|
|
-outside, well-groomed and trimly clad, with something of
|
|
|
-refinement and delicacy in his bearing. The streaming umbrella
|
|
|
-which he held in his hand, and his long shining waterproof told
|
|
|
-of the fierce weather through which he had come. He looked about
|
|
|
-him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and I could see that his
|
|
|
-face was pale and his eyes heavy, like those of a man who is
|
|
|
-weighed down with some great anxiety.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I owe you an apology," he said, raising his golden pince-nez to
|
|
|
-his eyes. "I trust that I am not intruding. I fear that I have
|
|
|
-brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug
|
|
|
-chamber."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Give me your coat and umbrella," said Holmes. "They may rest
|
|
|
-here on the hook and will be dry presently. You have come up from
|
|
|
-the south-west, I see."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, from Horsham."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe caps is
|
|
|
-quite distinctive."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have come for advice."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is easily got."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And help."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is not always so easy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes. I heard from Major Prendergast
|
|
|
-how you saved him in the Tankerville Club scandal."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, of course. He was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He said that you could solve anything."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He said too much."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That you are never beaten."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have been beaten four times--three times by men, and once by a
|
|
|
-woman."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what is that compared with the number of your successes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is true that I have been generally successful."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then you may be so with me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire and favour me
|
|
|
-with some details as to your case."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is no ordinary one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None of those which come to me are. I am the last court of
|
|
|
-appeal."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And yet I question, sir, whether, in all your experience, you
|
|
|
-have ever listened to a more mysterious and inexplicable chain of
|
|
|
-events than those which have happened in my own family."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You fill me with interest," said Holmes. "Pray give us the
|
|
|
-essential facts from the commencement, and I can afterwards
|
|
|
-question you as to those details which seem to me to be most
|
|
|
-important."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out
|
|
|
-towards the blaze.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My name," said he, "is John Openshaw, but my own affairs have,
|
|
|
-as far as I can understand, little to do with this awful
|
|
|
-business. It is a hereditary matter; so in order to give you an
|
|
|
-idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the
|
|
|
-affair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You must know that my grandfather had two sons--my uncle Elias
|
|
|
-and my father Joseph. My father had a small factory at Coventry,
|
|
|
-which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling. He
|
|
|
-was a patentee of the Openshaw unbreakable tire, and his business
|
|
|
-met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire
|
|
|
-upon a handsome competence.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My uncle Elias emigrated to America when he was a young man and
|
|
|
-became a planter in Florida, where he was reported to have done
|
|
|
-very well. At the time of the war he fought in Jackson's army,
|
|
|
-and afterwards under Hood, where he rose to be a colonel. When
|
|
|
-Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation, where
|
|
|
-he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came
|
|
|
-back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham.
|
|
|
-He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his
|
|
|
-reason for leaving them was his aversion to the negroes, and his
|
|
|
-dislike of the Republican policy in extending the franchise to
|
|
|
-them. He was a singular man, fierce and quick-tempered, very
|
|
|
-foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring
|
|
|
-disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham, I
|
|
|
-doubt if ever he set foot in the town. He had a garden and two or
|
|
|
-three fields round his house, and there he would take his
|
|
|
-exercise, though very often for weeks on end he would never leave
|
|
|
-his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very
|
|
|
-heavily, but he would see no society and did not want any
|
|
|
-friends, not even his own brother.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He didn't mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the
|
|
|
-time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This
|
|
|
-would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years
|
|
|
-in England. He begged my father to let me live with him and he
|
|
|
-was very kind to me in his way. When he was sober he used to be
|
|
|
-fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me, and he would
|
|
|
-make me his representative both with the servants and with the
|
|
|
-tradespeople, so that by the time that I was sixteen I was quite
|
|
|
-master of the house. I kept all the keys and could go where I
|
|
|
-liked and do what I liked, so long as I did not disturb him in
|
|
|
-his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, for he
|
|
|
-had a single room, a lumber-room up among the attics, which was
|
|
|
-invariably locked, and which he would never permit either me or
|
|
|
-anyone else to enter. With a boy's curiosity I have peeped
|
|
|
-through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a
|
|
|
-collection of old trunks and bundles as would be expected in such
|
|
|
-a room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One day--it was in March, 1883--a letter with a foreign stamp
|
|
|
-lay upon the table in front of the colonel's plate. It was not a
|
|
|
-common thing for him to receive letters, for his bills were all
|
|
|
-paid in ready money, and he had no friends of any sort. 'From
|
|
|
-India!' said he as he took it up, 'Pondicherry postmark! What can
|
|
|
-this be?' Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little
|
|
|
-dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. I began to
|
|
|
-laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight
|
|
|
-of his face. His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding, his
|
|
|
-skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he
|
|
|
-still held in his trembling hand, 'K. K. K.!' he shrieked, and
|
|
|
-then, 'My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What is it, uncle?' I cried.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Death,' said he, and rising from the table he retired to his
|
|
|
-room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took up the envelope
|
|
|
-and saw scrawled in red ink upon the inner flap, just above the
|
|
|
-gum, the letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else
|
|
|
-save the five dried pips. What could be the reason of his
|
|
|
-overpowering terror? I left the breakfast-table, and as I
|
|
|
-ascended the stair I met him coming down with an old rusty key,
|
|
|
-which must have belonged to the attic, in one hand, and a small
|
|
|
-brass box, like a cashbox, in the other.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'They may do what they like, but I'll checkmate them still,'
|
|
|
-said he with an oath. 'Tell Mary that I shall want a fire in my
|
|
|
-room to-day, and send down to Fordham, the Horsham lawyer.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I did as he ordered, and when the lawyer arrived I was asked to
|
|
|
-step up to the room. The fire was burning brightly, and in the
|
|
|
-grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned
|
|
|
-paper, while the brass box stood open and empty beside it. As I
|
|
|
-glanced at the box I noticed, with a start, that upon the lid was
|
|
|
-printed the treble K which I had read in the morning upon the
|
|
|
-envelope.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I wish you, John,' said my uncle, 'to witness my will. I leave
|
|
|
-my estate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages, to
|
|
|
-my brother, your father, whence it will, no doubt, descend to
|
|
|
-you. If you can enjoy it in peace, well and good! If you find you
|
|
|
-cannot, take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest
|
|
|
-enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged thing, but I can't
|
|
|
-say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper
|
|
|
-where Mr. Fordham shows you.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with
|
|
|
-him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest
|
|
|
-impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned it every
|
|
|
-way in my mind without being able to make anything of it. Yet I
|
|
|
-could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left
|
|
|
-behind, though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed
|
|
|
-and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I
|
|
|
-could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever,
|
|
|
-and he was less inclined for any sort of society. Most of his
|
|
|
-time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the
|
|
|
-inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy
|
|
|
-and would burst out of the house and tear about the garden with a
|
|
|
-revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man,
|
|
|
-and that he was not to be cooped up, like a sheep in a pen, by
|
|
|
-man or devil. When these hot fits were over, however, he would
|
|
|
-rush tumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him,
|
|
|
-like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror
|
|
|
-which lies at the roots of his soul. At such times I have seen
|
|
|
-his face, even on a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it
|
|
|
-were new raised from a basin.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, to come to an end of the matter, Mr. Holmes, and not to
|
|
|
-abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those
|
|
|
-drunken sallies from which he never came back. We found him, when
|
|
|
-we went to search for him, face downward in a little
|
|
|
-green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There
|
|
|
-was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep,
|
|
|
-so that the jury, having regard to his known eccentricity,
|
|
|
-brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who knew how he winced
|
|
|
-from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself
|
|
|
-that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The matter passed,
|
|
|
-however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and
|
|
|
-of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to his credit at the bank."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee,
|
|
|
-one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me
|
|
|
-have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and
|
|
|
-the date of his supposed suicide."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks
|
|
|
-later, upon the night of May 2nd."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. Pray proceed."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my
|
|
|
-request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had been
|
|
|
-always locked up. We found the brass box there, although its
|
|
|
-contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a
|
|
|
-paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and
|
|
|
-'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath.
|
|
|
-These, we presume, indicated the nature of the papers which had
|
|
|
-been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was
|
|
|
-nothing of much importance in the attic save a great many
|
|
|
-scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in
|
|
|
-America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had
|
|
|
-done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier.
|
|
|
-Others were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern
|
|
|
-states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had
|
|
|
-evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet-bag
|
|
|
-politicians who had been sent down from the North.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at
|
|
|
-Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the
|
|
|
-January of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my
|
|
|
-father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the
|
|
|
-breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened
|
|
|
-envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the
|
|
|
-outstretched palm of the other one. He had always laughed at what
|
|
|
-he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked
|
|
|
-very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon
|
|
|
-himself.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He looked inside the envelope. 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are
|
|
|
-the very letters. But what is this written above them?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, peeping over his
|
|
|
-shoulder.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What papers? What sundial?' he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The sundial in the garden. There is no other,' said I; 'but the
|
|
|
-papers must be those that are destroyed.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Pooh!' said he, gripping hard at his courage. 'We are in a
|
|
|
-civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind.
|
|
|
-Where does the thing come from?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Some preposterous practical joke,' said he. 'What have I to do
|
|
|
-with sundials and papers? I shall take no notice of such
|
|
|
-nonsense.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Then let me do so?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, I forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such
|
|
|
-nonsense.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate
|
|
|
-man. I went about, however, with a heart which was full of
|
|
|
-forebodings.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went
|
|
|
-from home to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is
|
|
|
-in command of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad
|
|
|
-that he should go, for it seemed to me that he was farther from
|
|
|
-danger when he was away from home. In that, however, I was in
|
|
|
-error. Upon the second day of his absence I received a telegram
|
|
|
-from the major, imploring me to come at once. My father had
|
|
|
-fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound in the
|
|
|
-neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull. I
|
|
|
-hurried to him, but he passed away without having ever recovered
|
|
|
-his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been returning from
|
|
|
-Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him,
|
|
|
-and the chalk-pit unfenced, the jury had no hesitation in
|
|
|
-bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental causes.'
|
|
|
-Carefully as I examined every fact connected with his death, I
|
|
|
-was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of
|
|
|
-murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no
|
|
|
-robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads.
|
|
|
-And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease,
|
|
|
-and that I was well-nigh certain that some foul plot had been
|
|
|
-woven round him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In this sinister way I came into my inheritance. You will ask me
|
|
|
-why I did not dispose of it? I answer, because I was well
|
|
|
-convinced that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an
|
|
|
-incident in my uncle's life, and that the danger would be as
|
|
|
-pressing in one house as in another.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was in January, '85, that my poor father met his end, and two
|
|
|
-years and eight months have elapsed since then. During that time
|
|
|
-I have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that
|
|
|
-this curse had passed away from the family, and that it had ended
|
|
|
-with the last generation. I had begun to take comfort too soon,
|
|
|
-however; yesterday morning the blow fell in the very shape in
|
|
|
-which it had come upon my father."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The young man took from his waistcoat a crumpled envelope, and
|
|
|
-turning to the table he shook out upon it five little dried
|
|
|
-orange pips.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This is the envelope," he continued. "The postmark is
|
|
|
-London--eastern division. Within are the very words which were
|
|
|
-upon my father's last message: 'K. K. K.'; and then 'Put the
|
|
|
-papers on the sundial.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What have you done?" asked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To tell the truth"--he sank his face into his thin, white
|
|
|
-hands--"I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor
|
|
|
-rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it. I seem to be in
|
|
|
-the grasp of some resistless, inexorable evil, which no foresight
|
|
|
-and no precautions can guard against."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Tut! tut!" cried Sherlock Holmes. "You must act, man, or you are
|
|
|
-lost. Nothing but energy can save you. This is no time for
|
|
|
-despair."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have seen the police."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But they listened to my story with a smile. I am convinced that
|
|
|
-the inspector has formed the opinion that the letters are all
|
|
|
-practical jokes, and that the deaths of my relations were really
|
|
|
-accidents, as the jury stated, and were not to be connected with
|
|
|
-the warnings."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air. "Incredible
|
|
|
-imbecility!" he cried.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in
|
|
|
-the house with me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Has he come with you to-night?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No. His orders were to stay in the house."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Again Holmes raved in the air.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why did you come to me," he cried, "and, above all, why did you
|
|
|
-not come at once?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major
|
|
|
-Prendergast about my troubles and was advised by him to come to
|
|
|
-you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is really two days since you had the letter. We should have
|
|
|
-acted before this. You have no further evidence, I suppose, than
|
|
|
-that which you have placed before us--no suggestive detail which
|
|
|
-might help us?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is one thing," said John Openshaw. He rummaged in his coat
|
|
|
-pocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue-tinted
|
|
|
-paper, he laid it out upon the table. "I have some remembrance,"
|
|
|
-said he, "that on the day when my uncle burned the papers I
|
|
|
-observed that the small, unburned margins which lay amid the
|
|
|
-ashes were of this particular colour. I found this single sheet
|
|
|
-upon the floor of his room, and I am inclined to think that it
|
|
|
-may be one of the papers which has, perhaps, fluttered out from
|
|
|
-among the others, and in that way has escaped destruction. Beyond
|
|
|
-the mention of pips, I do not see that it helps us much. I think
|
|
|
-myself that it is a page from some private diary. The writing is
|
|
|
-undoubtedly my uncle's."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes moved the lamp, and we both bent over the sheet of paper,
|
|
|
-which showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from
|
|
|
-a book. It was headed, "March, 1869," and beneath were the
|
|
|
-following enigmatical notices:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"4th. Hudson came. Same old platform.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and
|
|
|
- John Swain, of St. Augustine.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"9th. McCauley cleared.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"10th. John Swain cleared.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"12th. Visited Paramore. All well."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you!" said Holmes, folding up the paper and returning it
|
|
|
-to our visitor. "And now you must on no account lose another
|
|
|
-instant. We cannot spare time even to discuss what you have told
|
|
|
-me. You must get home instantly and act."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What shall I do?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is but one thing to do. It must be done at once. You must
|
|
|
-put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass
|
|
|
-box which you have described. You must also put in a note to say
|
|
|
-that all the other papers were burned by your uncle, and that
|
|
|
-this is the only one which remains. You must assert that in such
|
|
|
-words as will carry conviction with them. Having done this, you
|
|
|
-must at once put the box out upon the sundial, as directed. Do
|
|
|
-you understand?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Entirely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do not think of revenge, or anything of the sort, at present. I
|
|
|
-think that we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our
|
|
|
-web to weave, while theirs is already woven. The first
|
|
|
-consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens
|
|
|
-you. The second is to clear up the mystery and to punish the
|
|
|
-guilty parties."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I thank you," said the young man, rising and pulling on his
|
|
|
-overcoat. "You have given me fresh life and hope. I shall
|
|
|
-certainly do as you advise."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do not lose an instant. And, above all, take care of yourself in
|
|
|
-the meanwhile, for I do not think that there can be a doubt that
|
|
|
-you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you
|
|
|
-go back?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By train from Waterloo."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is not yet nine. The streets will be crowded, so I trust that
|
|
|
-you may be in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself too
|
|
|
-closely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am armed."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is well. To-morrow I shall set to work upon your case."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall see you at Horsham, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, your secret lies in London. It is there that I shall seek
|
|
|
-it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news
|
|
|
-as to the box and the papers. I shall take your advice in every
|
|
|
-particular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside
|
|
|
-the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered
|
|
|
-against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come
|
|
|
-to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet
|
|
|
-of sea-weed in a gale--and now to have been reabsorbed by them
|
|
|
-once more.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head sunk
|
|
|
-forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then he
|
|
|
-lit his pipe, and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue
|
|
|
-smoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we
|
|
|
-have had none more fantastic than this."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, yes. Save, perhaps, that. And yet this John Openshaw seems
|
|
|
-to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the
|
|
|
-Sholtos."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to
|
|
|
-what these perils are?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There can be no question as to their nature," he answered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue
|
|
|
-this unhappy family?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the
|
|
|
-arms of his chair, with his finger-tips together. "The ideal
|
|
|
-reasoner," he remarked, "would, when he had once been shown a
|
|
|
-single fact in all its bearings, deduce from it not only all the
|
|
|
-chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which
|
|
|
-would follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole
|
|
|
-animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who
|
|
|
-has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents
|
|
|
-should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both
|
|
|
-before and after. We have not yet grasped the results which the
|
|
|
-reason alone can attain to. Problems may be solved in the study
|
|
|
-which have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the
|
|
|
-aid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highest
|
|
|
-pitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to
|
|
|
-utilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge; and this
|
|
|
-in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all
|
|
|
-knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and
|
|
|
-encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so
|
|
|
-impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge
|
|
|
-which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have
|
|
|
-endeavoured in my case to do. If I remember rightly, you on one
|
|
|
-occasion, in the early days of our friendship, defined my limits
|
|
|
-in a very precise fashion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes," I answered, laughing. "It was a singular document.
|
|
|
-Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I
|
|
|
-remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the
|
|
|
-mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry
|
|
|
-eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime
|
|
|
-records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and
|
|
|
-self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were the
|
|
|
-main points of my analysis."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes grinned at the last item. "Well," he said, "I say now, as
|
|
|
-I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic
|
|
|
-stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the
|
|
|
-rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he
|
|
|
-can get it if he wants it. Now, for such a case as the one which
|
|
|
-has been submitted to us to-night, we need certainly to muster
|
|
|
-all our resources. Kindly hand me down the letter K of the
|
|
|
-'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you.
|
|
|
-Thank you. Now let us consider the situation and see what may be
|
|
|
-deduced from it. In the first place, we may start with a strong
|
|
|
-presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason for
|
|
|
-leaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all their
|
|
|
-habits and exchange willingly the charming climate of Florida for
|
|
|
-the lonely life of an English provincial town. His extreme love
|
|
|
-of solitude in England suggests the idea that he was in fear of
|
|
|
-someone or something, so we may assume as a working hypothesis
|
|
|
-that it was fear of someone or something which drove him from
|
|
|
-America. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce that by
|
|
|
-considering the formidable letters which were received by himself
|
|
|
-and his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of those
|
|
|
-letters?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The first was from Pondicherry, the second from Dundee, and the
|
|
|
-third from London."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"From East London. What do you deduce from that?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that
|
|
|
-the probability--the strong probability--is that the writer was
|
|
|
-on board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the
|
|
|
-case of Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat and
|
|
|
-its fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days.
|
|
|
-Does that suggest anything?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A greater distance to travel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But the letter had also a greater distance to come."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I do not see the point."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man
|
|
|
-or men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always send
|
|
|
-their singular warning or token before them when starting upon
|
|
|
-their mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the sign
|
|
|
-when it came from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in a
|
|
|
-steamer they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter.
|
|
|
-But, as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that those
|
|
|
-seven weeks represented the difference between the mail-boat which
|
|
|
-brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the
|
|
|
-writer."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is possible."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly
|
|
|
-urgency of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to
|
|
|
-caution. The blow has always fallen at the end of the time which
|
|
|
-it would take the senders to travel the distance. But this one
|
|
|
-comes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good God!" I cried. "What can it mean, this relentless
|
|
|
-persecution?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The papers which Openshaw carried are obviously of vital
|
|
|
-importance to the person or persons in the sailing-ship. I think
|
|
|
-that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them.
|
|
|
-A single man could not have carried out two deaths in such a way
|
|
|
-as to deceive a coroner's jury. There must have been several in
|
|
|
-it, and they must have been men of resource and determination.
|
|
|
-Their papers they mean to have, be the holder of them who it may.
|
|
|
-In this way you see K. K. K. ceases to be the initials of an
|
|
|
-individual and becomes the badge of a society."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But of what society?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and
|
|
|
-sinking his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I never have."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. "Here it
|
|
|
-is," said he presently:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to
|
|
|
-the sound produced by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret
|
|
|
-society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the
|
|
|
-Southern states after the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local
|
|
|
-branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee,
|
|
|
-Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was
|
|
|
-used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of
|
|
|
-the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country
|
|
|
-of those who were opposed to its views. Its outrages were usually
|
|
|
-preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic
|
|
|
-but generally recognised shape--a sprig of oak-leaves in some
|
|
|
-parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this
|
|
|
-the victim might either openly abjure his former ways, or might
|
|
|
-fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death would
|
|
|
-unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange and
|
|
|
-unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the
|
|
|
-society, and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a
|
|
|
-case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it with
|
|
|
-impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the
|
|
|
-perpetrators. For some years the organisation flourished in spite
|
|
|
-of the efforts of the United States government and of the better
|
|
|
-classes of the community in the South. Eventually, in the year
|
|
|
-1869, the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have
|
|
|
-been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will observe," said Holmes, laying down the volume, "that
|
|
|
-the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the
|
|
|
-disappearance of Openshaw from America with their papers. It may
|
|
|
-well have been cause and effect. It is no wonder that he and his
|
|
|
-family have some of the more implacable spirits upon their track.
|
|
|
-You can understand that this register and diary may implicate
|
|
|
-some of the first men in the South, and that there may be many
|
|
|
-who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then the page we have seen--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Is such as we might expect. It ran, if I remember right, 'sent
|
|
|
-the pips to A, B, and C'--that is, sent the society's warning to
|
|
|
-them. Then there are successive entries that A and B cleared, or
|
|
|
-left the country, and finally that C was visited, with, I fear, a
|
|
|
-sinister result for C. Well, I think, Doctor, that we may let
|
|
|
-some light into this dark place, and I believe that the only
|
|
|
-chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have
|
|
|
-told him. There is nothing more to be said or to be done
|
|
|
-to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for
|
|
|
-half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable
|
|
|
-ways of our fellow-men."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining with a
|
|
|
-subdued brightness through the dim veil which hangs over the
|
|
|
-great city. Sherlock Holmes was already at breakfast when I came
|
|
|
-down.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will excuse me for not waiting for you," said he; "I have, I
|
|
|
-foresee, a very busy day before me in looking into this case of
|
|
|
-young Openshaw's."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What steps will you take?" I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It will very much depend upon the results of my first inquiries.
|
|
|
-I may have to go down to Horsham, after all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will not go there first?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I shall commence with the City. Just ring the bell and the
|
|
|
-maid will bring up your coffee."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and
|
|
|
-glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a
|
|
|
-chill to my heart.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes," I cried, "you are too late."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah!" said he, laying down his cup, "I feared as much. How was it
|
|
|
-done?" He spoke calmly, but I could see that he was deeply moved.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My eye caught the name of Openshaw, and the heading 'Tragedy
|
|
|
-Near Waterloo Bridge.' Here is the account:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Between nine and ten last night Police-Constable Cook, of the H
|
|
|
-Division, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry for help and
|
|
|
-a splash in the water. The night, however, was extremely dark and
|
|
|
-stormy, so that, in spite of the help of several passers-by, it
|
|
|
-was quite impossible to effect a rescue. The alarm, however, was
|
|
|
-given, and, by the aid of the water-police, the body was
|
|
|
-eventually recovered. It proved to be that of a young gentleman
|
|
|
-whose name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his
|
|
|
-pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham.
|
|
|
-It is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down to catch
|
|
|
-the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and
|
|
|
-the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge
|
|
|
-of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats. The body
|
|
|
-exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that
|
|
|
-the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident,
|
|
|
-which should have the effect of calling the attention of the
|
|
|
-authorities to the condition of the riverside landing-stages."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and
|
|
|
-shaken than I had ever seen him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That hurts my pride, Watson," he said at last. "It is a petty
|
|
|
-feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal
|
|
|
-matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my
|
|
|
-hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that
|
|
|
-I should send him away to his death--!" He sprang from his chair
|
|
|
-and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation, with a
|
|
|
-flush upon his sallow cheeks and a nervous clasping and
|
|
|
-unclasping of his long thin hands.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They must be cunning devils," he exclaimed at last. "How could
|
|
|
-they have decoyed him down there? The Embankment is not on the
|
|
|
-direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt, was too
|
|
|
-crowded, even on such a night, for their purpose. Well, Watson,
|
|
|
-we shall see who will win in the long run. I am going out now!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To the police?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No; I shall be my own police. When I have spun the web they may
|
|
|
-take the flies, but not before."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-All day I was engaged in my professional work, and it was late in
|
|
|
-the evening before I returned to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes
|
|
|
-had not come back yet. It was nearly ten o'clock before he
|
|
|
-entered, looking pale and worn. He walked up to the sideboard,
|
|
|
-and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously,
|
|
|
-washing it down with a long draught of water.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are hungry," I remarked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Starving. It had escaped my memory. I have had nothing since
|
|
|
-breakfast."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not a bite. I had no time to think of it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how have you succeeded?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have a clue?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have them in the hollow of my hand. Young Openshaw shall not
|
|
|
-long remain unavenged. Why, Watson, let us put their own devilish
|
|
|
-trade-mark upon them. It is well thought of!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What do you mean?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing it to pieces he
|
|
|
-squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and
|
|
|
-thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the flap he wrote
|
|
|
-"S. H. for J. O." Then he sealed it and addressed it to "Captain
|
|
|
-James Calhoun, Barque 'Lone Star,' Savannah, Georgia."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That will await him when he enters port," said he, chuckling.
|
|
|
-"It may give him a sleepless night. He will find it as sure a
|
|
|
-precursor of his fate as Openshaw did before him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And who is this Captain Calhoun?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How did you trace it, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with
|
|
|
-dates and names.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have spent the whole day," said he, "over Lloyd's registers
|
|
|
-and files of the old papers, following the future career of every
|
|
|
-vessel which touched at Pondicherry in January and February in
|
|
|
-'83. There were thirty-six ships of fair tonnage which were
|
|
|
-reported there during those months. Of these, one, the 'Lone Star,'
|
|
|
-instantly attracted my attention, since, although it was reported
|
|
|
-as having cleared from London, the name is that which is given to
|
|
|
-one of the states of the Union."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Texas, I think."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was not and am not sure which; but I knew that the ship must
|
|
|
-have an American origin."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I searched the Dundee records, and when I found that the barque
|
|
|
-'Lone Star' was there in January, '85, my suspicion became a
|
|
|
-certainty. I then inquired as to the vessels which lay at present
|
|
|
-in the port of London."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The 'Lone Star' had arrived here last week. I went down to the
|
|
|
-Albert Dock and found that she had been taken down the river by
|
|
|
-the early tide this morning, homeward bound to Savannah. I wired
|
|
|
-to Gravesend and learned that she had passed some time ago, and
|
|
|
-as the wind is easterly I have no doubt that she is now past the
|
|
|
-Goodwins and not very far from the Isle of Wight."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What will you do, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, I have my hand upon him. He and the two mates, are as I
|
|
|
-learn, the only native-born Americans in the ship. The others are
|
|
|
-Finns and Germans. I know, also, that they were all three away
|
|
|
-from the ship last night. I had it from the stevedore who has
|
|
|
-been loading their cargo. By the time that their sailing-ship
|
|
|
-reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and
|
|
|
-the cable will have informed the police of Savannah that these
|
|
|
-three gentlemen are badly wanted here upon a charge of murder."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There is ever a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans,
|
|
|
-and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive the
|
|
|
-orange pips which would show them that another, as cunning and as
|
|
|
-resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very
|
|
|
-severe were the equinoctial gales that year. We waited long for
|
|
|
-news of the "Lone Star" of Savannah, but none ever reached us. We
|
|
|
-did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic a
|
|
|
-shattered stern-post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough
|
|
|
-of a wave, with the letters "L. S." carved upon it, and that is
|
|
|
-all which we shall ever know of the fate of the "Lone Star."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-ADVENTURE VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Isa Whitney, brother of the late Elias Whitney, D.D., Principal
|
|
|
-of the Theological College of St. George's, was much addicted to
|
|
|
-opium. The habit grew upon him, as I understand, from some
|
|
|
-foolish freak when he was at college; for having read De
|
|
|
-Quincey's description of his dreams and sensations, he had
|
|
|
-drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the
|
|
|
-same effects. He found, as so many more have done, that the
|
|
|
-practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many
|
|
|
-years he continued to be a slave to the drug, an object of
|
|
|
-mingled horror and pity to his friends and relatives. I can see
|
|
|
-him now, with yellow, pasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point
|
|
|
-pupils, all huddled in a chair, the wreck and ruin of a noble
|
|
|
-man.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-One night--it was in June, '89--there came a ring to my bell,
|
|
|
-about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the
|
|
|
-clock. I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work
|
|
|
-down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A patient!" said she. "You'll have to go out."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I groaned, for I was newly come back from a weary day.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps
|
|
|
-upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in
|
|
|
-some dark-coloured stuff, with a black veil, entered the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will excuse my calling so late," she began, and then,
|
|
|
-suddenly losing her self-control, she ran forward, threw her arms
|
|
|
-about my wife's neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. "Oh, I'm in
|
|
|
-such trouble!" she cried; "I do so want a little help."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why," said my wife, pulling up her veil, "it is Kate Whitney.
|
|
|
-How you startled me, Kate! I had not an idea who you were when
|
|
|
-you came in."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I didn't know what to do, so I came straight to you." That was
|
|
|
-always the way. Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds
|
|
|
-to a light-house.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was very sweet of you to come. Now, you must have some wine
|
|
|
-and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. Or
|
|
|
-should you rather that I sent James off to bed?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, no, no! I want the doctor's advice and help, too. It's about
|
|
|
-Isa. He has not been home for two days. I am so frightened about
|
|
|
-him!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was not the first time that she had spoken to us of her
|
|
|
-husband's trouble, to me as a doctor, to my wife as an old friend
|
|
|
-and school companion. We soothed and comforted her by such words
|
|
|
-as we could find. Did she know where her husband was? Was it
|
|
|
-possible that we could bring him back to her?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It seems that it was. She had the surest information that of late
|
|
|
-he had, when the fit was on him, made use of an opium den in the
|
|
|
-farthest east of the City. Hitherto his orgies had always been
|
|
|
-confined to one day, and he had come back, twitching and
|
|
|
-shattered, in the evening. But now the spell had been upon him
|
|
|
-eight-and-forty hours, and he lay there, doubtless among the
|
|
|
-dregs of the docks, breathing in the poison or sleeping off the
|
|
|
-effects. There he was to be found, she was sure of it, at the Bar
|
|
|
-of Gold, in Upper Swandam Lane. But what was she to do? How could
|
|
|
-she, a young and timid woman, make her way into such a place and
|
|
|
-pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who surrounded him?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There was the case, and of course there was but one way out of
|
|
|
-it. Might I not escort her to this place? And then, as a second
|
|
|
-thought, why should she come at all? I was Isa Whitney's medical
|
|
|
-adviser, and as such I had influence over him. I could manage it
|
|
|
-better if I were alone. I promised her on my word that I would
|
|
|
-send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the
|
|
|
-address which she had given me. And so in ten minutes I had left
|
|
|
-my armchair and cheery sitting-room behind me, and was speeding
|
|
|
-eastward in a hansom on a strange errand, as it seemed to me at
|
|
|
-the time, though the future only could show how strange it was to
|
|
|
-be.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-But there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my
|
|
|
-adventure. Upper Swandam Lane is a vile alley lurking behind the
|
|
|
-high wharves which line the north side of the river to the east
|
|
|
-of London Bridge. Between a slop-shop and a gin-shop, approached
|
|
|
-by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the
|
|
|
-mouth of a cave, I found the den of which I was in search.
|
|
|
-Ordering my cab to wait, I passed down the steps, worn hollow in
|
|
|
-the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken feet; and by the
|
|
|
-light of a flickering oil-lamp above the door I found the latch
|
|
|
-and made my way into a long, low room, thick and heavy with the
|
|
|
-brown opium smoke, and terraced with wooden berths, like the
|
|
|
-forecastle of an emigrant ship.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Through the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying
|
|
|
-in strange fantastic poses, bowed shoulders, bent knees, heads
|
|
|
-thrown back, and chins pointing upward, with here and there a
|
|
|
-dark, lack-lustre eye turned upon the newcomer. Out of the black
|
|
|
-shadows there glimmered little red circles of light, now bright,
|
|
|
-now faint, as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of
|
|
|
-the metal pipes. The most lay silent, but some muttered to
|
|
|
-themselves, and others talked together in a strange, low,
|
|
|
-monotonous voice, their conversation coming in gushes, and then
|
|
|
-suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own
|
|
|
-thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his neighbour. At
|
|
|
-the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal, beside
|
|
|
-which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old
|
|
|
-man, with his jaw resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon
|
|
|
-his knees, staring into the fire.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As I entered, a sallow Malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe
|
|
|
-for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. I have not come to stay," said I. "There is a friend
|
|
|
-of mine here, Mr. Isa Whitney, and I wish to speak with him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There was a movement and an exclamation from my right, and
|
|
|
-peering through the gloom, I saw Whitney, pale, haggard, and
|
|
|
-unkempt, staring out at me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My God! It's Watson," said he. He was in a pitiable state of
|
|
|
-reaction, with every nerve in a twitter. "I say, Watson, what
|
|
|
-o'clock is it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nearly eleven."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Of what day?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Of Friday, June 19th."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday. It is Wednesday. What
|
|
|
-d'you want to frighten a chap for?" He sank his face onto his
|
|
|
-arms and began to sob in a high treble key.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I tell you that it is Friday, man. Your wife has been waiting
|
|
|
-this two days for you. You should be ashamed of yourself!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So I am. But you've got mixed, Watson, for I have only been here
|
|
|
-a few hours, three pipes, four pipes--I forget how many. But I'll
|
|
|
-go home with you. I wouldn't frighten Kate--poor little Kate.
|
|
|
-Give me your hand! Have you a cab?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, I have one waiting."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I shall go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I
|
|
|
-owe, Watson. I am all off colour. I can do nothing for myself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I walked down the narrow passage between the double row of
|
|
|
-sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying
|
|
|
-fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed
|
|
|
-the tall man who sat by the brazier I felt a sudden pluck at my
|
|
|
-skirt, and a low voice whispered, "Walk past me, and then look
|
|
|
-back at me." The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I
|
|
|
-glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my
|
|
|
-side, and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever, very thin, very
|
|
|
-wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe dangling down from between
|
|
|
-his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his
|
|
|
-fingers. I took two steps forward and looked back. It took all my
|
|
|
-self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of
|
|
|
-astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him
|
|
|
-but I. His form had filled out, his wrinkles were gone, the dull
|
|
|
-eyes had regained their fire, and there, sitting by the fire and
|
|
|
-grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He
|
|
|
-made a slight motion to me to approach him, and instantly, as he
|
|
|
-turned his face half round to the company once more, subsided
|
|
|
-into a doddering, loose-lipped senility.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes!" I whispered, "what on earth are you doing in this den?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As low as you can," he answered; "I have excellent ears. If you
|
|
|
-would have the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend
|
|
|
-of yours I should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with
|
|
|
-you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have a cab outside."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then pray send him home in it. You may safely trust him, for he
|
|
|
-appears to be too limp to get into any mischief. I should
|
|
|
-recommend you also to send a note by the cabman to your wife to
|
|
|
-say that you have thrown in your lot with me. If you will wait
|
|
|
-outside, I shall be with you in five minutes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was difficult to refuse any of Sherlock Holmes' requests, for
|
|
|
-they were always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with
|
|
|
-such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney
|
|
|
-was once confined in the cab my mission was practically
|
|
|
-accomplished; and for the rest, I could not wish anything better
|
|
|
-than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular
|
|
|
-adventures which were the normal condition of his existence. In a
|
|
|
-few minutes I had written my note, paid Whitney's bill, led him
|
|
|
-out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a
|
|
|
-very short time a decrepit figure had emerged from the opium den,
|
|
|
-and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two
|
|
|
-streets he shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot.
|
|
|
-Then, glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and
|
|
|
-burst into a hearty fit of laughter.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I suppose, Watson," said he, "that you imagine that I have added
|
|
|
-opium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little
|
|
|
-weaknesses on which you have favoured me with your medical
|
|
|
-views."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was certainly surprised to find you there."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But not more so than I to find you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I came to find a friend."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And I to find an enemy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"An enemy?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; one of my natural enemies, or, shall I say, my natural
|
|
|
-prey. Briefly, Watson, I am in the midst of a very remarkable
|
|
|
-inquiry, and I have hoped to find a clue in the incoherent
|
|
|
-ramblings of these sots, as I have done before now. Had I been
|
|
|
-recognised in that den my life would not have been worth an
|
|
|
-hour's purchase; for I have used it before now for my own
|
|
|
-purposes, and the rascally Lascar who runs it has sworn to have
|
|
|
-vengeance upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that
|
|
|
-building, near the corner of Paul's Wharf, which could tell some
|
|
|
-strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless
|
|
|
-nights."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What! You do not mean bodies?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ay, bodies, Watson. We should be rich men if we had 1000 pounds
|
|
|
-for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den. It
|
|
|
-is the vilest murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I fear that
|
|
|
-Neville St. Clair has entered it never to leave it more. But our
|
|
|
-trap should be here." He put his two forefingers between his
|
|
|
-teeth and whistled shrilly--a signal which was answered by a
|
|
|
-similar whistle from the distance, followed shortly by the rattle
|
|
|
-of wheels and the clink of horses' hoofs.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, Watson," said Holmes, as a tall dog-cart dashed up through
|
|
|
-the gloom, throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from
|
|
|
-its side lanterns. "You'll come with me, won't you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If I can be of use."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, a trusty comrade is always of use; and a chronicler still
|
|
|
-more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The Cedars?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; that is Mr. St. Clair's house. I am staying there while I
|
|
|
-conduct the inquiry."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where is it, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Near Lee, in Kent. We have a seven-mile drive before us."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But I am all in the dark."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Of course you are. You'll know all about it presently. Jump up
|
|
|
-here. All right, John; we shall not need you. Here's half a
|
|
|
-crown. Look out for me to-morrow, about eleven. Give her her
|
|
|
-head. So long, then!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through
|
|
|
-the endless succession of sombre and deserted streets, which
|
|
|
-widened gradually, until we were flying across a broad
|
|
|
-balustraded bridge, with the murky river flowing sluggishly
|
|
|
-beneath us. Beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and
|
|
|
-mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of
|
|
|
-the policeman, or the songs and shouts of some belated party of
|
|
|
-revellers. A dull wrack was drifting slowly across the sky, and a
|
|
|
-star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts of
|
|
|
-the clouds. Holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his
|
|
|
-breast, and the air of a man who is lost in thought, while I sat
|
|
|
-beside him, curious to learn what this new quest might be which
|
|
|
-seemed to tax his powers so sorely, and yet afraid to break in
|
|
|
-upon the current of his thoughts. We had driven several miles,
|
|
|
-and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban
|
|
|
-villas, when he shook himself, shrugged his shoulders, and lit up
|
|
|
-his pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he
|
|
|
-is acting for the best.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have a grand gift of silence, Watson," said he. "It makes
|
|
|
-you quite invaluable as a companion. 'Pon my word, it is a great
|
|
|
-thing for me to have someone to talk to, for my own thoughts are
|
|
|
-not over-pleasant. I was wondering what I should say to this dear
|
|
|
-little woman to-night when she meets me at the door."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You forget that I know nothing about it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before
|
|
|
-we get to Lee. It seems absurdly simple, and yet, somehow I can
|
|
|
-get nothing to go upon. There's plenty of thread, no doubt, but I
|
|
|
-can't get the end of it into my hand. Now, I'll state the case
|
|
|
-clearly and concisely to you, Watson, and maybe you can see a
|
|
|
-spark where all is dark to me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Proceed, then."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Some years ago--to be definite, in May, 1884--there came to Lee
|
|
|
-a gentleman, Neville St. Clair by name, who appeared to have
|
|
|
-plenty of money. He took a large villa, laid out the grounds very
|
|
|
-nicely, and lived generally in good style. By degrees he made
|
|
|
-friends in the neighbourhood, and in 1887 he married the daughter
|
|
|
-of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no
|
|
|
-occupation, but was interested in several companies and went into
|
|
|
-town as a rule in the morning, returning by the 5:14 from Cannon
|
|
|
-Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of
|
|
|
-age, is a man of temperate habits, a good husband, a very
|
|
|
-affectionate father, and a man who is popular with all who know
|
|
|
-him. I may add that his whole debts at the present moment, as far
|
|
|
-as we have been able to ascertain, amount to 88 pounds 10s., while
|
|
|
-he has 220 pounds standing to his credit in the Capital and
|
|
|
-Counties Bank. There is no reason, therefore, to think that money
|
|
|
-troubles have been weighing upon his mind.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Last Monday Mr. Neville St. Clair went into town rather earlier
|
|
|
-than usual, remarking before he started that he had two important
|
|
|
-commissions to perform, and that he would bring his little boy
|
|
|
-home a box of bricks. Now, by the merest chance, his wife
|
|
|
-received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his
|
|
|
-departure, to the effect that a small parcel of considerable
|
|
|
-value which she had been expecting was waiting for her at the
|
|
|
-offices of the Aberdeen Shipping Company. Now, if you are well up
|
|
|
-in your London, you will know that the office of the company is
|
|
|
-in Fresno Street, which branches out of Upper Swandam Lane, where
|
|
|
-you found me to-night. Mrs. St. Clair had her lunch, started for
|
|
|
-the City, did some shopping, proceeded to the company's office,
|
|
|
-got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through
|
|
|
-Swandam Lane on her way back to the station. Have you followed me
|
|
|
-so far?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is very clear."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If you remember, Monday was an exceedingly hot day, and Mrs. St.
|
|
|
-Clair walked slowly, glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab,
|
|
|
-as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself.
|
|
|
-While she was walking in this way down Swandam Lane, she suddenly
|
|
|
-heard an ejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see her
|
|
|
-husband looking down at her and, as it seemed to her, beckoning
|
|
|
-to her from a second-floor window. The window was open, and she
|
|
|
-distinctly saw his face, which she describes as being terribly
|
|
|
-agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then
|
|
|
-vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that
|
|
|
-he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind.
|
|
|
-One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that
|
|
|
-although he wore some dark coat, such as he had started to town
|
|
|
-in, he had on neither collar nor necktie.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Convinced that something was amiss with him, she rushed down the
|
|
|
-steps--for the house was none other than the opium den in which
|
|
|
-you found me to-night--and running through the front room she
|
|
|
-attempted to ascend the stairs which led to the first floor. At
|
|
|
-the foot of the stairs, however, she met this Lascar scoundrel of
|
|
|
-whom I have spoken, who thrust her back and, aided by a Dane, who
|
|
|
-acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled
|
|
|
-with the most maddening doubts and fears, she rushed down the
|
|
|
-lane and, by rare good-fortune, met in Fresno Street a number of
|
|
|
-constables with an inspector, all on their way to their beat. The
|
|
|
-inspector and two men accompanied her back, and in spite of the
|
|
|
-continued resistance of the proprietor, they made their way to
|
|
|
-the room in which Mr. St. Clair had last been seen. There was no
|
|
|
-sign of him there. In fact, in the whole of that floor there was
|
|
|
-no one to be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who,
|
|
|
-it seems, made his home there. Both he and the Lascar stoutly
|
|
|
-swore that no one else had been in the front room during the
|
|
|
-afternoon. So determined was their denial that the inspector was
|
|
|
-staggered, and had almost come to believe that Mrs. St. Clair had
|
|
|
-been deluded when, with a cry, she sprang at a small deal box
|
|
|
-which lay upon the table and tore the lid from it. Out there fell
|
|
|
-a cascade of children's bricks. It was the toy which he had
|
|
|
-promised to bring home.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple
|
|
|
-showed, made the inspector realise that the matter was serious.
|
|
|
-The rooms were carefully examined, and results all pointed to an
|
|
|
-abominable crime. The front room was plainly furnished as a
|
|
|
-sitting-room and led into a small bedroom, which looked out upon
|
|
|
-the back of one of the wharves. Between the wharf and the bedroom
|
|
|
-window is a narrow strip, which is dry at low tide but is covered
|
|
|
-at high tide with at least four and a half feet of water. The
|
|
|
-bedroom window was a broad one and opened from below. On
|
|
|
-examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill,
|
|
|
-and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of
|
|
|
-the bedroom. Thrust away behind a curtain in the front room were
|
|
|
-all the clothes of Mr. Neville St. Clair, with the exception of
|
|
|
-his coat. His boots, his socks, his hat, and his watch--all were
|
|
|
-there. There were no signs of violence upon any of these
|
|
|
-garments, and there were no other traces of Mr. Neville St.
|
|
|
-Clair. Out of the window he must apparently have gone for no
|
|
|
-other exit could be discovered, and the ominous bloodstains upon
|
|
|
-the sill gave little promise that he could save himself by
|
|
|
-swimming, for the tide was at its very highest at the moment of
|
|
|
-the tragedy.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now as to the villains who seemed to be immediately
|
|
|
-implicated in the matter. The Lascar was known to be a man of the
|
|
|
-vilest antecedents, but as, by Mrs. St. Clair's story, he was
|
|
|
-known to have been at the foot of the stair within a very few
|
|
|
-seconds of her husband's appearance at the window, he could
|
|
|
-hardly have been more than an accessory to the crime. His defence
|
|
|
-was one of absolute ignorance, and he protested that he had no
|
|
|
-knowledge as to the doings of Hugh Boone, his lodger, and that he
|
|
|
-could not account in any way for the presence of the missing
|
|
|
-gentleman's clothes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So much for the Lascar manager. Now for the sinister cripple who
|
|
|
-lives upon the second floor of the opium den, and who was
|
|
|
-certainly the last human being whose eyes rested upon Neville St.
|
|
|
-Clair. His name is Hugh Boone, and his hideous face is one which
|
|
|
-is familiar to every man who goes much to the City. He is a
|
|
|
-professional beggar, though in order to avoid the police
|
|
|
-regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas. Some
|
|
|
-little distance down Threadneedle Street, upon the left-hand
|
|
|
-side, there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle in the
|
|
|
-wall. Here it is that this creature takes his daily seat,
|
|
|
-cross-legged with his tiny stock of matches on his lap, and as he
|
|
|
-is a piteous spectacle a small rain of charity descends into the
|
|
|
-greasy leather cap which lies upon the pavement beside him. I
|
|
|
-have watched the fellow more than once before ever I thought of
|
|
|
-making his professional acquaintance, and I have been surprised
|
|
|
-at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time. His
|
|
|
-appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him
|
|
|
-without observing him. A shock of orange hair, a pale face
|
|
|
-disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has
|
|
|
-turned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a
|
|
|
-pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular
|
|
|
-contrast to the colour of his hair, all mark him out from amid
|
|
|
-the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he
|
|
|
-is ever ready with a reply to any piece of chaff which may be
|
|
|
-thrown at him by the passers-by. This is the man whom we now
|
|
|
-learn to have been the lodger at the opium den, and to have been
|
|
|
-the last man to see the gentleman of whom we are in quest."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But a cripple!" said I. "What could he have done single-handed
|
|
|
-against a man in the prime of life?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp; but in
|
|
|
-other respects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man.
|
|
|
-Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson, that
|
|
|
-weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional
|
|
|
-strength in the others."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray continue your narrative."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the
|
|
|
-window, and she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her
|
|
|
-presence could be of no help to them in their investigations.
|
|
|
-Inspector Barton, who had charge of the case, made a very careful
|
|
|
-examination of the premises, but without finding anything which
|
|
|
-threw any light upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not
|
|
|
-arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes
|
|
|
-during which he might have communicated with his friend the
|
|
|
-Lascar, but this fault was soon remedied, and he was seized and
|
|
|
-searched, without anything being found which could incriminate
|
|
|
-him. There were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his right
|
|
|
-shirt-sleeve, but he pointed to his ring-finger, which had been
|
|
|
-cut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from
|
|
|
-there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and
|
|
|
-that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from
|
|
|
-the same source. He denied strenuously having ever seen Mr.
|
|
|
-Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in
|
|
|
-his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police. As to
|
|
|
-Mrs. St. Clair's assertion that she had actually seen her husband
|
|
|
-at the window, he declared that she must have been either mad or
|
|
|
-dreaming. He was removed, loudly protesting, to the
|
|
|
-police-station, while the inspector remained upon the premises in
|
|
|
-the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And it did, though they hardly found upon the mud-bank what they
|
|
|
-had feared to find. It was Neville St. Clair's coat, and not
|
|
|
-Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded. And
|
|
|
-what do you think they found in the pockets?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot imagine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I don't think you would guess. Every pocket stuffed with
|
|
|
-pennies and half-pennies--421 pennies and 270 half-pennies. It
|
|
|
-was no wonder that it had not been swept away by the tide. But a
|
|
|
-human body is a different matter. There is a fierce eddy between
|
|
|
-the wharf and the house. It seemed likely enough that the
|
|
|
-weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked
|
|
|
-away into the river."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But I understand that all the other clothes were found in the
|
|
|
-room. Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. Suppose
|
|
|
-that this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair through the
|
|
|
-window, there is no human eye which could have seen the deed.
|
|
|
-What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him
|
|
|
-that he must get rid of the tell-tale garments. He would seize
|
|
|
-the coat, then, and be in the act of throwing it out, when it
|
|
|
-would occur to him that it would swim and not sink. He has little
|
|
|
-time, for he has heard the scuffle downstairs when the wife tried
|
|
|
-to force her way up, and perhaps he has already heard from his
|
|
|
-Lascar confederate that the police are hurrying up the street.
|
|
|
-There is not an instant to be lost. He rushes to some secret
|
|
|
-hoard, where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he
|
|
|
-stuffs all the coins upon which he can lay his hands into the
|
|
|
-pockets to make sure of the coat's sinking. He throws it out, and
|
|
|
-would have done the same with the other garments had not he heard
|
|
|
-the rush of steps below, and only just had time to close the
|
|
|
-window when the police appeared."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It certainly sounds feasible."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, we will take it as a working hypothesis for want of a
|
|
|
-better. Boone, as I have told you, was arrested and taken to the
|
|
|
-station, but it could not be shown that there had ever before
|
|
|
-been anything against him. He had for years been known as a
|
|
|
-professional beggar, but his life appeared to have been a very
|
|
|
-quiet and innocent one. There the matter stands at present, and
|
|
|
-the questions which have to be solved--what Neville St. Clair was
|
|
|
-doing in the opium den, what happened to him when there, where is
|
|
|
-he now, and what Hugh Boone had to do with his disappearance--are
|
|
|
-all as far from a solution as ever. I confess that I cannot
|
|
|
-recall any case within my experience which looked at the first
|
|
|
-glance so simple and yet which presented such difficulties."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-While Sherlock Holmes had been detailing this singular series of
|
|
|
-events, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great
|
|
|
-town until the last straggling houses had been left behind, and
|
|
|
-we rattled along with a country hedge upon either side of us.
|
|
|
-Just as he finished, however, we drove through two scattered
|
|
|
-villages, where a few lights still glimmered in the windows.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We are on the outskirts of Lee," said my companion. "We have
|
|
|
-touched on three English counties in our short drive, starting in
|
|
|
-Middlesex, passing over an angle of Surrey, and ending in Kent.
|
|
|
-See that light among the trees? That is The Cedars, and beside
|
|
|
-that lamp sits a woman whose anxious ears have already, I have
|
|
|
-little doubt, caught the clink of our horse's feet."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I
|
|
|
-asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Because there are many inquiries which must be made out here.
|
|
|
-Mrs. St. Clair has most kindly put two rooms at my disposal, and
|
|
|
-you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for
|
|
|
-my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have
|
|
|
-no news of her husband. Here we are. Whoa, there, whoa!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We had pulled up in front of a large villa which stood within its
|
|
|
-own grounds. A stable-boy had run out to the horse's head, and
|
|
|
-springing down, I followed Holmes up the small, winding
|
|
|
-gravel-drive which led to the house. As we approached, the door
|
|
|
-flew open, and a little blonde woman stood in the opening, clad
|
|
|
-in some sort of light mousseline de soie, with a touch of fluffy
|
|
|
-pink chiffon at her neck and wrists. She stood with her figure
|
|
|
-outlined against the flood of light, one hand upon the door, one
|
|
|
-half-raised in her eagerness, her body slightly bent, her head
|
|
|
-and face protruded, with eager eyes and parted lips, a standing
|
|
|
-question.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well?" she cried, "well?" And then, seeing that there were two
|
|
|
-of us, she gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw
|
|
|
-that my companion shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No good news?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No bad?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank God for that. But come in. You must be weary, for you have
|
|
|
-had a long day."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This is my friend, Dr. Watson. He has been of most vital use to
|
|
|
-me in several of my cases, and a lucky chance has made it
|
|
|
-possible for me to bring him out and associate him with this
|
|
|
-investigation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am delighted to see you," said she, pressing my hand warmly.
|
|
|
-"You will, I am sure, forgive anything that may be wanting in our
|
|
|
-arrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so
|
|
|
-suddenly upon us."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear madam," said I, "I am an old campaigner, and if I were
|
|
|
-not I can very well see that no apology is needed. If I can be of
|
|
|
-any assistance, either to you or to my friend here, I shall be
|
|
|
-indeed happy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said the lady as we entered a
|
|
|
-well-lit dining-room, upon the table of which a cold supper had
|
|
|
-been laid out, "I should very much like to ask you one or two
|
|
|
-plain questions, to which I beg that you will give a plain
|
|
|
-answer."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly, madam."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do not trouble about my feelings. I am not hysterical, nor given
|
|
|
-to fainting. I simply wish to hear your real, real opinion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Upon what point?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In your heart of hearts, do you think that Neville is alive?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question.
|
|
|
-"Frankly, now!" she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking
|
|
|
-keenly down at him as he leaned back in a basket-chair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Frankly, then, madam, I do not."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You think that he is dead?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I do."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Murdered?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I don't say that. Perhaps."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And on what day did he meet his death?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On Monday."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then perhaps, Mr. Holmes, you will be good enough to explain how
|
|
|
-it is that I have received a letter from him to-day."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been
|
|
|
-galvanised.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What!" he roared.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, to-day." She stood smiling, holding up a little slip of
|
|
|
-paper in the air.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"May I see it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out
|
|
|
-upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I
|
|
|
-had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder. The
|
|
|
-envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend
|
|
|
-postmark and with the date of that very day, or rather of the day
|
|
|
-before, for it was considerably after midnight.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Coarse writing," murmured Holmes. "Surely this is not your
|
|
|
-husband's writing, madam."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, but the enclosure is."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go
|
|
|
-and inquire as to the address."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How can you tell that?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried
|
|
|
-itself. The rest is of the greyish colour, which shows that
|
|
|
-blotting-paper has been used. If it had been written straight
|
|
|
-off, and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade. This
|
|
|
-man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before
|
|
|
-he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not
|
|
|
-familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is
|
|
|
-nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha!
|
|
|
-there has been an enclosure here!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, there was a ring. His signet-ring."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One of his hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"His hand when he wrote hurriedly. It is very unlike his usual
|
|
|
-writing, and yet I know it well."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Dearest do not be frightened. All will come well. There is a
|
|
|
-huge error which it may take some little time to rectify.
|
|
|
-Wait in patience.--NEVILLE.' Written in pencil upon the fly-leaf
|
|
|
-of a book, octavo size, no water-mark. Hum! Posted to-day in
|
|
|
-Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been
|
|
|
-gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a person who had been
|
|
|
-chewing tobacco. And you have no doubt that it is your husband's
|
|
|
-hand, madam?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None. Neville wrote those words."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And they were posted to-day at Gravesend. Well, Mrs. St. Clair,
|
|
|
-the clouds lighten, though I should not venture to say that the
|
|
|
-danger is over."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But he must be alive, Mr. Holmes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent.
|
|
|
-The ring, after all, proves nothing. It may have been taken from
|
|
|
-him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no; it is, it is his very own writing!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very well. It may, however, have been written on Monday and only
|
|
|
-posted to-day."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is possible."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If so, much may have happened between."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, you must not discourage me, Mr. Holmes. I know that all is
|
|
|
-well with him. There is so keen a sympathy between us that I
|
|
|
-should know if evil came upon him. On the very day that I saw him
|
|
|
-last he cut himself in the bedroom, and yet I in the dining-room
|
|
|
-rushed upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that
|
|
|
-something had happened. Do you think that I would respond to such
|
|
|
-a trifle and yet be ignorant of his death?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman
|
|
|
-may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical
|
|
|
-reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong
|
|
|
-piece of evidence to corroborate your view. But if your husband
|
|
|
-is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away
|
|
|
-from you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot imagine. It is unthinkable."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And on Monday he made no remarks before leaving you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you were surprised to see him in Swandam Lane?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very much so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Was the window open?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then he might have called to you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He might."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He only, as I understand, gave an inarticulate cry?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A call for help, you thought?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. He waved his hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But it might have been a cry of surprise. Astonishment at the
|
|
|
-unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is possible."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you thought he was pulled back?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He disappeared so suddenly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He might have leaped back. You did not see anyone else in the
|
|
|
-room?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, but this horrible man confessed to having been there, and
|
|
|
-the Lascar was at the foot of the stairs."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. Your husband, as far as you could see, had his
|
|
|
-ordinary clothes on?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But without his collar or tie. I distinctly saw his bare
|
|
|
-throat."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Had he ever spoken of Swandam Lane?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Never."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Never."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you, Mrs. St. Clair. Those are the principal points about
|
|
|
-which I wished to be absolutely clear. We shall now have a little
|
|
|
-supper and then retire, for we may have a very busy day
|
|
|
-to-morrow."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our
|
|
|
-disposal, and I was quickly between the sheets, for I was weary
|
|
|
-after my night of adventure. Sherlock Holmes was a man, however,
|
|
|
-who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for
|
|
|
-days, and even for a week, without rest, turning it over,
|
|
|
-rearranging his facts, looking at it from every point of view
|
|
|
-until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his
|
|
|
-data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now
|
|
|
-preparing for an all-night sitting. He took off his coat and
|
|
|
-waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered
|
|
|
-about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions from
|
|
|
-the sofa and armchairs. With these he constructed a sort of
|
|
|
-Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with
|
|
|
-an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front
|
|
|
-of him. In the dim light of the lamp I saw him sitting there, an
|
|
|
-old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the
|
|
|
-corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him,
|
|
|
-silent, motionless, with the light shining upon his strong-set
|
|
|
-aquiline features. So he sat as I dropped off to sleep, and so he
|
|
|
-sat when a sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up, and I found
|
|
|
-the summer sun shining into the apartment. The pipe was still
|
|
|
-between his lips, the smoke still curled upward, and the room was
|
|
|
-full of a dense tobacco haze, but nothing remained of the heap of
|
|
|
-shag which I had seen upon the previous night.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Awake, Watson?" he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Game for a morning drive?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then dress. No one is stirring yet, but I know where the
|
|
|
-stable-boy sleeps, and we shall soon have the trap out." He
|
|
|
-chuckled to himself as he spoke, his eyes twinkled, and he seemed
|
|
|
-a different man to the sombre thinker of the previous night.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As I dressed I glanced at my watch. It was no wonder that no one
|
|
|
-was stirring. It was twenty-five minutes past four. I had hardly
|
|
|
-finished when Holmes returned with the news that the boy was
|
|
|
-putting in the horse.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I want to test a little theory of mine," said he, pulling on his
|
|
|
-boots. "I think, Watson, that you are now standing in the
|
|
|
-presence of one of the most absolute fools in Europe. I deserve
|
|
|
-to be kicked from here to Charing Cross. But I think I have the
|
|
|
-key of the affair now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And where is it?" I asked, smiling.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In the bathroom," he answered. "Oh, yes, I am not joking," he
|
|
|
-continued, seeing my look of incredulity. "I have just been
|
|
|
-there, and I have taken it out, and I have got it in this
|
|
|
-Gladstone bag. Come on, my boy, and we shall see whether it will
|
|
|
-not fit the lock."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We made our way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into
|
|
|
-the bright morning sunshine. In the road stood our horse and
|
|
|
-trap, with the half-clad stable-boy waiting at the head. We both
|
|
|
-sprang in, and away we dashed down the London Road. A few country
|
|
|
-carts were stirring, bearing in vegetables to the metropolis, but
|
|
|
-the lines of villas on either side were as silent and lifeless as
|
|
|
-some city in a dream.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It has been in some points a singular case," said Holmes,
|
|
|
-flicking the horse on into a gallop. "I confess that I have been
|
|
|
-as blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than
|
|
|
-never to learn it at all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-In town the earliest risers were just beginning to look sleepily
|
|
|
-from their windows as we drove through the streets of the Surrey
|
|
|
-side. Passing down the Waterloo Bridge Road we crossed over the
|
|
|
-river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the
|
|
|
-right and found ourselves in Bow Street. Sherlock Holmes was well
|
|
|
-known to the force, and the two constables at the door saluted
|
|
|
-him. One of them held the horse's head while the other led us in.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who is on duty?" asked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Inspector Bradstreet, sir."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?" A tall, stout official had come
|
|
|
-down the stone-flagged passage, in a peaked cap and frogged
|
|
|
-jacket. "I wish to have a quiet word with you, Bradstreet."
|
|
|
-"Certainly, Mr. Holmes. Step into my room here." It was a small,
|
|
|
-office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a
|
|
|
-telephone projecting from the wall. The inspector sat down at his
|
|
|
-desk.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What can I do for you, Mr. Holmes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I called about that beggarman, Boone--the one who was charged
|
|
|
-with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St.
|
|
|
-Clair, of Lee."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So I heard. You have him here?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In the cells."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Is he quiet?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, he gives no trouble. But he is a dirty scoundrel."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Dirty?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it is all we can do to make him wash his hands, and his
|
|
|
-face is as black as a tinker's. Well, when once his case has been
|
|
|
-settled, he will have a regular prison bath; and I think, if you
|
|
|
-saw him, you would agree with me that he needed it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I should like to see him very much."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Would you? That is easily done. Come this way. You can leave
|
|
|
-your bag."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I think that I'll take it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very good. Come this way, if you please." He led us down a
|
|
|
-passage, opened a barred door, passed down a winding stair, and
|
|
|
-brought us to a whitewashed corridor with a line of doors on each
|
|
|
-side.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The third on the right is his," said the inspector. "Here it
|
|
|
-is!" He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door
|
|
|
-and glanced through.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He is asleep," said he. "You can see him very well."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We both put our eyes to the grating. The prisoner lay with his
|
|
|
-face towards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and
|
|
|
-heavily. He was a middle-sized man, coarsely clad as became his
|
|
|
-calling, with a coloured shirt protruding through the rent in his
|
|
|
-tattered coat. He was, as the inspector had said, extremely
|
|
|
-dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its
|
|
|
-repulsive ugliness. A broad wheal from an old scar ran right
|
|
|
-across it from eye to chin, and by its contraction had turned up
|
|
|
-one side of the upper lip, so that three teeth were exposed in a
|
|
|
-perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over
|
|
|
-his eyes and forehead.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He's a beauty, isn't he?" said the inspector.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He certainly needs a wash," remarked Holmes. "I had an idea that
|
|
|
-he might, and I took the liberty of bringing the tools with me."
|
|
|
-He opened the Gladstone bag as he spoke, and took out, to my
|
|
|
-astonishment, a very large bath-sponge.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He! he! You are a funny one," chuckled the inspector.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, if you will have the great goodness to open that door very
|
|
|
-quietly, we will soon make him cut a much more respectable
|
|
|
-figure."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I don't know why not," said the inspector. "He doesn't
|
|
|
-look a credit to the Bow Street cells, does he?" He slipped his
|
|
|
-key into the lock, and we all very quietly entered the cell. The
|
|
|
-sleeper half turned, and then settled down once more into a deep
|
|
|
-slumber. Holmes stooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge,
|
|
|
-and then rubbed it twice vigorously across and down the
|
|
|
-prisoner's face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Let me introduce you," he shouted, "to Mr. Neville St. Clair, of
|
|
|
-Lee, in the county of Kent."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Never in my life have I seen such a sight. The man's face peeled
|
|
|
-off under the sponge like the bark from a tree. Gone was the
|
|
|
-coarse brown tint! Gone, too, was the horrid scar which had
|
|
|
-seamed it across, and the twisted lip which had given the
|
|
|
-repulsive sneer to the face! A twitch brought away the tangled
|
|
|
-red hair, and there, sitting up in his bed, was a pale,
|
|
|
-sad-faced, refined-looking man, black-haired and smooth-skinned,
|
|
|
-rubbing his eyes and staring about him with sleepy bewilderment.
|
|
|
-Then suddenly realising the exposure, he broke into a scream and
|
|
|
-threw himself down with his face to the pillow.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Great heavens!" cried the inspector, "it is, indeed, the missing
|
|
|
-man. I know him from the photograph."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons
|
|
|
-himself to his destiny. "Be it so," said he. "And pray what am I
|
|
|
-charged with?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"With making away with Mr. Neville St.-- Oh, come, you can't be
|
|
|
-charged with that unless they make a case of attempted suicide of
|
|
|
-it," said the inspector with a grin. "Well, I have been
|
|
|
-twenty-seven years in the force, but this really takes the cake."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If I am Mr. Neville St. Clair, then it is obvious that no crime
|
|
|
-has been committed, and that, therefore, I am illegally
|
|
|
-detained."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No crime, but a very great error has been committed," said
|
|
|
-Holmes. "You would have done better to have trusted your wife."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was not the wife; it was the children," groaned the prisoner.
|
|
|
-"God help me, I would not have them ashamed of their father. My
|
|
|
-God! What an exposure! What can I do?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him
|
|
|
-kindly on the shoulder.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up," said
|
|
|
-he, "of course you can hardly avoid publicity. On the other hand,
|
|
|
-if you convince the police authorities that there is no possible
|
|
|
-case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the
|
|
|
-details should find their way into the papers. Inspector
|
|
|
-Bradstreet would, I am sure, make notes upon anything which you
|
|
|
-might tell us and submit it to the proper authorities. The case
|
|
|
-would then never go into court at all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"God bless you!" cried the prisoner passionately. "I would have
|
|
|
-endured imprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left
|
|
|
-my miserable secret as a family blot to my children.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are the first who have ever heard my story. My father was a
|
|
|
-schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent
|
|
|
-education. I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and
|
|
|
-finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London. One day
|
|
|
-my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the
|
|
|
-metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point
|
|
|
-from which all my adventures started. It was only by trying
|
|
|
-begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to
|
|
|
-base my articles. When an actor I had, of course, learned all the
|
|
|
-secrets of making up, and had been famous in the green-room for
|
|
|
-my skill. I took advantage now of my attainments. I painted my
|
|
|
-face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible I made a good
|
|
|
-scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a
|
|
|
-small slip of flesh-coloured plaster. Then with a red head of
|
|
|
-hair, and an appropriate dress, I took my station in the business
|
|
|
-part of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a
|
|
|
-beggar. For seven hours I plied my trade, and when I returned
|
|
|
-home in the evening I found to my surprise that I had received no
|
|
|
-less than 26s. 4d.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until,
|
|
|
-some time later, I backed a bill for a friend and had a writ
|
|
|
-served upon me for 25 pounds. I was at my wit's end where to get
|
|
|
-the money, but a sudden idea came to me. I begged a fortnight's
|
|
|
-grace from the creditor, asked for a holiday from my employers,
|
|
|
-and spent the time in begging in the City under my disguise. In
|
|
|
-ten days I had the money and had paid the debt.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous
|
|
|
-work at 2 pounds a week when I knew that I could earn as much in
|
|
|
-a day by smearing my face with a little paint, laying my cap on
|
|
|
-the ground, and sitting still. It was a long fight between my
|
|
|
-pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up
|
|
|
-reporting and sat day after day in the corner which I had first
|
|
|
-chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets
|
|
|
-with coppers. Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper of a
|
|
|
-low den in which I used to lodge in Swandam Lane, where I could
|
|
|
-every morning emerge as a squalid beggar and in the evenings
|
|
|
-transform myself into a well-dressed man about town. This fellow,
|
|
|
-a Lascar, was well paid by me for his rooms, so that I knew that
|
|
|
-my secret was safe in his possession.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of
|
|
|
-money. I do not mean that any beggar in the streets of London
|
|
|
-could earn 700 pounds a year--which is less than my average
|
|
|
-takings--but I had exceptional advantages in my power of making
|
|
|
-up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by
|
|
|
-practice and made me quite a recognised character in the City.
|
|
|
-All day a stream of pennies, varied by silver, poured in upon me,
|
|
|
-and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take 2 pounds.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the
|
|
|
-country, and eventually married, without anyone having a
|
|
|
-suspicion as to my real occupation. My dear wife knew that I had
|
|
|
-business in the City. She little knew what.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my
|
|
|
-room above the opium den when I looked out of my window and saw,
|
|
|
-to my horror and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the
|
|
|
-street, with her eyes fixed full upon me. I gave a cry of
|
|
|
-surprise, threw up my arms to cover my face, and, rushing to my
|
|
|
-confidant, the Lascar, entreated him to prevent anyone from
|
|
|
-coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that
|
|
|
-she could not ascend. Swiftly I threw off my clothes, pulled on
|
|
|
-those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig. Even a wife's
|
|
|
-eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise. But then it
|
|
|
-occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and that
|
|
|
-the clothes might betray me. I threw open the window, reopening
|
|
|
-by my violence a small cut which I had inflicted upon myself in
|
|
|
-the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat, which was
|
|
|
-weighted by the coppers which I had just transferred to it from
|
|
|
-the leather bag in which I carried my takings. I hurled it out of
|
|
|
-the window, and it disappeared into the Thames. The other clothes
|
|
|
-would have followed, but at that moment there was a rush of
|
|
|
-constables up the stair, and a few minutes after I found, rather,
|
|
|
-I confess, to my relief, that instead of being identified as Mr.
|
|
|
-Neville St. Clair, I was arrested as his murderer.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I do not know that there is anything else for me to explain. I
|
|
|
-was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and
|
|
|
-hence my preference for a dirty face. Knowing that my wife would
|
|
|
-be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and confided it to the
|
|
|
-Lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me, together
|
|
|
-with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to
|
|
|
-fear."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That note only reached her yesterday," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good God! What a week she must have spent!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The police have watched this Lascar," said Inspector Bradstreet,
|
|
|
-"and I can quite understand that he might find it difficult to
|
|
|
-post a letter unobserved. Probably he handed it to some sailor
|
|
|
-customer of his, who forgot all about it for some days."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That was it," said Holmes, nodding approvingly; "I have no doubt
|
|
|
-of it. But have you never been prosecuted for begging?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Many times; but what was a fine to me?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It must stop here, however," said Bradstreet. "If the police are
|
|
|
-to hush this thing up, there must be no more of Hugh Boone."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man can take."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In that case I think that it is probable that no further steps
|
|
|
-may be taken. But if you are found again, then all must come out.
|
|
|
-I am sure, Mr. Holmes, that we are very much indebted to you for
|
|
|
-having cleared the matter up. I wish I knew how you reach your
|
|
|
-results."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I reached this one," said my friend, "by sitting upon five
|
|
|
-pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. I think, Watson, that if
|
|
|
-we drive to Baker Street we shall just be in time for breakfast."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-VII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second
|
|
|
-morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the
|
|
|
-compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a
|
|
|
-purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the
|
|
|
-right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly
|
|
|
-studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and
|
|
|
-on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable
|
|
|
-hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several
|
|
|
-places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair
|
|
|
-suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the
|
|
|
-purpose of examination.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are engaged," said I; "perhaps I interrupt you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss
|
|
|
-my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one"--he jerked his
|
|
|
-thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points in
|
|
|
-connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and
|
|
|
-even of instruction."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his
|
|
|
-crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows
|
|
|
-were thick with the ice crystals. "I suppose," I remarked, "that,
|
|
|
-homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to
|
|
|
-it--that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of
|
|
|
-some mystery and the punishment of some crime."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no. No crime," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "Only one of
|
|
|
-those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have
|
|
|
-four million human beings all jostling each other within the
|
|
|
-space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so
|
|
|
-dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events
|
|
|
-may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be
|
|
|
-presented which may be striking and bizarre without being
|
|
|
-criminal. We have already had experience of such."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So much so," I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I
|
|
|
-have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any
|
|
|
-legal crime."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler
|
|
|
-papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the
|
|
|
-adventure of the man with the twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt
|
|
|
-that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category.
|
|
|
-You know Peterson, the commissionaire?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is to him that this trophy belongs."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is his hat."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I beg that you will
|
|
|
-look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual
|
|
|
-problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon
|
|
|
-Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is, I
|
|
|
-have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson's
|
|
|
-fire. The facts are these: about four o'clock on Christmas
|
|
|
-morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was
|
|
|
-returning from some small jollification and was making his way
|
|
|
-homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in
|
|
|
-the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and
|
|
|
-carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the
|
|
|
-corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger
|
|
|
-and a little knot of roughs. One of the latter knocked off the
|
|
|
-man's hat, on which he raised his stick to defend himself and,
|
|
|
-swinging it over his head, smashed the shop window behind him.
|
|
|
-Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his
|
|
|
-assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and
|
|
|
-seeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him,
|
|
|
-dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the
|
|
|
-labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham
|
|
|
-Court Road. The roughs had also fled at the appearance of
|
|
|
-Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of
|
|
|
-battle, and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this
|
|
|
-battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Which surely he restored to their owner?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that 'For
|
|
|
-Mrs. Henry Baker' was printed upon a small card which was tied to
|
|
|
-the bird's left leg, and it is also true that the initials 'H.
|
|
|
-B.' are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are
|
|
|
-some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in
|
|
|
-this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any
|
|
|
-one of them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What, then, did Peterson do?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning,
|
|
|
-knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me.
|
|
|
-The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs
|
|
|
-that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it
|
|
|
-should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder has carried
|
|
|
-it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose,
|
|
|
-while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who
|
|
|
-lost his Christmas dinner."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Did he not advertise?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, what clue could you have as to his identity?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Only as much as we can deduce."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"From his hat?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered
|
|
|
-felt?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather
|
|
|
-yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this
|
|
|
-article?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather
|
|
|
-ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round
|
|
|
-shape, hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of
|
|
|
-red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker's
|
|
|
-name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials "H. B." were
|
|
|
-scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a
|
|
|
-hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. For the rest, it was
|
|
|
-cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places,
|
|
|
-although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the
|
|
|
-discoloured patches by smearing them with ink.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I can see nothing," said I, handing it back to my friend.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail,
|
|
|
-however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in
|
|
|
-drawing your inferences."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective
|
|
|
-fashion which was characteristic of him. "It is perhaps less
|
|
|
-suggestive than it might have been," he remarked, "and yet there
|
|
|
-are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others
|
|
|
-which represent at least a strong balance of probability. That
|
|
|
-the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the
|
|
|
-face of it, and also that he was fairly well-to-do within the
|
|
|
-last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days. He
|
|
|
-had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a
|
|
|
-moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his
|
|
|
-fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink,
|
|
|
-at work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that
|
|
|
-his wife has ceased to love him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear Holmes!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect," he
|
|
|
-continued, disregarding my remonstrance. "He is a man who leads a
|
|
|
-sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is
|
|
|
-middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the
|
|
|
-last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream. These are
|
|
|
-the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also,
|
|
|
-by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid
|
|
|
-on in his house."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are certainly joking, Holmes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you
|
|
|
-these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I
|
|
|
-am unable to follow you. For example, how did you deduce that
|
|
|
-this man was intellectual?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right
|
|
|
-over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. "It is
|
|
|
-a question of cubic capacity," said he; "a man with so large a
|
|
|
-brain must have something in it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The decline of his fortunes, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge
|
|
|
-came in then. It is a hat of the very best quality. Look at the
|
|
|
-band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could
|
|
|
-afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no
|
|
|
-hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the
|
|
|
-foresight and the moral retrogression?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes laughed. "Here is the foresight," said he putting
|
|
|
-his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer.
|
|
|
-"They are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one, it is a
|
|
|
-sign of a certain amount of foresight, since he went out of his
|
|
|
-way to take this precaution against the wind. But since we see
|
|
|
-that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace
|
|
|
-it, it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly,
|
|
|
-which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other
|
|
|
-hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the
|
|
|
-felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not
|
|
|
-entirely lost his self-respect."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your reasoning is certainly plausible."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is
|
|
|
-grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he uses
|
|
|
-lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the
|
|
|
-lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of
|
|
|
-hair-ends, clean cut by the scissors of the barber. They all
|
|
|
-appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odour of
|
|
|
-lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey
|
|
|
-dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house,
|
|
|
-showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while
|
|
|
-the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the
|
|
|
-wearer perspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in
|
|
|
-the best of training."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But his wife--you said that she had ceased to love him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear
|
|
|
-Watson, with a week's accumulation of dust upon your hat, and
|
|
|
-when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear
|
|
|
-that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife's
|
|
|
-affection."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But he might be a bachelor."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his
|
|
|
-wife. Remember the card upon the bird's leg."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce
|
|
|
-that the gas is not laid on in his house?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when I
|
|
|
-see no less than five, I think that there can be little doubt
|
|
|
-that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with
|
|
|
-burning tallow--walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in
|
|
|
-one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never
|
|
|
-got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. Are you satisfied?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, it is very ingenious," said I, laughing; "but since, as
|
|
|
-you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm
|
|
|
-done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a
|
|
|
-waste of energy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply, when the door flew
|
|
|
-open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment
|
|
|
-with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with
|
|
|
-astonishment.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The goose, Mr. Holmes! The goose, sir!" he gasped.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Eh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off
|
|
|
-through the kitchen window?" Holmes twisted himself round upon
|
|
|
-the sofa to get a fairer view of the man's excited face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!" He held out
|
|
|
-his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly
|
|
|
-scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but
|
|
|
-of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric
|
|
|
-point in the dark hollow of his hand.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. "By Jove, Peterson!" said
|
|
|
-he, "this is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you
|
|
|
-have got?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A diamond, sir? A precious stone. It cuts into glass as though
|
|
|
-it were putty."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle!" I ejaculated.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I
|
|
|
-have read the advertisement about it in The Times every day
|
|
|
-lately. It is absolutely unique, and its value can only be
|
|
|
-conjectured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly
|
|
|
-not within a twentieth part of the market price."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!" The commissionaire
|
|
|
-plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are
|
|
|
-sentimental considerations in the background which would induce
|
|
|
-the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but
|
|
|
-recover the gem."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan," I
|
|
|
-remarked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner,
|
|
|
-a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady's
|
|
|
-jewel-case. The evidence against him was so strong that the case
|
|
|
-has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the
|
|
|
-matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers,
|
|
|
-glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out,
|
|
|
-doubled it over, and read the following paragraph:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was
|
|
|
-brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst.,
|
|
|
-abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the
|
|
|
-valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder,
|
|
|
-upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect
|
|
|
-that he had shown Horner up to the dressing-room of the Countess
|
|
|
-of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might
|
|
|
-solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had
|
|
|
-remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been
|
|
|
-called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared,
|
|
|
-that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco
|
|
|
-casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was
|
|
|
-accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the
|
|
|
-dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was
|
|
|
-arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found
|
|
|
-either upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maid to
|
|
|
-the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder's cry of dismay on
|
|
|
-discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room,
|
|
|
-where she found matters as described by the last witness.
|
|
|
-Inspector Bradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest
|
|
|
-of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence
|
|
|
-in the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for
|
|
|
-robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate
|
|
|
-refused to deal summarily with the offence, but referred it to
|
|
|
-the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion
|
|
|
-during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was
|
|
|
-carried out of court."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Hum! So much for the police-court," said Holmes thoughtfully,
|
|
|
-tossing aside the paper. "The question for us now to solve is the
|
|
|
-sequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to
|
|
|
-the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You
|
|
|
-see, Watson, our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much
|
|
|
-more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the
|
|
|
-stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry
|
|
|
-Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other
|
|
|
-characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set
|
|
|
-ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and
|
|
|
-ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery. To
|
|
|
-do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie
|
|
|
-undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers. If
|
|
|
-this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What will you say?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: 'Found at
|
|
|
-the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr.
|
|
|
-Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at
|
|
|
-221B, Baker Street.' That is clear and concise."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very. But will he see it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor
|
|
|
-man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his
|
|
|
-mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson
|
|
|
-that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then he must
|
|
|
-have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his
|
|
|
-bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause him to
|
|
|
-see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to
|
|
|
-it. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency
|
|
|
-and have this put in the evening papers."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In which, sir?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James's, Evening News,
|
|
|
-Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very well, sir. And this stone?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say,
|
|
|
-Peterson, just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here
|
|
|
-with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place
|
|
|
-of the one which your family is now devouring."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and
|
|
|
-held it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just
|
|
|
-see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and
|
|
|
-focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet
|
|
|
-baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a
|
|
|
-bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found
|
|
|
-in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable
|
|
|
-in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is
|
|
|
-blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has
|
|
|
-already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a
|
|
|
-vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about
|
|
|
-for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal.
|
|
|
-Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the
|
|
|
-gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strong box now and
|
|
|
-drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot tell."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had
|
|
|
-anything to do with the matter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an
|
|
|
-absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he
|
|
|
-was carrying was of considerably more value than if it were made
|
|
|
-of solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple
|
|
|
-test if we have an answer to our advertisement."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you can do nothing until then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall
|
|
|
-come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I
|
|
|
-should like to see the solution of so tangled a business."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I
|
|
|
-believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I
|
|
|
-ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past
|
|
|
-six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I
|
|
|
-approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a
|
|
|
-coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the
|
|
|
-bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I
|
|
|
-arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to
|
|
|
-Holmes' room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair
|
|
|
-and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he
|
|
|
-could so readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr.
|
|
|
-Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your circulation is
|
|
|
-more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have
|
|
|
-just come at the right time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a
|
|
|
-broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of
|
|
|
-grizzled brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight
|
|
|
-tremor of his extended hand, recalled Holmes' surmise as to his
|
|
|
-habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned right up in
|
|
|
-front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded
|
|
|
-from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a
|
|
|
-slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the
|
|
|
-impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had
|
|
|
-ill-usage at the hands of fortune.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes,
|
|
|
-"because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your
|
|
|
-address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not
|
|
|
-been so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "I had
|
|
|
-no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off
|
|
|
-both my hat and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a
|
|
|
-hopeless attempt at recovering them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to
|
|
|
-eat it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his
|
|
|
-excitement.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so.
|
|
|
-But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is
|
|
|
-about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your
|
|
|
-purpose equally well?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, certainly, certainly," answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of
|
|
|
-relief.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of
|
|
|
-your own bird, so if you wish--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man burst into a hearty laugh. "They might be useful to me as
|
|
|
-relics of my adventure," said he, "but beyond that I can hardly
|
|
|
-see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are
|
|
|
-going to be to me. No, sir, I think that, with your permission, I
|
|
|
-will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive
|
|
|
-upon the sideboard."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug
|
|
|
-of his shoulders.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is your hat, then, and there your bird," said he. "By the
|
|
|
-way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one
|
|
|
-from? I am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a
|
|
|
-better grown goose."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly, sir," said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly
|
|
|
-gained property under his arm. "There are a few of us who
|
|
|
-frequent the Alpha Inn, near the Museum--we are to be found in
|
|
|
-the Museum itself during the day, you understand. This year our
|
|
|
-good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which,
|
|
|
-on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to
|
|
|
-receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the
|
|
|
-rest is familiar to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for a
|
|
|
-Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity." With
|
|
|
-a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and
|
|
|
-strode off upon his way.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the
|
|
|
-door behind him. "It is quite certain that he knows nothing
|
|
|
-whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not particularly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow
|
|
|
-up this clue while it is still hot."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By all means."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped
|
|
|
-cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly
|
|
|
-in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out
|
|
|
-into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out
|
|
|
-crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors' quarter,
|
|
|
-Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into
|
|
|
-Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at
|
|
|
-the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one
|
|
|
-of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open
|
|
|
-the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from
|
|
|
-the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese,"
|
|
|
-said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My geese!" The man seemed surprised.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry Baker,
|
|
|
-who was a member of your goose club."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them's not our geese."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed! Whose, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Breckinridge is his name."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah! I don't know him. Well, here's your good health landlord,
|
|
|
-and prosperity to your house. Good-night."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat
|
|
|
-as we came out into the frosty air. "Remember, Watson that though
|
|
|
-we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we
|
|
|
-have at the other a man who will certainly get seven years' penal
|
|
|
-servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible
|
|
|
-that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we
|
|
|
-have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police,
|
|
|
-and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us
|
|
|
-follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south, then, and
|
|
|
-quick march!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We passed across Holborn, down Endell Street, and so through a
|
|
|
-zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest
|
|
|
-stalls bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor
|
|
|
-a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was
|
|
|
-helping a boy to put up the shutters.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good-evening. It's a cold night," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my
|
|
|
-companion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Sold out of geese, I see," continued Holmes, pointing at the
|
|
|
-bare slabs of marble.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Let you have five hundred to-morrow morning."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That's no good."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, but I was recommended to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who by?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The landlord of the Alpha."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes; I sent him a couple of dozen."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Fine birds they were, too. Now where did you get them from?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the
|
|
|
-salesman.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, then, mister," said he, with his head cocked and his arms
|
|
|
-akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let's have it straight, now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the
|
|
|
-geese which you supplied to the Alpha."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well then, I shan't tell you. So now!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don't know why you
|
|
|
-should be so warm over such a trifle."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Warm! You'd be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am.
|
|
|
-When I pay good money for a good article there should be an end
|
|
|
-of the business; but it's 'Where are the geese?' and 'Who did you
|
|
|
-sell the geese to?' and 'What will you take for the geese?' One
|
|
|
-would think they were the only geese in the world, to hear the
|
|
|
-fuss that is made over them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been
|
|
|
-making inquiries," said Holmes carelessly. "If you won't tell us
|
|
|
-the bet is off, that is all. But I'm always ready to back my
|
|
|
-opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the
|
|
|
-bird I ate is country bred."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, then, you've lost your fiver, for it's town bred," snapped
|
|
|
-the salesman.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's nothing of the kind."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I say it is."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I don't believe it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"D'you think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled
|
|
|
-them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that
|
|
|
-went to the Alpha were town bred."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You'll never persuade me to believe that."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Will you bet, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's merely taking your money, for I know that I am right. But
|
|
|
-I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be
|
|
|
-obstinate."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The salesman chuckled grimly. "Bring me the books, Bill," said
|
|
|
-he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great
|
|
|
-greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging
|
|
|
-lamp.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now then, Mr. Cocksure," said the salesman, "I thought that I
|
|
|
-was out of geese, but before I finish you'll find that there is
|
|
|
-still one left in my shop. You see this little book?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That's the list of the folk from whom I buy. D'you see? Well,
|
|
|
-then, here on this page are the country folk, and the numbers
|
|
|
-after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger.
|
|
|
-Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a
|
|
|
-list of my town suppliers. Now, look at that third name. Just
|
|
|
-read it out to me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road--249," read Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. Now turn that up in the ledger."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes turned to the page indicated. "Here you are, 'Mrs.
|
|
|
-Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, then, what's the last entry?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. There you are. And underneath?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Sold to Mr. Windigate of the Alpha, at 12s.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What have you to say now?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from
|
|
|
-his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the
|
|
|
-air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off
|
|
|
-he stopped under a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless
|
|
|
-fashion which was peculiar to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the 'Pink 'un'
|
|
|
-protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet,"
|
|
|
-said he. "I daresay that if I had put 100 pounds down in front of
|
|
|
-him, that man would not have given me such complete information
|
|
|
-as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a
|
|
|
-wager. Well, Watson, we are, I fancy, nearing the end of our
|
|
|
-quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is
|
|
|
-whether we should go on to this Mrs. Oakshott to-night, or
|
|
|
-whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. It is clear from what
|
|
|
-that surly fellow said that there are others besides ourselves
|
|
|
-who are anxious about the matter, and I should--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke
|
|
|
-out from the stall which we had just left. Turning round we saw a
|
|
|
-little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of
|
|
|
-yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp, while
|
|
|
-Breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was
|
|
|
-shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I've had enough of you and your geese," he shouted. "I wish you
|
|
|
-were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more
|
|
|
-with your silly talk I'll set the dog at you. You bring Mrs.
|
|
|
-Oakshott here and I'll answer her, but what have you to do with
|
|
|
-it? Did I buy the geese off you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No; but one of them was mine all the same," whined the little
|
|
|
-man.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She told me to ask you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, you can ask the King of Proosia, for all I care. I've had
|
|
|
-enough of it. Get out of this!" He rushed fiercely forward, and
|
|
|
-the inquirer flitted away into the darkness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! this may save us a visit to Brixton Road," whispered Holmes.
|
|
|
-"Come with me, and we will see what is to be made of this
|
|
|
-fellow." Striding through the scattered knots of people who
|
|
|
-lounged round the flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook
|
|
|
-the little man and touched him upon the shoulder. He sprang
|
|
|
-round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of
|
|
|
-colour had been driven from his face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who are you, then? What do you want?" he asked in a quavering
|
|
|
-voice.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will excuse me," said Holmes blandly, "but I could not help
|
|
|
-overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now.
|
|
|
-I think that I could be of assistance to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other
|
|
|
-people don't know."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you can know nothing of this?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Excuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavouring to
|
|
|
-trace some geese which were sold by Mrs. Oakshott, of Brixton
|
|
|
-Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr.
|
|
|
-Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr.
|
|
|
-Henry Baker is a member."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet," cried
|
|
|
-the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers.
|
|
|
-"I can hardly explain to you how interested I am in this matter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. "In that
|
|
|
-case we had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this
|
|
|
-wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we
|
|
|
-go farther, who it is that I have the pleasure of assisting."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man hesitated for an instant. "My name is John Robinson," he
|
|
|
-answered with a sidelong glance.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no; the real name," said Holmes sweetly. "It is always
|
|
|
-awkward doing business with an alias."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. "Well then,"
|
|
|
-said he, "my real name is James Ryder."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely so. Head attendant at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray
|
|
|
-step into the cab, and I shall soon be able to tell you
|
|
|
-everything which you would wish to know."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with
|
|
|
-half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure
|
|
|
-whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe.
|
|
|
-Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an hour we were back in
|
|
|
-the sitting-room at Baker Street. Nothing had been said during
|
|
|
-our drive, but the high, thin breathing of our new companion, and
|
|
|
-the claspings and unclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous
|
|
|
-tension within him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here we are!" said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room.
|
|
|
-"The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold,
|
|
|
-Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my
|
|
|
-slippers before we settle this little matter of yours. Now, then!
|
|
|
-You want to know what became of those geese?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Or rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in
|
|
|
-which you were interested--white, with a black bar across the
|
|
|
-tail."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell
|
|
|
-me where it went to?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It came here."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don't wonder that
|
|
|
-you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was
|
|
|
-dead--the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen.
|
|
|
-I have it here in my museum."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece
|
|
|
-with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up
|
|
|
-the blue carbuncle, which shone out like a star, with a cold,
|
|
|
-brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a
|
|
|
-drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The game's up, Ryder," said Holmes quietly. "Hold up, man, or
|
|
|
-you'll be into the fire! Give him an arm back into his chair,
|
|
|
-Watson. He's not got blood enough to go in for felony with
|
|
|
-impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little
|
|
|
-more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy
|
|
|
-brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring
|
|
|
-with frightened eyes at his accuser.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I
|
|
|
-could possibly need, so there is little which you need tell me.
|
|
|
-Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case
|
|
|
-complete. You had heard, Ryder, of this blue stone of the
|
|
|
-Countess of Morcar's?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was Catherine Cusack who told me of it," said he in a
|
|
|
-crackling voice.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see--her ladyship's waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of
|
|
|
-sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has
|
|
|
-been for better men before you; but you were not very scrupulous
|
|
|
-in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the
|
|
|
-making of a very pretty villain in you. You knew that this man
|
|
|
-Horner, the plumber, had been concerned in some such matter
|
|
|
-before, and that suspicion would rest the more readily upon him.
|
|
|
-What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady's
|
|
|
-room--you and your confederate Cusack--and you managed that he
|
|
|
-should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled
|
|
|
-the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man
|
|
|
-arrested. You then--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my
|
|
|
-companion's knees. "For God's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked.
|
|
|
-"Think of my father! Of my mother! It would break their hearts. I
|
|
|
-never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I'll
|
|
|
-swear it on a Bible. Oh, don't bring it into court! For Christ's
|
|
|
-sake, don't!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Get back into your chair!" said Holmes sternly. "It is very well
|
|
|
-to cringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this
|
|
|
-poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the
|
|
|
-charge against him will break down."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Hum! We will talk about that. And now let us hear a true account
|
|
|
-of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came
|
|
|
-the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies
|
|
|
-your only hope of safety."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. "I will tell you
|
|
|
-it just as it happened, sir," said he. "When Horner had been
|
|
|
-arrested, it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get
|
|
|
-away with the stone at once, for I did not know at what moment
|
|
|
-the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my
|
|
|
-room. There was no place about the hotel where it would be safe.
|
|
|
-I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister's
|
|
|
-house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton
|
|
|
-Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there
|
|
|
-every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective;
|
|
|
-and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweat was pouring down
|
|
|
-my face before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked me
|
|
|
-what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I
|
|
|
-had been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went
|
|
|
-into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would
|
|
|
-be best to do.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I had a friend once called Maudsley, who went to the bad, and
|
|
|
-has just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he had met
|
|
|
-me, and fell into talk about the ways of thieves, and how they
|
|
|
-could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to
|
|
|
-me, for I knew one or two things about him; so I made up my mind
|
|
|
-to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my
|
|
|
-confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money.
|
|
|
-But how to get to him in safety? I thought of the agonies I had
|
|
|
-gone through in coming from the hotel. I might at any moment be
|
|
|
-seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat
|
|
|
-pocket. I was leaning against the wall at the time and looking at
|
|
|
-the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and suddenly
|
|
|
-an idea came into my head which showed me how I could beat the
|
|
|
-best detective that ever lived.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My sister had told me some weeks before that I might have the
|
|
|
-pick of her geese for a Christmas present, and I knew that she
|
|
|
-was always as good as her word. I would take my goose now, and in
|
|
|
-it I would carry my stone to Kilburn. There was a little shed in
|
|
|
-the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds--a fine big
|
|
|
-one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill
|
|
|
-open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger
|
|
|
-could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass
|
|
|
-along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped
|
|
|
-and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the
|
|
|
-matter. As I turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and
|
|
|
-fluttered off among the others.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well,' said I, 'you said you'd give me one for Christmas, and I
|
|
|
-was feeling which was the fattest.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh,' says she, 'we've set yours aside for you--Jem's bird, we
|
|
|
-call it. It's the big white one over yonder. There's twenty-six
|
|
|
-of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen
|
|
|
-for the market.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Thank you, Maggie,' says I; 'but if it is all the same to you,
|
|
|
-I'd rather have that one I was handling just now.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The other is a good three pound heavier,' said she, 'and we
|
|
|
-fattened it expressly for you.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Never mind. I'll have the other, and I'll take it now,' said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, just as you like,' said she, a little huffed. 'Which is it
|
|
|
-you want, then?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the
|
|
|
-flock.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird
|
|
|
-all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was
|
|
|
-a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed
|
|
|
-until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My
|
|
|
-heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I
|
|
|
-knew that some terrible mistake had occurred. I left the bird,
|
|
|
-rushed back to my sister's, and hurried into the back yard. There
|
|
|
-was not a bird to be seen there.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Where are they all, Maggie?' I cried.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Gone to the dealer's, Jem.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Which dealer's?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'But was there another with a barred tail?' I asked, 'the same
|
|
|
-as the one I chose?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never
|
|
|
-tell them apart.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my
|
|
|
-feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge; but he had sold the
|
|
|
-lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they
|
|
|
-had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always
|
|
|
-answered me like that. My sister thinks that I am going mad.
|
|
|
-Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now--and now I am myself
|
|
|
-a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which
|
|
|
-I sold my character. God help me! God help me!" He burst into
|
|
|
-convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in his hands.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and
|
|
|
-by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes' finger-tips upon the
|
|
|
-edge of the table. Then my friend rose and threw open the door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Get out!" said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No more words. Get out!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon
|
|
|
-the stairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running
|
|
|
-footfalls from the street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"After all, Watson," said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his
|
|
|
-clay pipe, "I am not retained by the police to supply their
|
|
|
-deficiencies. If Horner were in danger it would be another thing;
|
|
|
-but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must
|
|
|
-collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just
|
|
|
-possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong
|
|
|
-again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and
|
|
|
-you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of
|
|
|
-forgiveness. Chance has put in our way a most singular and
|
|
|
-whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you
|
|
|
-will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin
|
|
|
-another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief
|
|
|
-feature."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I
|
|
|
-have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number
|
|
|
-merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did
|
|
|
-rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of
|
|
|
-wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation
|
|
|
-which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic.
|
|
|
-Of all these varied cases, however, I cannot recall any which
|
|
|
-presented more singular features than that which was associated
|
|
|
-with the well-known Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran.
|
|
|
-The events in question occurred in the early days of my
|
|
|
-association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors
|
|
|
-in Baker Street. It is possible that I might have placed them
|
|
|
-upon record before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the
|
|
|
-time, from which I have only been freed during the last month by
|
|
|
-the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given. It
|
|
|
-is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light, for I
|
|
|
-have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours as to the
|
|
|
-death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even
|
|
|
-more terrible than the truth.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was early in April in the year '83 that I woke one morning to
|
|
|
-find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my
|
|
|
-bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the
|
|
|
-mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I
|
|
|
-blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little
|
|
|
-resentment, for I was myself regular in my habits.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said he, "but it's the
|
|
|
-common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she
|
|
|
-retorted upon me, and I on you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is it, then--a fire?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No; a client. It seems that a young lady has arrived in a
|
|
|
-considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me. She
|
|
|
-is waiting now in the sitting-room. Now, when young ladies wander
|
|
|
-about the metropolis at this hour of the morning, and knock
|
|
|
-sleepy people up out of their beds, I presume that it is
|
|
|
-something very pressing which they have to communicate. Should it
|
|
|
-prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to
|
|
|
-follow it from the outset. I thought, at any rate, that I should
|
|
|
-call you and give you the chance."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his
|
|
|
-professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid
|
|
|
-deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a
|
|
|
-logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were
|
|
|
-submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in
|
|
|
-a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting-room. A
|
|
|
-lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in
|
|
|
-the window, rose as we entered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good-morning, madam," said Holmes cheerily. "My name is Sherlock
|
|
|
-Holmes. This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson,
|
|
|
-before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Ha! I am
|
|
|
-glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good sense to light the
|
|
|
-fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot
|
|
|
-coffee, for I observe that you are shivering."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is not cold which makes me shiver," said the woman in a low
|
|
|
-voice, changing her seat as requested.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror." She raised her veil as
|
|
|
-she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable
|
|
|
-state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless
|
|
|
-frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features
|
|
|
-and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot
|
|
|
-with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard.
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick,
|
|
|
-all-comprehensive glances.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You must not fear," said he soothingly, bending forward and
|
|
|
-patting her forearm. "We shall soon set matters right, I have no
|
|
|
-doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You know me, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, but I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm
|
|
|
-of your left glove. You must have started early, and yet you had
|
|
|
-a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached
|
|
|
-the station."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my
|
|
|
-companion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is no mystery, my dear madam," said he, smiling. "The left
|
|
|
-arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven
|
|
|
-places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a
|
|
|
-dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you
|
|
|
-sit on the left-hand side of the driver."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct," said
|
|
|
-she. "I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at
|
|
|
-twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I
|
|
|
-can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues.
|
|
|
-I have no one to turn to--none, save only one, who cares for me,
|
|
|
-and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid. I have heard of you,
|
|
|
-Mr. Holmes; I have heard of you from Mrs. Farintosh, whom you
|
|
|
-helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had
|
|
|
-your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me,
|
|
|
-too, and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness
|
|
|
-which surrounds me? At present it is out of my power to reward
|
|
|
-you for your services, but in a month or six weeks I shall be
|
|
|
-married, with the control of my own income, and then at least you
|
|
|
-shall not find me ungrateful."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small
|
|
|
-case-book, which he consulted.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Farintosh," said he. "Ah yes, I recall the case; it was
|
|
|
-concerned with an opal tiara. I think it was before your time,
|
|
|
-Watson. I can only say, madam, that I shall be happy to devote
|
|
|
-the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to
|
|
|
-reward, my profession is its own reward; but you are at liberty
|
|
|
-to defray whatever expenses I may be put to, at the time which
|
|
|
-suits you best. And now I beg that you will lay before us
|
|
|
-everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the
|
|
|
-matter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Alas!" replied our visitor, "the very horror of my situation
|
|
|
-lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions
|
|
|
-depend so entirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to
|
|
|
-another, that even he to whom of all others I have a right to
|
|
|
-look for help and advice looks upon all that I tell him about it
|
|
|
-as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I can
|
|
|
-read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes. But I have
|
|
|
-heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold
|
|
|
-wickedness of the human heart. You may advise me how to walk amid
|
|
|
-the dangers which encompass me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am all attention, madam."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who
|
|
|
-is the last survivor of one of the oldest Saxon families in
|
|
|
-England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of
|
|
|
-Surrey."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes nodded his head. "The name is familiar to me," said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The family was at one time among the richest in England, and the
|
|
|
-estates extended over the borders into Berkshire in the north,
|
|
|
-and Hampshire in the west. In the last century, however, four
|
|
|
-successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition,
|
|
|
-and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler in the
|
|
|
-days of the Regency. Nothing was left save a few acres of ground,
|
|
|
-and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under
|
|
|
-a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence
|
|
|
-there, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but
|
|
|
-his only son, my stepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to
|
|
|
-the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which
|
|
|
-enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Calcutta,
|
|
|
-where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he
|
|
|
-established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused
|
|
|
-by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he
|
|
|
-beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital
|
|
|
-sentence. As it was, he suffered a long term of imprisonment and
|
|
|
-afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed man.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner,
|
|
|
-the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery.
|
|
|
-My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old
|
|
|
-at the time of my mother's re-marriage. She had a considerable
|
|
|
-sum of money--not less than 1000 pounds a year--and this she
|
|
|
-bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we resided with him,
|
|
|
-with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to
|
|
|
-each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return
|
|
|
-to England my mother died--she was killed eight years ago in a
|
|
|
-railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his
|
|
|
-attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us
|
|
|
-to live with him in the old ancestral house at Stoke Moran. The
|
|
|
-money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and
|
|
|
-there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time.
|
|
|
-Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our
|
|
|
-neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of
|
|
|
-Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in
|
|
|
-his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious
|
|
|
-quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper
|
|
|
-approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the
|
|
|
-family, and in my stepfather's case it had, I believe, been
|
|
|
-intensified by his long residence in the tropics. A series of
|
|
|
-disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the
|
|
|
-police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village,
|
|
|
-and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of
|
|
|
-immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a
|
|
|
-stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which I
|
|
|
-could gather together that I was able to avert another public
|
|
|
-exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies,
|
|
|
-and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few
|
|
|
-acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate,
|
|
|
-and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents,
|
|
|
-wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end. He has a
|
|
|
-passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a
|
|
|
-correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon,
|
|
|
-which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the
|
|
|
-villagers almost as much as their master.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I
|
|
|
-had no great pleasure in our lives. No servant would stay with
|
|
|
-us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was
|
|
|
-but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already
|
|
|
-begun to whiten, even as mine has."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your sister is dead, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She died just two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish
|
|
|
-to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I
|
|
|
-have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own
|
|
|
-age and position. We had, however, an aunt, my mother's maiden
|
|
|
-sister, Miss Honoria Westphail, who lives near Harrow, and we
|
|
|
-were occasionally allowed to pay short visits at this lady's
|
|
|
-house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there
|
|
|
-a half-pay major of marines, to whom she became engaged. My
|
|
|
-stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and
|
|
|
-offered no objection to the marriage; but within a fortnight of
|
|
|
-the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the terrible event
|
|
|
-occurred which has deprived me of my only companion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes
|
|
|
-closed and his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his
|
|
|
-lids now and glanced across at his visitor.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray be precise as to details," said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful
|
|
|
-time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have
|
|
|
-already said, very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The
|
|
|
-bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting-rooms
|
|
|
-being in the central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms
|
|
|
-the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's, and the third
|
|
|
-my own. There is no communication between them, but they all open
|
|
|
-out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Perfectly so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That
|
|
|
-fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we
|
|
|
-knew that he had not retired to rest, for my sister was troubled
|
|
|
-by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which it was his custom
|
|
|
-to smoke. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where
|
|
|
-she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At
|
|
|
-eleven o'clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door
|
|
|
-and looked back.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Tell me, Helen,' said she, 'have you ever heard anyone whistle
|
|
|
-in the dead of the night?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Never,' said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in
|
|
|
-your sleep?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Certainly not. But why?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Because during the last few nights I have always, about three
|
|
|
-in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I am a light sleeper,
|
|
|
-and it has awakened me. I cannot tell where it came from--perhaps
|
|
|
-from the next room, perhaps from the lawn. I thought that I would
|
|
|
-just ask you whether you had heard it.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the
|
|
|
-plantation.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Very likely. And yet if it were on the lawn, I wonder that you
|
|
|
-did not hear it also.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ah, but I sleep more heavily than you.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, it is of no great consequence, at any rate.' She smiled
|
|
|
-back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her
|
|
|
-key turn in the lock."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed," said Holmes. "Was it your custom always to lock
|
|
|
-yourselves in at night?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Always."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And why?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah
|
|
|
-and a baboon. We had no feeling of security unless our doors were
|
|
|
-locked."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. Pray proceed with your statement."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I could not sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending
|
|
|
-misfortune impressed me. My sister and I, you will recollect,
|
|
|
-were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two
|
|
|
-souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind
|
|
|
-was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing
|
|
|
-against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of the gale,
|
|
|
-there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew
|
|
|
-that it was my sister's voice. I sprang from my bed, wrapped a
|
|
|
-shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door
|
|
|
-I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and
|
|
|
-a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had
|
|
|
-fallen. As I ran down the passage, my sister's door was unlocked,
|
|
|
-and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it
|
|
|
-horror-stricken, not knowing what was about to issue from it. By
|
|
|
-the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear at the
|
|
|
-opening, her face blanched with terror, her hands groping for
|
|
|
-help, her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a
|
|
|
-drunkard. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that
|
|
|
-moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground.
|
|
|
-She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were
|
|
|
-dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought that she had not
|
|
|
-recognised me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out
|
|
|
-in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was
|
|
|
-the band! The speckled band!' There was something else which she
|
|
|
-would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the
|
|
|
-air in the direction of the doctor's room, but a fresh convulsion
|
|
|
-seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for
|
|
|
-my stepfather, and I met him hastening from his room in his
|
|
|
-dressing-gown. When he reached my sister's side she was
|
|
|
-unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent
|
|
|
-for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for
|
|
|
-she slowly sank and died without having recovered her
|
|
|
-consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One moment," said Holmes, "are you sure about this whistle and
|
|
|
-metallic sound? Could you swear to it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. It is
|
|
|
-my strong impression that I heard it, and yet, among the crash of
|
|
|
-the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have
|
|
|
-been deceived."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Was your sister dressed?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the
|
|
|
-charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when
|
|
|
-the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did
|
|
|
-the coroner come to?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's
|
|
|
-conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unable
|
|
|
-to find any satisfactory cause of death. My evidence showed that
|
|
|
-the door had been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows
|
|
|
-were blocked by old-fashioned shutters with broad iron bars,
|
|
|
-which were secured every night. The walls were carefully sounded,
|
|
|
-and were shown to be quite solid all round, and the flooring was
|
|
|
-also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is
|
|
|
-wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain,
|
|
|
-therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end.
|
|
|
-Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How about poison?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The doctors examined her for it, but without success."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock,
|
|
|
-though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, there are nearly always some there."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band--a
|
|
|
-speckled band?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Sometimes I have thought that it was merely the wild talk of
|
|
|
-delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of
|
|
|
-people, perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation. I do not
|
|
|
-know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear
|
|
|
-over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which
|
|
|
-she used."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"These are very deep waters," said he; "pray go on with your
|
|
|
-narrative."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until
|
|
|
-lately lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend,
|
|
|
-whom I have known for many years, has done me the honour to ask
|
|
|
-my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage--Percy Armitage--the
|
|
|
-second son of Mr. Armitage, of Crane Water, near Reading. My
|
|
|
-stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and we are to
|
|
|
-be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago some repairs
|
|
|
-were started in the west wing of the building, and my bedroom
|
|
|
-wall has been pierced, so that I have had to move into the
|
|
|
-chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very bed in
|
|
|
-which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last
|
|
|
-night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I
|
|
|
-suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which
|
|
|
-had been the herald of her own death. I sprang up and lit the
|
|
|
-lamp, but nothing was to be seen in the room. I was too shaken to
|
|
|
-go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was
|
|
|
-daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which
|
|
|
-is opposite, and drove to Leatherhead, from whence I have come on
|
|
|
-this morning with the one object of seeing you and asking your
|
|
|
-advice."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have done wisely," said my friend. "But have you told me
|
|
|
-all?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Miss Roylott, you have not. You are screening your stepfather."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why, what do you mean?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-For answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which
|
|
|
-fringed the hand that lay upon our visitor's knee. Five little
|
|
|
-livid spots, the marks of four fingers and a thumb, were printed
|
|
|
-upon the white wrist.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have been cruelly used," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist. "He
|
|
|
-is a hard man," she said, "and perhaps he hardly knows his own
|
|
|
-strength."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin
|
|
|
-upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This is a very deep business," he said at last. "There are a
|
|
|
-thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide
|
|
|
-upon our course of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If
|
|
|
-we were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for
|
|
|
-us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your
|
|
|
-stepfather?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some
|
|
|
-most important business. It is probable that he will be away all
|
|
|
-day, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have a
|
|
|
-housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and I could easily
|
|
|
-get her out of the way."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Excellent. You are not averse to this trip, Watson?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By no means."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have one or two things which I would wish to do now that I am
|
|
|
-in town. But I shall return by the twelve o'clock train, so as to
|
|
|
-be there in time for your coming."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some
|
|
|
-small business matters to attend to. Will you not wait and
|
|
|
-breakfast?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I must go. My heart is lightened already since I have
|
|
|
-confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward to seeing you
|
|
|
-again this afternoon." She dropped her thick black veil over her
|
|
|
-face and glided from the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And what do you think of it all, Watson?" asked Sherlock Holmes,
|
|
|
-leaning back in his chair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Dark enough and sinister enough."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls
|
|
|
-are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable,
|
|
|
-then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her
|
|
|
-mysterious end."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the
|
|
|
-very peculiar words of the dying woman?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot think."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of
|
|
|
-a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor,
|
|
|
-the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has
|
|
|
-an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying
|
|
|
-allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner
|
|
|
-heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of
|
|
|
-those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its
|
|
|
-place, I think that there is good ground to think that the
|
|
|
-mystery may be cleared along those lines."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what, then, did the gipsies do?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot imagine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see many objections to any such theory."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going
|
|
|
-to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are
|
|
|
-fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of
|
|
|
-the devil!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that
|
|
|
-our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had
|
|
|
-framed himself in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar
|
|
|
-mixture of the professional and of the agricultural, having a
|
|
|
-black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters,
|
|
|
-with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his
|
|
|
-hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his
|
|
|
-breadth seemed to span it across from side to side. A large face,
|
|
|
-seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and
|
|
|
-marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other
|
|
|
-of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin,
|
|
|
-fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old
|
|
|
-bird of prey.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Which of you is Holmes?" asked this apparition.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My name, sir; but you have the advantage of me," said my
|
|
|
-companion quietly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has been here. I
|
|
|
-have traced her. What has she been saying to you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a little cold for the time of the year," said Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What has she been saying to you?" screamed the old man
|
|
|
-furiously.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But I have heard that the crocuses promise well," continued my
|
|
|
-companion imperturbably.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! You put me off, do you?" said our new visitor, taking a step
|
|
|
-forward and shaking his hunting-crop. "I know you, you scoundrel!
|
|
|
-I have heard of you before. You are Holmes, the meddler."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-My friend smiled.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes, the busybody!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-His smile broadened.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes chuckled heartily. "Your conversation is most
|
|
|
-entertaining," said he. "When you go out close the door, for
|
|
|
-there is a decided draught."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will go when I have said my say. Don't you dare to meddle with
|
|
|
-my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her!
|
|
|
-I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here." He stepped
|
|
|
-swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with
|
|
|
-his huge brown hands.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"See that you keep yourself out of my grip," he snarled, and
|
|
|
-hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the
|
|
|
-room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He seems a very amiable person," said Holmes, laughing. "I am
|
|
|
-not quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him
|
|
|
-that my grip was not much more feeble than his own." As he spoke
|
|
|
-he picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort,
|
|
|
-straightened it out again.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official
|
|
|
-detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation,
|
|
|
-however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer
|
|
|
-from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now,
|
|
|
-Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk
|
|
|
-down to Doctors' Commons, where I hope to get some data which may
|
|
|
-help us in this matter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was nearly one o'clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his
|
|
|
-excursion. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled
|
|
|
-over with notes and figures.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have seen the will of the deceased wife," said he. "To
|
|
|
-determine its exact meaning I have been obliged to work out the
|
|
|
-present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. The
|
|
|
-total income, which at the time of the wife's death was little
|
|
|
-short of 1100 pounds, is now, through the fall in agricultural
|
|
|
-prices, not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can claim an
|
|
|
-income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is evident,
|
|
|
-therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have
|
|
|
-had a mere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to
|
|
|
-a very serious extent. My morning's work has not been wasted,
|
|
|
-since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for
|
|
|
-standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson,
|
|
|
-this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is
|
|
|
-aware that we are interesting ourselves in his affairs; so if you
|
|
|
-are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. I should be
|
|
|
-very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your
|
|
|
-pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen
|
|
|
-who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush
|
|
|
-are, I think, all that we need."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-At Waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for
|
|
|
-Leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove
|
|
|
-for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was a
|
|
|
-perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the
|
|
|
-heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out
|
|
|
-their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant
|
|
|
-smell of the moist earth. To me at least there was a strange
|
|
|
-contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this
|
|
|
-sinister quest upon which we were engaged. My companion sat in
|
|
|
-the front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over
|
|
|
-his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the
|
|
|
-deepest thought. Suddenly, however, he started, tapped me on the
|
|
|
-shoulder, and pointed over the meadows.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Look there!" said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope,
|
|
|
-thickening into a grove at the highest point. From amid the
|
|
|
-branches there jutted out the grey gables and high roof-tree of a
|
|
|
-very old mansion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Stoke Moran?" said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott," remarked
|
|
|
-the driver.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is some building going on there," said Holmes; "that is
|
|
|
-where we are going."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There's the village," said the driver, pointing to a cluster of
|
|
|
-roofs some distance to the left; "but if you want to get to the
|
|
|
-house, you'll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by
|
|
|
-the foot-path over the fields. There it is, where the lady is
|
|
|
-walking."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And the lady, I fancy, is Miss Stoner," observed Holmes, shading
|
|
|
-his eyes. "Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We got off, paid our fare, and the trap rattled back on its way
|
|
|
-to Leatherhead.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile,
|
|
|
-"that this fellow should think we had come here as architects, or
|
|
|
-on some definite business. It may stop his gossip.
|
|
|
-Good-afternoon, Miss Stoner. You see that we have been as good as
|
|
|
-our word."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a
|
|
|
-face which spoke her joy. "I have been waiting so eagerly for
|
|
|
-you," she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. "All has turned
|
|
|
-out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely
|
|
|
-that he will be back before evening."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We have had the pleasure of making the doctor's acquaintance,"
|
|
|
-said Holmes, and in a few words he sketched out what had
|
|
|
-occurred. Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good heavens!" she cried, "he has followed me, then."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So it appears."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He is so cunning that I never know when I am safe from him. What
|
|
|
-will he say when he returns?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone
|
|
|
-more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself
|
|
|
-up from him to-night. If he is violent, we shall take you away to
|
|
|
-your aunt's at Harrow. Now, we must make the best use of our
|
|
|
-time, so kindly take us at once to the rooms which we are to
|
|
|
-examine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high
|
|
|
-central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab,
|
|
|
-thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were
|
|
|
-broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly
|
|
|
-caved in, a picture of ruin. The central portion was in little
|
|
|
-better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern,
|
|
|
-and the blinds in the windows, with the blue smoke curling up
|
|
|
-from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided.
|
|
|
-Some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall, and the
|
|
|
-stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any
|
|
|
-workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and
|
|
|
-down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep attention the
|
|
|
-outsides of the windows.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This, I take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep,
|
|
|
-the centre one to your sister's, and the one next to the main
|
|
|
-building to Dr. Roylott's chamber?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Exactly so. But I am now sleeping in the middle one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pending the alterations, as I understand. By the way, there does
|
|
|
-not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end
|
|
|
-wall."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from
|
|
|
-my room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah! that is suggestive. Now, on the other side of this narrow
|
|
|
-wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open. There
|
|
|
-are windows in it, of course?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, but very small ones. Too narrow for anyone to pass
|
|
|
-through."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were
|
|
|
-unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness
|
|
|
-to go into your room and bar your shutters?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination
|
|
|
-through the open window, endeavoured in every way to force the
|
|
|
-shutter open, but without success. There was no slit through
|
|
|
-which a knife could be passed to raise the bar. Then with his
|
|
|
-lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron, built
|
|
|
-firmly into the massive masonry. "Hum!" said he, scratching his
|
|
|
-chin in some perplexity, "my theory certainly presents some
|
|
|
-difficulties. No one could pass these shutters if they were
|
|
|
-bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon
|
|
|
-the matter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which
|
|
|
-the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third
|
|
|
-chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss
|
|
|
-Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her
|
|
|
-fate. It was a homely little room, with a low ceiling and a
|
|
|
-gaping fireplace, after the fashion of old country-houses. A
|
|
|
-brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow
|
|
|
-white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the
|
|
|
-left-hand side of the window. These articles, with two small
|
|
|
-wicker-work chairs, made up all the furniture in the room save
|
|
|
-for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. The boards round and
|
|
|
-the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old
|
|
|
-and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building
|
|
|
-of the house. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat
|
|
|
-silent, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down,
|
|
|
-taking in every detail of the apartment.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where does that bell communicate with?" he asked at last
|
|
|
-pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the
|
|
|
-tassel actually lying upon the pillow.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It goes to the housekeeper's room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It looks newer than the other things?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your sister asked for it, I suppose?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I never heard of her using it. We used always to get what we
|
|
|
-wanted for ourselves."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there.
|
|
|
-You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to
|
|
|
-this floor." He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in
|
|
|
-his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining
|
|
|
-minutely the cracks between the boards. Then he did the same with
|
|
|
-the wood-work with which the chamber was panelled. Finally he
|
|
|
-walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and
|
|
|
-in running his eye up and down the wall. Finally he took the
|
|
|
-bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why, it's a dummy," said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Won't it ring?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting.
|
|
|
-You can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where
|
|
|
-the little opening for the ventilator is."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How very absurd! I never noticed that before."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very strange!" muttered Holmes, pulling at the rope. "There are
|
|
|
-one or two very singular points about this room. For example,
|
|
|
-what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another
|
|
|
-room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated
|
|
|
-with the outside air!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is also quite modern," said the lady.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Done about the same time as the bell-rope?" remarked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, there were several little changes carried out about that
|
|
|
-time."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They seem to have been of a most interesting character--dummy
|
|
|
-bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your
|
|
|
-permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into
|
|
|
-the inner apartment."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Dr. Grimesby Roylott's chamber was larger than that of his
|
|
|
-step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp-bed, a small
|
|
|
-wooden shelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an
|
|
|
-armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a
|
|
|
-round table, and a large iron safe were the principal things
|
|
|
-which met the eye. Holmes walked slowly round and examined each
|
|
|
-and all of them with the keenest interest.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What's in here?" he asked, tapping the safe.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My stepfather's business papers."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh! you have seen inside, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of
|
|
|
-papers."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There isn't a cat in it, for example?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No. What a strange idea!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, look at this!" He took up a small saucer of milk which
|
|
|
-stood on the top of it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No; we don't keep a cat. But there is a cheetah and a baboon."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a
|
|
|
-saucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants, I
|
|
|
-daresay. There is one point which I should wish to determine." He
|
|
|
-squatted down in front of the wooden chair and examined the seat
|
|
|
-of it with the greatest attention.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting
|
|
|
-his lens in his pocket. "Hullo! Here is something interesting!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on
|
|
|
-one corner of the bed. The lash, however, was curled upon itself
|
|
|
-and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What do you make of that, Watson?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's a common enough lash. But I don't know why it should be
|
|
|
-tied."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it's a wicked world,
|
|
|
-and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst
|
|
|
-of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and
|
|
|
-with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had never seen my friend's face so grim or his brow so dark as
|
|
|
-it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation. We
|
|
|
-had walked several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss
|
|
|
-Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he
|
|
|
-roused himself from his reverie.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is very essential, Miss Stoner," said he, "that you should
|
|
|
-absolutely follow my advice in every respect."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall most certainly do so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The matter is too serious for any hesitation. Your life may
|
|
|
-depend upon your compliance."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I assure you that I am in your hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in
|
|
|
-your room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the
|
|
|
-village inn over there?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, that is the Crown."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very good. Your windows would be visible from there?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Certainly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You must confine yourself to your room, on pretence of a
|
|
|
-headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when you hear him
|
|
|
-retire for the night, you must open the shutters of your window,
|
|
|
-undo the hasp, put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then
|
|
|
-withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want
|
|
|
-into the room which you used to occupy. I have no doubt that, in
|
|
|
-spite of the repairs, you could manage there for one night."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, easily."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The rest you will leave in our hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what will you do?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate
|
|
|
-the cause of this noise which has disturbed you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I believe, Mr. Holmes, that you have already made up your mind,"
|
|
|
-said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion's sleeve.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Perhaps I have."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, for pity's sake, tell me what was the cause of my sister's
|
|
|
-death."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and
|
|
|
-if she died from some sudden fright."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I do not think so. I think that there was probably some more
|
|
|
-tangible cause. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you for if
|
|
|
-Dr. Roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain.
|
|
|
-Good-bye, and be brave, for if you will do what I have told you,
|
|
|
-you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers
|
|
|
-that threaten you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and
|
|
|
-sitting-room at the Crown Inn. They were on the upper floor, and
|
|
|
-from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and
|
|
|
-of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw
|
|
|
-Dr. Grimesby Roylott drive past, his huge form looming up beside
|
|
|
-the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some
|
|
|
-slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard
|
|
|
-the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice and saw the fury with which
|
|
|
-he shook his clinched fists at him. The trap drove on, and a few
|
|
|
-minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as
|
|
|
-the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the
|
|
|
-gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you
|
|
|
-to-night. There is a distinct element of danger."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Can I be of assistance?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your presence might be invaluable."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I shall certainly come."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is very kind of you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You speak of danger. You have evidently seen more in these rooms
|
|
|
-than was visible to me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine
|
|
|
-that you saw all that I did."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose
|
|
|
-that could answer I confess is more than I can imagine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You saw the ventilator, too?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to
|
|
|
-have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a
|
|
|
-rat could hardly pass through."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to
|
|
|
-Stoke Moran."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear Holmes!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, I did. You remember in her statement she said that her
|
|
|
-sister could smell Dr. Roylott's cigar. Now, of course that
|
|
|
-suggested at once that there must be a communication between the
|
|
|
-two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been
|
|
|
-remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry. I deduced a ventilator."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what harm can there be in that?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, there is at least a curious coincidence of dates. A
|
|
|
-ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the
|
|
|
-bed dies. Does not that strike you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot as yet see any connection."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened
|
|
|
-like that before?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot say that I have."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same
|
|
|
-relative position to the ventilator and to the rope--or so we may
|
|
|
-call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes," I cried, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at.
|
|
|
-We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible
|
|
|
-crime."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a doctor does go wrong
|
|
|
-he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge.
|
|
|
-Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession.
|
|
|
-This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall
|
|
|
-be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough
|
|
|
-before the night is over; for goodness' sake let us have a quiet
|
|
|
-pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more
|
|
|
-cheerful."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished,
|
|
|
-and all was dark in the direction of the Manor House. Two hours
|
|
|
-passed slowly away, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of
|
|
|
-eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it
|
|
|
-comes from the middle window."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord,
|
|
|
-explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance,
|
|
|
-and that it was possible that we might spend the night there. A
|
|
|
-moment later we were out on the dark road, a chill wind blowing
|
|
|
-in our faces, and one yellow light twinkling in front of us
|
|
|
-through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-There was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for
|
|
|
-unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way
|
|
|
-among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about
|
|
|
-to enter through the window when out from a clump of laurel
|
|
|
-bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted
|
|
|
-child, who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs and
|
|
|
-then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My God!" I whispered; "did you see it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like
|
|
|
-a vice upon my wrist in his agitation. Then he broke into a low
|
|
|
-laugh and put his lips to my ear.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a nice household," he murmured. "That is the baboon."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. There
|
|
|
-was a cheetah, too; perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders
|
|
|
-at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when,
|
|
|
-after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I
|
|
|
-found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed
|
|
|
-the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes
|
|
|
-round the room. All was as we had seen it in the daytime. Then
|
|
|
-creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand, he whispered
|
|
|
-into my ear again so gently that it was all that I could do to
|
|
|
-distinguish the words:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The least sound would be fatal to our plans."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I nodded to show that I had heard.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We must sit without light. He would see it through the
|
|
|
-ventilator."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I nodded again.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your
|
|
|
-pistol ready in case we should need it. I will sit on the side of
|
|
|
-the bed, and you in that chair."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes had brought up a long thin cane, and this he placed upon
|
|
|
-the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the
|
|
|
-stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left
|
|
|
-in darkness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a
|
|
|
-sound, not even the drawing of a breath, and yet I knew that my
|
|
|
-companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same
|
|
|
-state of nervous tension in which I was myself. The shutters cut
|
|
|
-off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-From outside came the occasional cry of a night-bird, and once at
|
|
|
-our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that
|
|
|
-the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away we could hear the
|
|
|
-deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of
|
|
|
-an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and
|
|
|
-one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for
|
|
|
-whatever might befall.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the
|
|
|
-direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was
|
|
|
-succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal.
|
|
|
-Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern. I heard a gentle
|
|
|
-sound of movement, and then all was silent once more, though the
|
|
|
-smell grew stronger. For half an hour I sat with straining ears.
|
|
|
-Then suddenly another sound became audible--a very gentle,
|
|
|
-soothing sound, like that of a small jet of steam escaping
|
|
|
-continually from a kettle. The instant that we heard it, Holmes
|
|
|
-sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with
|
|
|
-his cane at the bell-pull.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You see it, Watson?" he yelled. "You see it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I
|
|
|
-heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my
|
|
|
-weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which
|
|
|
-my friend lashed so savagely. I could, however, see that his face
|
|
|
-was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. He had
|
|
|
-ceased to strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when
|
|
|
-suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most
|
|
|
-horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder
|
|
|
-and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled
|
|
|
-in the one dreadful shriek. They say that away down in the
|
|
|
-village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the
|
|
|
-sleepers from their beds. It struck cold to our hearts, and I
|
|
|
-stood gazing at Holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it
|
|
|
-had died away into the silence from which it rose.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What can it mean?" I gasped.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps,
|
|
|
-after all, it is for the best. Take your pistol, and we will
|
|
|
-enter Dr. Roylott's room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-With a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the
|
|
|
-corridor. Twice he struck at the chamber door without any reply
|
|
|
-from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his
|
|
|
-heels, with the cocked pistol in my hand.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was a singular sight which met our eyes. On the table stood a
|
|
|
-dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant
|
|
|
-beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar.
|
|
|
-Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott
|
|
|
-clad in a long grey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protruding
|
|
|
-beneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless Turkish slippers.
|
|
|
-Across his lap lay the short stock with the long lash which we
|
|
|
-had noticed during the day. His chin was cocked upward and his
|
|
|
-eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the
|
|
|
-ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with
|
|
|
-brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his
|
|
|
-head. As we entered he made neither sound nor motion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began
|
|
|
-to move, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat
|
|
|
-diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a swamp adder!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in
|
|
|
-India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence
|
|
|
-does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls
|
|
|
-into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this
|
|
|
-creature back into its den, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to
|
|
|
-some place of shelter and let the county police know what has
|
|
|
-happened."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man's lap,
|
|
|
-and throwing the noose round the reptile's neck he drew it from
|
|
|
-its horrid perch and, carrying it at arm's length, threw it into
|
|
|
-the iron safe, which he closed upon it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of
|
|
|
-Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a
|
|
|
-narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling
|
|
|
-how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed
|
|
|
-her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow,
|
|
|
-of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the
|
|
|
-conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly
|
|
|
-playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn
|
|
|
-of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back
|
|
|
-next day.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I had," said he, "come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which
|
|
|
-shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from
|
|
|
-insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of
|
|
|
-the word 'band,' which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to
|
|
|
-explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of
|
|
|
-by the light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an
|
|
|
-entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly
|
|
|
-reconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me
|
|
|
-that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not
|
|
|
-come either from the window or the door. My attention was
|
|
|
-speedily drawn, as I have already remarked to you, to this
|
|
|
-ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The
|
|
|
-discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to
|
|
|
-the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was
|
|
|
-there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and
|
|
|
-coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me,
|
|
|
-and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was
|
|
|
-furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I
|
|
|
-was probably on the right track. The idea of using a form of
|
|
|
-poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical
|
|
|
-test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless
|
|
|
-man who had had an Eastern training. The rapidity with which such
|
|
|
-a poison would take effect would also, from his point of view, be
|
|
|
-an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could
|
|
|
-distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where
|
|
|
-the poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the
|
|
|
-whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning
|
|
|
-light revealed it to the victim. He had trained it, probably by
|
|
|
-the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned.
|
|
|
-He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he
|
|
|
-thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the
|
|
|
-rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the
|
|
|
-occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but
|
|
|
-sooner or later she must fall a victim.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his
|
|
|
-room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in
|
|
|
-the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary
|
|
|
-in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the
|
|
|
-safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to
|
|
|
-finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic
|
|
|
-clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather
|
|
|
-hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant.
|
|
|
-Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in
|
|
|
-order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss
|
|
|
-as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the
|
|
|
-light and attacked it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"With the result of driving it through the ventilator."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master
|
|
|
-at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and
|
|
|
-roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person
|
|
|
-it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr.
|
|
|
-Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to
|
|
|
-weigh very heavily upon my conscience."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER'S THUMB
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr.
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy,
|
|
|
-there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his
|
|
|
-notice--that of Mr. Hatherley's thumb, and that of Colonel
|
|
|
-Warburton's madness. Of these the latter may have afforded a
|
|
|
-finer field for an acute and original observer, but the other was
|
|
|
-so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that
|
|
|
-it may be the more worthy of being placed upon record, even if it
|
|
|
-gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of
|
|
|
-reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story
|
|
|
-has, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers, but,
|
|
|
-like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking when
|
|
|
-set forth en bloc in a single half-column of print than when the
|
|
|
-facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clears
|
|
|
-gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads
|
|
|
-on to the complete truth. At the time the circumstances made a
|
|
|
-deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly
|
|
|
-served to weaken the effect.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that the
|
|
|
-events occurred which I am now about to summarise. I had returned
|
|
|
-to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker
|
|
|
-Street rooms, although I continually visited him and occasionally
|
|
|
-even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come
|
|
|
-and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I
|
|
|
-happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington
|
|
|
-Station, I got a few patients from among the officials. One of
|
|
|
-these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, was
|
|
|
-never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send
|
|
|
-me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-One morning, at a little before seven o'clock, I was awakened by
|
|
|
-the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come
|
|
|
-from Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room. I
|
|
|
-dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases
|
|
|
-were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs. As I descended, my
|
|
|
-old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door
|
|
|
-tightly behind him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I've got him here," he whispered, jerking his thumb over his
|
|
|
-shoulder; "he's all right."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it was
|
|
|
-some strange creature which he had caged up in my room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him
|
|
|
-round myself; then he couldn't slip away. There he is, all safe
|
|
|
-and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the
|
|
|
-same as you." And off he went, this trusty tout, without even
|
|
|
-giving me time to thank him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the
|
|
|
-table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a
|
|
|
-soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one of
|
|
|
-his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all
|
|
|
-over with bloodstains. He was young, not more than
|
|
|
-five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but
|
|
|
-he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who
|
|
|
-was suffering from some strong agitation, which it took all his
|
|
|
-strength of mind to control.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am sorry to knock you up so early, Doctor," said he, "but I
|
|
|
-have had a very serious accident during the night. I came in by
|
|
|
-train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I
|
|
|
-might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me
|
|
|
-here. I gave the maid a card, but I see that she has left it upon
|
|
|
-the side-table."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I took it up and glanced at it. "Mr. Victor Hatherley, hydraulic
|
|
|
-engineer, 16A, Victoria Street (3rd floor)." That was the name,
|
|
|
-style, and abode of my morning visitor. "I regret that I have
|
|
|
-kept you waiting," said I, sitting down in my library-chair. "You
|
|
|
-are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself
|
|
|
-a monotonous occupation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, my night could not be called monotonous," said he, and
|
|
|
-laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note,
|
|
|
-leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical
|
|
|
-instincts rose up against that laugh.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Stop it!" I cried; "pull yourself together!" and I poured out
|
|
|
-some water from a caraffe.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was useless, however. He was off in one of those hysterical
|
|
|
-outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis
|
|
|
-is over and gone. Presently he came to himself once more, very
|
|
|
-weary and pale-looking.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have been making a fool of myself," he gasped.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not at all. Drink this." I dashed some brandy into the water,
|
|
|
-and the colour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you would
|
|
|
-kindly attend to my thumb, or rather to the place where my thumb
|
|
|
-used to be."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave even
|
|
|
-my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four
|
|
|
-protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where the
|
|
|
-thumb should have been. It had been hacked or torn right out from
|
|
|
-the roots.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good heavens!" I cried, "this is a terrible injury. It must have
|
|
|
-bled considerably."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it did. I fainted when it was done, and I think that I must
|
|
|
-have been senseless for a long time. When I came to I found that
|
|
|
-it was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief very
|
|
|
-tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Excellent! You should have been a surgeon."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own
|
|
|
-province."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This has been done," said I, examining the wound, "by a very
|
|
|
-heavy and sharp instrument."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A thing like a cleaver," said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"An accident, I presume?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By no means."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What! a murderous attack?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very murderous indeed."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You horrify me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered
|
|
|
-it over with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages. He lay back
|
|
|
-without wincing, though he bit his lip from time to time.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How is that?" I asked when I had finished.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Capital! Between your brandy and your bandage, I feel a new man.
|
|
|
-I was very weak, but I have had a good deal to go through."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently
|
|
|
-trying to your nerves."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police;
|
|
|
-but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing
|
|
|
-evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they
|
|
|
-believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I
|
|
|
-have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and,
|
|
|
-even if they believe me, the clues which I can give them are so
|
|
|
-vague that it is a question whether justice will be done."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha!" cried I, "if it is anything in the nature of a problem
|
|
|
-which you desire to see solved, I should strongly recommend you
|
|
|
-to come to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, before you go to the
|
|
|
-official police."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, I have heard of that fellow," answered my visitor, "and I
|
|
|
-should be very glad if he would take the matter up, though of
|
|
|
-course I must use the official police as well. Would you give me
|
|
|
-an introduction to him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I should be immensely obliged to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We'll call a cab and go together. We shall just be in time to
|
|
|
-have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel equal to it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; I shall not feel easy until I have told my story."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then my servant will call a cab, and I shall be with you in an
|
|
|
-instant." I rushed upstairs, explained the matter shortly to my
|
|
|
-wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my
|
|
|
-new acquaintance to Baker Street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes was, as I expected, lounging about his
|
|
|
-sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of The
|
|
|
-Times and smoking his before-breakfast pipe, which was composed
|
|
|
-of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day
|
|
|
-before, all carefully dried and collected on the corner of the
|
|
|
-mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion,
|
|
|
-ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a hearty meal.
|
|
|
-When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the
|
|
|
-sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of
|
|
|
-brandy and water within his reach.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one,
|
|
|
-Mr. Hatherley," said he. "Pray, lie down there and make yourself
|
|
|
-absolutely at home. Tell us what you can, but stop when you are
|
|
|
-tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you," said my patient, "but I have felt another man since
|
|
|
-the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has
|
|
|
-completed the cure. I shall take up as little of your valuable
|
|
|
-time as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiar
|
|
|
-experiences."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-lidded
|
|
|
-expression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I sat
|
|
|
-opposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange story
|
|
|
-which our visitor detailed to us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You must know," said he, "that I am an orphan and a bachelor,
|
|
|
-residing alone in lodgings in London. By profession I am a
|
|
|
-hydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of my
|
|
|
-work during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner &
|
|
|
-Matheson, the well-known firm, of Greenwich. Two years ago,
|
|
|
-having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum of
|
|
|
-money through my poor father's death, I determined to start in
|
|
|
-business for myself and took professional chambers in Victoria
|
|
|
-Street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in
|
|
|
-business a dreary experience. To me it has been exceptionally so.
|
|
|
-During two years I have had three consultations and one small
|
|
|
-job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought
|
|
|
-me. My gross takings amount to 27 pounds 10s. Every day, from
|
|
|
-nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my
|
|
|
-little den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came to
|
|
|
-believe that I should never have any practice at all.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yesterday, however, just as I was thinking of leaving the
|
|
|
-office, my clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who
|
|
|
-wished to see me upon business. He brought up a card, too, with
|
|
|
-the name of 'Colonel Lysander Stark' engraved upon it. Close at
|
|
|
-his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle
|
|
|
-size, but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have
|
|
|
-ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose
|
|
|
-and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over
|
|
|
-his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be his
|
|
|
-natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his
|
|
|
-step brisk, and his bearing assured. He was plainly but neatly
|
|
|
-dressed, and his age, I should judge, would be nearer forty than
|
|
|
-thirty.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Mr. Hatherley?' said he, with something of a German accent.
|
|
|
-'You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a man
|
|
|
-who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet
|
|
|
-and capable of preserving a secret.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an
|
|
|
-address. 'May I ask who it was who gave me so good a character?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that just
|
|
|
-at this moment. I have it from the same source that you are both
|
|
|
-an orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That is quite correct,' I answered; 'but you will excuse me if
|
|
|
-I say that I cannot see how all this bears upon my professional
|
|
|
-qualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matter
|
|
|
-that you wished to speak to me?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to
|
|
|
-the point. I have a professional commission for you, but absolute
|
|
|
-secrecy is quite essential--absolute secrecy, you understand, and
|
|
|
-of course we may expect that more from a man who is alone than
|
|
|
-from one who lives in the bosom of his family.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'If I promise to keep a secret,' said I, 'you may absolutely
|
|
|
-depend upon my doing so.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I
|
|
|
-had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Do you promise, then?' said he at last.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, I promise.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? No
|
|
|
-reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I have already given you my word.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Very good.' He suddenly sprang up, and darting like lightning
|
|
|
-across the room he flung open the door. The passage outside was
|
|
|
-empty.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That's all right,' said he, coming back. 'I know that clerks are
|
|
|
-sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now we can talk
|
|
|
-in safety.' He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to
|
|
|
-stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A feeling of repulsion, and of something akin to fear had begun
|
|
|
-to rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man.
|
|
|
-Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from
|
|
|
-showing my impatience.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my time
|
|
|
-is of value.' Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the
|
|
|
-words came to my lips.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'How would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you?' he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Most admirably.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. I
|
|
|
-simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which
|
|
|
-has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon
|
|
|
-set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as
|
|
|
-that?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last
|
|
|
-train.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Where to?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders
|
|
|
-of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a
|
|
|
-train from Paddington which would bring you there at about
|
|
|
-11:15.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Very good.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'There is a drive, then?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good
|
|
|
-seven miles from Eyford Station.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there
|
|
|
-would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop
|
|
|
-the night.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenient
|
|
|
-hour?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'We have judged it best that you should come late. It is to
|
|
|
-recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a
|
|
|
-young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the
|
|
|
-very heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you would
|
|
|
-like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do
|
|
|
-so.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they
|
|
|
-would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to
|
|
|
-accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to
|
|
|
-understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to
|
|
|
-do.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which
|
|
|
-we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. I
|
|
|
-have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all
|
|
|
-laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from
|
|
|
-eavesdroppers?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Entirely.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware that
|
|
|
-fuller's-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found
|
|
|
-in one or two places in England?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I have heard so.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Some little time ago I bought a small place--a very small
|
|
|
-place--within ten miles of Reading. I was fortunate enough to
|
|
|
-discover that there was a deposit of fuller's-earth in one of my
|
|
|
-fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a
|
|
|
-comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two
|
|
|
-very much larger ones upon the right and left--both of them,
|
|
|
-however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people were
|
|
|
-absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was
|
|
|
-quite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to my
|
|
|
-interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value,
|
|
|
-but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. I
|
|
|
-took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they
|
|
|
-suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little
|
|
|
-deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would
|
|
|
-enable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now been
|
|
|
-doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we
|
|
|
-erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already
|
|
|
-explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the
|
|
|
-subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it
|
|
|
-once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our
|
|
|
-little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts
|
|
|
-came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these
|
|
|
-fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you
|
|
|
-promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are
|
|
|
-going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could not
|
|
|
-quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press
|
|
|
-in excavating fuller's-earth, which, as I understand, is dug out
|
|
|
-like gravel from a pit.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress
|
|
|
-the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing
|
|
|
-what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully
|
|
|
-into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I
|
|
|
-trust you.' He rose as he spoke. 'I shall expect you, then, at
|
|
|
-Eyford at 11:15.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I shall certainly be there.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And not a word to a soul.' He looked at me with a last long,
|
|
|
-questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank
|
|
|
-grasp, he hurried from the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very
|
|
|
-much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission
|
|
|
-which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was
|
|
|
-glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked
|
|
|
-had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that
|
|
|
-this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face
|
|
|
-and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon
|
|
|
-me, and I could not think that his explanation of the
|
|
|
-fuller's-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my
|
|
|
-coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell
|
|
|
-anyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, ate
|
|
|
-a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having
|
|
|
-obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station.
|
|
|
-However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I
|
|
|
-reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the
|
|
|
-only passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon the
|
|
|
-platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed
|
|
|
-out through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of
|
|
|
-the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a
|
|
|
-word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door
|
|
|
-of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either
|
|
|
-side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as the
|
|
|
-horse could go."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One horse?" interjected Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, only one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Did you observe the colour?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into the
|
|
|
-carriage. It was a chestnut."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Tired-looking or fresh?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, fresh and glossy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue
|
|
|
-your most interesting statement."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel
|
|
|
-Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I
|
|
|
-should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the
|
|
|
-time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat
|
|
|
-at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than
|
|
|
-once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me
|
|
|
-with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good
|
|
|
-in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I
|
|
|
-tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we
|
|
|
-were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out
|
|
|
-nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Now
|
|
|
-and then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the
|
|
|
-journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the
|
|
|
-conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the
|
|
|
-road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive,
|
|
|
-and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprang
|
|
|
-out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch
|
|
|
-which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of
|
|
|
-the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch the
|
|
|
-most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that
|
|
|
-I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us,
|
|
|
-and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage
|
|
|
-drove away.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled
|
|
|
-about looking for matches and muttering under his breath.
|
|
|
-Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a
|
|
|
-long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew
|
|
|
-broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she
|
|
|
-held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us.
|
|
|
-I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which
|
|
|
-the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich
|
|
|
-material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as
|
|
|
-though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a
|
|
|
-gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly
|
|
|
-fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered
|
|
|
-something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room
|
|
|
-from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the
|
|
|
-lamp in his hand.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a
|
|
|
-few minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a
|
|
|
-quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the
|
|
|
-centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel
|
|
|
-Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the
|
|
|
-door. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, and
|
|
|
-vanished into the darkness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my
|
|
|
-ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises
|
|
|
-on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked
|
|
|
-across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of
|
|
|
-the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded
|
|
|
-across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old
|
|
|
-clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise
|
|
|
-everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began
|
|
|
-to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were
|
|
|
-they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And
|
|
|
-where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was
|
|
|
-all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no
|
|
|
-idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns,
|
|
|
-were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded,
|
|
|
-after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness,
|
|
|
-that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room,
|
|
|
-humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling
|
|
|
-that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the
|
|
|
-utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman
|
|
|
-was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind
|
|
|
-her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and
|
|
|
-beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with
|
|
|
-fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one
|
|
|
-shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few
|
|
|
-whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back,
|
|
|
-like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to
|
|
|
-speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no
|
|
|
-good for you to do.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I
|
|
|
-cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass
|
|
|
-through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled
|
|
|
-and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and
|
|
|
-made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love
|
|
|
-of Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too
|
|
|
-late!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to
|
|
|
-engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I
|
|
|
-thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of
|
|
|
-the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to
|
|
|
-go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried
|
|
|
-out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This
|
|
|
-woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout
|
|
|
-bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I
|
|
|
-cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention
|
|
|
-of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties
|
|
|
-when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps
|
|
|
-was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up
|
|
|
-her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and
|
|
|
-as noiselessly as she had come.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man
|
|
|
-with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double
|
|
|
-chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'By the
|
|
|
-way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just
|
|
|
-now. I fear that you have felt the draught.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I
|
|
|
-felt the room to be a little close.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had
|
|
|
-better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I
|
|
|
-will take you up to see the machine.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, no, it is in the house.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that.
|
|
|
-All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us
|
|
|
-know what is wrong with it.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the
|
|
|
-fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house,
|
|
|
-with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little
|
|
|
-low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the
|
|
|
-generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no
|
|
|
-signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster
|
|
|
-was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in
|
|
|
-green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an
|
|
|
-air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the
|
|
|
-lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon
|
|
|
-my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent
|
|
|
-man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at
|
|
|
-least a fellow-countryman.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which
|
|
|
-he unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the three
|
|
|
-of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside,
|
|
|
-and the colonel ushered me in.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and
|
|
|
-it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were
|
|
|
-to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the
|
|
|
-end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of
|
|
|
-many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns
|
|
|
-of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and
|
|
|
-multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine
|
|
|
-goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working
|
|
|
-of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will
|
|
|
-have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set
|
|
|
-it right.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very
|
|
|
-thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of
|
|
|
-exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and
|
|
|
-pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by
|
|
|
-the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which allowed
|
|
|
-a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An
|
|
|
-examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was
|
|
|
-round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to
|
|
|
-fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause
|
|
|
-of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who
|
|
|
-followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical
|
|
|
-questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I
|
|
|
-had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the
|
|
|
-machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity.
|
|
|
-It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth
|
|
|
-was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose
|
|
|
-that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a
|
|
|
-purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a
|
|
|
-large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a
|
|
|
-crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was
|
|
|
-scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a
|
|
|
-muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the
|
|
|
-colonel looking down at me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'What are you doing there?' he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as
|
|
|
-that which he had told me. 'I was admiring your fuller's-earth,'
|
|
|
-said I; 'I think that I should be better able to advise you as to
|
|
|
-your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it
|
|
|
-was used.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of
|
|
|
-my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in
|
|
|
-his grey eyes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' He
|
|
|
-took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key
|
|
|
-in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it
|
|
|
-was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and
|
|
|
-shoves. 'Hullo!' I yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my
|
|
|
-heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish
|
|
|
-of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp
|
|
|
-still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining
|
|
|
-the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming
|
|
|
-down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than
|
|
|
-myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a
|
|
|
-shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and
|
|
|
-dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let
|
|
|
-me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my
|
|
|
-cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with
|
|
|
-my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it
|
|
|
-flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend
|
|
|
-very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my
|
|
|
-face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to
|
|
|
-think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and
|
|
|
-yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black
|
|
|
-shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand
|
|
|
-erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope
|
|
|
-back to my heart.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the
|
|
|
-walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw
|
|
|
-a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which
|
|
|
-broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. For
|
|
|
-an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door
|
|
|
-which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself
|
|
|
-through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had
|
|
|
-closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few
|
|
|
-moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me
|
|
|
-how narrow had been my escape.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and
|
|
|
-I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor,
|
|
|
-while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand,
|
|
|
-while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend
|
|
|
-whose warning I had so foolishly rejected.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Come! come!' she cried breathlessly. 'They will be here in a
|
|
|
-moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste
|
|
|
-the so-precious time, but come!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to
|
|
|
-my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding
|
|
|
-stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we
|
|
|
-reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of
|
|
|
-two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we
|
|
|
-were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about
|
|
|
-her like one who is at her wit's end. Then she threw open a door
|
|
|
-which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon
|
|
|
-was shining brightly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It is your only chance,' said she. 'It is high, but it may be
|
|
|
-that you can jump it.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the
|
|
|
-passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark
|
|
|
-rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a
|
|
|
-butcher's cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom,
|
|
|
-flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and
|
|
|
-wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be
|
|
|
-more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I
|
|
|
-hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between
|
|
|
-my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used,
|
|
|
-then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance.
|
|
|
-The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at
|
|
|
-the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round
|
|
|
-him and tried to hold him back.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promise
|
|
|
-after the last time. You said it should not be again. He will be
|
|
|
-silent! Oh, he will be silent!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You are mad, Elise!' he shouted, struggling to break away from
|
|
|
-her. 'You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let me
|
|
|
-pass, I say!' He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the
|
|
|
-window, cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let myself go, and
|
|
|
-was hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow fell. I was
|
|
|
-conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the
|
|
|
-garden below.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so I picked myself up and
|
|
|
-rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for I
|
|
|
-understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly,
|
|
|
-however, as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me.
|
|
|
-I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and
|
|
|
-then, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off and
|
|
|
-that the blood was pouring from my wound. I endeavoured to tie my
|
|
|
-handkerchief round it, but there came a sudden buzzing in my
|
|
|
-ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the
|
|
|
-rose-bushes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been
|
|
|
-a very long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning was
|
|
|
-breaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden with
|
|
|
-dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded
|
|
|
-thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the
|
|
|
-particulars of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet with
|
|
|
-the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But
|
|
|
-to my astonishment, when I came to look round me, neither house
|
|
|
-nor garden were to be seen. I had been lying in an angle of the
|
|
|
-hedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was a
|
|
|
-long building, which proved, upon my approaching it, to be the
|
|
|
-very station at which I had arrived upon the previous night. Were
|
|
|
-it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed
|
|
|
-during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morning
|
|
|
-train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The
|
|
|
-same porter was on duty, I found, as had been there when I
|
|
|
-arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel
|
|
|
-Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a
|
|
|
-carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was
|
|
|
-there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three
|
|
|
-miles off.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determined
|
|
|
-to wait until I got back to town before telling my story to the
|
|
|
-police. It was a little past six when I arrived, so I went first
|
|
|
-to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to
|
|
|
-bring me along here. I put the case into your hands and shall do
|
|
|
-exactly what you advise."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to
|
|
|
-this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down
|
|
|
-from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he
|
|
|
-placed his cuttings.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "It
|
|
|
-appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this:
|
|
|
-'Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged
|
|
|
-twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten
|
|
|
-o'clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Was
|
|
|
-dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that
|
|
|
-the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good heavens!" cried my patient. "Then that explains what the
|
|
|
-girl said."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and
|
|
|
-desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should
|
|
|
-stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out
|
|
|
-pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well,
|
|
|
-every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall
|
|
|
-go down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting for
|
|
|
-Eyford."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train
|
|
|
-together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village.
|
|
|
-There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector
|
|
|
-Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself.
|
|
|
-Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the
|
|
|
-seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford
|
|
|
-for its centre.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn at a radius of
|
|
|
-ten miles from the village. The place we want must be somewhere
|
|
|
-near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was an hour's good drive."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And you think that they brought you back all that way when you
|
|
|
-were unconscious?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of having
|
|
|
-been lifted and conveyed somewhere."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What I cannot understand," said I, "is why they should have
|
|
|
-spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden.
|
|
|
-Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face
|
|
|
-in my life."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I
|
|
|
-have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon
|
|
|
-it the folk that we are in search of are to be found."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think I could lay my finger on it," said Holmes quietly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Really, now!" cried the inspector, "you have formed your
|
|
|
-opinion! Come, now, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it is
|
|
|
-south, for the country is more deserted there."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And I say east," said my patient.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am for west," remarked the plain-clothes man. "There are
|
|
|
-several quiet little villages up there."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And I am for north," said I, "because there are no hills there,
|
|
|
-and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up
|
|
|
-any."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Come," cried the inspector, laughing; "it's a very pretty
|
|
|
-diversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who do
|
|
|
-you give your casting vote to?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are all wrong."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But we can't all be."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, you can. This is my point." He placed his finger in the
|
|
|
-centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But the twelve-mile drive?" gasped Hatherley.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that the
|
|
|
-horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that
|
|
|
-if it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed, it is a likely ruse enough," observed Bradstreet
|
|
|
-thoughtfully. "Of course there can be no doubt as to the nature
|
|
|
-of this gang."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None at all," said Holmes. "They are coiners on a large scale,
|
|
|
-and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the
|
|
|
-place of silver."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work,"
|
|
|
-said the inspector. "They have been turning out half-crowns by
|
|
|
-the thousand. We even traced them as far as Reading, but could
|
|
|
-get no farther, for they had covered their traces in a way that
|
|
|
-showed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to this
|
|
|
-lucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not
|
|
|
-destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into
|
|
|
-Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed
|
|
|
-up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and
|
|
|
-hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A house on fire?" asked Bradstreet as the train steamed off
|
|
|
-again on its way.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir!" said the station-master.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When did it break out?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse,
|
|
|
-and the whole place is in a blaze."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Whose house is it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Dr. Becher's."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, very
|
|
|
-thin, with a long, sharp nose?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The station-master laughed heartily. "No, sir, Dr. Becher is an
|
|
|
-Englishman, and there isn't a man in the parish who has a
|
|
|
-better-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him,
|
|
|
-a patient, as I understand, who is a foreigner, and he looks as
|
|
|
-if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The station-master had not finished his speech before we were all
|
|
|
-hastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a low
|
|
|
-hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in
|
|
|
-front of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while in
|
|
|
-the garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving to
|
|
|
-keep the flames under.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That's it!" cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. "There is
|
|
|
-the gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. That
|
|
|
-second window is the one that I jumped from."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, at least," said Holmes, "you have had your revenge upon
|
|
|
-them. There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which,
|
|
|
-when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls,
|
|
|
-though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to
|
|
|
-observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for
|
|
|
-your friends of last night, though I very much fear that they are
|
|
|
-a good hundred miles off by now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-And Holmes' fears came to be realised, for from that day to this
|
|
|
-no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the
|
|
|
-sinister German, or the morose Englishman. Early that morning a
|
|
|
-peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very
|
|
|
-bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading, but
|
|
|
-there all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes'
|
|
|
-ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clue as to their
|
|
|
-whereabouts.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements
|
|
|
-which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a
|
|
|
-newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor.
|
|
|
-About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and
|
|
|
-they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had fallen in,
|
|
|
-and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that, save
|
|
|
-some twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained of
|
|
|
-the machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance so
|
|
|
-dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored
|
|
|
-in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have
|
|
|
-explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been
|
|
|
-already referred to.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to
|
|
|
-the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained
|
|
|
-forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a
|
|
|
-very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two
|
|
|
-persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other
|
|
|
-unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the
|
|
|
-silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his
|
|
|
-companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out
|
|
|
-of the way of danger.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well," said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return
|
|
|
-once more to London, "it has been a pretty business for me! I
|
|
|
-have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what
|
|
|
-have I gained?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Experience," said Holmes, laughing. "Indirectly it may be of
|
|
|
-value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the
|
|
|
-reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your
|
|
|
-existence."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-X. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have
|
|
|
-long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles
|
|
|
-in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have
|
|
|
-eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the
|
|
|
-gossips away from this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to
|
|
|
-believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to
|
|
|
-the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a
|
|
|
-considerable share in clearing the matter up, I feel that no
|
|
|
-memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of
|
|
|
-this remarkable episode.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I
|
|
|
-was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, that he came
|
|
|
-home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table
|
|
|
-waiting for him. I had remained indoors all day, for the weather
|
|
|
-had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and
|
|
|
-the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as
|
|
|
-a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence.
|
|
|
-With my body in one easy-chair and my legs upon another, I had
|
|
|
-surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last,
|
|
|
-saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and
|
|
|
-lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the
|
|
|
-envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's
|
|
|
-noble correspondent could be.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he entered.
|
|
|
-"Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a
|
|
|
-fish-monger and a tide-waiter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety," he
|
|
|
-answered, smiling, "and the humbler are usually the more
|
|
|
-interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social
|
|
|
-summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He broke the seal and glanced over the contents.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not social, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, distinctly professional."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And from a noble client?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"One of the highest in England."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear fellow, I congratulate you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my
|
|
|
-client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his
|
|
|
-case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be
|
|
|
-wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the
|
|
|
-papers diligently of late, have you not?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in
|
|
|
-the corner. "I have had nothing else to do."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I
|
|
|
-read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The
|
|
|
-latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent
|
|
|
-events so closely you must have read about Lord St. Simon and his
|
|
|
-wedding?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, with the deepest interest."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord
|
|
|
-St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn
|
|
|
-over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter.
|
|
|
-This is what he says:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES:--Lord Backwater tells me that I
|
|
|
-may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I
|
|
|
-have determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you
|
|
|
-in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in
|
|
|
-connection with my wedding. Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is
|
|
|
-acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he sees no
|
|
|
-objection to your co-operation, and that he even thinks that
|
|
|
-it might be of some assistance. I will call at four o'clock in
|
|
|
-the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that
|
|
|
-time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this matter is of
|
|
|
-paramount importance. Yours faithfully, ST. SIMON.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen,
|
|
|
-and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink
|
|
|
-upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes
|
|
|
-as he folded up the epistle.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an
|
|
|
-hour."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon
|
|
|
-the subject. Turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in
|
|
|
-their order of time, while I take a glance as to who our client
|
|
|
-is." He picked a red-covered volume from a line of books of
|
|
|
-reference beside the mantelpiece. "Here he is," said he, sitting
|
|
|
-down and flattening it out upon his knee. "'Lord Robert Walsingham
|
|
|
-de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.' Hum! 'Arms:
|
|
|
-Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable. Born in 1846.'
|
|
|
-He's forty-one years of age, which is mature for marriage. Was
|
|
|
-Under-Secretary for the colonies in a late administration. The
|
|
|
-Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
|
|
|
-They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on
|
|
|
-the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing very instructive in
|
|
|
-all this. I think that I must turn to you Watson, for something
|
|
|
-more solid."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have very little difficulty in finding what I want," said I,
|
|
|
-"for the facts are quite recent, and the matter struck me as
|
|
|
-remarkable. I feared to refer them to you, however, as I knew
|
|
|
-that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the
|
|
|
-intrusion of other matters."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square
|
|
|
-furniture van. That is quite cleared up now--though, indeed, it
|
|
|
-was obvious from the first. Pray give me the results of your
|
|
|
-newspaper selections."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here is the first notice which I can find. It is in the personal
|
|
|
-column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks
|
|
|
-back: 'A marriage has been arranged,' it says, 'and will, if
|
|
|
-rumour is correct, very shortly take place, between Lord Robert
|
|
|
-St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hatty
|
|
|
-Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran. Esq., of San
|
|
|
-Francisco, Cal., U.S.A.' That is all."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Terse and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long,
|
|
|
-thin legs towards the fire.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society
|
|
|
-papers of the same week. Ah, here it is: 'There will soon be a
|
|
|
-call for protection in the marriage market, for the present
|
|
|
-free-trade principle appears to tell heavily against our home
|
|
|
-product. One by one the management of the noble houses of Great
|
|
|
-Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across
|
|
|
-the Atlantic. An important addition has been made during the last
|
|
|
-week to the list of the prizes which have been borne away by
|
|
|
-these charming invaders. Lord St. Simon, who has shown himself
|
|
|
-for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows, has
|
|
|
-now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty
|
|
|
-Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire. Miss
|
|
|
-Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much
|
|
|
-attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child,
|
|
|
-and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to
|
|
|
-considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the
|
|
|
-future. As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has
|
|
|
-been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years,
|
|
|
-and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small
|
|
|
-estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the Californian heiress
|
|
|
-is not the only gainer by an alliance which will enable her to
|
|
|
-make the easy and common transition from a Republican lady to a
|
|
|
-British peeress.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Anything else?" asked Holmes, yawning.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes; plenty. Then there is another note in the Morning Post
|
|
|
-to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it
|
|
|
-would be at St. George's, Hanover Square, that only half a dozen
|
|
|
-intimate friends would be invited, and that the party would
|
|
|
-return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate which has been
|
|
|
-taken by Mr. Aloysius Doran. Two days later--that is, on
|
|
|
-Wednesday last--there is a curt announcement that the wedding had
|
|
|
-taken place, and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord
|
|
|
-Backwater's place, near Petersfield. Those are all the notices
|
|
|
-which appeared before the disappearance of the bride."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The vanishing of the lady."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When did she vanish, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At the wedding breakfast."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite
|
|
|
-dramatic, in fact."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They often vanish before the ceremony, and occasionally during
|
|
|
-the honeymoon; but I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt
|
|
|
-as this. Pray let me have the details."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I warn you that they are very incomplete."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Perhaps we may make them less so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Such as they are, they are set forth in a single article of a
|
|
|
-morning paper of yesterday, which I will read to you. It is
|
|
|
-headed, 'Singular Occurrence at a Fashionable Wedding':
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The family of Lord Robert St. Simon has been thrown into the
|
|
|
-greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes which
|
|
|
-have taken place in connection with his wedding. The ceremony, as
|
|
|
-shortly announced in the papers of yesterday, occurred on the
|
|
|
-previous morning; but it is only now that it has been possible to
|
|
|
-confirm the strange rumours which have been so persistently
|
|
|
-floating about. In spite of the attempts of the friends to hush
|
|
|
-the matter up, so much public attention has now been drawn to it
|
|
|
-that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what
|
|
|
-is a common subject for conversation.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The ceremony, which was performed at St. George's, Hanover
|
|
|
-Square, was a very quiet one, no one being present save the
|
|
|
-father of the bride, Mr. Aloysius Doran, the Duchess of Balmoral,
|
|
|
-Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon (the
|
|
|
-younger brother and sister of the bridegroom), and Lady Alicia
|
|
|
-Whittington. The whole party proceeded afterwards to the house of
|
|
|
-Mr. Aloysius Doran, at Lancaster Gate, where breakfast had been
|
|
|
-prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused by a
|
|
|
-woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who endeavoured to
|
|
|
-force her way into the house after the bridal party, alleging
|
|
|
-that she had some claim upon Lord St. Simon. It was only after a
|
|
|
-painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler
|
|
|
-and the footman. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house
|
|
|
-before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast
|
|
|
-with the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and
|
|
|
-retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some
|
|
|
-comment, her father followed her, but learned from her maid that
|
|
|
-she had only come up to her chamber for an instant, caught up an
|
|
|
-ulster and bonnet, and hurried down to the passage. One of the
|
|
|
-footmen declared that he had seen a lady leave the house thus
|
|
|
-apparelled, but had refused to credit that it was his mistress,
|
|
|
-believing her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his
|
|
|
-daughter had disappeared, Mr. Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with
|
|
|
-the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with
|
|
|
-the police, and very energetic inquiries are being made, which
|
|
|
-will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very
|
|
|
-singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing
|
|
|
-had transpired as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There
|
|
|
-are rumours of foul play in the matter, and it is said that the
|
|
|
-police have caused the arrest of the woman who had caused the
|
|
|
-original disturbance, in the belief that, from jealousy or some
|
|
|
-other motive, she may have been concerned in the strange
|
|
|
-disappearance of the bride.'"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And is that all?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is
|
|
|
-a suggestive one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And it is--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That Miss Flora Millar, the lady who had caused the disturbance,
|
|
|
-has actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a
|
|
|
-danseuse at the Allegro, and that she has known the bridegroom
|
|
|
-for some years. There are no further particulars, and the whole
|
|
|
-case is in your hands now--so far as it has been set forth in the
|
|
|
-public press."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be. I would
|
|
|
-not have missed it for worlds. But there is a ring at the bell,
|
|
|
-Watson, and as the clock makes it a few minutes after four, I
|
|
|
-have no doubt that this will prove to be our noble client. Do not
|
|
|
-dream of going, Watson, for I very much prefer having a witness,
|
|
|
-if only as a check to my own memory."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Lord Robert St. Simon," announced our page-boy, throwing open
|
|
|
-the door. A gentleman entered, with a pleasant, cultured face,
|
|
|
-high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about
|
|
|
-the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose
|
|
|
-pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His
|
|
|
-manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue
|
|
|
-impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and a little
|
|
|
-bend of the knees as he walked. His hair, too, as he swept off
|
|
|
-his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin
|
|
|
-upon the top. As to his dress, it was careful to the verge of
|
|
|
-foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white waistcoat,
|
|
|
-yellow gloves, patent-leather shoes, and light-coloured gaiters.
|
|
|
-He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to
|
|
|
-right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his
|
|
|
-golden eyeglasses.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good-day, Lord St. Simon," said Holmes, rising and bowing. "Pray
|
|
|
-take the basket-chair. This is my friend and colleague, Dr.
|
|
|
-Watson. Draw up a little to the fire, and we will talk this
|
|
|
-matter over."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A most painful matter to me, as you can most readily imagine,
|
|
|
-Mr. Holmes. I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you
|
|
|
-have already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir,
|
|
|
-though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of
|
|
|
-society."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, I am descending."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I beg pardon."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My last client of the sort was a king."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The King of Scandinavia."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What! Had he lost his wife?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You can understand," said Holmes suavely, "that I extend to the
|
|
|
-affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to
|
|
|
-you in yours."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Of course! Very right! very right! I'm sure I beg pardon. As to
|
|
|
-my own case, I am ready to give you any information which may
|
|
|
-assist you in forming an opinion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. I have already learned all that is in the public
|
|
|
-prints, nothing more. I presume that I may take it as correct--this
|
|
|
-article, for example, as to the disappearance of the bride."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lord St. Simon glanced over it. "Yes, it is correct, as far as it
|
|
|
-goes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could
|
|
|
-offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most
|
|
|
-directly by questioning you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray do so."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When did you first meet Miss Hatty Doran?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In San Francisco, a year ago."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You were travelling in the States?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Did you become engaged then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you were on a friendly footing?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was amused by her society, and she could see that I was
|
|
|
-amused."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Her father is very rich?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He is said to be the richest man on the Pacific slope."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how did he make his money?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In mining. He had nothing a few years ago. Then he struck gold,
|
|
|
-invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, what is your own impression as to the young lady's--your
|
|
|
-wife's character?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down
|
|
|
-into the fire. "You see, Mr. Holmes," said he, "my wife was
|
|
|
-twenty before her father became a rich man. During that time she
|
|
|
-ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods or
|
|
|
-mountains, so that her education has come from Nature rather than
|
|
|
-from the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England a tomboy,
|
|
|
-with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of
|
|
|
-traditions. She is impetuous--volcanic, I was about to say. She
|
|
|
-is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her
|
|
|
-resolutions. On the other hand, I would not have given her the
|
|
|
-name which I have the honour to bear"--he gave a little stately
|
|
|
-cough--"had not I thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I
|
|
|
-believe that she is capable of heroic self-sacrifice and that
|
|
|
-anything dishonourable would be repugnant to her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you her photograph?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I brought this with me." He opened a locket and showed us the
|
|
|
-full face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph but an
|
|
|
-ivory miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect
|
|
|
-of the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the
|
|
|
-exquisite mouth. Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he
|
|
|
-closed the locket and handed it back to Lord St. Simon.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The young lady came to London, then, and you renewed your
|
|
|
-acquaintance?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I
|
|
|
-met her several times, became engaged to her, and have now
|
|
|
-married her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A fair dowry. Not more than is usual in my family."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And this, of course, remains to you, since the marriage is a
|
|
|
-fait accompli?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I really have made no inquiries on the subject."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very naturally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the
|
|
|
-wedding?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Was she in good spirits?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Never better. She kept talking of what we should do in our
|
|
|
-future lives."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed! That is very interesting. And on the morning of the
|
|
|
-wedding?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She was as bright as possible--at least until after the
|
|
|
-ceremony."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And did you observe any change in her then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had
|
|
|
-ever seen that her temper was just a little sharp. The incident
|
|
|
-however, was too trivial to relate and can have no possible
|
|
|
-bearing upon the case."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray let us have it, for all that."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, it is childish. She dropped her bouquet as we went towards
|
|
|
-the vestry. She was passing the front pew at the time, and it
|
|
|
-fell over into the pew. There was a moment's delay, but the
|
|
|
-gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not
|
|
|
-appear to be the worse for the fall. Yet when I spoke to her of
|
|
|
-the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our
|
|
|
-way home, she seemed absurdly agitated over this trifling cause."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Indeed! You say that there was a gentleman in the pew. Some of
|
|
|
-the general public were present, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is
|
|
|
-open."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This gentleman was not one of your wife's friends?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no; I call him a gentleman by courtesy, but he was quite a
|
|
|
-common-looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance. But
|
|
|
-really I think that we are wandering rather far from the point."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Lady St. Simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less
|
|
|
-cheerful frame of mind than she had gone to it. What did she do
|
|
|
-on re-entering her father's house?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I saw her in conversation with her maid."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And who is her maid?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Alice is her name. She is an American and came from California
|
|
|
-with her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A confidential servant?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A little too much so. It seemed to me that her mistress allowed
|
|
|
-her to take great liberties. Still, of course, in America they
|
|
|
-look upon these things in a different way."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How long did she speak to this Alice?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, a few minutes. I had something else to think of."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You did not overhear what they said?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Lady St. Simon said something about 'jumping a claim.' She was
|
|
|
-accustomed to use slang of the kind. I have no idea what she
|
|
|
-meant."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what did your
|
|
|
-wife do when she finished speaking to her maid?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She walked into the breakfast-room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On your arm?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, alone. She was very independent in little matters like that.
|
|
|
-Then, after we had sat down for ten minutes or so, she rose
|
|
|
-hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, and left the room. She
|
|
|
-never came back."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But this maid, Alice, as I understand, deposes that she went to
|
|
|
-her room, covered her bride's dress with a long ulster, put on a
|
|
|
-bonnet, and went out."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. And she was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in
|
|
|
-company with Flora Millar, a woman who is now in custody, and who
|
|
|
-had already made a disturbance at Mr. Doran's house that
|
|
|
-morning."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, yes. I should like a few particulars as to this young lady,
|
|
|
-and your relations to her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lord St. Simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows.
|
|
|
-"We have been on a friendly footing for some years--I may say on
|
|
|
-a very friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro. I have
|
|
|
-not treated her ungenerously, and she had no just cause of
|
|
|
-complaint against me, but you know what women are, Mr. Holmes.
|
|
|
-Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot-headed and
|
|
|
-devotedly attached to me. She wrote me dreadful letters when she
|
|
|
-heard that I was about to be married, and, to tell the truth, the
|
|
|
-reason why I had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that I
|
|
|
-feared lest there might be a scandal in the church. She came to
|
|
|
-Mr. Doran's door just after we returned, and she endeavoured to
|
|
|
-push her way in, uttering very abusive expressions towards my
|
|
|
-wife, and even threatening her, but I had foreseen the
|
|
|
-possibility of something of the sort, and I had two police
|
|
|
-fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again.
|
|
|
-She was quiet when she saw that there was no good in making a
|
|
|
-row."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Did your wife hear all this?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, thank goodness, she did not."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. That is what Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, looks upon as
|
|
|
-so serious. It is thought that Flora decoyed my wife out and laid
|
|
|
-some terrible trap for her."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, it is a possible supposition."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You think so, too?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I did not say a probable one. But you do not yourself look upon
|
|
|
-this as likely?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I do not think Flora would hurt a fly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Still, jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. Pray
|
|
|
-what is your own theory as to what took place?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, really, I came to seek a theory, not to propound one. I
|
|
|
-have given you all the facts. Since you ask me, however, I may
|
|
|
-say that it has occurred to me as possible that the excitement of
|
|
|
-this affair, the consciousness that she had made so immense a
|
|
|
-social stride, had the effect of causing some little nervous
|
|
|
-disturbance in my wife."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In short, that she had become suddenly deranged?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, really, when I consider that she has turned her back--I
|
|
|
-will not say upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to
|
|
|
-without success--I can hardly explain it in any other fashion."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, certainly that is also a conceivable hypothesis," said
|
|
|
-Holmes, smiling. "And now, Lord St. Simon, I think that I have
|
|
|
-nearly all my data. May I ask whether you were seated at the
|
|
|
-breakfast-table so that you could see out of the window?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We could see the other side of the road and the Park."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. Then I do not think that I need to detain you longer.
|
|
|
-I shall communicate with you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Should you be fortunate enough to solve this problem," said our
|
|
|
-client, rising.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have solved it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Eh? What was that?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I say that I have solved it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where, then, is my wife?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is a detail which I shall speedily supply."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lord St. Simon shook his head. "I am afraid that it will take
|
|
|
-wiser heads than yours or mine," he remarked, and bowing in a
|
|
|
-stately, old-fashioned manner he departed.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting
|
|
|
-it on a level with his own," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "I
|
|
|
-think that I shall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all
|
|
|
-this cross-questioning. I had formed my conclusions as to the
|
|
|
-case before our client came into the room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear Holmes!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have notes of several similar cases, though none, as I
|
|
|
-remarked before, which were quite as prompt. My whole examination
|
|
|
-served to turn my conjecture into a certainty. Circumstantial
|
|
|
-evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a
|
|
|
-trout in the milk, to quote Thoreau's example."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But I have heard all that you have heard."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Without, however, the knowledge of pre-existing cases which
|
|
|
-serves me so well. There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some
|
|
|
-years back, and something on very much the same lines at Munich
|
|
|
-the year after the Franco-Prussian War. It is one of these
|
|
|
-cases--but, hullo, here is Lestrade! Good-afternoon, Lestrade!
|
|
|
-You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and there are
|
|
|
-cigars in the box."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat,
|
|
|
-which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a
|
|
|
-black canvas bag in his hand. With a short greeting he seated
|
|
|
-himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What's up, then?" asked Holmes with a twinkle in his eye. "You
|
|
|
-look dissatisfied."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And I feel dissatisfied. It is this infernal St. Simon marriage
|
|
|
-case. I can make neither head nor tail of the business."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Really! You surprise me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who ever heard of such a mixed affair? Every clue seems to slip
|
|
|
-through my fingers. I have been at work upon it all day."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And very wet it seems to have made you," said Holmes laying his
|
|
|
-hand upon the arm of the pea-jacket.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, I have been dragging the Serpentine."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In heaven's name, what for?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In search of the body of Lady St. Simon."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you dragged the basin of Trafalgar Square fountain?" he
|
|
|
-asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why? What do you mean?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in
|
|
|
-the one as in the other."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade shot an angry glance at my companion. "I suppose you
|
|
|
-know all about it," he snarled.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, I have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, indeed! Then you think that the Serpentine plays no part in
|
|
|
-the matter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think it very unlikely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then perhaps you will kindly explain how it is that we found
|
|
|
-this in it?" He opened his bag as he spoke, and tumbled onto the
|
|
|
-floor a wedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin
|
|
|
-shoes and a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked
|
|
|
-in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the
|
|
|
-top of the pile. "There is a little nut for you to crack, Master
|
|
|
-Holmes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, indeed!" said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air.
|
|
|
-"You dragged them from the Serpentine?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper.
|
|
|
-They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me
|
|
|
-that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By the same brilliant reasoning, every man's body is to be found
|
|
|
-in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe. And pray what did you hope
|
|
|
-to arrive at through this?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At some evidence implicating Flora Millar in the disappearance."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am afraid that you will find it difficult."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Are you, indeed, now?" cried Lestrade with some bitterness. "I
|
|
|
-am afraid, Holmes, that you are not very practical with your
|
|
|
-deductions and your inferences. You have made two blunders in as
|
|
|
-many minutes. This dress does implicate Miss Flora Millar."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In the dress is a pocket. In the pocket is a card-case. In the
|
|
|
-card-case is a note. And here is the very note." He slapped it
|
|
|
-down upon the table in front of him. "Listen to this: 'You will
|
|
|
-see me when all is ready. Come at once. F.H.M.' Now my theory all
|
|
|
-along has been that Lady St. Simon was decoyed away by Flora
|
|
|
-Millar, and that she, with confederates, no doubt, was
|
|
|
-responsible for her disappearance. Here, signed with her
|
|
|
-initials, is the very note which was no doubt quietly slipped
|
|
|
-into her hand at the door and which lured her within their
|
|
|
-reach."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very good, Lestrade," said Holmes, laughing. "You really are
|
|
|
-very fine indeed. Let me see it." He took up the paper in a
|
|
|
-listless way, but his attention instantly became riveted, and he
|
|
|
-gave a little cry of satisfaction. "This is indeed important,"
|
|
|
-said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! you find it so?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Extremely so. I congratulate you warmly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. "Why," he
|
|
|
-shrieked, "you're looking at the wrong side!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the contrary, this is the right side."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The right side? You're mad! Here is the note written in pencil
|
|
|
-over here."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel
|
|
|
-bill, which interests me deeply."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There's nothing in it. I looked at it before," said Lestrade.
|
|
|
-"'Oct. 4th, rooms 8s., breakfast 2s. 6d., cocktail 1s., lunch 2s.
|
|
|
-6d., glass sherry, 8d.' I see nothing in that."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very likely not. It is most important, all the same. As to the
|
|
|
-note, it is important also, or at least the initials are, so I
|
|
|
-congratulate you again."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I've wasted time enough," said Lestrade, rising. "I believe in
|
|
|
-hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories.
|
|
|
-Good-day, Mr. Holmes, and we shall see which gets to the bottom
|
|
|
-of the matter first." He gathered up the garments, thrust them
|
|
|
-into the bag, and made for the door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Just one hint to you, Lestrade," drawled Holmes before his rival
|
|
|
-vanished; "I will tell you the true solution of the matter. Lady
|
|
|
-St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any
|
|
|
-such person."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then he turned to me,
|
|
|
-tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and
|
|
|
-hurried away.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He had hardly shut the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on
|
|
|
-his overcoat. "There is something in what the fellow says about
|
|
|
-outdoor work," he remarked, "so I think, Watson, that I must
|
|
|
-leave you to your papers for a little."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had
|
|
|
-no time to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a
|
|
|
-confectioner's man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked
|
|
|
-with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him, and
|
|
|
-presently, to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean
|
|
|
-little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble
|
|
|
-lodging-house mahogany. There were a couple of brace of cold
|
|
|
-woodcock, a pheasant, a pâté de foie gras pie with a group of
|
|
|
-ancient and cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries,
|
|
|
-my two visitors vanished away, like the genii of the Arabian
|
|
|
-Nights, with no explanation save that the things had been paid
|
|
|
-for and were ordered to this address.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the
|
|
|
-room. His features were gravely set, but there was a light in his
|
|
|
-eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his
|
|
|
-conclusions.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They have laid the supper, then," he said, rubbing his hands.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You seem to expect company. They have laid for five."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, I fancy we may have some company dropping in," said he. "I
|
|
|
-am surprised that Lord St. Simon has not already arrived. Ha! I
|
|
|
-fancy that I hear his step now upon the stairs."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in,
|
|
|
-dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very
|
|
|
-perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My messenger reached you, then?" asked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, and I confess that the contents startled me beyond measure.
|
|
|
-Have you good authority for what you say?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The best possible."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his
|
|
|
-forehead.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What will the Duke say," he murmured, "when he hears that one of
|
|
|
-the family has been subjected to such humiliation?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is the purest accident. I cannot allow that there is any
|
|
|
-humiliation."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, you look on these things from another standpoint."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I fail to see that anyone is to blame. I can hardly see how the
|
|
|
-lady could have acted otherwise, though her abrupt method of
|
|
|
-doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted. Having no mother, she
|
|
|
-had no one to advise her at such a crisis."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was a slight, sir, a public slight," said Lord St. Simon,
|
|
|
-tapping his fingers upon the table.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You must make allowance for this poor girl, placed in so
|
|
|
-unprecedented a position."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will make no allowance. I am very angry indeed, and I have
|
|
|
-been shamefully used."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that I heard a ring," said Holmes. "Yes, there are steps
|
|
|
-on the landing. If I cannot persuade you to take a lenient view
|
|
|
-of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here
|
|
|
-who may be more successful." He opened the door and ushered in a
|
|
|
-lady and gentleman. "Lord St. Simon," said he "allow me to
|
|
|
-introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton. The lady, I
|
|
|
-think, you have already met."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-At the sight of these newcomers our client had sprung from his
|
|
|
-seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast down and his hand
|
|
|
-thrust into the breast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended
|
|
|
-dignity. The lady had taken a quick step forward and had held out
|
|
|
-her hand to him, but he still refused to raise his eyes. It was
|
|
|
-as well for his resolution, perhaps, for her pleading face was
|
|
|
-one which it was hard to resist.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You're angry, Robert," said she. "Well, I guess you have every
|
|
|
-cause to be."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray make no apology to me," said Lord St. Simon bitterly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes, I know that I have treated you real bad and that I
|
|
|
-should have spoken to you before I went; but I was kind of
|
|
|
-rattled, and from the time when I saw Frank here again I just
|
|
|
-didn't know what I was doing or saying. I only wonder I didn't
|
|
|
-fall down and do a faint right there before the altar."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Perhaps, Mrs. Moulton, you would like my friend and me to leave
|
|
|
-the room while you explain this matter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If I may give an opinion," remarked the strange gentleman,
|
|
|
-"we've had just a little too much secrecy over this business
|
|
|
-already. For my part, I should like all Europe and America to
|
|
|
-hear the rights of it." He was a small, wiry, sunburnt man,
|
|
|
-clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I'll tell our story right away," said the lady. "Frank here
|
|
|
-and I met in '84, in McQuire's camp, near the Rockies, where pa
|
|
|
-was working a claim. We were engaged to each other, Frank and I;
|
|
|
-but then one day father struck a rich pocket and made a pile,
|
|
|
-while poor Frank here had a claim that petered out and came to
|
|
|
-nothing. The richer pa grew the poorer was Frank; so at last pa
|
|
|
-wouldn't hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and he took
|
|
|
-me away to 'Frisco. Frank wouldn't throw up his hand, though; so
|
|
|
-he followed me there, and he saw me without pa knowing anything
|
|
|
-about it. It would only have made him mad to know, so we just
|
|
|
-fixed it all up for ourselves. Frank said that he would go and
|
|
|
-make his pile, too, and never come back to claim me until he had
|
|
|
-as much as pa. So then I promised to wait for him to the end of
|
|
|
-time and pledged myself not to marry anyone else while he lived.
|
|
|
-'Why shouldn't we be married right away, then,' said he, 'and
|
|
|
-then I will feel sure of you; and I won't claim to be your
|
|
|
-husband until I come back?' Well, we talked it over, and he had
|
|
|
-fixed it all up so nicely, with a clergyman all ready in waiting,
|
|
|
-that we just did it right there; and then Frank went off to seek
|
|
|
-his fortune, and I went back to pa.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The next I heard of Frank was that he was in Montana, and then
|
|
|
-he went prospecting in Arizona, and then I heard of him from New
|
|
|
-Mexico. After that came a long newspaper story about how a
|
|
|
-miners' camp had been attacked by Apache Indians, and there was
|
|
|
-my Frank's name among the killed. I fainted dead away, and I was
|
|
|
-very sick for months after. Pa thought I had a decline and took
|
|
|
-me to half the doctors in 'Frisco. Not a word of news came for a
|
|
|
-year and more, so that I never doubted that Frank was really
|
|
|
-dead. Then Lord St. Simon came to 'Frisco, and we came to London,
|
|
|
-and a marriage was arranged, and pa was very pleased, but I felt
|
|
|
-all the time that no man on this earth would ever take the place
|
|
|
-in my heart that had been given to my poor Frank.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Still, if I had married Lord St. Simon, of course I'd have done
|
|
|
-my duty by him. We can't command our love, but we can our
|
|
|
-actions. I went to the altar with him with the intention to make
|
|
|
-him just as good a wife as it was in me to be. But you may
|
|
|
-imagine what I felt when, just as I came to the altar rails, I
|
|
|
-glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out of the
|
|
|
-first pew. I thought it was his ghost at first; but when I looked
|
|
|
-again there he was still, with a kind of question in his eyes, as
|
|
|
-if to ask me whether I were glad or sorry to see him. I wonder I
|
|
|
-didn't drop. I know that everything was turning round, and the
|
|
|
-words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee in my
|
|
|
-ear. I didn't know what to do. Should I stop the service and make
|
|
|
-a scene in the church? I glanced at him again, and he seemed to
|
|
|
-know what I was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to
|
|
|
-tell me to be still. Then I saw him scribble on a piece of paper,
|
|
|
-and I knew that he was writing me a note. As I passed his pew on
|
|
|
-the way out I dropped my bouquet over to him, and he slipped the
|
|
|
-note into my hand when he returned me the flowers. It was only a
|
|
|
-line asking me to join him when he made the sign to me to do so.
|
|
|
-Of course I never doubted for a moment that my first duty was now
|
|
|
-to him, and I determined to do just whatever he might direct.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When I got back I told my maid, who had known him in California,
|
|
|
-and had always been his friend. I ordered her to say nothing, but
|
|
|
-to get a few things packed and my ulster ready. I know I ought to
|
|
|
-have spoken to Lord St. Simon, but it was dreadful hard before
|
|
|
-his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind to
|
|
|
-run away and explain afterwards. I hadn't been at the table ten
|
|
|
-minutes before I saw Frank out of the window at the other side of
|
|
|
-the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park.
|
|
|
-I slipped out, put on my things, and followed him. Some woman
|
|
|
-came talking something or other about Lord St. Simon to
|
|
|
-me--seemed to me from the little I heard as if he had a little
|
|
|
-secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away
|
|
|
-from her and soon overtook Frank. We got into a cab together, and
|
|
|
-away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and
|
|
|
-that was my true wedding after all those years of waiting. Frank
|
|
|
-had been a prisoner among the Apaches, had escaped, came on to
|
|
|
-'Frisco, found that I had given him up for dead and had gone to
|
|
|
-England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the
|
|
|
-very morning of my second wedding."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I saw it in a paper," explained the American. "It gave the name
|
|
|
-and the church but not where the lady lived."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then we had a talk as to what we should do, and Frank was all
|
|
|
-for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I
|
|
|
-should like to vanish away and never see any of them again--just
|
|
|
-sending a line to pa, perhaps, to show him that I was alive. It
|
|
|
-was awful to me to think of all those lords and ladies sitting
|
|
|
-round that breakfast-table and waiting for me to come back. So
|
|
|
-Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of
|
|
|
-them, so that I should not be traced, and dropped them away
|
|
|
-somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we
|
|
|
-should have gone on to Paris to-morrow, only that this good
|
|
|
-gentleman, Mr. Holmes, came round to us this evening, though how
|
|
|
-he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very
|
|
|
-clearly and kindly that I was wrong and that Frank was right, and
|
|
|
-that we should be putting ourselves in the wrong if we were so
|
|
|
-secret. Then he offered to give us a chance of talking to Lord
|
|
|
-St. Simon alone, and so we came right away round to his rooms at
|
|
|
-once. Now, Robert, you have heard it all, and I am very sorry if
|
|
|
-I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very
|
|
|
-meanly of me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Lord St. Simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but
|
|
|
-had listened with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this
|
|
|
-long narrative.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Excuse me," he said, "but it is not my custom to discuss my most
|
|
|
-intimate personal affairs in this public manner."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then you won't forgive me? You won't shake hands before I go?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, certainly, if it would give you any pleasure." He put out
|
|
|
-his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I had hoped," suggested Holmes, "that you would have joined us
|
|
|
-in a friendly supper."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that there you ask a little too much," responded his
|
|
|
-Lordship. "I may be forced to acquiesce in these recent
|
|
|
-developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over
|
|
|
-them. I think that with your permission I will now wish you all a
|
|
|
-very good-night." He included us all in a sweeping bow and
|
|
|
-stalked out of the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I trust that you at least will honour me with your
|
|
|
-company," said Sherlock Holmes. "It is always a joy to meet an
|
|
|
-American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the
|
|
|
-folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone
|
|
|
-years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens
|
|
|
-of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a
|
|
|
-quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes when our
|
|
|
-visitors had left us, "because it serves to show very clearly how
|
|
|
-simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight
|
|
|
-seems to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could be more natural
|
|
|
-than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing
|
|
|
-stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr.
|
|
|
-Lestrade of Scotland Yard."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You were not yourself at fault at all, then?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that
|
|
|
-the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony,
|
|
|
-the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of
|
|
|
-returning home. Obviously something had occurred during the
|
|
|
-morning, then, to cause her to change her mind. What could that
|
|
|
-something be? She could not have spoken to anyone when she was
|
|
|
-out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she
|
|
|
-seen someone, then? If she had, it must be someone from America
|
|
|
-because she had spent so short a time in this country that she
|
|
|
-could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence
|
|
|
-over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change
|
|
|
-her plans so completely. You see we have already arrived, by a
|
|
|
-process of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an
|
|
|
-American. Then who could this American be, and why should he
|
|
|
-possess so much influence over her? It might be a lover; it might
|
|
|
-be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in
|
|
|
-rough scenes and under strange conditions. So far I had got
|
|
|
-before I ever heard Lord St. Simon's narrative. When he told us
|
|
|
-of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner, of so
|
|
|
-transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a
|
|
|
-bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very
|
|
|
-significant allusion to claim-jumping--which in miners' parlance
|
|
|
-means taking possession of that which another person has a prior
|
|
|
-claim to--the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had
|
|
|
-gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a
|
|
|
-previous husband--the chances being in favour of the latter."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And how in the world did you find them?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held
|
|
|
-information in his hands the value of which he did not himself
|
|
|
-know. The initials were, of course, of the highest importance,
|
|
|
-but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had
|
|
|
-settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How did you deduce the select?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By the select prices. Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence
|
|
|
-for a glass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive
|
|
|
-hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate.
|
|
|
-In the second one which I visited in Northumberland Avenue, I
|
|
|
-learned by an inspection of the book that Francis H. Moulton, an
|
|
|
-American gentleman, had left only the day before, and on looking
|
|
|
-over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I
|
|
|
-had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded
|
|
|
-to 226 Gordon Square; so thither I travelled, and being fortunate
|
|
|
-enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them
|
|
|
-some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be
|
|
|
-better in every way that they should make their position a little
|
|
|
-clearer both to the general public and to Lord St. Simon in
|
|
|
-particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I
|
|
|
-made him keep the appointment."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But with no very good result," I remarked. "His conduct was
|
|
|
-certainly not very gracious."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, Watson," said Holmes, smiling, "perhaps you would not be
|
|
|
-very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and
|
|
|
-wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of
|
|
|
-fortune. I think that we may judge Lord St. Simon very mercifully
|
|
|
-and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in
|
|
|
-the same position. Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for
|
|
|
-the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away
|
|
|
-these bleak autumnal evenings."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Holmes," said I as I stood one morning in our bow-window looking
|
|
|
-down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather
|
|
|
-sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-My friend rose lazily from his armchair and stood with his hands
|
|
|
-in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder. It
|
|
|
-was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day
|
|
|
-before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the
|
|
|
-wintry sun. Down the centre of Baker Street it had been ploughed
|
|
|
-into a brown crumbly band by the traffic, but at either side and
|
|
|
-on the heaped-up edges of the foot-paths it still lay as white as
|
|
|
-when it fell. The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but
|
|
|
-was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer
|
|
|
-passengers than usual. Indeed, from the direction of the
|
|
|
-Metropolitan Station no one was coming save the single gentleman
|
|
|
-whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a
|
|
|
-massive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure. He was
|
|
|
-dressed in a sombre yet rich style, in black frock-coat, shining
|
|
|
-hat, neat brown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-grey trousers. Yet
|
|
|
-his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress
|
|
|
-and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little
|
|
|
-springs, such as a weary man gives who is little accustomed to
|
|
|
-set any tax upon his legs. As he ran he jerked his hands up and
|
|
|
-down, waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most
|
|
|
-extraordinary contortions.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What on earth can be the matter with him?" I asked. "He is
|
|
|
-looking up at the numbers of the houses."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I believe that he is coming here," said Holmes, rubbing his
|
|
|
-hands.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Here?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; I rather think he is coming to consult me professionally. I
|
|
|
-think that I recognise the symptoms. Ha! did I not tell you?" As
|
|
|
-he spoke, the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and
|
|
|
-pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with the
|
|
|
-clanging.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still
|
|
|
-gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in
|
|
|
-his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and
|
|
|
-pity. For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his
|
|
|
-body and plucked at his hair like one who has been driven to the
|
|
|
-extreme limits of his reason. Then, suddenly springing to his
|
|
|
-feet, he beat his head against the wall with such force that we
|
|
|
-both rushed upon him and tore him away to the centre of the room.
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy-chair and, sitting
|
|
|
-beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy,
|
|
|
-soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have come to me to tell your story, have you not?" said he.
|
|
|
-"You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have
|
|
|
-recovered yourself, and then I shall be most happy to look into
|
|
|
-any little problem which you may submit to me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting
|
|
|
-against his emotion. Then he passed his handkerchief over his
|
|
|
-brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards us.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No doubt you think me mad?" said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see that you have had some great trouble," responded Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"God knows I have!--a trouble which is enough to unseat my
|
|
|
-reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might
|
|
|
-have faced, although I am a man whose character has never yet
|
|
|
-borne a stain. Private affliction also is the lot of every man;
|
|
|
-but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have
|
|
|
-been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone.
|
|
|
-The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some way be found
|
|
|
-out of this horrible affair."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray compose yourself, sir," said Holmes, "and let me have a
|
|
|
-clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen
|
|
|
-you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My name," answered our visitor, "is probably familiar to your
|
|
|
-ears. I am Alexander Holder, of the banking firm of Holder &
|
|
|
-Stevenson, of Threadneedle Street."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior
|
|
|
-partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City
|
|
|
-of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the
|
|
|
-foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass? We
|
|
|
-waited, all curiosity, until with another effort he braced
|
|
|
-himself to tell his story.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I feel that time is of value," said he; "that is why I hastened
|
|
|
-here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure
|
|
|
-your co-operation. I came to Baker Street by the Underground and
|
|
|
-hurried from there on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this
|
|
|
-snow. That is why I was so out of breath, for I am a man who
|
|
|
-takes very little exercise. I feel better now, and I will put the
|
|
|
-facts before you as shortly and yet as clearly as I can.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is, of course, well known to you that in a successful banking
|
|
|
-business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative
|
|
|
-investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection
|
|
|
-and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means
|
|
|
-of laying out money is in the shape of loans, where the security
|
|
|
-is unimpeachable. We have done a good deal in this direction
|
|
|
-during the last few years, and there are many noble families to
|
|
|
-whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their
|
|
|
-pictures, libraries, or plate.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yesterday morning I was seated in my office at the bank when a
|
|
|
-card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I
|
|
|
-saw the name, for it was that of none other than--well, perhaps
|
|
|
-even to you I had better say no more than that it was a name
|
|
|
-which is a household word all over the earth--one of the highest,
|
|
|
-noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the
|
|
|
-honour and attempted, when he entered, to say so, but he plunged
|
|
|
-at once into business with the air of a man who wishes to hurry
|
|
|
-quickly through a disagreeable task.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Mr. Holder,' said he, 'I have been informed that you are in the
|
|
|
-habit of advancing money.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The firm does so when the security is good.' I answered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It is absolutely essential to me,' said he, 'that I should have
|
|
|
-50,000 pounds at once. I could, of course, borrow so trifling a
|
|
|
-sum ten times over from my friends, but I much prefer to make it
|
|
|
-a matter of business and to carry out that business myself. In my
|
|
|
-position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place
|
|
|
-one's self under obligations.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'For how long, may I ask, do you want this sum?' I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Next Monday I have a large sum due to me, and I shall then most
|
|
|
-certainly repay what you advance, with whatever interest you
|
|
|
-think it right to charge. But it is very essential to me that the
|
|
|
-money should be paid at once.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I should be happy to advance it without further parley from my
|
|
|
-own private purse,' said I, 'were it not that the strain would be
|
|
|
-rather more than it could bear. If, on the other hand, I am to do
|
|
|
-it in the name of the firm, then in justice to my partner I must
|
|
|
-insist that, even in your case, every businesslike precaution
|
|
|
-should be taken.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I should much prefer to have it so,' said he, raising up a
|
|
|
-square, black morocco case which he had laid beside his chair.
|
|
|
-'You have doubtless heard of the Beryl Coronet?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'One of the most precious public possessions of the empire,'
|
|
|
-said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Precisely.' He opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft,
|
|
|
-flesh-coloured velvet, lay the magnificent piece of jewellery
|
|
|
-which he had named. 'There are thirty-nine enormous beryls,' said
|
|
|
-he, 'and the price of the gold chasing is incalculable. The
|
|
|
-lowest estimate would put the worth of the coronet at double the
|
|
|
-sum which I have asked. I am prepared to leave it with you as my
|
|
|
-security.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I took the precious case into my hands and looked in some
|
|
|
-perplexity from it to my illustrious client.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You doubt its value?' he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Not at all. I only doubt--'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'The propriety of my leaving it. You may set your mind at rest
|
|
|
-about that. I should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely
|
|
|
-certain that I should be able in four days to reclaim it. It is a
|
|
|
-pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ample.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof
|
|
|
-of the confidence which I have in you, founded upon all that I
|
|
|
-have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to
|
|
|
-refrain from all gossip upon the matter but, above all, to
|
|
|
-preserve this coronet with every possible precaution because I
|
|
|
-need not say that a great public scandal would be caused if any
|
|
|
-harm were to befall it. Any injury to it would be almost as
|
|
|
-serious as its complete loss, for there are no beryls in the
|
|
|
-world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them.
|
|
|
-I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall
|
|
|
-call for it in person on Monday morning.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Seeing that my client was anxious to leave, I said no more but,
|
|
|
-calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay over fifty 1000
|
|
|
-pound notes. When I was alone once more, however, with the
|
|
|
-precious case lying upon the table in front of me, I could not
|
|
|
-but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility
|
|
|
-which it entailed upon me. There could be no doubt that, as it
|
|
|
-was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if any
|
|
|
-misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted having ever
|
|
|
-consented to take charge of it. However, it was too late to alter
|
|
|
-the matter now, so I locked it up in my private safe and turned
|
|
|
-once more to my work.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When evening came I felt that it would be an imprudence to leave
|
|
|
-so precious a thing in the office behind me. Bankers' safes had
|
|
|
-been forced before now, and why should not mine be? If so, how
|
|
|
-terrible would be the position in which I should find myself! I
|
|
|
-determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always
|
|
|
-carry the case backward and forward with me, so that it might
|
|
|
-never be really out of my reach. With this intention, I called a
|
|
|
-cab and drove out to my house at Streatham, carrying the jewel
|
|
|
-with me. I did not breathe freely until I had taken it upstairs
|
|
|
-and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now a word as to my household, Mr. Holmes, for I wish you to
|
|
|
-thoroughly understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep
|
|
|
-out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three
|
|
|
-maid-servants who have been with me a number of years and whose
|
|
|
-absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy
|
|
|
-Parr, the second waiting-maid, has only been in my service a few
|
|
|
-months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has
|
|
|
-always given me satisfaction. She is a very pretty girl and has
|
|
|
-attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place.
|
|
|
-That is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we
|
|
|
-believe her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"So much for the servants. My family itself is so small that it
|
|
|
-will not take me long to describe it. I am a widower and have an
|
|
|
-only son, Arthur. He has been a disappointment to me, Mr.
|
|
|
-Holmes--a grievous disappointment. I have no doubt that I am
|
|
|
-myself to blame. People tell me that I have spoiled him. Very
|
|
|
-likely I have. When my dear wife died I felt that he was all I
|
|
|
-had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a
|
|
|
-moment from his face. I have never denied him a wish. Perhaps it
|
|
|
-would have been better for both of us had I been sterner, but I
|
|
|
-meant it for the best.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my
|
|
|
-business, but he was not of a business turn. He was wild,
|
|
|
-wayward, and, to speak the truth, I could not trust him in the
|
|
|
-handling of large sums of money. When he was young he became a
|
|
|
-member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming
|
|
|
-manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long
|
|
|
-purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily at cards
|
|
|
-and to squander money on the turf, until he had again and again
|
|
|
-to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his
|
|
|
-allowance, that he might settle his debts of honour. He tried
|
|
|
-more than once to break away from the dangerous company which he
|
|
|
-was keeping, but each time the influence of his friend, Sir
|
|
|
-George Burnwell, was enough to draw him back again.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And, indeed, I could not wonder that such a man as Sir George
|
|
|
-Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently
|
|
|
-brought him to my house, and I have found myself that I could
|
|
|
-hardly resist the fascination of his manner. He is older than
|
|
|
-Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been
|
|
|
-everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of
|
|
|
-great personal beauty. Yet when I think of him in cold blood, far
|
|
|
-away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his
|
|
|
-cynical speech and the look which I have caught in his eyes that
|
|
|
-he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So I think, and so,
|
|
|
-too, thinks my little Mary, who has a woman's quick insight into
|
|
|
-character.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now there is only she to be described. She is my niece; but
|
|
|
-when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the
|
|
|
-world I adopted her, and have looked upon her ever since as my
|
|
|
-daughter. She is a sunbeam in my house--sweet, loving, beautiful,
|
|
|
-a wonderful manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and
|
|
|
-gentle as a woman could be. She is my right hand. I do not know
|
|
|
-what I could do without her. In only one matter has she ever gone
|
|
|
-against my wishes. Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for
|
|
|
-he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him. I
|
|
|
-think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it
|
|
|
-would have been she, and that his marriage might have changed his
|
|
|
-whole life; but now, alas! it is too late--forever too late!
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and
|
|
|
-I shall continue with my miserable story.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When we were taking coffee in the drawing-room that night after
|
|
|
-dinner, I told Arthur and Mary my experience, and of the precious
|
|
|
-treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only the name
|
|
|
-of my client. Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, I am
|
|
|
-sure, left the room; but I cannot swear that the door was closed.
|
|
|
-Mary and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the famous
|
|
|
-coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Where have you put it?' asked Arthur.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'In my own bureau.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during the
|
|
|
-night.' said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It is locked up,' I answered.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, any old key will fit that bureau. When I was a youngster I
|
|
|
-have opened it myself with the key of the box-room cupboard.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He often had a wild way of talking, so that I thought little of
|
|
|
-what he said. He followed me to my room, however, that night with
|
|
|
-a very grave face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Look here, dad,' said he with his eyes cast down, 'can you let
|
|
|
-me have 200 pounds?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, I cannot!' I answered sharply. 'I have been far too
|
|
|
-generous with you in money matters.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You have been very kind,' said he, 'but I must have this money,
|
|
|
-or else I can never show my face inside the club again.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And a very good thing, too!' I cried.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, but you would not have me leave it a dishonoured man,'
|
|
|
-said he. 'I could not bear the disgrace. I must raise the money
|
|
|
-in some way, and if you will not let me have it, then I must try
|
|
|
-other means.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the
|
|
|
-month. 'You shall not have a farthing from me,' I cried, on which
|
|
|
-he bowed and left the room without another word.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When he was gone I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my
|
|
|
-treasure was safe, and locked it again. Then I started to go
|
|
|
-round the house to see that all was secure--a duty which I
|
|
|
-usually leave to Mary but which I thought it well to perform
|
|
|
-myself that night. As I came down the stairs I saw Mary herself
|
|
|
-at the side window of the hall, which she closed and fastened as
|
|
|
-I approached.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Tell me, dad,' said she, looking, I thought, a little
|
|
|
-disturbed, 'did you give Lucy, the maid, leave to go out
|
|
|
-to-night?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Certainly not.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'She came in just now by the back door. I have no doubt that she
|
|
|
-has only been to the side gate to see someone, but I think that
|
|
|
-it is hardly safe and should be stopped.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You must speak to her in the morning, or I will if you prefer
|
|
|
-it. Are you sure that everything is fastened?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Quite sure, dad.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Then, good-night.' I kissed her and went up to my bedroom
|
|
|
-again, where I was soon asleep.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am endeavouring to tell you everything, Mr. Holmes, which may
|
|
|
-have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question
|
|
|
-me upon any point which I do not make clear."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I come to a part of my story now in which I should wish to be
|
|
|
-particularly so. I am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety
|
|
|
-in my mind tended, no doubt, to make me even less so than usual.
|
|
|
-About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in
|
|
|
-the house. It had ceased ere I was wide awake, but it had left an
|
|
|
-impression behind it as though a window had gently closed
|
|
|
-somewhere. I lay listening with all my ears. Suddenly, to my
|
|
|
-horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in
|
|
|
-the next room. I slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear,
|
|
|
-and peeped round the corner of my dressing-room door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Arthur!' I screamed, 'you villain! you thief! How dare you
|
|
|
-touch that coronet?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The gas was half up, as I had left it, and my unhappy boy,
|
|
|
-dressed only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the
|
|
|
-light, holding the coronet in his hands. He appeared to be
|
|
|
-wrenching at it, or bending it with all his strength. At my cry
|
|
|
-he dropped it from his grasp and turned as pale as death. I
|
|
|
-snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold corners, with
|
|
|
-three of the beryls in it, was missing.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You blackguard!' I shouted, beside myself with rage. 'You have
|
|
|
-destroyed it! You have dishonoured me forever! Where are the
|
|
|
-jewels which you have stolen?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Stolen!' he cried.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'There are none missing. There cannot be any missing,' said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'There are three missing. And you know where they are. Must I
|
|
|
-call you a liar as well as a thief? Did I not see you trying to
|
|
|
-tear off another piece?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You have called me names enough,' said he, 'I will not stand it
|
|
|
-any longer. I shall not say another word about this business,
|
|
|
-since you have chosen to insult me. I will leave your house in
|
|
|
-the morning and make my own way in the world.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You shall leave it in the hands of the police!' I cried
|
|
|
-half-mad with grief and rage. 'I shall have this matter probed to
|
|
|
-the bottom.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You shall learn nothing from me,' said he with a passion such
|
|
|
-as I should not have thought was in his nature. 'If you choose to
|
|
|
-call the police, let the police find what they can.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"By this time the whole house was astir, for I had raised my
|
|
|
-voice in my anger. Mary was the first to rush into my room, and,
|
|
|
-at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face, she read the
|
|
|
-whole story and, with a scream, fell down senseless on the
|
|
|
-ground. I sent the house-maid for the police and put the
|
|
|
-investigation into their hands at once. When the inspector and a
|
|
|
-constable entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with
|
|
|
-his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge
|
|
|
-him with theft. I answered that it had ceased to be a private
|
|
|
-matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was
|
|
|
-national property. I was determined that the law should have its
|
|
|
-way in everything.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'At least,' said he, 'you will not have me arrested at once. It
|
|
|
-would be to your advantage as well as mine if I might leave the
|
|
|
-house for five minutes.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you
|
|
|
-have stolen,' said I. And then, realising the dreadful position
|
|
|
-in which I was placed, I implored him to remember that not only
|
|
|
-my honour but that of one who was far greater than I was at
|
|
|
-stake; and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would
|
|
|
-convulse the nation. He might avert it all if he would but tell
|
|
|
-me what he had done with the three missing stones.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You may as well face the matter,' said I; 'you have been caught
|
|
|
-in the act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous.
|
|
|
-If you but make such reparation as is in your power, by telling
|
|
|
-us where the beryls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,' he answered,
|
|
|
-turning away from me with a sneer. I saw that he was too hardened
|
|
|
-for any words of mine to influence him. There was but one way for
|
|
|
-it. I called in the inspector and gave him into custody. A search
|
|
|
-was made at once not only of his person but of his room and of
|
|
|
-every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed
|
|
|
-the gems; but no trace of them could be found, nor would the
|
|
|
-wretched boy open his mouth for all our persuasions and our
|
|
|
-threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after
|
|
|
-going through all the police formalities, have hurried round to
|
|
|
-you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter.
|
|
|
-The police have openly confessed that they can at present make
|
|
|
-nothing of it. You may go to any expense which you think
|
|
|
-necessary. I have already offered a reward of 1000 pounds. My
|
|
|
-God, what shall I do! I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son
|
|
|
-in one night. Oh, what shall I do!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to
|
|
|
-and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got
|
|
|
-beyond words.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows
|
|
|
-knitted and his eyes fixed upon the fire.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you receive much company?" he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"None save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of
|
|
|
-Arthur's. Sir George Burnwell has been several times lately. No
|
|
|
-one else, I think."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you go out much in society?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for
|
|
|
-it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is unusual in a young girl."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She
|
|
|
-is four-and-twenty."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to
|
|
|
-her also."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Terrible! She is even more affected than I."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have neither of you any doubt as to your son's guilt?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet
|
|
|
-in his hands."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I hardly consider that a conclusive proof. Was the remainder of
|
|
|
-the coronet at all injured?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, it was twisted."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to
|
|
|
-straighten it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me.
|
|
|
-But it is too heavy a task. What was he doing there at all? If
|
|
|
-his purpose were innocent, why did he not say so?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely. And if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie?
|
|
|
-His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There are several
|
|
|
-singular points about the case. What did the police think of the
|
|
|
-noise which awoke you from your sleep?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They considered that it might be caused by Arthur's closing his
|
|
|
-bedroom door."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A likely story! As if a man bent on felony would slam his door
|
|
|
-so as to wake a household. What did they say, then, of the
|
|
|
-disappearance of these gems?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture
|
|
|
-in the hope of finding them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have they thought of looking outside the house?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has
|
|
|
-already been minutely examined."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, my dear sir," said Holmes, "is it not obvious to you now
|
|
|
-that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you
|
|
|
-or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you
|
|
|
-to be a simple case; to me it seems exceedingly complex. Consider
|
|
|
-what is involved by your theory. You suppose that your son came
|
|
|
-down from his bed, went, at great risk, to your dressing-room,
|
|
|
-opened your bureau, took out your coronet, broke off by main
|
|
|
-force a small portion of it, went off to some other place,
|
|
|
-concealed three gems out of the thirty-nine, with such skill that
|
|
|
-nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six
|
|
|
-into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger
|
|
|
-of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what other is there?" cried the banker with a gesture of
|
|
|
-despair. "If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain
|
|
|
-them?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is our task to find that out," replied Holmes; "so now, if
|
|
|
-you please, Mr. Holder, we will set off for Streatham together,
|
|
|
-and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into
|
|
|
-details."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-My friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition,
|
|
|
-which I was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy
|
|
|
-were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I
|
|
|
-confess that the guilt of the banker's son appeared to me to be
|
|
|
-as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but still I had such
|
|
|
-faith in Holmes' judgment that I felt that there must be some
|
|
|
-grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted
|
|
|
-explanation. He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the
|
|
|
-southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his
|
|
|
-hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought. Our client
|
|
|
-appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope
|
|
|
-which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a
|
|
|
-desultory chat with me over his business affairs. A short railway
|
|
|
-journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest
|
|
|
-residence of the great financier.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing
|
|
|
-back a little from the road. A double carriage-sweep, with a
|
|
|
-snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates
|
|
|
-which closed the entrance. On the right side was a small wooden
|
|
|
-thicket, which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges
|
|
|
-stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the
|
|
|
-tradesmen's entrance. On the left ran a lane which led to the
|
|
|
-stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a
|
|
|
-public, though little used, thoroughfare. Holmes left us standing
|
|
|
-at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the
|
|
|
-front, down the tradesmen's path, and so round by the garden
|
|
|
-behind into the stable lane. So long was he that Mr. Holder and I
|
|
|
-went into the dining-room and waited by the fire until he should
|
|
|
-return. We were sitting there in silence when the door opened and
|
|
|
-a young lady came in. She was rather above the middle height,
|
|
|
-slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against
|
|
|
-the absolute pallor of her skin. I do not think that I have ever
|
|
|
-seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too, were
|
|
|
-bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept
|
|
|
-silently into the room she impressed me with a greater sense of
|
|
|
-grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the
|
|
|
-more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong
|
|
|
-character, with immense capacity for self-restraint. Disregarding
|
|
|
-my presence, she went straight to her uncle and passed her hand
|
|
|
-over his head with a sweet womanly caress.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have given orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you
|
|
|
-not, dad?" she asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no, my girl, the matter must be probed to the bottom."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's
|
|
|
-instincts are. I know that he has done no harm and that you will
|
|
|
-be sorry for having acted so harshly."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Who knows? Perhaps because he was so angry that you should
|
|
|
-suspect him."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How could I help suspecting him, when I actually saw him with
|
|
|
-the coronet in his hand?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh, do, do take
|
|
|
-my word for it that he is innocent. Let the matter drop and say
|
|
|
-no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in
|
|
|
-prison!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall never let it drop until the gems are found--never, Mary!
|
|
|
-Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences
|
|
|
-to me. Far from hushing the thing up, I have brought a gentleman
|
|
|
-down from London to inquire more deeply into it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This gentleman?" she asked, facing round to me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He is round in
|
|
|
-the stable lane now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The stable lane?" She raised her dark eyebrows. "What can he
|
|
|
-hope to find there? Ah! this, I suppose, is he. I trust, sir,
|
|
|
-that you will succeed in proving, what I feel sure is the truth,
|
|
|
-that my cousin Arthur is innocent of this crime."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I fully share your opinion, and I trust, with you, that we may
|
|
|
-prove it," returned Holmes, going back to the mat to knock the
|
|
|
-snow from his shoes. "I believe I have the honour of addressing
|
|
|
-Miss Mary Holder. Might I ask you a question or two?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You heard nothing yourself last night?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard
|
|
|
-that, and I came down."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you
|
|
|
-fasten all the windows?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Were they all fastened this morning?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked
|
|
|
-to your uncle last night that she had been out to see him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, and she was the girl who waited in the drawing-room, and
|
|
|
-who may have heard uncle's remarks about the coronet."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I see. You infer that she may have gone out to tell her
|
|
|
-sweetheart, and that the two may have planned the robbery."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But what is the good of all these vague theories," cried the
|
|
|
-banker impatiently, "when I have told you that I saw Arthur with
|
|
|
-the coronet in his hands?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this
|
|
|
-girl, Miss Holder. You saw her return by the kitchen door, I
|
|
|
-presume?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes; when I went to see if the door was fastened for the night I
|
|
|
-met her slipping in. I saw the man, too, in the gloom."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you know him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, yes! he is the green-grocer who brings our vegetables round.
|
|
|
-His name is Francis Prosper."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He stood," said Holmes, "to the left of the door--that is to
|
|
|
-say, farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, he did."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And he is a man with a wooden leg?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Something like fear sprang up in the young lady's expressive
|
|
|
-black eyes. "Why, you are like a magician," said she. "How do you
|
|
|
-know that?" She smiled, but there was no answering smile in
|
|
|
-Holmes' thin, eager face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I should be very glad now to go upstairs," said he. "I shall
|
|
|
-probably wish to go over the outside of the house again. Perhaps
|
|
|
-I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at
|
|
|
-the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane.
|
|
|
-This he opened and made a very careful examination of the sill
|
|
|
-with his powerful magnifying lens. "Now we shall go upstairs,"
|
|
|
-said he at last.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little
|
|
|
-chamber, with a grey carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror.
|
|
|
-Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Which key was used to open it?" he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That which my son himself indicated--that of the cupboard of the
|
|
|
-lumber-room."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you it here?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is it on the dressing-table."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is a noiseless lock," said he. "It is no wonder that it did
|
|
|
-not wake you. This case, I presume, contains the coronet. We must
|
|
|
-have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem
|
|
|
-he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen of the
|
|
|
-jeweller's art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I
|
|
|
-have ever seen. At one side of the coronet was a cracked edge,
|
|
|
-where a corner holding three gems had been torn away.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Now, Mr. Holder," said Holmes, "here is the corner which
|
|
|
-corresponds to that which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I
|
|
|
-beg that you will break it off."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The banker recoiled in horror. "I should not dream of trying,"
|
|
|
-said he.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then I will." Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but
|
|
|
-without result. "I feel it give a little," said he; "but, though
|
|
|
-I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my
|
|
|
-time to break it. An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do
|
|
|
-you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder? There would
|
|
|
-be a noise like a pistol shot. Do you tell me that all this
|
|
|
-happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard
|
|
|
-nothing of it?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think,
|
|
|
-Miss Holder?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Thank you. We have certainly been favoured with extraordinary
|
|
|
-luck during this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault
|
|
|
-if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your
|
|
|
-permission, Mr. Holder, I shall now continue my investigations
|
|
|
-outside."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-He went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any
|
|
|
-unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For an
|
|
|
-hour or more he was at work, returning at last with his feet
|
|
|
-heavy with snow and his features as inscrutable as ever.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that I have seen now all that there is to see, Mr.
|
|
|
-Holder," said he; "I can serve you best by returning to my
|
|
|
-rooms."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot tell."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The banker wrung his hands. "I shall never see them again!" he
|
|
|
-cried. "And my son? You give me hopes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My opinion is in no way altered."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, for God's sake, what was this dark business which was
|
|
|
-acted in my house last night?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"If you can call upon me at my Baker Street rooms to-morrow
|
|
|
-morning between nine and ten I shall be happy to do what I can to
|
|
|
-make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte blanche to
|
|
|
-act for you, provided only that I get back the gems, and that you
|
|
|
-place no limit on the sum I may draw."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I would give my fortune to have them back."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then.
|
|
|
-Good-bye; it is just possible that I may have to come over here
|
|
|
-again before evening."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was obvious to me that my companion's mind was now made up
|
|
|
-about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than
|
|
|
-I could even dimly imagine. Several times during our homeward
|
|
|
-journey I endeavoured to sound him upon the point, but he always
|
|
|
-glided away to some other topic, until at last I gave it over in
|
|
|
-despair. It was not yet three when we found ourselves in our
|
|
|
-rooms once more. He hurried to his chamber and was down again in
|
|
|
-a few minutes dressed as a common loafer. With his collar turned
|
|
|
-up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he
|
|
|
-was a perfect sample of the class.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass
|
|
|
-above the fireplace. "I only wish that you could come with me,
|
|
|
-Watson, but I fear that it won't do. I may be on the trail in
|
|
|
-this matter, or I may be following a will-o'-the-wisp, but I
|
|
|
-shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few
|
|
|
-hours." He cut a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard,
|
|
|
-sandwiched it between two rounds of bread, and thrusting this
|
|
|
-rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently in
|
|
|
-excellent spirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his
|
|
|
-hand. He chucked it down into a corner and helped himself to a
|
|
|
-cup of tea.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I only looked in as I passed," said he. "I am going right on."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Where to?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, to the other side of the West End. It may be some time
|
|
|
-before I get back. Don't wait up for me in case I should be
|
|
|
-late."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"How are you getting on?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, so so. Nothing to complain of. I have been out to Streatham
|
|
|
-since I saw you last, but I did not call at the house. It is a
|
|
|
-very sweet little problem, and I would not have missed it for a
|
|
|
-good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here, but must get
|
|
|
-these disreputable clothes off and return to my highly
|
|
|
-respectable self."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for
|
|
|
-satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled,
|
|
|
-and there was even a touch of colour upon his sallow cheeks. He
|
|
|
-hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of
|
|
|
-the hall door, which told me that he was off once more upon his
|
|
|
-congenial hunt.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so
|
|
|
-I retired to my room. It was no uncommon thing for him to be away
|
|
|
-for days and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent, so that
|
|
|
-his lateness caused me no surprise. I do not know at what hour he
|
|
|
-came in, but when I came down to breakfast in the morning there
|
|
|
-he was with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the
|
|
|
-other, as fresh and trim as possible.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson," said he, "but
|
|
|
-you remember that our client has rather an early appointment this
|
|
|
-morning."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Why, it is after nine now," I answered. "I should not be
|
|
|
-surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was, indeed, our friend the financier. I was shocked by the
|
|
|
-change which had come over him, for his face which was naturally
|
|
|
-of a broad and massive mould, was now pinched and fallen in,
|
|
|
-while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He entered
|
|
|
-with a weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than
|
|
|
-his violence of the morning before, and he dropped heavily into
|
|
|
-the armchair which I pushed forward for him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I do not know what I have done to be so severely tried," said
|
|
|
-he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without
|
|
|
-a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured
|
|
|
-age. One sorrow comes close upon the heels of another. My niece,
|
|
|
-Mary, has deserted me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Deserted you?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was
|
|
|
-empty, and a note for me lay upon the hall table. I had said to
|
|
|
-her last night, in sorrow and not in anger, that if she had
|
|
|
-married my boy all might have been well with him. Perhaps it was
|
|
|
-thoughtless of me to say so. It is to that remark that she refers
|
|
|
-in this note:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'MY DEAREST UNCLE:--I feel that I have brought trouble upon you,
|
|
|
-and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune
|
|
|
-might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my
|
|
|
-mind, ever again be happy under your roof, and I feel that I must
|
|
|
-leave you forever. Do not worry about my future, for that is
|
|
|
-provided for; and, above all, do not search for me, for it will
|
|
|
-be fruitless labour and an ill-service to me. In life or in
|
|
|
-death, I am ever your loving,--MARY.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What could she mean by that note, Mr. Holmes? Do you think it
|
|
|
-points to suicide?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, no, nothing of the kind. It is perhaps the best possible
|
|
|
-solution. I trust, Mr. Holder, that you are nearing the end of
|
|
|
-your troubles."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha! You say so! You have heard something, Mr. Holmes; you have
|
|
|
-learned something! Where are the gems?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You would not think 1000 pounds apiece an excessive sum for
|
|
|
-them?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I would pay ten."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That would be unnecessary. Three thousand will cover the matter.
|
|
|
-And there is a little reward, I fancy. Have you your check-book?
|
|
|
-Here is a pen. Better make it out for 4000 pounds."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-With a dazed face the banker made out the required check. Holmes
|
|
|
-walked over to his desk, took out a little triangular piece of
|
|
|
-gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-With a shriek of joy our client clutched it up.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have it!" he gasped. "I am saved! I am saved!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The reaction of joy was as passionate as his grief had been, and
|
|
|
-he hugged his recovered gems to his bosom.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is one other thing you owe, Mr. Holder," said Sherlock
|
|
|
-Holmes rather sternly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Owe!" He caught up a pen. "Name the sum, and I will pay it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, the debt is not to me. You owe a very humble apology to that
|
|
|
-noble lad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter as I
|
|
|
-should be proud to see my own son do, should I ever chance to
|
|
|
-have one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then it was not Arthur who took them?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I told you yesterday, and I repeat to-day, that it was not."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You are sure of it! Then let us hurry to him at once to let him
|
|
|
-know that the truth is known."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had an
|
|
|
-interview with him, and finding that he would not tell me the
|
|
|
-story, I told it to him, on which he had to confess that I was
|
|
|
-right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite
|
|
|
-clear to me. Your news of this morning, however, may open his
|
|
|
-lips."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"For heaven's sake, tell me, then, what is this extraordinary
|
|
|
-mystery!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will do so, and I will show you the steps by which I reached
|
|
|
-it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me
|
|
|
-to say and for you to hear: there has been an understanding
|
|
|
-between Sir George Burnwell and your niece Mary. They have now
|
|
|
-fled together."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My Mary? Impossible!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is unfortunately more than possible; it is certain. Neither
|
|
|
-you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you
|
|
|
-admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the most
|
|
|
-dangerous men in England--a ruined gambler, an absolutely
|
|
|
-desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your niece
|
|
|
-knew nothing of such men. When he breathed his vows to her, as he
|
|
|
-had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she
|
|
|
-alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said,
|
|
|
-but at least she became his tool and was in the habit of seeing
|
|
|
-him nearly every evening."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I cannot, and I will not, believe it!" cried the banker with an
|
|
|
-ashen face.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night.
|
|
|
-Your niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room,
|
|
|
-slipped down and talked to her lover through the window which
|
|
|
-leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right
|
|
|
-through the snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the
|
|
|
-coronet. His wicked lust for gold kindled at the news, and he
|
|
|
-bent her to his will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but
|
|
|
-there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all
|
|
|
-other loves, and I think that she must have been one. She had
|
|
|
-hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming
|
|
|
-downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and told you
|
|
|
-about one of the servants' escapade with her wooden-legged lover,
|
|
|
-which was all perfectly true.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you but
|
|
|
-he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts.
|
|
|
-In the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door,
|
|
|
-so he rose and, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin
|
|
|
-walking very stealthily along the passage until she disappeared
|
|
|
-into your dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad
|
|
|
-slipped on some clothes and waited there in the dark to see what
|
|
|
-would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the
|
|
|
-room again, and in the light of the passage-lamp your son saw
|
|
|
-that she carried the precious coronet in her hands. She passed
|
|
|
-down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and
|
|
|
-slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see
|
|
|
-what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her stealthily open the
|
|
|
-window, hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom, and then
|
|
|
-closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close
|
|
|
-to where he stood hid behind the curtain.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action
|
|
|
-without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the
|
|
|
-instant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune
|
|
|
-this would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it
|
|
|
-right. He rushed down, just as he was, in his bare feet, opened
|
|
|
-the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran down the lane,
|
|
|
-where he could see a dark figure in the moonlight. Sir George
|
|
|
-Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was
|
|
|
-a struggle between them, your lad tugging at one side of the
|
|
|
-coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son
|
|
|
-struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then something
|
|
|
-suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the coronet
|
|
|
-in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your
|
|
|
-room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in
|
|
|
-the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you
|
|
|
-appeared upon the scene."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Is it possible?" gasped the banker.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when
|
|
|
-he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not
|
|
|
-explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who
|
|
|
-certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He
|
|
|
-took the more chivalrous view, however, and preserved her
|
|
|
-secret."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the
|
|
|
-coronet," cried Mr. Holder. "Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have
|
|
|
-been! And his asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes!
|
|
|
-The dear fellow wanted to see if the missing piece were at the
|
|
|
-scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"When I arrived at the house," continued Holmes, "I at once went
|
|
|
-very carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in
|
|
|
-the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since
|
|
|
-the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost
|
|
|
-to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but
|
|
|
-found it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it,
|
|
|
-however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood
|
|
|
-and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed
|
|
|
-that he had a wooden leg. I could even tell that they had been
|
|
|
-disturbed, for the woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was
|
|
|
-shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had
|
|
|
-waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time
|
|
|
-that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had
|
|
|
-already spoken to me, and inquiry showed it was so. I passed
|
|
|
-round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks,
|
|
|
-which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable
|
|
|
-lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in
|
|
|
-front of me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second
|
|
|
-double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked
|
|
|
-feet. I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the
|
|
|
-latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the
|
|
|
-other had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over
|
|
|
-the depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed
|
|
|
-after the other. I followed them up and found they led to the
|
|
|
-hall window, where Boots had worn all the snow away while
|
|
|
-waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred
|
|
|
-yards or more down the lane. I saw where Boots had faced round,
|
|
|
-where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle,
|
|
|
-and, finally, where a few drops of blood had fallen, to show me
|
|
|
-that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run down the lane, and
|
|
|
-another little smudge of blood showed that it was he who had been
|
|
|
-hurt. When he came to the highroad at the other end, I found that
|
|
|
-the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the
|
|
|
-sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could
|
|
|
-at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the
|
|
|
-outline of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming
|
|
|
-in. I was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what
|
|
|
-had occurred. A man had waited outside the window; someone had
|
|
|
-brought the gems; the deed had been overseen by your son; he had
|
|
|
-pursued the thief; had struggled with him; they had each tugged
|
|
|
-at the coronet, their united strength causing injuries which
|
|
|
-neither alone could have effected. He had returned with the
|
|
|
-prize, but had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So
|
|
|
-far I was clear. The question now was, who was the man and who
|
|
|
-was it brought him the coronet?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the
|
|
|
-impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the
|
|
|
-truth. Now, I knew that it was not you who had brought it down,
|
|
|
-so there only remained your niece and the maids. But if it were
|
|
|
-the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in
|
|
|
-their place? There could be no possible reason. As he loved his
|
|
|
-cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should
|
|
|
-retain her secret--the more so as the secret was a disgraceful
|
|
|
-one. When I remembered that you had seen her at that window, and
|
|
|
-how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture
|
|
|
-became a certainty.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And who could it be who was her confederate? A lover evidently,
|
|
|
-for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must
|
|
|
-feel to you? I knew that you went out little, and that your
|
|
|
-circle of friends was a very limited one. But among them was Sir
|
|
|
-George Burnwell. I had heard of him before as being a man of evil
|
|
|
-reputation among women. It must have been he who wore those boots
|
|
|
-and retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur
|
|
|
-had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he was
|
|
|
-safe, for the lad could not say a word without compromising his
|
|
|
-own family.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took
|
|
|
-next. I went in the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house,
|
|
|
-managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that
|
|
|
-his master had cut his head the night before, and, finally, at
|
|
|
-the expense of six shillings, made all sure by buying a pair of
|
|
|
-his cast-off shoes. With these I journeyed down to Streatham and
|
|
|
-saw that they exactly fitted the tracks."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I saw an ill-dressed vagabond in the lane yesterday evening,"
|
|
|
-said Mr. Holder.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Precisely. It was I. I found that I had my man, so I came home
|
|
|
-and changed my clothes. It was a delicate part which I had to
|
|
|
-play then, for I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert
|
|
|
-scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our
|
|
|
-hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him. At first, of
|
|
|
-course, he denied everything. But when I gave him every
|
|
|
-particular that had occurred, he tried to bluster and took down a
|
|
|
-life-preserver from the wall. I knew my man, however, and I
|
|
|
-clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike. Then he
|
|
|
-became a little more reasonable. I told him that we would give
|
|
|
-him a price for the stones he held--1000 pounds apiece. That
|
|
|
-brought out the first signs of grief that he had shown. 'Why,
|
|
|
-dash it all!' said he, 'I've let them go at six hundred for the
|
|
|
-three!' I soon managed to get the address of the receiver who had
|
|
|
-them, on promising him that there would be no prosecution. Off I
|
|
|
-set to him, and after much chaffering I got our stones at 1000
|
|
|
-pounds apiece. Then I looked in upon your son, told him that all
|
|
|
-was right, and eventually got to my bed about two o'clock, after
|
|
|
-what I may call a really hard day's work."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"A day which has saved England from a great public scandal," said
|
|
|
-the banker, rising. "Sir, I cannot find words to thank you, but
|
|
|
-you shall not find me ungrateful for what you have done. Your
|
|
|
-skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of it. And now I
|
|
|
-must fly to my dear boy to apologise to him for the wrong which I
|
|
|
-have done him. As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it goes to my
|
|
|
-very heart. Not even your skill can inform me where she is now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I think that we may safely say," returned Holmes, "that she is
|
|
|
-wherever Sir George Burnwell is. It is equally certain, too, that
|
|
|
-whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than
|
|
|
-sufficient punishment."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-XII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"To the man who loves art for its own sake," remarked Sherlock
|
|
|
-Holmes, tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the Daily
|
|
|
-Telegraph, "it is frequently in its least important and lowliest
|
|
|
-manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived. It is
|
|
|
-pleasant to me to observe, Watson, that you have so far grasped
|
|
|
-this truth that in these little records of our cases which you
|
|
|
-have been good enough to draw up, and, I am bound to say,
|
|
|
-occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence not so much
|
|
|
-to the many causes célèbres and sensational trials in which I
|
|
|
-have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been
|
|
|
-trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those
|
|
|
-faculties of deduction and of logical synthesis which I have made
|
|
|
-my special province."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And yet," said I, smiling, "I cannot quite hold myself absolved
|
|
|
-from the charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my
|
|
|
-records."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have erred, perhaps," he observed, taking up a glowing
|
|
|
-cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood
|
|
|
-pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a
|
|
|
-disputatious rather than a meditative mood--"you have erred
|
|
|
-perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your
|
|
|
-statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing
|
|
|
-upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is
|
|
|
-really the only notable feature about the thing."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It seems to me that I have done you full justice in the matter,"
|
|
|
-I remarked with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism
|
|
|
-which I had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my
|
|
|
-friend's singular character.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No, it is not selfishness or conceit," said he, answering, as
|
|
|
-was his wont, my thoughts rather than my words. "If I claim full
|
|
|
-justice for my art, it is because it is an impersonal thing--a
|
|
|
-thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it
|
|
|
-is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should
|
|
|
-dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of
|
|
|
-lectures into a series of tales."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after
|
|
|
-breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at
|
|
|
-Baker Street. A thick fog rolled down between the lines of
|
|
|
-dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark,
|
|
|
-shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. Our gas was lit
|
|
|
-and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for
|
|
|
-the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had been
|
|
|
-silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the
|
|
|
-advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last,
|
|
|
-having apparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very
|
|
|
-sweet temper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At the same time," he remarked after a pause, during which he
|
|
|
-had sat puffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire,
|
|
|
-"you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of
|
|
|
-these cases which you have been so kind as to interest yourself
|
|
|
-in, a fair proportion do not treat of crime, in its legal sense,
|
|
|
-at all. The small matter in which I endeavoured to help the King
|
|
|
-of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the
|
|
|
-problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, and the
|
|
|
-incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters which are
|
|
|
-outside the pale of the law. But in avoiding the sensational, I
|
|
|
-fear that you may have bordered on the trivial."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The end may have been so," I answered, "but the methods I hold
|
|
|
-to have been novel and of interest."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant
|
|
|
-public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a
|
|
|
-compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of
|
|
|
-analysis and deduction! But, indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot
|
|
|
-blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at
|
|
|
-least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. As
|
|
|
-to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an
|
|
|
-agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to
|
|
|
-young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched
|
|
|
-bottom at last, however. This note I had this morning marks my
|
|
|
-zero-point, I fancy. Read it!" He tossed a crumpled letter across
|
|
|
-to me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and
|
|
|
-ran thus:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether
|
|
|
-I should or should not accept a situation which has been offered
|
|
|
-to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I
|
|
|
-do not inconvenience you. Yours faithfully,
|
|
|
- "VIOLET HUNTER."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you know the young lady?" I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Not I."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is half-past ten now."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It may turn out to be of more interest than you think. You
|
|
|
-remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to
|
|
|
-be a mere whim at first, developed into a serious investigation.
|
|
|
-It may be so in this case, also."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved,
|
|
|
-for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-As he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room.
|
|
|
-She was plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face,
|
|
|
-freckled like a plover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a
|
|
|
-woman who has had her own way to make in the world.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure," said she, as my
|
|
|
-companion rose to greet her, "but I have had a very strange
|
|
|
-experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort
|
|
|
-from whom I could ask advice, I thought that perhaps you would be
|
|
|
-kind enough to tell me what I should do."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything
|
|
|
-that I can to serve you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner
|
|
|
-and speech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching
|
|
|
-fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and
|
|
|
-his finger-tips together, to listen to her story.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the
|
|
|
-family of Colonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel
|
|
|
-received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his
|
|
|
-children over to America with him, so that I found myself without
|
|
|
-a situation. I advertised, and I answered advertisements, but
|
|
|
-without success. At last the little money which I had saved began
|
|
|
-to run short, and I was at my wit's end as to what I should do.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End
|
|
|
-called Westaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in
|
|
|
-order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me.
|
|
|
-Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is
|
|
|
-really managed by Miss Stoper. She sits in her own little office,
|
|
|
-and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom,
|
|
|
-and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers
|
|
|
-and sees whether she has anything which would suit them.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office
|
|
|
-as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A
|
|
|
-prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy
|
|
|
-chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at
|
|
|
-her elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose, looking very
|
|
|
-earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in he gave quite a
|
|
|
-jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'That will do,' said he; 'I could not ask for anything better.
|
|
|
-Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his
|
|
|
-hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a
|
|
|
-comfortable-looking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at
|
|
|
-him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, sir.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'As governess?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Yes, sir.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And what salary do you ask?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I had 4 pounds a month in my last place with Colonel Spence
|
|
|
-Munro.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, tut, tut! sweating--rank sweating!' he cried, throwing his
|
|
|
-fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling
|
|
|
-passion. 'How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with
|
|
|
-such attractions and accomplishments?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I.
|
|
|
-'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question.
|
|
|
-The point is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment
|
|
|
-of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are
|
|
|
-not fitted for the rearing of a child who may some day play a
|
|
|
-considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have
|
|
|
-why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to
|
|
|
-accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me,
|
|
|
-madam, would commence at 100 pounds a year.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was,
|
|
|
-such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman,
|
|
|
-however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face,
|
|
|
-opened a pocket-book and took out a note.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It is also my custom,' said he, smiling in the most pleasant
|
|
|
-fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid
|
|
|
-the white creases of his face, 'to advance to my young ladies
|
|
|
-half their salary beforehand, so that they may meet any little
|
|
|
-expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so
|
|
|
-thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the
|
|
|
-advance was a great convenience, and yet there was something
|
|
|
-unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know
|
|
|
-a little more before I quite committed myself.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles
|
|
|
-on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my
|
|
|
-dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would
|
|
|
-be.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'One child--one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if
|
|
|
-you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack!
|
|
|
-smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink!' He leaned back
|
|
|
-in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement,
|
|
|
-but the father's laughter made me think that perhaps he was
|
|
|
-joking.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'My sole duties, then,' I asked, 'are to take charge of a single
|
|
|
-child?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he
|
|
|
-cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would
|
|
|
-suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give, provided
|
|
|
-always that they were such commands as a lady might with
|
|
|
-propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I should be happy to make myself useful.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, you
|
|
|
-know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress
|
|
|
-which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim.
|
|
|
-Heh?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No,' said I, considerably astonished at his words.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to
|
|
|
-you?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, no.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes,
|
|
|
-my hair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of
|
|
|
-chestnut. It has been considered artistic. I could not dream of
|
|
|
-sacrificing it in this offhand fashion.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I am afraid that that is quite impossible,' said I. He had been
|
|
|
-watching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and I could see a
|
|
|
-shadow pass over his face as I spoke.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a
|
|
|
-little fancy of my wife's, and ladies' fancies, you know, madam,
|
|
|
-ladies' fancies must be consulted. And so you won't cut your
|
|
|
-hair?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, sir, I really could not,' I answered firmly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a
|
|
|
-pity, because in other respects you would really have done very
|
|
|
-nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more
|
|
|
-of your young ladies.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers
|
|
|
-without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so
|
|
|
-much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting
|
|
|
-that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'If you please, Miss Stoper.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the
|
|
|
-most excellent offers in this fashion,' said she sharply. 'You
|
|
|
-can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such
|
|
|
-opening for you. Good-day to you, Miss Hunter.' She struck a gong
|
|
|
-upon the table, and I was shown out by the page.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, Mr. Holmes, when I got back to my lodgings and found
|
|
|
-little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the
|
|
|
-table, I began to ask myself whether I had not done a very
|
|
|
-foolish thing. After all, if these people had strange fads and
|
|
|
-expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters, they were
|
|
|
-at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. Very few
|
|
|
-governesses in England are getting 100 pounds a year. Besides,
|
|
|
-what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing
|
|
|
-it short and perhaps I should be among the number. Next day I was
|
|
|
-inclined to think that I had made a mistake, and by the day after
|
|
|
-I was sure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go
|
|
|
-back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open
|
|
|
-when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it
|
|
|
-here and I will read it to you:
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
- "'The Copper Beeches, near Winchester.
|
|
|
-"'DEAR MISS HUNTER:--Miss Stoper has very kindly given me your
|
|
|
-address, and I write from here to ask you whether you have
|
|
|
-reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you
|
|
|
-should come, for she has been much attracted by my description of
|
|
|
-you. We are willing to give 30 pounds a quarter, or 120 pounds a
|
|
|
-year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which
|
|
|
-our fads may cause you. They are not very exacting, after all. My
|
|
|
-wife is fond of a particular shade of electric blue and would
|
|
|
-like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning. You need
|
|
|
-not, however, go to the expense of purchasing one, as we have one
|
|
|
-belonging to my dear daughter Alice (now in Philadelphia), which
|
|
|
-would, I should think, fit you very well. Then, as to sitting
|
|
|
-here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that
|
|
|
-need cause you no inconvenience. As regards your hair, it is no
|
|
|
-doubt a pity, especially as I could not help remarking its beauty
|
|
|
-during our short interview, but I am afraid that I must remain
|
|
|
-firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary
|
|
|
-may recompense you for the loss. Your duties, as far as the child
|
|
|
-is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come, and I shall
|
|
|
-meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me know your train.
|
|
|
-Yours faithfully, JEPHRO RUCASTLE.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and
|
|
|
-my mind is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however,
|
|
|
-that before taking the final step I should like to submit the
|
|
|
-whole matter to your consideration."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the
|
|
|
-question," said Holmes, smiling.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But you would not advise me to refuse?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to
|
|
|
-see a sister of mine apply for."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah, I have no data. I cannot tell. Perhaps you have yourself
|
|
|
-formed some opinion?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. Mr.
|
|
|
-Rucastle seemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not
|
|
|
-possible that his wife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the
|
|
|
-matter quiet for fear she should be taken to an asylum, and that
|
|
|
-he humours her fancies in every way in order to prevent an
|
|
|
-outbreak?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is a possible solution--in fact, as matters stand, it is
|
|
|
-the most probable one. But in any case it does not seem to be a
|
|
|
-nice household for a young lady."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But the money, Mr. Holmes, the money!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, yes, of course the pay is good--too good. That is what
|
|
|
-makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when
|
|
|
-they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some
|
|
|
-strong reason behind."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would
|
|
|
-understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so
|
|
|
-much stronger if I felt that you were at the back of me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that
|
|
|
-your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has
|
|
|
-come my way for some months. There is something distinctly novel
|
|
|
-about some of the features. If you should find yourself in doubt
|
|
|
-or in danger--"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Danger! What danger do you foresee?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes shook his head gravely. "It would cease to be a danger if
|
|
|
-we could define it," said he. "But at any time, day or night, a
|
|
|
-telegram would bring me down to your help."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That is enough." She rose briskly from her chair with the
|
|
|
-anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire
|
|
|
-quite easy in my mind now. I shall write to Mr. Rucastle at once,
|
|
|
-sacrifice my poor hair to-night, and start for Winchester
|
|
|
-to-morrow." With a few grateful words to Holmes she bade us both
|
|
|
-good-night and bustled off upon her way.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending
|
|
|
-the stairs, "she seems to be a young lady who is very well able
|
|
|
-to take care of herself."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And she would need to be," said Holmes gravely. "I am much
|
|
|
-mistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled.
|
|
|
-A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts
|
|
|
-turning in her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of
|
|
|
-human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual
|
|
|
-salary, the curious conditions, the light duties, all pointed to
|
|
|
-something abnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether
|
|
|
-the man were a philanthropist or a villain, it was quite beyond
|
|
|
-my powers to determine. As to Holmes, I observed that he sat
|
|
|
-frequently for half an hour on end, with knitted brows and an
|
|
|
-abstracted air, but he swept the matter away with a wave of his
|
|
|
-hand when I mentioned it. "Data! data! data!" he cried
|
|
|
-impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay." And yet he would
|
|
|
-always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever
|
|
|
-have accepted such a situation.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The telegram which we eventually received came late one night
|
|
|
-just as I was thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down
|
|
|
-to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently
|
|
|
-indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a
|
|
|
-test-tube at night and find him in the same position when I came
|
|
|
-down to breakfast in the morning. He opened the yellow envelope,
|
|
|
-and then, glancing at the message, threw it across to me.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Just look up the trains in Bradshaw," said he, and turned back
|
|
|
-to his chemical studies.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The summons was a brief and urgent one.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Please be at the Black Swan Hotel at Winchester at midday
|
|
|
-to-morrow," it said. "Do come! I am at my wit's end. HUNTER."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Will you come with me?" asked Holmes, glancing up.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I should wish to."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Just look it up, then."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There is a train at half-past nine," said I, glancing over my
|
|
|
-Bradshaw. "It is due at Winchester at 11:30."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That will do very nicely. Then perhaps I had better postpone my
|
|
|
-analysis of the acetones, as we may need to be at our best in the
|
|
|
-morning."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-By eleven o'clock the next day we were well upon our way to the
|
|
|
-old English capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers
|
|
|
-all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he
|
|
|
-threw them down and began to admire the scenery. It was an ideal
|
|
|
-spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white
|
|
|
-clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining
|
|
|
-very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air,
|
|
|
-which set an edge to a man's energy. All over the countryside,
|
|
|
-away to the rolling hills around Aldershot, the little red and
|
|
|
-grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the light
|
|
|
-green of the new foliage.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Are they not fresh and beautiful?" I cried with all the
|
|
|
-enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-But Holmes shook his head gravely.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Do you know, Watson," said he, "that it is one of the curses of
|
|
|
-a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with
|
|
|
-reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered
|
|
|
-houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them,
|
|
|
-and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their
|
|
|
-isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed
|
|
|
-there."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Good heavens!" I cried. "Who would associate crime with these
|
|
|
-dear old homesteads?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief,
|
|
|
-Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest
|
|
|
-alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin
|
|
|
-than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You horrify me!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion
|
|
|
-can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no
|
|
|
-lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of
|
|
|
-a drunkard's blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among
|
|
|
-the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever
|
|
|
-so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is
|
|
|
-but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these
|
|
|
-lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part
|
|
|
-with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the
|
|
|
-deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on,
|
|
|
-year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser. Had this
|
|
|
-lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I
|
|
|
-should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of
|
|
|
-country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is
|
|
|
-not personally threatened."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"No. If she can come to Winchester to meet us she can get away."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Quite so. She has her freedom."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What CAN be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would
|
|
|
-cover the facts as far as we know them. But which of these is
|
|
|
-correct can only be determined by the fresh information which we
|
|
|
-shall no doubt find waiting for us. Well, there is the tower of
|
|
|
-the cathedral, and we shall soon learn all that Miss Hunter has
|
|
|
-to tell."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The Black Swan is an inn of repute in the High Street, at no
|
|
|
-distance from the station, and there we found the young lady
|
|
|
-waiting for us. She had engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch
|
|
|
-awaited us upon the table.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am so delighted that you have come," she said earnestly. "It
|
|
|
-is so very kind of you both; but indeed I do not know what I
|
|
|
-should do. Your advice will be altogether invaluable to me."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray tell us what has happened to you."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will do so, and I must be quick, for I have promised Mr.
|
|
|
-Rucastle to be back before three. I got his leave to come into
|
|
|
-town this morning, though he little knew for what purpose."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Let us have everything in its due order." Holmes thrust his long
|
|
|
-thin legs out towards the fire and composed himself to listen.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"In the first place, I may say that I have met, on the whole,
|
|
|
-with no actual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is
|
|
|
-only fair to them to say that. But I cannot understand them, and
|
|
|
-I am not easy in my mind about them."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"What can you not understand?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Their reasons for their conduct. But you shall have it all just
|
|
|
-as it occurred. When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and
|
|
|
-drove me in his dog-cart to the Copper Beeches. It is, as he
|
|
|
-said, beautifully situated, but it is not beautiful in itself,
|
|
|
-for it is a large square block of a house, whitewashed, but all
|
|
|
-stained and streaked with damp and bad weather. There are grounds
|
|
|
-round it, woods on three sides, and on the fourth a field which
|
|
|
-slopes down to the Southampton highroad, which curves past about
|
|
|
-a hundred yards from the front door. This ground in front belongs
|
|
|
-to the house, but the woods all round are part of Lord
|
|
|
-Southerton's preserves. A clump of copper beeches immediately in
|
|
|
-front of the hall door has given its name to the place.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was driven over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever,
|
|
|
-and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child.
|
|
|
-There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to
|
|
|
-us to be probable in your rooms at Baker Street. Mrs. Rucastle is
|
|
|
-not mad. I found her to be a silent, pale-faced woman, much
|
|
|
-younger than her husband, not more than thirty, I should think,
|
|
|
-while he can hardly be less than forty-five. From their
|
|
|
-conversation I have gathered that they have been married about
|
|
|
-seven years, that he was a widower, and that his only child by
|
|
|
-the first wife was the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr.
|
|
|
-Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them
|
|
|
-was that she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother. As
|
|
|
-the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite
|
|
|
-imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her
|
|
|
-father's young wife.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mrs. Rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as
|
|
|
-in feature. She impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse.
|
|
|
-She was a nonentity. It was easy to see that she was passionately
|
|
|
-devoted both to her husband and to her little son. Her light grey
|
|
|
-eyes wandered continually from one to the other, noting every
|
|
|
-little want and forestalling it if possible. He was kind to her
|
|
|
-also in his bluff, boisterous fashion, and on the whole they
|
|
|
-seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow,
|
|
|
-this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with the
|
|
|
-saddest look upon her face. More than once I have surprised her
|
|
|
-in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of
|
|
|
-her child which weighed upon her mind, for I have never met so
|
|
|
-utterly spoiled and so ill-natured a little creature. He is small
|
|
|
-for his age, with a head which is quite disproportionately large.
|
|
|
-His whole life appears to be spent in an alternation between
|
|
|
-savage fits of passion and gloomy intervals of sulking. Giving
|
|
|
-pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea
|
|
|
-of amusement, and he shows quite remarkable talent in planning
|
|
|
-the capture of mice, little birds, and insects. But I would
|
|
|
-rather not talk about the creature, Mr. Holmes, and, indeed, he
|
|
|
-has little to do with my story."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they
|
|
|
-seem to you to be relevant or not."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one
|
|
|
-unpleasant thing about the house, which struck me at once, was
|
|
|
-the appearance and conduct of the servants. There are only two, a
|
|
|
-man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough,
|
|
|
-uncouth man, with grizzled hair and whiskers, and a perpetual
|
|
|
-smell of drink. Twice since I have been with them he has been
|
|
|
-quite drunk, and yet Mr. Rucastle seemed to take no notice of it.
|
|
|
-His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as
|
|
|
-silent as Mrs. Rucastle and much less amiable. They are a most
|
|
|
-unpleasant couple, but fortunately I spend most of my time in the
|
|
|
-nursery and my own room, which are next to each other in one
|
|
|
-corner of the building.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"For two days after my arrival at the Copper Beeches my life was
|
|
|
-very quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after
|
|
|
-breakfast and whispered something to her husband.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, yes,' said he, turning to me, 'we are very much obliged to
|
|
|
-you, Miss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut
|
|
|
-your hair. I assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest
|
|
|
-iota from your appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue
|
|
|
-dress will become you. You will find it laid out upon the bed in
|
|
|
-your room, and if you would be so good as to put it on we should
|
|
|
-both be extremely obliged.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The dress which I found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade
|
|
|
-of blue. It was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it
|
|
|
-bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before. It could not
|
|
|
-have been a better fit if I had been measured for it. Both Mr.
|
|
|
-and Mrs. Rucastle expressed a delight at the look of it, which
|
|
|
-seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for
|
|
|
-me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching
|
|
|
-along the entire front of the house, with three long windows
|
|
|
-reaching down to the floor. A chair had been placed close to the
|
|
|
-central window, with its back turned towards it. In this I was
|
|
|
-asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the
|
|
|
-other side of the room, began to tell me a series of the funniest
|
|
|
-stories that I have ever listened to. You cannot imagine how
|
|
|
-comical he was, and I laughed until I was quite weary. Mrs.
|
|
|
-Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour, never so
|
|
|
-much as smiled, but sat with her hands in her lap, and a sad,
|
|
|
-anxious look upon her face. After an hour or so, Mr. Rucastle
|
|
|
-suddenly remarked that it was time to commence the duties of the
|
|
|
-day, and that I might change my dress and go to little Edward in
|
|
|
-the nursery.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Two days later this same performance was gone through under
|
|
|
-exactly similar circumstances. Again I changed my dress, again I
|
|
|
-sat in the window, and again I laughed very heartily at the funny
|
|
|
-stories of which my employer had an immense répertoire, and which
|
|
|
-he told inimitably. Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and
|
|
|
-moving my chair a little sideways, that my own shadow might not
|
|
|
-fall upon the page, he begged me to read aloud to him. I read for
|
|
|
-about ten minutes, beginning in the heart of a chapter, and then
|
|
|
-suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and
|
|
|
-to change my dress.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to
|
|
|
-what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly
|
|
|
-be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face
|
|
|
-away from the window, so that I became consumed with the desire
|
|
|
-to see what was going on behind my back. At first it seemed to be
|
|
|
-impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been
|
|
|
-broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a piece of
|
|
|
-the glass in my handkerchief. On the next occasion, in the midst
|
|
|
-of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able
|
|
|
-with a little management to see all that there was behind me. I
|
|
|
-confess that I was disappointed. There was nothing. At least that
|
|
|
-was my first impression. At the second glance, however, I
|
|
|
-perceived that there was a man standing in the Southampton Road,
|
|
|
-a small bearded man in a grey suit, who seemed to be looking in
|
|
|
-my direction. The road is an important highway, and there are
|
|
|
-usually people there. This man, however, was leaning against the
|
|
|
-railings which bordered our field and was looking earnestly up. I
|
|
|
-lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her
|
|
|
-eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing,
|
|
|
-but I am convinced that she had divined that I had a mirror in my
|
|
|
-hand and had seen what was behind me. She rose at once.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Jephro,' said she, 'there is an impertinent fellow upon the
|
|
|
-road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, I know no one in these parts.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Dear me! How very impertinent! Kindly turn round and motion to
|
|
|
-him to go away.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Surely it would be better to take no notice.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'No, no, we should have him loitering here always. Kindly turn
|
|
|
-round and wave him away like that.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I did as I was told, and at the same instant Mrs. Rucastle drew
|
|
|
-down the blind. That was a week ago, and from that time I have
|
|
|
-not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor
|
|
|
-seen the man in the road."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Pray continue," said Holmes. "Your narrative promises to be a
|
|
|
-most interesting one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You will find it rather disconnected, I fear, and there may
|
|
|
-prove to be little relation between the different incidents of
|
|
|
-which I speak. On the very first day that I was at the Copper
|
|
|
-Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands
|
|
|
-near the kitchen door. As we approached it I heard the sharp
|
|
|
-rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animal moving
|
|
|
-about.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Look in here!' said Mr. Rucastle, showing me a slit between two
|
|
|
-planks. 'Is he not a beauty?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a
|
|
|
-vague figure huddled up in the darkness.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Don't be frightened,' said my employer, laughing at the start
|
|
|
-which I had given. 'It's only Carlo, my mastiff. I call him mine,
|
|
|
-but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do
|
|
|
-anything with him. We feed him once a day, and not too much then,
|
|
|
-so that he is always as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose
|
|
|
-every night, and God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs
|
|
|
-upon. For goodness' sake don't you ever on any pretext set your
|
|
|
-foot over the threshold at night, for it's as much as your life
|
|
|
-is worth.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to
|
|
|
-look out of my bedroom window about two o'clock in the morning.
|
|
|
-It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the
|
|
|
-house was silvered over and almost as bright as day. I was
|
|
|
-standing, rapt in the peaceful beauty of the scene, when I was
|
|
|
-aware that something was moving under the shadow of the copper
|
|
|
-beeches. As it emerged into the moonshine I saw what it was. It
|
|
|
-was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging
|
|
|
-jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones. It walked slowly
|
|
|
-across the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon the other side.
|
|
|
-That dreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart which I do not
|
|
|
-think that any burglar could have done.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And now I have a very strange experience to tell you. I had, as
|
|
|
-you know, cut off my hair in London, and I had placed it in a
|
|
|
-great coil at the bottom of my trunk. One evening, after the
|
|
|
-child was in bed, I began to amuse myself by examining the
|
|
|
-furniture of my room and by rearranging my own little things.
|
|
|
-There was an old chest of drawers in the room, the two upper ones
|
|
|
-empty and open, the lower one locked. I had filled the first two
|
|
|
-with my linen, and as I had still much to pack away I was
|
|
|
-naturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer. It
|
|
|
-struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight,
|
|
|
-so I took out my bunch of keys and tried to open it. The very
|
|
|
-first key fitted to perfection, and I drew the drawer open. There
|
|
|
-was only one thing in it, but I am sure that you would never
|
|
|
-guess what it was. It was my coil of hair.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I took it up and examined it. It was of the same peculiar tint,
|
|
|
-and the same thickness. But then the impossibility of the thing
|
|
|
-obtruded itself upon me. How could my hair have been locked in
|
|
|
-the drawer? With trembling hands I undid my trunk, turned out the
|
|
|
-contents, and drew from the bottom my own hair. I laid the two
|
|
|
-tresses together, and I assure you that they were identical. Was
|
|
|
-it not extraordinary? Puzzle as I would, I could make nothing at
|
|
|
-all of what it meant. I returned the strange hair to the drawer,
|
|
|
-and I said nothing of the matter to the Rucastles as I felt that
|
|
|
-I had put myself in the wrong by opening a drawer which they had
|
|
|
-locked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am naturally observant, as you may have remarked, Mr. Holmes,
|
|
|
-and I soon had a pretty good plan of the whole house in my head.
|
|
|
-There was one wing, however, which appeared not to be inhabited
|
|
|
-at all. A door which faced that which led into the quarters of
|
|
|
-the Tollers opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked.
|
|
|
-One day, however, as I ascended the stair, I met Mr. Rucastle
|
|
|
-coming out through this door, his keys in his hand, and a look on
|
|
|
-his face which made him a very different person to the round,
|
|
|
-jovial man to whom I was accustomed. His cheeks were red, his
|
|
|
-brow was all crinkled with anger, and the veins stood out at his
|
|
|
-temples with passion. He locked the door and hurried past me
|
|
|
-without a word or a look.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"This aroused my curiosity, so when I went out for a walk in the
|
|
|
-grounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side from which I
|
|
|
-could see the windows of this part of the house. There were four
|
|
|
-of them in a row, three of which were simply dirty, while the
|
|
|
-fourth was shuttered up. They were evidently all deserted. As I
|
|
|
-strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle
|
|
|
-came out to me, looking as merry and jovial as ever.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Ah!' said he, 'you must not think me rude if I passed you
|
|
|
-without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with
|
|
|
-business matters.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I assured him that I was not offended. 'By the way,' said I,
|
|
|
-'you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one
|
|
|
-of them has the shutters up.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled
|
|
|
-at my remark.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Photography is one of my hobbies,' said he. 'I have made my
|
|
|
-dark room up there. But, dear me! what an observant young lady we
|
|
|
-have come upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever
|
|
|
-believed it?' He spoke in a jesting tone, but there was no jest
|
|
|
-in his eyes as he looked at me. I read suspicion there and
|
|
|
-annoyance, but no jest.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there
|
|
|
-was something about that suite of rooms which I was not to know,
|
|
|
-I was all on fire to go over them. It was not mere curiosity,
|
|
|
-though I have my share of that. It was more a feeling of duty--a
|
|
|
-feeling that some good might come from my penetrating to this
|
|
|
-place. They talk of woman's instinct; perhaps it was woman's
|
|
|
-instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there,
|
|
|
-and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the
|
|
|
-forbidden door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It was only yesterday that the chance came. I may tell you that,
|
|
|
-besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to
|
|
|
-do in these deserted rooms, and I once saw him carrying a large
|
|
|
-black linen bag with him through the door. Recently he has been
|
|
|
-drinking hard, and yesterday evening he was very drunk; and when
|
|
|
-I came upstairs there was the key in the door. I have no doubt at
|
|
|
-all that he had left it there. Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle were both
|
|
|
-downstairs, and the child was with them, so that I had an
|
|
|
-admirable opportunity. I turned the key gently in the lock,
|
|
|
-opened the door, and slipped through.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and
|
|
|
-uncarpeted, which turned at a right angle at the farther end.
|
|
|
-Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third
|
|
|
-of which were open. They each led into an empty room, dusty and
|
|
|
-cheerless, with two windows in the one and one in the other, so
|
|
|
-thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through
|
|
|
-them. The centre door was closed, and across the outside of it
|
|
|
-had been fastened one of the broad bars of an iron bed, padlocked
|
|
|
-at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at the other with
|
|
|
-stout cord. The door itself was locked as well, and the key was
|
|
|
-not there. This barricaded door corresponded clearly with the
|
|
|
-shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the glimmer from
|
|
|
-beneath it that the room was not in darkness. Evidently there was
|
|
|
-a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the
|
|
|
-passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it
|
|
|
-might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room
|
|
|
-and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little
|
|
|
-slit of dim light which shone out from under the door. A mad,
|
|
|
-unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight, Mr. Holmes. My
|
|
|
-overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and I turned and ran--ran
|
|
|
-as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the
|
|
|
-skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage, through the door,
|
|
|
-and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting
|
|
|
-outside.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'So,' said he, smiling, 'it was you, then. I thought that it
|
|
|
-must be when I saw the door open.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Oh, I am so frightened!' I panted.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'My dear young lady! my dear young lady!'--you cannot think how
|
|
|
-caressing and soothing his manner was--'and what has frightened
|
|
|
-you, my dear young lady?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I
|
|
|
-was keenly on my guard against him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,' I answered.
|
|
|
-'But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was
|
|
|
-frightened and ran out again. Oh, it is so dreadfully still in
|
|
|
-there!'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Only that?' said he, looking at me keenly.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why, what did you think?' I asked.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Why do you think that I lock this door?'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I am sure that I do not know.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'It is to keep people out who have no business there. Do you
|
|
|
-see?' He was still smiling in the most amiable manner.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'I am sure if I had known--'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"'Well, then, you know now. And if you ever put your foot over
|
|
|
-that threshold again'--here in an instant the smile hardened into
|
|
|
-a grin of rage, and he glared down at me with the face of a
|
|
|
-demon--'I'll throw you to the mastiff.'
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I was so terrified that I do not know what I did. I suppose that
|
|
|
-I must have rushed past him into my room. I remember nothing
|
|
|
-until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I
|
|
|
-thought of you, Mr. Holmes. I could not live there longer without
|
|
|
-some advice. I was frightened of the house, of the man, of the
|
|
|
-woman, of the servants, even of the child. They were all horrible
|
|
|
-to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of
|
|
|
-course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was
|
|
|
-almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would
|
|
|
-send you a wire. I put on my hat and cloak, went down to the
|
|
|
-office, which is about half a mile from the house, and then
|
|
|
-returned, feeling very much easier. A horrible doubt came into my
|
|
|
-mind as I approached the door lest the dog might be loose, but I
|
|
|
-remembered that Toller had drunk himself into a state of
|
|
|
-insensibility that evening, and I knew that he was the only one
|
|
|
-in the household who had any influence with the savage creature,
|
|
|
-or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and
|
|
|
-lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you.
|
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|
-I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester this
|
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|
-morning, but I must be back before three o'clock, for Mr. and
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|
-Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the
|
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|
-evening, so that I must look after the child. Now I have told you
|
|
|
-all my adventures, Mr. Holmes, and I should be very glad if you
|
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|
-could tell me what it all means, and, above all, what I should
|
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|
-do."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story.
|
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|
-My friend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in
|
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|
-his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon
|
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-his face.
|
|
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-
|
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-"Is Toller still drunk?" he asked.
|
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|
-
|
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-"Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do
|
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|
-nothing with him."
|
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-
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-"That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?"
|
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-
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-"Yes."
|
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-
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|
-"Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?"
|
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|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, the wine-cellar."
|
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|
-
|
|
|
-"You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very
|
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|
-brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could
|
|
|
-perform one more feat? I should not ask it of you if I did not
|
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|
-think you a quite exceptional woman."
|
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-
|
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-"I will try. What is it?"
|
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|
-
|
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|
-"We shall be at the Copper Beeches by seven o'clock, my friend
|
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|
-and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will,
|
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|
-we hope, be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might
|
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|
-give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar on some
|
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|
-errand, and then turn the key upon her, you would facilitate
|
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|
-matters immensely."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will do it."
|
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|
-
|
|
|
-"Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of
|
|
|
-course there is only one feasible explanation. You have been
|
|
|
-brought there to personate someone, and the real person is
|
|
|
-imprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious. As to who this
|
|
|
-prisoner is, I have no doubt that it is the daughter, Miss Alice
|
|
|
-Rucastle, if I remember right, who was said to have gone to
|
|
|
-America. You were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in height,
|
|
|
-figure, and the colour of your hair. Hers had been cut off, very
|
|
|
-possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of
|
|
|
-course, yours had to be sacrificed also. By a curious chance you
|
|
|
-came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some
|
|
|
-friend of hers--possibly her fiancé--and no doubt, as you wore
|
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|
-the girl's dress and were so like her, he was convinced from your
|
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|
-laughter, whenever he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture,
|
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|
-that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer
|
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|
-desired his attentions. The dog is let loose at night to prevent
|
|
|
-him from endeavouring to communicate with her. So much is fairly
|
|
|
-clear. The most serious point in the case is the disposition of
|
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|
-the child."
|
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|
-
|
|
|
-"What on earth has that to do with it?" I ejaculated.
|
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|
-
|
|
|
-"My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining
|
|
|
-light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the
|
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|
-parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have
|
|
|
-frequently gained my first real insight into the character of
|
|
|
-parents by studying their children. This child's disposition is
|
|
|
-abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty's sake, and whether he
|
|
|
-derives this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, or
|
|
|
-from his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in their
|
|
|
-power."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am sure that you are right, Mr. Holmes," cried our client. "A
|
|
|
-thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you
|
|
|
-have hit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to
|
|
|
-this poor creature."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning
|
|
|
-man. We can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we shall
|
|
|
-be with you, and it will not be long before we solve the
|
|
|
-mystery."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We were as good as our word, for it was just seven when we
|
|
|
-reached the Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside
|
|
|
-public-house. The group of trees, with their dark leaves shining
|
|
|
-like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun, were
|
|
|
-sufficient to mark the house even had Miss Hunter not been
|
|
|
-standing smiling on the door-step.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Have you managed it?" asked Holmes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. "That is
|
|
|
-Mrs. Toller in the cellar," said she. "Her husband lies snoring
|
|
|
-on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys, which are the duplicates
|
|
|
-of Mr. Rucastle's."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have done well indeed!" cried Holmes with enthusiasm. "Now
|
|
|
-lead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this black
|
|
|
-business."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-We passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a
|
|
|
-passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss
|
|
|
-Hunter had described. Holmes cut the cord and removed the
|
|
|
-transverse bar. Then he tried the various keys in the lock, but
|
|
|
-without success. No sound came from within, and at the silence
|
|
|
-Holmes' face clouded over.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I trust that we are not too late," said he. "I think, Miss
|
|
|
-Hunter, that we had better go in without you. Now, Watson, put
|
|
|
-your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether we cannot make our
|
|
|
-way in."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united
|
|
|
-strength. Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There
|
|
|
-was no furniture save a little pallet bed, a small table, and a
|
|
|
-basketful of linen. The skylight above was open, and the prisoner
|
|
|
-gone.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"There has been some villainy here," said Holmes; "this beauty
|
|
|
-has guessed Miss Hunter's intentions and has carried his victim
|
|
|
-off."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But how?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Through the skylight. We shall soon see how he managed it." He
|
|
|
-swung himself up onto the roof. "Ah, yes," he cried, "here's the
|
|
|
-end of a long light ladder against the eaves. That is how he did
|
|
|
-it."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not
|
|
|
-there when the Rucastles went away."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and
|
|
|
-dangerous man. I should not be very much surprised if this were
|
|
|
-he whose step I hear now upon the stair. I think, Watson, that it
|
|
|
-would be as well for you to have your pistol ready."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at
|
|
|
-the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy
|
|
|
-stick in his hand. Miss Hunter screamed and shrunk against the
|
|
|
-wall at the sight of him, but Sherlock Holmes sprang forward and
|
|
|
-confronted him.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You villain!" said he, "where's your daughter?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The fat man cast his eyes round, and then up at the open
|
|
|
-skylight.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"It is for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "you thieves! Spies
|
|
|
-and thieves! I have caught you, have I? You are in my power. I'll
|
|
|
-serve you!" He turned and clattered down the stairs as hard as he
|
|
|
-could go.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"He's gone for the dog!" cried Miss Hunter.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I have my revolver," said I.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Better close the front door," cried Holmes, and we all rushed
|
|
|
-down the stairs together. We had hardly reached the hall when we
|
|
|
-heard the baying of a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a
|
|
|
-horrible worrying sound which it was dreadful to listen to. An
|
|
|
-elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out
|
|
|
-at a side door.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"My God!" he cried. "Someone has loosed the dog. It's not been
|
|
|
-fed for two days. Quick, quick, or it'll be too late!"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Holmes and I rushed out and round the angle of the house, with
|
|
|
-Toller hurrying behind us. There was the huge famished brute, its
|
|
|
-black muzzle buried in Rucastle's throat, while he writhed and
|
|
|
-screamed upon the ground. Running up, I blew its brains out, and
|
|
|
-it fell over with its keen white teeth still meeting in the great
|
|
|
-creases of his neck. With much labour we separated them and
|
|
|
-carried him, living but horribly mangled, into the house. We laid
|
|
|
-him upon the drawing-room sofa, and having dispatched the sobered
|
|
|
-Toller to bear the news to his wife, I did what I could to
|
|
|
-relieve his pain. We were all assembled round him when the door
|
|
|
-opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mrs. Toller!" cried Miss Hunter.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, miss. Mr. Rucastle let me out when he came back before he
|
|
|
-went up to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn't let me know
|
|
|
-what you were planning, for I would have told you that your pains
|
|
|
-were wasted."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ha!" said Holmes, looking keenly at her. "It is clear that Mrs.
|
|
|
-Toller knows more about this matter than anyone else."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir, I do, and I am ready enough to tell what I know."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Then, pray, sit down, and let us hear it for there are several
|
|
|
-points on which I must confess that I am still in the dark."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I will soon make it clear to you," said she; "and I'd have done
|
|
|
-so before now if I could ha' got out from the cellar. If there's
|
|
|
-police-court business over this, you'll remember that I was the
|
|
|
-one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend
|
|
|
-too.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"She was never happy at home, Miss Alice wasn't, from the time
|
|
|
-that her father married again. She was slighted like and had no
|
|
|
-say in anything, but it never really became bad for her until
|
|
|
-after she met Mr. Fowler at a friend's house. As well as I could
|
|
|
-learn, Miss Alice had rights of her own by will, but she was so
|
|
|
-quiet and patient, she was, that she never said a word about them
|
|
|
-but just left everything in Mr. Rucastle's hands. He knew he was
|
|
|
-safe with her; but when there was a chance of a husband coming
|
|
|
-forward, who would ask for all that the law would give him, then
|
|
|
-her father thought it time to put a stop on it. He wanted her to
|
|
|
-sign a paper, so that whether she married or not, he could use
|
|
|
-her money. When she wouldn't do it, he kept on worrying her until
|
|
|
-she got brain-fever, and for six weeks was at death's door. Then
|
|
|
-she got better at last, all worn to a shadow, and with her
|
|
|
-beautiful hair cut off; but that didn't make no change in her
|
|
|
-young man, and he stuck to her as true as man could be."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Ah," said Holmes, "I think that what you have been good enough
|
|
|
-to tell us makes the matter fairly clear, and that I can deduce
|
|
|
-all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this
|
|
|
-system of imprisonment?"
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Yes, sir."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And brought Miss Hunter down from London in order to get rid of
|
|
|
-the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"That was it, sir."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should
|
|
|
-be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain
|
|
|
-arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your
|
|
|
-interests were the same as his."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"Mr. Fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman," said
|
|
|
-Mrs. Toller serenely.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"And in this way he managed that your good man should have no
|
|
|
-want of drink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment
|
|
|
-when your master had gone out."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"You have it, sir, just as it happened."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-"I am sure we owe you an apology, Mrs. Toller," said Holmes, "for
|
|
|
-you have certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. And
|
|
|
-here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think,
|
|
|
-Watson, that we had best escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester,
|
|
|
-as it seems to me that our locus standi now is rather a
|
|
|
-questionable one."
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the
|
|
|
-copper beeches in front of the door. Mr. Rucastle survived, but
|
|
|
-was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of
|
|
|
-his devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who
|
|
|
-probably know so much of Rucastle's past life that he finds it
|
|
|
-difficult to part from them. Mr. Fowler and Miss Rucastle were
|
|
|
-married, by special license, in Southampton the day after their
|
|
|
-flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in
|
|
|
-the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend
|
|
|
-Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further
|
|
|
-interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one
|
|
|
-of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at
|
|
|
-Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by
|
|
|
-Arthur Conan Doyle
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-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES ***
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