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43 The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax from His · Sherlock Holmes

0:00
Speaker 1: The disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax. But why Turkish, asked
0:09
Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes, gazing fixedly at my boots. I was
0:16
Speaker 1: reclining in a cane backed chair at the moment, and
0:20
Speaker 1: my protruded feet had attracted his ever active attention. English,
0:26
Speaker 1: I answered, in some surprise. I got them at Latimer's
0:29
Speaker 1: in Oxford Street. Home smiled with an expression of weary patience.
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Speaker 1: The bath, he said, The bath. Why the relaxing and
0:41
Speaker 1: expensive Turkish rather than the invigorating home made article, Because
0:49
Speaker 1: for the last few days I have been feeling rheumatic
0:52
Speaker 1: and old. A Turkish bath is what we call an
0:56
Speaker 1: alternative in medicine, a fresh starting point, cleanser of the system.
1:02
Speaker 1: By the way, Homes, I added, I have no doubt
1:05
Speaker 1: the connection between my boots and a Turkish bath is
1:09
Speaker 1: a perfectly self evident one to the logical mind. And
1:14
Speaker 1: yet I should be obliged to you if you would
1:16
Speaker 1: indicate it. The train of reasoning is not very obscure, Watson,
1:22
Speaker 1: said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle. It belongs to the
1:25
Speaker 1: same elementary class of deduction which I should illustrate if
1:30
Speaker 1: I were to ask you who shared your cab in
1:33
Speaker 1: your drive this morning. I don't admit that a fresh
1:37
Speaker 1: illustration is an explanation, said I with some asperity. Bravo Watson,
1:43
Speaker 1: a very dignified and logical remonstrance. Let me see what
1:46
Speaker 1: were the points? Take the last one first, the cab.
1:50
Speaker 1: You observe that you have some splashes on the left
1:53
Speaker 1: sleeve and shoulder of your coat. Had you sat in
1:56
Speaker 1: the center of a hansom, you would probably have had
1:59
Speaker 1: no splashes, and if you had, they would certainly have
2:03
Speaker 1: been symmetrical. Therefore, it is clear that you sat at
2:06
Speaker 1: the side. Therefore, it is equally clear that you had
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Speaker 1: a companion. That is very evident, absurdly commonplace, is it not?
2:16
Speaker 1: But the boots and the bath equally childish. You are
2:21
Speaker 1: in the habit of doing up your boots in a
2:23
Speaker 1: certain way. I see them on this occasion, fastened with
2:26
Speaker 1: an elaborate double bow, which is not your usual method
2:31
Speaker 1: of tying them. You have therefore had them off. Who
2:33
Speaker 1: has tied them a boot maker or the boy at
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Speaker 1: the bath? It is unlikely that it is the bootmaker,
2:41
Speaker 1: since your boots are nearly new. Well, what remains, the
2:44
Speaker 1: bath absurd is it not. But for all that the
2:48
Speaker 1: Turkish bath has served a purpose, what is that you
2:52
Speaker 1: say that you have had it because you need a change?
2:55
Speaker 1: Let me suggest that you take one. How would Lausan do,
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Speaker 1: my dear Wotson, first class tickets and all expenses paid
3:03
Speaker 1: on a princely scale. Splendid? But why Holmes leaned back
3:09
Speaker 1: in his arm chair and took his note book from
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Speaker 1: his pocket. One of the most dangerous classes in the world,
3:17
Speaker 1: said he is the drifting and friendless woman. She is
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Speaker 1: the most harmless, and often the most useful of mortals,
3:27
Speaker 1: but she is the inevitable inciter of crime in others.
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Speaker 1: She is helpless. She is migratory. She has sufficient means
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Speaker 1: to take her from country to country and from hotel
3:41
Speaker 1: to hotel. She is lost, as often as not in
3:44
Speaker 1: a maze of obscure poncien and boarding houses. She is
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Speaker 1: a straight chicken in a world of foxes. When she
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Speaker 1: is gobbled up, she has hardly missed. I much fear
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Speaker 1: that some evil has come to the lady Francis Carfax.
4:03
Speaker 1: I was relieved at this sudden descent from the general
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Speaker 1: to the particular. Holmes consulted his notes. Lady Francis, he continued,
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Speaker 1: is the sole survivor of the direct family of the
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Speaker 1: late Earl of Rufton. The estates went, as you may remember,
4:22
Speaker 1: in the male line. She was left with limited means,
4:27
Speaker 1: but with some very remarkable old Spanish jewelry of silver
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Speaker 1: and curiously cut diamonds, to which she was fondly attached.
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Speaker 1: Too attached, for she refused to leave it with her banker,
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Speaker 1: and always carried it about with her. A rather pathetic figure.
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Speaker 1: The Lady Francis a beautiful woman, still in fresh middle age,
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Speaker 1: and yet, by a strange chance, the last derelict of
4:55
Speaker 1: what only twenty years ago was a goodly fleet. What
5:00
Speaker 1: has happened to her? Then? Ah? What has happened to
5:04
Speaker 1: the Lady Francis? Is she alive or dead? There is
5:08
Speaker 1: our problem. She is a lady of precise habits, and
5:12
Speaker 1: for four years it has been her invariable custom to
5:16
Speaker 1: write every second week to Miss Dobney, her old governess,
5:20
Speaker 1: who has long retired and lives in Camberwell. It is
5:24
Speaker 1: this Miss Daubney who has consulted me. Nearly five weeks
5:28
Speaker 1: have passed without a word. The last letter was from
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Speaker 1: the Hotel Nacional at Lausanne. Lady Francis seems to have
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Speaker 1: left there and given no address. The family are anxious,
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Speaker 1: and as they are exceedingly wealthy, no sum will be
5:45
Speaker 1: spared if we can clear the matter up. Is miss
5:50
Speaker 1: Daubney the only source of information? Surely she had other correspondents.
5:56
Speaker 1: There is one correspondent who is a sure draw Watson.
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Speaker 1: That is the bat single ladies must live and their
6:02
Speaker 1: past books are compressed diaries. She banks at Sylvester's. The
6:08
Speaker 1: last check but one paid her bill at Lausanne, but
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Speaker 1: it was a large one and probably left her with
6:15
Speaker 1: cash in hand. Only one check has been drawn since
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Speaker 1: to whom and where? To miss Marie Devine, there is
6:26
Speaker 1: nothing to show where the check was drawn. It was
6:29
Speaker 1: cash to the Credie Leone at Montpellier less than three
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Speaker 1: weeks ago. The sum was fifty pounds. And who is
6:37
Speaker 1: miss Marie Devine? That also I have been able to discover.
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Speaker 1: Miss Marie Devine was the maid of Lady Francis Carfax.
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Speaker 1: Why she should have paid her this check we have
6:49
Speaker 1: not yet determined. I have no doubt, however, that your
6:52
Speaker 1: researches will soon clear the matter up. My researches hence
6:58
Speaker 1: the health giving expedition to Lausanne. You know that I
7:02
Speaker 1: cannot possibly leave London while old abrahams is in such
7:06
Speaker 1: mortal terror of his life. Besides, on general principles, it
7:11
Speaker 1: is best that I should not leave the country. Scotland
7:14
Speaker 1: Yard feels lonely without me, and it causes an unhealthy
7:18
Speaker 1: excitement among the criminal classes. Go then, my dear Watson,
7:23
Speaker 1: and if my humble counsel can ever be valued at
7:26
Speaker 1: so extravagant a rate as tuppence a word, it waits
7:30
Speaker 1: your disposal night and day at the end of the
7:33
Speaker 1: continental wire. Two days later found me at the National
7:40
Speaker 1: Hotel at Lausanne, where I received every courtesy at the
7:44
Speaker 1: hands of Monsieur Mosa, the well known manager. Lady Francis,
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Speaker 1: as he informed me, had stayed there for several weeks.
7:54
Speaker 1: She had been much liked by all who met her.
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Speaker 1: Her age was not more than forty, she was still
8:01
Speaker 1: handsome and bore every sign of having in her youth
8:05
Speaker 1: been a very lovely woman. Monsieur Mosa knew nothing of
8:09
Speaker 1: any valuable jewelry, but it had been remarked by the
8:13
Speaker 1: servants that the heavy trunk in the lady's bedroom was
8:17
Speaker 1: always scrupulously locked. Marie de Vine. The maid was as
8:23
Speaker 1: popular as her mistress. She was actually engaged to one
8:27
Speaker 1: of the head waiters in the hotel, and there was
8:30
Speaker 1: no difficulty in getting her a dress. It was too
8:35
Speaker 1: rue de Trajan Montpellier. All this I jotted down, and
8:41
Speaker 1: felt that Holmes himself could not have been more adroit
8:44
Speaker 1: in collecting his facts. Only one corner still remained in
8:48
Speaker 1: the shadow. No light which I possessed could clear up
8:53
Speaker 1: the cause for the lady's sudden departure. She was very
8:57
Speaker 1: happy at Lausanne. There was every reason to believe that
9:01
Speaker 1: she intended to remain for the season in her luxurious
9:04
Speaker 1: rooms overlooking the lake, and yet she had left at
9:09
Speaker 1: a single day's notice, which involved her in the useless
9:13
Speaker 1: payment of a week's rent. Only joulvi Bard, the lover
9:18
Speaker 1: of the maid, had any suggestion to offer. He connected
9:22
Speaker 1: the sudden departure with the visit to the hotel a
9:25
Speaker 1: day or two before of a tall, dark bearded man,
9:30
Speaker 1: a sauvage, A vere table sauvage, cried Joulvi Bard. The
9:37
Speaker 1: man had rooms somewhere in the town. He had been
9:40
Speaker 1: seen talking earnestly to Madame on the promenade by the lake.
9:45
Speaker 1: Then he had called, she had refused to see him.
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Speaker 1: He was English, but of his name there was no record.
9:52
Speaker 1: Madame had left the place immediately afterwards. Joulvi Bard and
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Speaker 1: what was of more importance, Jeues Rulvi Bar's sweetheart, thought
10:02
Speaker 1: that this call and this departure were cause and effect.
10:07
Speaker 1: Only one thing Jule could not discuss. That was the
10:11
Speaker 1: reason why Marie had left her mistress. Of that he
10:15
Speaker 1: could or would say nothing. If I wished to know,
10:19
Speaker 1: I must go to Montpellier and ask her. So ended
10:23
Speaker 1: the first chapter of my inquiry. The second was devoted
10:28
Speaker 1: to the place which lady Francis Carfax had sought when
10:31
Speaker 1: she left Lausanne. Concerning this there had been some secrecy
10:37
Speaker 1: which confirmed the idea that she had gone with the
10:39
Speaker 1: intention of throwing someone off her track. Otherwise, why should
10:43
Speaker 1: not her luggage have been openly labeled for Baden? Both
10:48
Speaker 1: she and it reached the Rhenish Spa by some cecuitous route.
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Speaker 1: Thus much I gathered from the manager of Cook's local office.
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Speaker 1: So to Baden I went, after dispatching to Holmes an
11:03
Speaker 1: account of all my proceedings, and receiving in reply a
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Speaker 1: telegram of half humorous commendation at Baden. The tract was
11:12
Speaker 1: not difficult to follow. Lady Francis had stayed at the
11:16
Speaker 1: englisher Hoff for a fortnight. Whilst there she had made
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Speaker 1: the acquaintance of a Dr Schlessinger and his wife, a
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Speaker 1: missionary from South Africa. Like most lonely ladies, Lady Francis
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Speaker 1: found her comfort and occupation in religion. Dr Schlessinger's remarkable personality,
11:38
Speaker 1: his wholehearted devotion, and the fact that he was recovering
11:42
Speaker 1: from a disease contracted in the exercise of his apostolic
11:46
Speaker 1: duties affected her deeply. She had helped Missus Schlessinger in
11:52
Speaker 1: the nursing of the convalescent Saint. He spent his day,
11:56
Speaker 1: as the manager described it to me, upon a lounge
12:00
Speaker 1: chair on the verandah, with an attendant lady upon either
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Speaker 1: side of him. He was preparing a map of the
12:07
Speaker 1: Holy Land with special reference to the Kingdom of the
12:11
Speaker 1: Midian Nights, upon which he was writing a monograph. Finally,
12:16
Speaker 1: having improved much in health, he and his wife had
12:19
Speaker 1: returned to London, and Lady Francis had started thither in
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Speaker 1: their company. This was just three weeks before and the
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Speaker 1: manager had heard nothing since. As to the maid Marie.
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Speaker 1: She had gone off some days beforehand in floods of tears,
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Speaker 1: after informing the other maids that she was leaving service forever.
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Speaker 1: Doctor Schlessinger had paid the bill of the whole party
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Speaker 1: before his departure. By the way, said the landlord in conclusion,
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Speaker 1: you are not the only friend of Lady Francis Carfax
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Speaker 1: who is inquiring after her. Just now, only a week
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Speaker 1: or so ago, we had a man here upon the
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Speaker 1: same Errand did he give a name? I asked none.
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Speaker 1: But he was an Englishman, though of an unusual type,
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Speaker 1: A savage, said I, linking my facts after the fashion
13:15
Speaker 1: of my illustrious friend, exactly, that describes him very well.
13:20
Speaker 1: He is a bulky, bearded, sunburned fellow who looks as
13:25
Speaker 1: if he would be more at home in a farmer's
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Speaker 1: inn than in a fashionable hotel. A hard fierce man,
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Speaker 1: I should think, and one whom I should be sorry
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Speaker 1: to offend. Already the mystery began to define itself as
13:42
Speaker 1: figures grow clearer with the lifting of a fog. Here
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Speaker 1: was this good and pious lady pursued from place to
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Speaker 1: place by a sinister and unrelenting figure. She feared him,
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Speaker 1: or she would not have fled from Lausanne. He had
13:59
Speaker 1: still follow sooner or later he would overtake her. Had
14:04
Speaker 1: he already overtaken her? Was that the secret of her
14:08
Speaker 1: continued silence? Could the good people who were her companions?
14:13
Speaker 1: Not screen her from his violence or his blackmail? What
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Speaker 1: horrible purpose, what deep design lay behind this long pursuit?
14:23
Speaker 1: There was the problem which I had to solve. To Holmes,
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Speaker 1: I wrote, showing how rapidly and surely I had got
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Speaker 1: down to the roots of the matter. In reply, I
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Speaker 1: had a telegram asking for a description of Dr Schlessinger's
14:39
Speaker 1: left ear. Holmes's ideas of humour are strange and occasionally offensive,
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Speaker 1: so I took no notice of his ill timed jest. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: I had already reached Montpellier in my pursuit of the
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Speaker 1: maid Marie before his message came. I had no difficulty
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Speaker 1: in finding the ex servant and in learning all that
15:03
Speaker 1: she could tell me. She was a devoted creature who
15:07
Speaker 1: had only left her mistress because she was sure that
15:10
Speaker 1: she was in good hands, and because her own approaching
15:14
Speaker 1: marriage made a separation inevitable in any case. Her mistress had,
15:19
Speaker 1: as she confessed with distress, shown some irritability of temper
15:24
Speaker 1: towards her during their stay in Baden, and had even
15:28
Speaker 1: questioned her once as if she had suspicions of her honesty,
15:33
Speaker 1: and this made the parting easier than it would otherwise
15:36
Speaker 1: have been. Lady Francis had given her fifty pounds as
15:41
Speaker 1: a wedding present. Like me, Marie viewed with deep distrust
15:46
Speaker 1: the stranger who had driven her mistress from Lausanne. With
15:50
Speaker 1: her own eyes, she had seen him seize the lady's
15:53
Speaker 1: wrist with great violence on the public promenade by the lake.
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Speaker 1: He was a fierce and terrible man. She believed that
16:02
Speaker 1: it was out of dread of him that Lady Francis
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Speaker 1: had accepted the escort of the Schlessingers to London. She
16:09
Speaker 1: had never spoken to Marie about it, but many little
16:12
Speaker 1: signs had convinced the maid that her mistress lived in
16:15
Speaker 1: a state of continual nervous apprehension. So far she had
16:19
Speaker 1: got in her narrative when suddenly she sprang from her chair,
16:24
Speaker 1: and her face was convulsed with surprise and fear. See
16:27
Speaker 1: she cried the miscrey and follow Still there is the
16:31
Speaker 1: very man of um. I speak. Through the open sitting
16:35
Speaker 1: room window, I saw a huge, swarthy man with a
16:38
Speaker 1: bristling black beard, walking slowly down the center of the
16:41
Speaker 1: street and staring eagerly at the numbers of the houses.
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Speaker 1: It was clear that, like myself, he was on the
16:49
Speaker 1: track of the maid. Acting upon the impulse of the moment,
16:53
Speaker 1: I rushed out and accosted him. You are an Englishman,
16:57
Speaker 1: I said, What if I am? He asked, with the
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Speaker 1: most villainous scowl. May I ask what your name is? Now?
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Speaker 1: You may not, said he with decision. The situation was awkward,
17:09
Speaker 1: but the most direct way is often the best. Where
17:13
Speaker 1: is the lady Francis Carfax? I asked. He stared at
17:17
Speaker 1: me in amazement. What have you done with her? Why
17:20
Speaker 1: have you pursued her? I insist upon an answer, said I.
17:25
Speaker 1: The fellow gave a bellow of anger and sprang upon
17:28
Speaker 1: me like a tiger. I have held my own in
17:32
Speaker 1: many a struggle, But the man had a grip of
17:35
Speaker 1: iron and the fury of a fiend. His hand was
17:38
Speaker 1: on my throat, and my senses were nearly gone. Before
17:41
Speaker 1: an unshaven French ouvrier in a blue blouse darted out
17:46
Speaker 1: from a cabaret opposite with a cudgel in his hand,
17:49
Speaker 1: and struck my assailant a sharp crack over the forearm,
17:53
Speaker 1: which made him leave go his hold. He stood for
17:56
Speaker 1: an instant fuming with rage and uncertain whether he should
18:00
Speaker 1: not renew his attack. Then, with a snarl of anger,
18:04
Speaker 1: he left me and entered the cottage from which I
18:07
Speaker 1: had just come. I turned to thank my preserver, who
18:11
Speaker 1: stood beside me in the roadway. Well, Watson said he
18:15
Speaker 1: a very pretty hash you have made of it. I
18:18
Speaker 1: rather think you had better come back with me to
18:20
Speaker 1: London by the night express. An hour afterwards, Sherlock Holmes,
18:26
Speaker 1: in his usual garb and style, was seated in my
18:29
Speaker 1: private room at the hotel. His explanation of his sudden
18:34
Speaker 1: and opportune appearance was simplicity itself. For finding that he
18:39
Speaker 1: could get away from London, he determined to head me
18:43
Speaker 1: off at the next obvious point of my travels in
18:47
Speaker 1: the disguise of a working man. He had sat in
18:50
Speaker 1: the cabaret waiting for my appearance, and a singularly consistent
18:55
Speaker 1: investigation you have made, my dear Watson, said he. I
18:59
Speaker 1: cannot at the moment recall any possible blunder which you
19:04
Speaker 1: have omitted. The total effect of your proceedings has been
19:09
Speaker 1: to give the alarm everywhere, and yet to discover nothing.
19:15
Speaker 1: Perhaps you would have done no better, I answered bitterly.
19:20
Speaker 1: There is no perhaps about it. I have done better.
19:24
Speaker 1: Here is the honorable Philip Greene, who is a fellow
19:28
Speaker 1: lodger with you in this hotel, and we may find
19:31
Speaker 1: in him the starting point for a more successful investigation.
19:38
Speaker 1: A card had come up on a salver, and it
19:41
Speaker 1: was followed by the same bearded ruffian who had attacked
19:45
Speaker 1: me in the street. He started when he saw me,
19:49
Speaker 1: What is this, mister Olmes, He asked, I add your
19:52
Speaker 1: note and I have come. But what has this man
19:55
Speaker 1: to do with the matter. This is my old friend
19:58
Speaker 1: and associate, doctor wat who was helping us in this affair.
20:04
Speaker 1: The stranger held out a huge sunburned hand with a
20:07
Speaker 1: few words of apology. I hope I didn't harm you
20:11
Speaker 1: when you accused me of hurting her. I lost my
20:14
Speaker 1: grip of myself. Indeed, I'm not responsible in these days.
20:18
Speaker 1: My nerves are like live wires, and this situation is
20:22
Speaker 1: beyond me. What I want to know in the first place,
20:24
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, is how in the world you came to
20:27
Speaker 1: hear of my existence at all. I am in touch
20:31
Speaker 1: with Miss Dobney, Lady Francis's governess, Old Susan Dobney with
20:36
Speaker 1: the mob cap I remember her well, and she remembers you.
20:41
Speaker 1: It was in the days before before you found it
20:44
Speaker 1: better to go to South Africa. Ah, I see, you
20:49
Speaker 1: know my whole story. I need hide nothing from you.
20:53
Speaker 1: I swear to you, mister Holmes, that there never was
20:56
Speaker 1: in this world a man who loved a woman with
20:58
Speaker 1: a more wholehearted love and I had for Francis. I
21:01
Speaker 1: was a wild youngster, I know, not worse than others
21:05
Speaker 1: of my class. But her mind was pure as snow.
21:11
Speaker 1: She could not bear a shadow of coarseness. So when
21:14
Speaker 1: she came to hear of things that I had done,
21:17
Speaker 1: she would have no more to say to me. And
21:20
Speaker 1: yet she loved me, that is the wonder of it.
21:23
Speaker 1: Loved me well enough to remain single all her sainted days,
21:27
Speaker 1: just for my sake alone. When the years had passed
21:32
Speaker 1: and I had made my money at Barberton, I thought
21:35
Speaker 1: perhaps I could seek her out and soften her. I
21:39
Speaker 1: had heard that she was still unmarried. I found her
21:42
Speaker 1: at Lausanne and tried all I knew. She weakened, I think,
21:47
Speaker 1: but her will was strong, and when next I called
21:50
Speaker 1: she had left the town. I traced her to Baden,
21:54
Speaker 1: and then after a time heard that her maid was here.
21:57
Speaker 1: I'm a rough fellow, fresh from a rough life, and
22:01
Speaker 1: when doctor Watson spoke to me as he did, I
22:03
Speaker 1: lost hold of myself for a moment. But for God's sake,
22:06
Speaker 1: tell me what has become of the lady Francis. That
22:09
Speaker 1: is for us to find out, said Sherlock Holmes, with
22:12
Speaker 1: peculiar gravity. What is your London address, mister Green? The
22:18
Speaker 1: Langamotel will find me. Then, may I recommend that you
22:22
Speaker 1: return there and be on hand in case I should
22:25
Speaker 1: want you. I have no desire to encourage false hopes,
22:29
Speaker 1: but you may rest assured that all that can be
22:32
Speaker 1: done will be done for the safety of Lady Francis.
22:36
Speaker 1: I can say no more for the instant. I will
22:38
Speaker 1: leave you this card so that you may be able
22:41
Speaker 1: to keep in touch with us. Now, Watson, if you
22:43
Speaker 1: will pack your bag, I will cable to missus Hudson
22:47
Speaker 1: to make one of her best efforts for two hungry travelers.
22:51
Speaker 1: At seven thirty to morrow a telegram was awaiting us
22:56
Speaker 1: when we reached our Baker Street rooms, which Holmes read
23:00
Speaker 1: with an exclamation of interest and threw across to me.
23:04
Speaker 1: Jagged or torn was the message and the place of
23:08
Speaker 1: origin Baden? What is this? I asked? It is everything?
23:13
Speaker 1: Holmes answered, you may remember my seemingly irrelevant question as
23:18
Speaker 1: to this clerical gentleman's left ear. You did not answer it.
23:24
Speaker 1: I had left Baden and could not inquire exactly. For
23:28
Speaker 1: this reason I sent a duplicate to the manager of
23:32
Speaker 1: the englisher Hoff whose answer lies here. What does it show?
23:36
Speaker 1: It shows, my dear Watson, that we are dealing with
23:40
Speaker 1: an exceptionally astute and dangerous man. The Reverend Doctor Schlessinger,
23:46
Speaker 1: missionary from South America, is none other than Holy Peters,
23:52
Speaker 1: one of the most unscrupulous rascals that Australia has ever evolved,
23:57
Speaker 1: and for a young country it is turned out some
24:00
Speaker 1: very finished types. His particular speciality is the beguiling of
24:06
Speaker 1: lonely ladies by playing upon their religious feelings, and his
24:11
Speaker 1: so called wife, an englishwoman named Fraser, is a worthy helpmate.
24:18
Speaker 1: The nature of his tactics suggested his identity to me,
24:22
Speaker 1: and this physical peculiarity he was badly bitten in a
24:26
Speaker 1: saloon fight at Adelaide in eighty nine, confirmed my suspicion.
24:32
Speaker 1: This poor lady is in the hands of a most
24:35
Speaker 1: infernal couple who will stick at nothing. Watson, that she
24:39
Speaker 1: is already dead is a very likely supposition. If not,
24:44
Speaker 1: she is undoubtedly in some sort of confinement and unable
24:47
Speaker 1: to write to Miss Dobney or her other friends. It
24:51
Speaker 1: is always possible that she never reached London, or that
24:55
Speaker 1: she has passed through it, but the former is improbable,
24:58
Speaker 1: as with their cister of registration. It is not easy
25:02
Speaker 1: for foreigners to play tricks with the Continental police, and
25:07
Speaker 1: the latter is also unlikely, as these rogues could not
25:10
Speaker 1: hope to find any other place where it would be
25:13
Speaker 1: as easy to keep a person under restraint. All my
25:16
Speaker 1: instincts tell me that she is in London, but as
25:20
Speaker 1: we have at present no possible means of telling, where
25:23
Speaker 1: we can only take the obvious steps, eat our dinner
25:27
Speaker 1: and possess our souls in patience. Later in the evening
25:31
Speaker 1: I will stroll down and have a word with friend
25:33
Speaker 1: Lestrade at Scotland Yard. But neither the official police nor
25:39
Speaker 1: Holmes's own small but very efficient organization sufficed to clear
25:43
Speaker 1: away the mystery. Amid the crowded millions of London. The
25:47
Speaker 1: three persons we sought were as completely obliterated as if
25:51
Speaker 1: they had never lived. Advertisements were tried and failed. Clues
25:56
Speaker 1: were followed and led to nothing. Criminal resort, which Schlessinger
26:02
Speaker 1: might requent, was drawn in vain. His old associates were watched,
26:07
Speaker 1: but they kept clear of him. And then suddenly, after
26:11
Speaker 1: a week of helpless suspense, there came a flash of light.
26:16
Speaker 1: A silver and brilliant pendant of old Spanish design had
26:20
Speaker 1: been pawned at Bevington's in Westminster Road. The pawner was
26:24
Speaker 1: a large, clean shaven man of clerical appearance. His name
26:29
Speaker 1: and address were demonstrably false. The ear had escaped notice,
26:35
Speaker 1: but the description was surely that of Schlessinger. Three times
26:41
Speaker 1: had our bearded friend from the Langham called for news.
26:44
Speaker 1: The third time within an hour of this fresh development,
26:49
Speaker 1: his clothes were getting looser on his great body. He
26:52
Speaker 1: seemed to be wilting away in his anxiety. If you
26:55
Speaker 1: will only give me something to do, was his constant wail.
27:00
Speaker 1: At last, Holmes could oblige him. He has begun to
27:04
Speaker 1: pawn the jewels. We should get him now. But does
27:08
Speaker 1: this mean that any harm has befallen? The lady Francis
27:12
Speaker 1: Holmes shook his head very gravely. Supposing that they have
27:16
Speaker 1: held her prisoner up to now, it is clear that
27:19
Speaker 1: they cannot let her loose without their own destruction. We
27:23
Speaker 1: must prepare for the worst. What can I do? These
27:28
Speaker 1: people do not know you by sight. No, it is
27:32
Speaker 1: possible that he will go to some other pawnbroker in
27:36
Speaker 1: the future. In that case we must begin again. On
27:39
Speaker 1: the other hand, he has had a fair price and
27:42
Speaker 1: no questions asked, so if he is in need of
27:46
Speaker 1: ready money, he will probably come back to Bevington's. I
27:51
Speaker 1: will give you a note to them, and they will
27:53
Speaker 1: let you wait in the shop. If the fellow comes,
27:57
Speaker 1: you will follow him home, But no indiscretion, and above
28:01
Speaker 1: all no violence. I put you on your honor that
28:04
Speaker 1: you will take no step without my knowledge and consent
28:09
Speaker 1: for two days. The honorable Philip Greene, he was, I
28:13
Speaker 1: may mention, the son of the famous admiral of that name,
28:16
Speaker 1: who commanded the Sea of azof Fleet in the Crimean
28:19
Speaker 1: War brought us no news. On the evening of the third,
28:24
Speaker 1: he rushed into our sitting room, pale, trembling with every
28:28
Speaker 1: muscle of his powerful frame, quivering with excitement. We have him,
28:33
Speaker 1: We have him, he cried. He was incoherent in his agitation.
28:39
Speaker 1: Holmes soothed him with a few words and thrust him
28:42
Speaker 1: into an armchair. Come now, give us the order of events,
28:47
Speaker 1: said he. She came only an hour ago. It was
28:51
Speaker 1: the wife this time, but the pendant she brought was
28:54
Speaker 1: the fellow of the other. She is a tall, pale
28:57
Speaker 1: woman with ferret eyes. That is the lady, said Holmes.
29:02
Speaker 1: She left the office and I followed her. She walked
29:04
Speaker 1: up the Kennington Road, and I kept behind her. Presently
29:08
Speaker 1: she went into a shop. Mister Holmes, it was an
29:11
Speaker 1: undertaker's my companion started well, he asked, in that vibrant
29:18
Speaker 1: voice which told of the fiery soul behind the cold
29:21
Speaker 1: gray face. She was talking to the woman behind the counter.
29:26
Speaker 1: I entered as well. It is late, I heard her
29:30
Speaker 1: say words to that effect. The woman was excusing herself.
29:34
Speaker 1: It should be there before now, she answered. It took longer,
29:38
Speaker 1: being out of the ordinary. They both stopped and looked
29:41
Speaker 1: at me, so I asked some question and then left
29:44
Speaker 1: the shop. You did excellently well. What happened next? The
29:50
Speaker 1: woman came out, but I had did myself in a doorway.
29:53
Speaker 1: Her suspicions had been aroused, I think, for she looked
29:56
Speaker 1: round her. Then she called a cab and got in.
30:00
Speaker 1: I was lucky enough to get another, and so to
30:02
Speaker 1: follow her. She got down at last at number thirty
30:04
Speaker 1: six Pulteney Square, Brixton. I drove past, left my cab
30:08
Speaker 1: at the corner of the square and watched the house.
30:12
Speaker 1: Did you see anyone? The windows were all in darkness
30:15
Speaker 1: save one on the lower floor. The blind was down
30:18
Speaker 1: and I could not see in. I was standing there
30:21
Speaker 1: wondering what I should do next, when a covered van
30:24
Speaker 1: drove up with two men in it. They descended, took
30:27
Speaker 1: something out of the van and carried it up the
30:29
Speaker 1: steps to the hall door. Mister Holmes, it was a coffin. Ah.
30:35
Speaker 1: For an instant I was on the point of rushing in.
30:38
Speaker 1: The door had been opened to admit the men, and
30:40
Speaker 1: they're burdened. It was the woman who had opened it.
30:44
Speaker 1: But as I stood there, she caught a glimpse of me,
30:48
Speaker 1: and I think that she recognized me. I saw her start,
30:51
Speaker 1: and she hastily closed the door. I remembered my promise
30:55
Speaker 1: to you, and here I am. You have done excellent work,
30:59
Speaker 1: said Ho, scribbling a few words upon a half sheet
31:02
Speaker 1: of paper. We can do nothing legal without a warrant,
31:07
Speaker 1: and you can serve the cause best by taking this
31:10
Speaker 1: note down to the authorities and getting one. There may
31:13
Speaker 1: be some difficulty, but I should think that the sale
31:16
Speaker 1: of the jewelry should be sufficient. Lestrade will see to
31:19
Speaker 1: all details. But they may murder her in the mean while,
31:23
Speaker 1: what could the coffin mean? And for whom could it be?
31:27
Speaker 1: But for her? We will do all that can be done,
31:30
Speaker 1: mister Green, not a moment will be lost. Leave it
31:33
Speaker 1: in our hands now, Watson, he added, as our client
31:37
Speaker 1: hurried away, he will set the regular forces on the move.
31:41
Speaker 1: We are, as usual the irregulars and must take our
31:45
Speaker 1: own line of action. The situation strikes me as so
31:48
Speaker 1: desperate that the most extreme measures are justified. Not a
31:52
Speaker 1: moment is to be lost in getting to Poultney Square.
31:56
Speaker 1: Let us try to reconstruct the situation, said he, as
32:00
Speaker 1: we drove swiftly past the Houses of Parliament and over
32:03
Speaker 1: Westminster Bridge. These villains have coaxed this unhappy lady to London,
32:09
Speaker 1: after first alienating her from her faithful maid. If she
32:13
Speaker 1: has written any letters, they have been intercepted through some confederate.
32:18
Speaker 1: They have engaged a furnished house. Once inside it, they
32:23
Speaker 1: have made her a prisoner. And they have become possessed
32:26
Speaker 1: of the valuable jewelry, which has been their object from
32:29
Speaker 1: the first. Already they have begun to sell part of it,
32:33
Speaker 1: which seems safe enough to them, since they have no
32:35
Speaker 1: reason to think that anyone is interested in the lady's fate.
32:39
Speaker 1: When she is released, she will of course denounce them.
32:42
Speaker 1: Therefore she must not be released. But they cannot keep
32:46
Speaker 1: her under lock and key forever. So murder is their
32:49
Speaker 1: only solution. That seems very clear. Now we will take
32:54
Speaker 1: another line of reasoning. When you follow two separate chains
32:58
Speaker 1: of thought, Watson, you will find in some point of
33:00
Speaker 1: intersection which should approximate to the truth. We will start
33:06
Speaker 1: now not from the lady, but from the coffin, and
33:09
Speaker 1: argue backwards. That incident proves, I fear beyond all doubt,
33:14
Speaker 1: that the lady is dead. It points also to an
33:16
Speaker 1: orthodox burial with proper accompaniment of medical certificate and official sanction.
33:23
Speaker 1: Had the lady been obviously murdered, they would have buried
33:26
Speaker 1: her in a hole in the back garden. But here
33:29
Speaker 1: all is open and regular. What does that mean? Surely
33:33
Speaker 1: that they have done her to death in some way
33:36
Speaker 1: which has deceived the doctor and simulated a natural end
33:42
Speaker 1: poisoning perhaps, And yet how strange that they should ever
33:47
Speaker 1: let a doctor approach her, unless he were a confederate,
33:52
Speaker 1: which is hardly a credible proposition. Could they have forged
33:55
Speaker 1: a medical certificate? Dangerous, Watson, very dangerous? No, I ha
34:00
Speaker 1: see them doing that. Pull up, Cabby. This is evidently
34:03
Speaker 1: the undertakers, for we have just passed the pawnbrokers. Would
34:07
Speaker 1: you go in, Watson, your appearance inspires confidence. Ask what
34:12
Speaker 1: hour the Pultney Square funeral takes place tomorrow? The woman
34:16
Speaker 1: in the shop answered me, without hesitation, that it was
34:19
Speaker 1: to be at eight o'clock in the morning. You see, Watson,
34:22
Speaker 1: no mystery. Everything above ball in some way. The legal
34:28
Speaker 1: forms have undoubtedly been complied with, and they think that
34:31
Speaker 1: they have little to fear. Well, there is nothing for
34:35
Speaker 1: it now but a direct frontal attack. Are you armed
34:39
Speaker 1: my stick? Well? Well, we shall be strong enough thrice
34:44
Speaker 1: is he armed? Who hath his quarrel? Just We simply
34:48
Speaker 1: can't afford to wait for the police or to keep
34:50
Speaker 1: within the four corners of the law. You can drive off, Cabby, now, Watson,
34:55
Speaker 1: we'll just take our luck together, as we have occasionally
34:58
Speaker 1: done in the past. He had rung loudly at the
35:02
Speaker 1: door of a great dark house in the center of
35:05
Speaker 1: Pulteney's Square. It was opened immediately, and the figure of
35:09
Speaker 1: a tall woman was outlined against the dimlit hall. Well
35:14
Speaker 1: what do you want, she asked, sharply, peering at us
35:17
Speaker 1: through the darkness. I want to speak to doctor Schlessinger,
35:20
Speaker 1: said Holmes. There is no such person here, she answered,
35:24
Speaker 1: and tried to close the door, but Holmes had jammed
35:27
Speaker 1: it with his foot. Well, I want to see the
35:30
Speaker 1: man who lives here, whatever he may call himself, said
35:34
Speaker 1: Holmes firmly. She hesitated, then she threw open the door. Well,
35:39
Speaker 1: come in, said she. My husband is not afraid to
35:42
Speaker 1: face any man in the world. She closed the door
35:45
Speaker 1: behind us and showed us into a sitting room on
35:48
Speaker 1: the right side of the hall, turning up the gas
35:51
Speaker 1: as she left us. Mister Peters will be with you
35:54
Speaker 1: in an instant, she said. Her words were literally true,
35:58
Speaker 1: for we had hardly time to look ground the dusty
36:01
Speaker 1: and moth eaten apartment in which we found ourselves before
36:04
Speaker 1: the door opened and a big, clean, shaven, bald headed
36:08
Speaker 1: man stepped lightly into the room. He had a large
36:12
Speaker 1: red face with pendulous cheeks, and a general air of
36:15
Speaker 1: superficial benevolence, which was marred by a cruel and vicious mouth.
36:21
Speaker 1: There is surely some mistake here, gentlemen, he said, in
36:25
Speaker 1: an unctuous, make everything easy voice. I fancy that you
36:30
Speaker 1: have been misdirected. Possibly if you tried farther down the street,
36:35
Speaker 1: that will do. We have no time to waste, said
36:38
Speaker 1: my companion firmly. You are Henry Peters of Adelaide, late
36:43
Speaker 1: the reverend doctor Schlessinger of Baden and South America. I
36:47
Speaker 1: am sure of that, as that my own name is
36:50
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. Peters, as I will now call him, started
36:55
Speaker 1: and stared hard at his formidable pursuer. I guess your
36:59
Speaker 1: name does not fighten me, mister Holmes, said he coolly.
37:03
Speaker 1: When a man's conscience is easy, you can't rattle him.
37:06
Speaker 1: What is your business in my house? I want to
37:09
Speaker 1: know what you have done with lady Francis Carfax, whom
37:12
Speaker 1: you brought away with you from Baden. I'd be very
37:15
Speaker 1: grateful if you could tell me where that lady may be.
37:19
Speaker 1: Peters answered coolly. I've a bill against her for nearly
37:22
Speaker 1: a hundred pounds and nothing to show for it but
37:25
Speaker 1: a couple of trumpery pendants that the dealer would hardly
37:28
Speaker 1: look at. She attached herself to missus Peters and me
37:32
Speaker 1: at Barden. It is a fact that I was using
37:35
Speaker 1: another name at the time, and she stuck on to
37:38
Speaker 1: us until we came to London. I paid her bill
37:41
Speaker 1: and her ticket. Once in London, she gave us the slip, and,
37:44
Speaker 1: as I say, left these out of day jewels to
37:47
Speaker 1: pay her bills. You find her, mister Holmes, and I'm
37:51
Speaker 1: your debtor. I mean to find her, said Sherlock Holmes.
37:55
Speaker 1: I'm going through this house till I do find her.
37:57
Speaker 1: Where is your warrant? Home? Half drew a revolver from
38:01
Speaker 1: his pocket. This will have to serve till a better
38:04
Speaker 1: one comes. Why you're a common burglar, so you might
38:07
Speaker 1: describe me, said Holmes cheerfully. My companion is also a
38:11
Speaker 1: dangerous ruffian and together. We are going through your house.
38:16
Speaker 1: Our opponent opened the door fetch a policeman. Nanny said
38:19
Speaker 1: he There was a whisk of feminine skirts down the passage,
38:23
Speaker 1: and the hall door was opened and shut. Our time
38:26
Speaker 1: is limited, Watson, said Holmes. If you try to stop
38:29
Speaker 1: as Peter's you will most certainly get hurt. Where is
38:32
Speaker 1: that coffin which was brought into your house? What do
38:36
Speaker 1: you want with the coffin? It's in use. There's a
38:38
Speaker 1: body in it. I must see that body, never with
38:41
Speaker 1: my consent, then without it. With a quick movement, Holmes
38:46
Speaker 1: pushed the fellow to one side and passed into the hall.
38:50
Speaker 1: A door half open stood immediately before us. We entered.
38:54
Speaker 1: It was the dining room. On the table under a
38:57
Speaker 1: half lit chandelier, the coffin was lying. Holmes turned up
39:01
Speaker 1: the gas and raised the lid. Deep down in the
39:04
Speaker 1: recesses of the coffin lay an emaciated figure. The glare
39:09
Speaker 1: from the lights above beat down upon an aged and
39:12
Speaker 1: withered face. By no possible process of cruelty, starvation, or disease,
39:17
Speaker 1: could this worn out wreck be the still beautiful lady
39:21
Speaker 1: Francis Holmes's face showed his amazement and also his relief.
39:26
Speaker 1: Thank god, he muttered, it's some one else. Ah, you've
39:30
Speaker 1: blundered badly for once, mister Sherlock Holmes, said Peters, who
39:34
Speaker 1: had followed us into the room. Who is this dead woman? Well,
39:38
Speaker 1: if you really must now, she's an old nurse of
39:40
Speaker 1: my wife's Rose Spender her name, and we found in
39:44
Speaker 1: the Brixton Workhouse infirmary. We brought around here called in
39:49
Speaker 1: doctor Howson of thirteen Firbank Villas. Mind you take the address,
39:53
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, and had her carefully tended as Christian folk should.
39:58
Speaker 1: On the third day she died. Certificate says senile decay.
40:02
Speaker 1: But that's only the doctor's opinion, and of course you
40:05
Speaker 1: know better. We ordered her funeral to be carried out
40:09
Speaker 1: by Stimson and Co of the Kennington Road, who will
40:12
Speaker 1: bury her at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Can you pick
40:15
Speaker 1: any hole in that? Mister Holmes, You've made a silly
40:18
Speaker 1: blunder and you may as well own up to it.
40:22
Speaker 1: I'd give something for a photograph of your gaping, staring
40:25
Speaker 1: face when you pulled aside that lid expecting to see
40:29
Speaker 1: the lady Francis Carfax and only found a poor old
40:32
Speaker 1: woman of ninety. Holmes's expression was as impassive as ever
40:38
Speaker 1: under the jeers of his antagonist, but his clenched hands
40:42
Speaker 1: betrayed his acute annoyance. I am going through your house,
40:46
Speaker 1: said he, are you, though, cried Peters, as a woman's
40:50
Speaker 1: voice and heavy steps sounded in the passage. We'll soon
40:54
Speaker 1: see about that. This way, officers, if you please. These
40:57
Speaker 1: men have forced their way into my house and I
41:00
Speaker 1: cannot get rid of them. Help me to put them out.
41:03
Speaker 1: A sergeant and a constable stood in the doorway. Holmes
41:07
Speaker 1: drew his card from his case. This is my name
41:09
Speaker 1: and address. This is my friend, doctor Watson. Bless you, sir.
41:13
Speaker 1: We know you very well, said the sergeant. But you
41:16
Speaker 1: can't stay here without a warrant. Of course, not I
41:19
Speaker 1: quite understand that. Arrest him, cried Peters. We know where
41:24
Speaker 1: to lay our hands on this gentleman if he is wanted,
41:27
Speaker 1: said the sergeant majestically. But you will have to go,
41:31
Speaker 1: mister Olmes, Yes, Watson, we shall have to go. A
41:35
Speaker 1: minute later we were in the street once more. Holmes
41:39
Speaker 1: was as cool as ever, but I was hot with
41:42
Speaker 1: anger and humiliation. The sergeant had followed us. Sorry, mister Olmes.
41:47
Speaker 1: But as the law exactly, sergeant, you could not do otherwise.
41:52
Speaker 1: I expect there was a good reason for your presence there.
41:54
Speaker 1: If there is anything I can do, it's a missing lady, sergeant,
41:58
Speaker 1: and we think she is in that house. I expect
42:00
Speaker 1: a warrant presently. Then I'll keep my arm the parties,
42:03
Speaker 1: mister arms. If anything comes along, I will surely let
42:06
Speaker 1: you know. It was only nine o'clock and we were
42:10
Speaker 1: off full cry upon the trail at once. First we
42:15
Speaker 1: drove to Brixton Workhouse Infirmary, where we found that it
42:18
Speaker 1: was indeed the truth that a charitable couple had called
42:21
Speaker 1: some days before that they had claimed an imbecile old
42:25
Speaker 1: woman as a former servant, and that they had obtained
42:29
Speaker 1: permission to take her away with them. No surprise was
42:32
Speaker 1: expressed at the news that she had since died. The
42:36
Speaker 1: doctor was our next goal. He had been called in,
42:39
Speaker 1: had found the woman dying of pure sinility, had actually
42:43
Speaker 1: seen her pass away, and had signed the certificate in
42:46
Speaker 1: due form. I assure you that everything was perfectly normal
42:50
Speaker 1: and there was no room for foul play in the matter,
42:52
Speaker 1: said he. Nothing in the house had struck him as suspicious.
42:57
Speaker 1: Save that for people of their class. It was remarked
43:00
Speaker 1: that they should have no servant so far, and no
43:04
Speaker 1: farther went the doctor. Finally we found our way to
43:08
Speaker 1: Scotland Yard. There had been difficulties of procedure in regard
43:13
Speaker 1: to the warrant. Some delay was inevitable. The magistrate's signature
43:18
Speaker 1: might not be obtained until next morning. If Holmes would
43:21
Speaker 1: call about nine, he could go down with Lestrade and
43:24
Speaker 1: see it acted upon. So ended the day, save that
43:29
Speaker 1: near midnight our friend the sergeant called to say that
43:31
Speaker 1: he had seen flickering lights here and there in the
43:34
Speaker 1: windows of the great dark house, but that no one
43:37
Speaker 1: had left it and none had entered. We could but
43:41
Speaker 1: pray for patience and wait for the morrow. Sherlock Holmes
43:46
Speaker 1: was too irritable for conversation and too restless for sleep.
43:50
Speaker 1: I left him smoking hard, with his heavy dark brows
43:54
Speaker 1: knotted together and his long nervous fingers tapping upon the
43:57
Speaker 1: arms of his chair, as he to and over in
44:00
Speaker 1: his mind every possible solution of the mystery. Several times
44:05
Speaker 1: in the course of the night I heard him prowling
44:07
Speaker 1: about the house. Finally, just after I had been called
44:11
Speaker 1: in the morning, he rushed into my room. He was
44:15
Speaker 1: in his dressing gown, but his pale, hollow eyed face
44:19
Speaker 1: told me that his night had been a sleepless one.
44:22
Speaker 1: What time was the funeral? Eight? Was it not, he
44:24
Speaker 1: asked eagerly. Well it is seven twenty now, good heavens Watson,
44:29
Speaker 1: What has become of any brains that God has given me?
44:32
Speaker 1: Quick man, quick, it's life or death. A hundred chances
44:35
Speaker 1: on death to one on life. I'll never forgive myself,
44:38
Speaker 1: never if we are too late. Five minutes had not
44:42
Speaker 1: passed before we were flying in a handsome down Baker Street.
44:46
Speaker 1: But even so it was twenty five to eight as
44:48
Speaker 1: we passed Big Ben, and eight struck as we tore
44:52
Speaker 1: down the Brixton Road. But others were late as well
44:55
Speaker 1: as we. Ten minutes after the hour, the hearse was
44:59
Speaker 1: still standing at the door of the house, and even
45:03
Speaker 1: as our foaming horse came to a halt, the coffin,
45:06
Speaker 1: supported by three men, appeared on the threshold. Homes darted
45:10
Speaker 1: forward and barred their way. Take it back, he cried,
45:13
Speaker 1: laying his hands on the breast of the foremost. Take
45:16
Speaker 1: it back this instant, What the devil do you mean?
45:20
Speaker 1: Once again, I ask you, where is your warrant? Shouted
45:24
Speaker 1: the furious Peters, his big red face glaring over the
45:27
Speaker 1: farther end of the coffin. The warrant is on its way.
45:31
Speaker 1: This coffin shall remain in the house until it comes.
45:35
Speaker 1: The authority in Holmes's voice had its effect upon the bearers.
45:39
Speaker 1: Peters had suddenly vanished into the house, and they obeyed
45:42
Speaker 1: these new orders. Quick, Watson, quick, Here is a screwdriver,
45:46
Speaker 1: he shouted, as the coffin was replaced upon the table.
45:49
Speaker 1: Here's one for you, my man, a sovereign. If the
45:51
Speaker 1: lid comes off in a minute, ask no questions, work away.
45:55
Speaker 1: That's good. Another and another. Now pull all together. It's given,
46:00
Speaker 1: it's giving. Ah, that does it. At last, with the
46:04
Speaker 1: united effort, we tore off the coffin lid. As we
46:07
Speaker 1: did so, there came from the inside a stupefying and
46:11
Speaker 1: overpowering smell of chloroform. Her body lay within its head,
46:17
Speaker 1: all wreathed in cotton wool which had been soaked in
46:21
Speaker 1: the narcotic Holmes plucked it off and disclosed the statuesque
46:25
Speaker 1: face of a handsome and spiritual woman of middle age.
46:30
Speaker 1: In an instant, he had passed his arm round the
46:32
Speaker 1: figure and raised her to a sitting position. Is she gone, Watson?
46:36
Speaker 1: Is there a spark left? Surely we are not too late.
46:40
Speaker 1: For half an hour it seemed that we were. What
46:44
Speaker 1: with actual suffocation, and what with the poisonous fumes of
46:48
Speaker 1: the chloroform, the lady Francis seemed to have passed the
46:52
Speaker 1: last point of recall, and then at last, with artificial respiration,
46:58
Speaker 1: with injected ether, with every device that science could suggest,
47:01
Speaker 1: some flutter of life, some quiver of the eyelid, some
47:04
Speaker 1: dimming of a mirror, spoke of the slowly returning life.
47:10
Speaker 1: A cab had driven up, and Holmes, parting the blind,
47:14
Speaker 1: looked out at it. Here is Lestrade, with his warrant,
47:17
Speaker 1: said he he will find that his birds have flown.
47:20
Speaker 1: And here, he added, as a heavy step hurried along
47:24
Speaker 1: the passage, is someone who has a better right to
47:28
Speaker 1: nurse this lady than we have. Good morning, mister Green.
47:31
Speaker 1: I think that the sooner we can move the lady Francis,
47:34
Speaker 1: the better. Meanwhile, the funeral may proceed, and the poor
47:38
Speaker 1: old woman who still lies in that coffin may go
47:41
Speaker 1: to her last resting place alone. Should you care to
47:48
Speaker 1: advocate to your annals, my dear Watson, said Holmes, that
47:51
Speaker 1: evening it can only be as an example of that
47:55
Speaker 1: temporary eclipse to which even the best balanced mind be exposed.
48:01
Speaker 1: Such slips are common to all mortals, and the greatest
48:04
Speaker 1: is he who can recognize and repair them. To this
48:10
Speaker 1: modified credit, I may perhaps make some claim. My night
48:15
Speaker 1: was haunted by the thought that somewhere, a clue, a
48:18
Speaker 1: strange sentence, a curious observation, had come under my notice,
48:23
Speaker 1: and had been too easily dismissed. Then suddenly, in the
48:27
Speaker 1: gray of the morning, the words came back to me.
48:30
Speaker 1: It was the remark of the undertaker's wife, as reported
48:33
Speaker 1: by Philip Greene. She had said it should be there
48:37
Speaker 1: before now it took longer, being out of the ordinary.
48:42
Speaker 1: It was the coffin of which she spoke. It had
48:45
Speaker 1: been out of the ordinary. That could only mean that
48:48
Speaker 1: it had been made to some special measurement. But why why? Then,
48:53
Speaker 1: In an instant, I remembered the deep sides and the
48:57
Speaker 1: little wasted figure at the bottom. Why so large a
49:00
Speaker 1: coffin for so small a body, to leave room for
49:05
Speaker 1: another body? Both would be buried under the one certificate
49:09
Speaker 1: it had all been so clear. If only my own
49:13
Speaker 1: sight had not been dimmed at eight, the Lady Francis
49:17
Speaker 1: would be buried. Our one chance was to stop the
49:20
Speaker 1: coffin before it left the house. It was a desperate
49:24
Speaker 1: chance that we might find her alive. But it was
49:27
Speaker 1: a chance. As the results showed. These people had never,
49:31
Speaker 1: to my knowledge, done a murder. They might shrink from
49:35
Speaker 1: actual violence. At the last. They could bury her with
49:39
Speaker 1: no sign of how she met her end, And even
49:42
Speaker 1: if she were exhumed, there was a chance for them.
49:45
Speaker 1: I hoped that such considerations might prevail with them. You
49:51
Speaker 1: can reconstruct the scene well enough. You saw the horrible
49:54
Speaker 1: den upstairs where the poor lady had been kept so long.
49:58
Speaker 1: They rushed in and over powered her with their chloroform,
50:01
Speaker 1: carried her down, poured more into the coffin to insure
50:05
Speaker 1: against her wakening, and then screwed down the lid. A
50:09
Speaker 1: clever device, Watson, It is new to me in the
50:12
Speaker 1: annuals of crime. If our ex missionary friends escape the
50:17
Speaker 1: clutches of Lestrade, I shall expect to hear of some
50:21
Speaker 1: brilliant incidents in their future career. That is the end
50:31
Speaker 1: of the disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax by Sir Arthur
50:37
Speaker 1: Conan Doyle, narrated by Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio twenty nineteen.