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21 The Resident Patient from The Memoirs of Sherlock · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The adventure of the resident patient. In glancing over the
0:07
Speaker 1: somewhat incoherent series of memoirs with which I have endeavored
0:10
Speaker 1: to illustrate a few of the mental peculiarities of my
0:13
Speaker 1: friend mister Sherlock Holmes, I have been struck by the
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Speaker 1: difficulty which I've experienced in picking out examples which shall
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Speaker 1: in every way answer my purpose, or in those cases
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Speaker 1: in which Holmes has performed some tour de force of
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Speaker 1: analytical reasoning and has demonstrated the value of his peculiar
0:32
Speaker 1: methods of investigation, the facts themselves have often been so
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Speaker 1: slight or so commonplace, that I could not feel justified
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Speaker 1: in laying them before the public. On the other hand,
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Speaker 1: it has frequently happened that he has been concerned in
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Speaker 1: some research where the facts have been of the most
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Speaker 1: remarkable and dramatic character, but where the share which he
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Speaker 1: has himself taken in determining their causes has been less
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Speaker 1: pronounced than I, as his biographer, could wish. The small
1:01
Speaker 1: matter which I have chronicled under the heading of a
1:04
Speaker 1: study in Scarlet, and that other later one connected with
1:08
Speaker 1: the loss of the glorious Scott, may serve as examples
1:12
Speaker 1: of this Scilla and Charybdis, which are forever threatening his historian.
1:18
Speaker 1: It may be that, in the business of which I
1:20
Speaker 1: am now about to write, the part which my friend
1:23
Speaker 1: played is not sufficiently accentuated. And yet the whole train
1:28
Speaker 1: of circumstances is so remarkable that I cannot bring myself
1:32
Speaker 1: to omit it entirely from this series. I cannot be
1:37
Speaker 1: sure of the exact date, for some of my memoranda
1:41
Speaker 1: upon the matter have been mislaid, but it must have
1:44
Speaker 1: been towards the end of the first year during which
1:47
Speaker 1: Holmes and I shared chambers in Baker Street. It was
1:51
Speaker 1: boisterous October weather, and we had both remained indoors all day,
1:57
Speaker 1: I because I feared with my shaken health to face
2:01
Speaker 1: the keen autumn wind. While he was deep in some
2:05
Speaker 1: of those obstruse chemical investigations, which absorbed him utterly as
2:09
Speaker 1: long as he was engaged upon them. Towards evening, however,
2:13
Speaker 1: the breaking of a test tube brought his research to
2:16
Speaker 1: a premature ending, and he sprang up from his chair
2:20
Speaker 1: with an exclamation of impatience and a clouded brow. A
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Speaker 1: day's work ruined, Watson said, he striding across to the
2:27
Speaker 1: window Ah, the stars are out and the wind has fallen.
2:31
Speaker 1: What do you say to a ramble through London? I
2:35
Speaker 1: was weary of our little sitting room and gladly acquiesced,
2:38
Speaker 1: muffling myself nose high against the keen night air. For
2:43
Speaker 1: three hours we strolled about together, watching the ever changing
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Speaker 1: kaleidoscope of life as it ebbs and flows through Fleet
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Speaker 1: Street and the strand homes. Had shaken off his temporary
2:54
Speaker 1: ill humor, and his characteristic talk, with its keen observance
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Speaker 1: of detail and subtle power of inference, held me amused
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Speaker 1: and enthralled. It was ten o'clock before we reached Baker
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Speaker 1: Street again. A broom was waiting at our door. Hum
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Speaker 1: a doctor's general practitioner, I perceive, said Holmes, not been
3:16
Speaker 1: long in practice or had much to do, come to
3:19
Speaker 1: consult us. I fancy lucky we came back. I was
3:24
Speaker 1: sufficiently conversant with Holmes's methods to be able to follow
3:28
Speaker 1: his reasoning, and to see that the nature and state
3:31
Speaker 1: of the various medical instruments in the wicker basket which
3:34
Speaker 1: hung in the lamp light inside the broom, had given
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Speaker 1: him the data for his swift deduction. The light in
3:41
Speaker 1: our window above showed that this late visitor was indeed
3:44
Speaker 1: intended for us. With some curiosity as to what could
3:48
Speaker 1: have sent a brother Medico to us at such an hour,
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Speaker 1: I followed Holmes into our sanctum. A pale, taper faced
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Speaker 1: man with sandy whiskers rose up from a chair by
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Speaker 1: the fire as we entered. His age may not have
4:02
Speaker 1: been more than three or four and thirty at His
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Speaker 1: haggard expression and unhealthy hue told of a life which
4:09
Speaker 1: had sapped his strength and robbed him of his youth.
4:12
Speaker 1: His manner was nervous and shy, like that of a
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Speaker 1: sensitive gentleman, and the thin white hand which he laid
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Speaker 1: on the mantel piece as he rose was that of
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Speaker 1: an artist rather than of a surgeon. His dress was
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Speaker 1: quiet and somber, a black frock coat, dark trousers, and
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Speaker 1: a touch of color about his neck tie. Good evening, doctor,
4:32
Speaker 1: said Holmes cheerily. I am glad to see that you
4:35
Speaker 1: have only been waiting a very few minutes. You spoke
4:38
Speaker 1: to my coachman. Then, no, it was the candle on
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Speaker 1: the side table that told me, pray, resume your seat
4:45
Speaker 1: and let me know how I can serve you. My
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Speaker 1: name is doctor Percy Trevellian, said our visitor, and I
4:52
Speaker 1: live at four hundred and three Brook Street. Are you
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Speaker 1: not the author of a monograph upon Obscure Nervous Lesions?
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Speaker 1: I asked, his pale cheeks flushed with pleasure at hearing
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Speaker 1: that his work was known to me. I so seldom
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Speaker 1: hear of the work that I thought it was quite dead,
5:09
Speaker 1: said he. My publishers give me a most discouraging account
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Speaker 1: of its sale. You are, yourself, I presume, a medical man,
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Speaker 1: a retired army surgeon. My own hobby has always been
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Speaker 1: nervous disease. I should wish to make it an absolute specialty,
5:27
Speaker 1: but of course a man must take what he can
5:30
Speaker 1: get at first. This, however, is beside the question, mister
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Speaker 1: Shellock Holmes, and I quite appreciate how valuable your time is.
5:40
Speaker 1: The fact is that a very singular train of events
5:43
Speaker 1: has occurred recently at my house in Brook Street, and
5:46
Speaker 1: to night there came to such a head that I
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Speaker 1: felt it was quite impossible for me to wait another
5:51
Speaker 1: hour before asking for your advice and assistance. Shellock Holmes
5:57
Speaker 1: sat down and lit his pipe. You are very well
6:00
Speaker 1: welcome to both, said he. Pray. Let me have a
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Speaker 1: detailed account of what the circumstances are which have disturbed you.
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Speaker 1: One or two of them are so trivial, said Doctor Trevellian,
6:11
Speaker 1: that really I am almost ashamed to mention them. But
6:15
Speaker 1: the matter is so inexplicable, and the recent turn which
6:18
Speaker 1: it has taken is so elaborate, that I shall lay
6:20
Speaker 1: it all before you, and you shall judge what is
6:23
Speaker 1: essential and what is not. I am compelled to begin
6:28
Speaker 1: with to say something of my own college career. I
6:32
Speaker 1: am a London University man, you know, and I am
6:35
Speaker 1: sure you will not think that I am unduly singing
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Speaker 1: my own praises if I say that my student career
6:41
Speaker 1: was considered by my professors to be a very promising one.
6:45
Speaker 1: After I had graduated, I continued to devote myself to research,
6:49
Speaker 1: occupying a minor position in King's College Hospital, and I
6:53
Speaker 1: was fortunate enough to excite considerable interest by my research
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Speaker 1: into the pathology of catalepsy, and finally to win the
7:01
Speaker 1: Bruce Pinkton Prize and medle by the monograph on Nervous
7:05
Speaker 1: Lesions to which your friend has just alluded. I should
7:09
Speaker 1: not go too far if I were to say that
7:12
Speaker 1: there was a general impression at that time that a
7:14
Speaker 1: distinguished career lay before me. But the one great stumbling
7:19
Speaker 1: block lay in my want of capital. As you will
7:23
Speaker 1: readily understand, a specialist who aims high is compelled to
7:26
Speaker 1: start in one of a dozen streets in the Cavendish
7:29
Speaker 1: Square quarter, all of which entail enormous rents and furnishing expenses.
7:35
Speaker 1: Besides this preliminary outlay, he must be prepared to keep
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Speaker 1: himself for some years, and to hire a presentable carriage
7:42
Speaker 1: and horse. To do this was quite beyond my power,
7:46
Speaker 1: and I could only hope that by economy I might
7:49
Speaker 1: in ten years time save enough to enable me to
7:52
Speaker 1: put up my plate. Suddenly, however, an unexpected incident opened
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Speaker 1: up quite a new prospect to me. This was a
8:00
Speaker 1: visit from a gentleman of the name of Blessington, who
8:04
Speaker 1: was a complete stranger to me. He came up into
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Speaker 1: my room one morning and plunged into business in an instant.
8:12
Speaker 1: You are the same Percy Trevellian who has had so
8:15
Speaker 1: distinguished a career and won a great prize lately, said he.
8:21
Speaker 1: I bowed, answer me frankly, he continued, for you will
8:26
Speaker 1: find it to your interest to do so. You have
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Speaker 1: all the cleverness which makes a successful man, have you
8:32
Speaker 1: the tact? I could not help smiling at the abruptness
8:36
Speaker 1: of the question. I trust that I have my share,
8:39
Speaker 1: I said, any bad habits not drawn towards drink y? Really, sir,
8:44
Speaker 1: I cried, quite right, that's all right. But I was
8:48
Speaker 1: bound to ask, with all these qualities, why are you
8:52
Speaker 1: not in practice? I shrugged my shoulders. Come, come, said
8:57
Speaker 1: he in his bustling way. It's the old story. More
9:00
Speaker 1: in your brains than in your pocket. Day. What would
9:02
Speaker 1: you say if I were to start you in brook Street?
9:06
Speaker 1: I stared at him in astonishment. Oh, it's for my sake,
9:09
Speaker 1: not for yours, he cried. I'll be perfectly frank with you,
9:13
Speaker 1: and if it suits you, it will suit me very well.
9:15
Speaker 1: I have a few thousands to invest, you see, and
9:19
Speaker 1: I think I'll sink them in you. But why, I gasped, Well,
9:23
Speaker 1: it's just like any other speculation, and save for them
9:25
Speaker 1: most what am I to do? Then? I'll tell you.
9:30
Speaker 1: I'll take the house, furnish it, pay the maids, and
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Speaker 1: run the whole place. All you have to do is
9:35
Speaker 1: just to wear out your chair in the consulting room.
9:38
Speaker 1: I'll let you have pocket money and everything. Then you
9:41
Speaker 1: hand over to me three quarters of what you earn,
9:44
Speaker 1: and you keep the other quarter for yourself. This was
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Speaker 1: a strange proposal, mister Holmes, with which the man Blessington
9:52
Speaker 1: approached me. I won't weary you with the account of
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Speaker 1: how we bargained and negotiated. It ended in my movie
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Speaker 1: into the house next lady day, and starting in practice,
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Speaker 1: on very much the same conditions as he had suggested.
10:07
Speaker 1: He came himself to live with me in the character
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Speaker 1: of a resident patient. His heart was weak, it appears,
10:15
Speaker 1: and he needed constant medical supervision. He turned the two
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Speaker 1: best rooms on the first floor into a sitting room
10:21
Speaker 1: and a bedroom for himself. He was a man of
10:24
Speaker 1: singular habits, shunning company, and very seldom going out. His
10:28
Speaker 1: life was irregular, but in one respect he was regularity itself.
10:33
Speaker 1: Every evening, at the same hour he walked into the
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Speaker 1: consulting room, examined the books, put down five and thrippence
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Speaker 1: for every guinea that I had earned, and carried the
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Speaker 1: rest after the strong box in his own room. I
10:46
Speaker 1: may say with confidence that he never had occasion to
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Speaker 1: regret his speculation. From the first it was a success.
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Speaker 1: A few good cases and the reputation which I had
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Speaker 1: won in the hospital brought me rapidly to the front,
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Speaker 1: and during the last few years I have made him
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Speaker 1: a rich man. So much, mister Holmes, for my past
11:06
Speaker 1: history and for my relations with mister Blessington, it only
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Speaker 1: remains for me now to tell you what has occurred
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Speaker 1: to bring me here to night. Some weeks ago mister
11:15
Speaker 1: Blessington came down to see me in as it seemed
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Speaker 1: to me, a state of considerable agitation. He spoke of
11:23
Speaker 1: some burglary which he said had been committed in the
11:26
Speaker 1: West End, and he appeared, I remember, to be quite
11:29
Speaker 1: unnecessarily excited about it, declaring that a day should not
11:33
Speaker 1: pass before we should add stronger bolts to our windows
11:36
Speaker 1: and doors. For a week he continued to be in
11:40
Speaker 1: quite a peculiar state of restlessness, peering continually out of
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Speaker 1: the windows and ceasing to take the short walk which
11:48
Speaker 1: had usually been the prelude to his dinner. From his manner,
11:52
Speaker 1: it struck me that he was in mortal dread of
11:54
Speaker 1: something or somebody. But when I questioned him upon the point,
11:58
Speaker 1: he became so offensive that I was compelled to drop
12:01
Speaker 1: the subject. Gradually, as time passed, his fears appeared to
12:05
Speaker 1: die away, and he had renewed his former habits, when
12:09
Speaker 1: a fresh event reduced him to the pitiable state of
12:12
Speaker 1: prostration in which he now lies. What happened was this
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Speaker 1: Two days ago I received the letter which I now
12:20
Speaker 1: read to you. Neither address nor date is attached to it.
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Speaker 1: A Russian nobleman, who is now resident in England, it runs,
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Speaker 1: would be glad to avail himself of the professional assistance
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Speaker 1: of doctor Percy Trevellian. He has been for some years
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Speaker 1: a victim to cataleptic attacks, on which, as is well known,
12:44
Speaker 1: doctor Trevellian is an authority. He proposes to call at
12:49
Speaker 1: about a quarter past six tomorrow evening, if Doctor Trevellian
12:53
Speaker 1: will make it convenient to be at home. This letter
12:58
Speaker 1: interested me deeply, because the chief difficulty in the study
13:01
Speaker 1: of catalepsy is the rareness of the disease. You may
13:05
Speaker 1: believe then, that I was in my consulting room when
13:09
Speaker 1: at the appointed hour the page showed in the patient
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Speaker 1: He was an elderly man, thin, demure and commonplace. By
13:19
Speaker 1: no means the conception one forms of a Russian nobleman.
13:24
Speaker 1: I was much more struck by the appearance of his companion.
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Speaker 1: This was a tall young man, surprisingly handsome, with a dark,
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Speaker 1: fierce face and the limbs and chest of a Hercules.
13:37
Speaker 1: He had his hand under the other's arm as they entered,
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Speaker 1: and helped him to a chair with a tenderness which
13:44
Speaker 1: one would hardly have expected from his appearance. You will
13:49
Speaker 1: excuse my coming in, doctor, said he to me, speaking
13:53
Speaker 1: English with a slight lisp. If if my father and
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Speaker 1: I health if a matter of the most overwhelming importance
14:02
Speaker 1: to me, I was touched by his filial anxiety, you
14:07
Speaker 1: would perhaps care to remain during the consultation, said I.
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Speaker 1: Not for the world, he cried, with a gesture of horror.
14:15
Speaker 1: It is more painful to me than I can expreath.
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Speaker 1: If I were to see my father in one of
14:22
Speaker 1: those dreadful thievis. I am convinced that I should never
14:27
Speaker 1: survive it. My own nervous systom is an exceptionally sensitive one.
14:32
Speaker 1: With your permission, I will remain in the waiting room
14:36
Speaker 1: while you go into my father's case. To this, of course,
14:40
Speaker 1: I assented, and the young man withdrew the patient, and
14:45
Speaker 1: I then plunged into a discussion of his case, of
14:48
Speaker 1: which I took exhaustive notes. He was not remarkable for intelligence,
14:53
Speaker 1: and his answers were frequently obscure, which I attributed to
14:57
Speaker 1: his limited acquaintance with our language. Suddenly, however, as I
15:03
Speaker 1: sat writing, he ceased to give any answer at all
15:06
Speaker 1: to my inquiries, and on my turning towards him, I
15:09
Speaker 1: was shocked to see that he was sitting bolt upright
15:12
Speaker 1: in his chair, staring at me with a perfectly blank
15:16
Speaker 1: and rigid face. He was again in the grip of
15:19
Speaker 1: his mysterious malady. My first feeling, as I have just said,
15:25
Speaker 1: was one of pity and horror. My second, I fear,
15:29
Speaker 1: was rather one of professional satisfaction. I made notes of
15:33
Speaker 1: my patient's pulse and temperature, tested the rigidity of his muscles,
15:37
Speaker 1: and examined his reflexes. There was nothing markedly abnormal in
15:41
Speaker 1: any of these conditions, which harmonized with my former experiences.
15:47
Speaker 1: I had obtained good results in such cases by the
15:50
Speaker 1: inhalation of nitrite of amyl, and the present seemed an
15:55
Speaker 1: admirable opportunity of testing its virtues. The bottle was down
16:00
Speaker 1: stairs in my laboratory, so leaving my patient seated in
16:03
Speaker 1: his chair. I ran down to get it. There was
16:06
Speaker 1: some little delay in finding it five minutes, let us say,
16:09
Speaker 1: and then I returned. Imagine my amazement to find the
16:13
Speaker 1: room empty and the patient gone. Of course, my first
16:16
Speaker 1: act was to run into the waiting room. The sun
16:19
Speaker 1: had gone also. The hall door had been closed, but
16:23
Speaker 1: not shut. My page, who admits patience, is a new boy,
16:28
Speaker 1: and by no means quick. He waits downstairs and runs
16:31
Speaker 1: up to show patients out. When I ring the consulting
16:34
Speaker 1: room bell, he had heard nothing, and the affair remained
16:38
Speaker 1: a complete mystery. Mister Blessington came in from his walk
16:42
Speaker 1: shortly afterwards, but I did not say anything to him
16:45
Speaker 1: upon the subject, for, to tell the truth, I have
16:49
Speaker 1: got in the way of late, of holding as little
16:51
Speaker 1: communication with him as possible. Well, I never thought that
16:55
Speaker 1: I should see anything more of the Russian and his son.
16:58
Speaker 1: So you can imagine my when, at the very same
17:01
Speaker 1: hour this evening, they both came marching into my consulting room,
17:06
Speaker 1: just as they had done before. I feel that I
17:10
Speaker 1: owe you a great many apologies for my abrupt departure yesterday, doctor,
17:15
Speaker 1: said my patient. I confess that I was very much
17:19
Speaker 1: surprised at it, said I. Well, the fact is, he remarked,
17:24
Speaker 1: that when I recover from these attacks, my mind is
17:28
Speaker 1: always very clouded as to all that has gone before.
17:31
Speaker 1: I woke up in a strange room, as it seemed
17:34
Speaker 1: to me, and made my way out into the street
17:37
Speaker 1: in a sort of dazed way when you were absent,
17:41
Speaker 1: and I said the son, seeing my father pass the
17:45
Speaker 1: door of the waiting room, naturally thought that the consultation
17:49
Speaker 1: had come to an end. It was not until we
17:53
Speaker 1: had reached home that I began to realize the true
17:56
Speaker 1: state of affairs. Well, said I, laughing, there is no
18:00
Speaker 1: harm done except that you puzzled me terribly. So if you, sir,
18:05
Speaker 1: would kindly step into the waiting room, I shall be
18:08
Speaker 1: happy to continue our consultation, which was brought to so
18:12
Speaker 1: abrupt an ending. For half an hour or so, I
18:15
Speaker 1: discussed the old gentleman's symptoms with him, and then, having
18:19
Speaker 1: prescribed for him, I saw him go off on the
18:22
Speaker 1: arm of his son. I have told you that mister
18:26
Speaker 1: Blessington generally chose this hour of the day for his exercise.
18:31
Speaker 1: He came in shortly afterwards and passed upstairs. An instant later,
18:36
Speaker 1: I heard him running down, and he burst into my
18:39
Speaker 1: consulting room like a man who was mad with panic.
18:42
Speaker 1: Who has been in my room? He cried? No one
18:45
Speaker 1: said I, It is a lie, he yelled, Come up
18:48
Speaker 1: and look. I passed over the grossness of his language,
18:53
Speaker 1: as he seemed half out of his mind with fear.
18:56
Speaker 1: When I went upstairs with him, he pointed to several
18:59
Speaker 1: footprints on the light carpet. Do you mean to say
19:02
Speaker 1: those are mine? He cried. They were certainly very much
19:07
Speaker 1: larger than any which he could have made, and were
19:10
Speaker 1: evidently quite fresh. It rained hard this afternoon, as you know,
19:15
Speaker 1: and my patients were the only people who called. It
19:19
Speaker 1: must have been the case, then, that the man in
19:22
Speaker 1: the waiting room had, for some unknown reason, while I
19:25
Speaker 1: was busy with the other ascended to the room of
19:28
Speaker 1: my resident patient. Nothing had been touched or taken, but
19:33
Speaker 1: there were the footprints to prove that the intrusion was
19:36
Speaker 1: an undoubted fact. Mister Blessington seemed more excited over the
19:41
Speaker 1: matter than I should have thought possible, though of course
19:45
Speaker 1: it was enough to disturb anybody's peace of mind. He
19:48
Speaker 1: actually sat crying in an armchair, and I could hardly
19:53
Speaker 1: get him to speak coherently. It was his suggestion that
19:57
Speaker 1: I should come round to you, and of course I
20:00
Speaker 1: at once saw the propriety of it, For certainly the
20:03
Speaker 1: incident is a very singular one, though he appears to
20:06
Speaker 1: completely overrate its importance. If you would only come back
20:10
Speaker 1: with me in my broom, you would at least be
20:13
Speaker 1: able to soothe him, though I can hardly hope that
20:16
Speaker 1: you will be able to explain this remarkable occurrence. Sherlock
20:22
Speaker 1: Holmes had listened to this long narrative with an intentness
20:26
Speaker 1: which showed me that his interest was keenly aroused. His
20:29
Speaker 1: face was as impassive as ever, but his lids had
20:33
Speaker 1: drooped more heavily over his eyes, and his smoke had
20:37
Speaker 1: curled up more thickly from his pipe to emphasize each
20:41
Speaker 1: curious episode in the doctor's tale. As our visitor concluded,
20:46
Speaker 1: Holmes sprang up without a word, handed me my hat,
20:51
Speaker 1: picked up his own from the table, and followed Doctor
20:53
Speaker 1: Trevellian to the door. Within a quarter of an hour
20:57
Speaker 1: we had been dropped at the door of the physicians
21:00
Speaker 1: in Brook Street, one of those somber, flat faced houses
21:04
Speaker 1: which one associates with a West End practice. A small page,
21:08
Speaker 1: admitted us, and we began at once to ascend the
21:12
Speaker 1: broad well carpeted stare, but a singular interruption brought us
21:17
Speaker 1: to a standstill. The light at the top was suddenly
21:21
Speaker 1: whisked out, and from the darkness came a reedy, quavering voice.
21:26
Speaker 1: I have a pistol, it cried. I give you my
21:30
Speaker 1: word that i'll fire if you come any nearer. This
21:33
Speaker 1: really grows outrageous, mister Blessington, cried doctor Trevillian. Oh then
21:39
Speaker 1: it is you, doctor, said the voice, with a great
21:42
Speaker 1: heave of relief. But those other gentlemen, are they what
21:46
Speaker 1: they pretend to be? We were conscious of a long scrutiny.
21:50
Speaker 1: Out of the darkness. Yes, yes, it's all right, said
21:54
Speaker 1: the voice. At last, you can come up, and I'm
21:57
Speaker 1: sorry if my precautions have annoyed you. He re lit
22:01
Speaker 1: the stair gas as he spoke, and we saw before
22:05
Speaker 1: us a singular looking man whose appearance, as well as
22:09
Speaker 1: his voice, testified to his jangled nerves. He was very fat,
22:14
Speaker 1: but had apparently at some time been much fatter, so
22:17
Speaker 1: that the skin hung about his face in loose pouches,
22:21
Speaker 1: like the cheeks of a bloodhound. He was of a
22:24
Speaker 1: sickly color, and his thin, sandy hair seemed to bristle
22:28
Speaker 1: up with the intensity of his emotion. In his hand
22:31
Speaker 1: he held a pistol, but he thrust it into his pocket.
22:35
Speaker 1: As we advanced good evening, mister Holmes said he I
22:39
Speaker 1: am sure, I am very much obliged to you for
22:41
Speaker 1: coming round. No one ever needed your advice more than
22:45
Speaker 1: I do. I suppose that doctor Trevellian has told you
22:48
Speaker 1: of this most unwarrantable intrusion into my rooms. Quite so,
22:52
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Who are these two men, mister Blessington, and
22:56
Speaker 1: why do they wish to molest you? Well? Well, said
23:00
Speaker 1: the resident patient, in a nervous fashion. Of course, it
23:03
Speaker 1: is hard to say that. You can hardly expect me
23:07
Speaker 1: to answer that, mister Holmes. Do you mean that you
23:09
Speaker 1: don't know? Come in here, if you please, just have
23:13
Speaker 1: the kindness to step in here. He led the way
23:16
Speaker 1: into his bedroom, which was large and comfortably furnished. You
23:20
Speaker 1: see that, said he, pointing to a big black box
23:23
Speaker 1: at the end of his bed. I have never been
23:26
Speaker 1: a very rich man, mister Holmes, never made but one
23:29
Speaker 1: investment in my life, as doctor Trevellian would tell you.
23:32
Speaker 1: But I don't believe in bankers. I would never trust
23:35
Speaker 1: a banker, mister Holmes, between ourselves, what little I have
23:39
Speaker 1: is in that box. So you can understand what it
23:42
Speaker 1: means to me when unknown people forced themselves into my rooms.
23:47
Speaker 1: Holmes looked at Blessington in his questioning way and shook
23:50
Speaker 1: his head. I cannot possibly advise you if you try
23:54
Speaker 1: to deceive me, said he. But I have told you everything.
23:58
Speaker 1: Holmes turned on his heel with a gesture of disgust.
24:01
Speaker 1: Good night, doctor Trevellian, said he And no advice for me,
24:06
Speaker 1: cried Blessington in a breaking voice. My advice to you, sir,
24:10
Speaker 1: is to speak the truth. A minute later we were
24:13
Speaker 1: in the street and walking for home. We had crossed
24:16
Speaker 1: Oxford Street and were half way down Harley Street before
24:20
Speaker 1: I could get a word from my companion. Sorry to
24:23
Speaker 1: bring you out on such a fool's errand Watson, he said,
24:26
Speaker 1: at last, it is an interesting case too. At the
24:29
Speaker 1: bottom of it, I can make little of it, I confessed. Well,
24:33
Speaker 1: it is quite evident that there are two men more perhaps,
24:36
Speaker 1: but at least two who are determined for some reason
24:40
Speaker 1: to get at this fellow Blessington. I have no doubt
24:43
Speaker 1: in my mind that both on the first and on
24:45
Speaker 1: the second occasion, that young man penetrated to Blessington's room,
24:50
Speaker 1: while his confederate, by an ingenious device, kept the doctor
24:54
Speaker 1: from interfering, and the catalepsy a fraudulent imitation, Watson, though
24:59
Speaker 1: I I should hardly dare to hint as much to
25:02
Speaker 1: our specialist. It is a very easy complaint to imitate.
25:06
Speaker 1: I have done it myself. And then, by the purest chance,
25:10
Speaker 1: Blessington was out on each occasion. Their reason for choosing
25:15
Speaker 1: so unusual an hour for a consultation was obviously to
25:19
Speaker 1: ensure that there should be no other patient in the
25:21
Speaker 1: waiting room. It just happened, however, that this hour coincided
25:25
Speaker 1: with Blessington's constitutional, which seems to show that they were
25:29
Speaker 1: not very well acquainted with his daily routine. Of course,
25:34
Speaker 1: if they had been merely after plunder, they would at
25:36
Speaker 1: least have made some attempt to search for it. Besides,
25:40
Speaker 1: I can read in a man's eye when it is
25:43
Speaker 1: his own skin that he is frightened. For it is
25:47
Speaker 1: inconceivable that this fellow could have made two such vindictive
25:50
Speaker 1: enemies as these appear to be, without knowing of it.
25:54
Speaker 1: I hold it therefore to be certain that he does
25:57
Speaker 1: know who these men are, and that for reasons of
26:00
Speaker 1: his own he suppresses it. It is just possible that
26:03
Speaker 1: tomorrow may find him in a more communicative mood. Is
26:08
Speaker 1: there not one alternative? I suggested? Grotesquely improbable, no doubt,
26:13
Speaker 1: but still just conceivable. Might the whole story of the
26:17
Speaker 1: cataleptic Russian and his son be a concoction of Doctor Trevellians,
26:22
Speaker 1: who has, for his own purposes, been in Blessington's rooms.
26:27
Speaker 1: I saw in the gaslight that Holmes wore an amused
26:30
Speaker 1: smile at this brilliant departure of mine, my dear fellow,
26:33
Speaker 1: said he. It was one of the first solutions which
26:36
Speaker 1: occurred to me. But I was soon able to corroborate
26:40
Speaker 1: the doctor's tale. This young man has left Prince upon
26:43
Speaker 1: the stair carpet, which made it quite superfluous for me
26:46
Speaker 1: to ask to see those which he had made in
26:48
Speaker 1: the room. When I tell you that his shoes were
26:51
Speaker 1: square toed instead of being pointed like Blessington's, and were
26:55
Speaker 1: quite an inch and a third longer than the doctor's,
26:58
Speaker 1: you will acknowledge that there can be no doubt as
27:00
Speaker 1: to his individuality. But we may sleep on it now,
27:04
Speaker 1: for I shall be surprised if we do not hear
27:06
Speaker 1: something further from Brook Street in the morning. Sherlock Holmesy's
27:11
Speaker 1: prophecy was soon fulfilled, and in a dramatic fashion. At
27:15
Speaker 1: half past seven next morning, in the first dim glimmer
27:18
Speaker 1: of daylight, I found him standing by my bedside in
27:22
Speaker 1: his dressing gown. There's a broom waiting for us, Watson,
27:25
Speaker 1: said he. What's the matter then, the Brook Street business?
27:29
Speaker 1: Any fresh news? Tragic but ambiguous, said he, pulling up
27:33
Speaker 1: the blind. Look at this a sheet from a note
27:37
Speaker 1: book with for God's Sake, come at once p T.
27:40
Speaker 1: Scrawled upon it in pencil. Our friend, the doctor was
27:43
Speaker 1: hard put to it when he wrote this, come along,
27:45
Speaker 1: my dear fellow, for it's an urgent call. In a
27:49
Speaker 1: quarter of an hour or so we were back at
27:50
Speaker 1: the physician's house. He came running out to meet us
27:54
Speaker 1: with a face of horror. Oh, such a business, he cried,
27:57
Speaker 1: with his hands to his temples. What then, Blessington has
28:02
Speaker 1: committed suicide? Holmes whistled, Yes, he hanged himself during the
28:07
Speaker 1: night we had entered, and the doctor had preceded us
28:12
Speaker 1: into what was evidently his waiting room. I really hardly
28:16
Speaker 1: know what I'm doing, he cried. The police are already upstairs.
28:21
Speaker 1: It has shaken me most dreadfully. When did you find
28:24
Speaker 1: it out? He has a cup of tea taken into
28:27
Speaker 1: him early every morning. When the maid entered about seven
28:31
Speaker 1: there the unfortunate fellow was hanging in the middle of
28:34
Speaker 1: the room. He had tied his cord to the hook
28:37
Speaker 1: on which the heavy lamp used to hang, and he
28:40
Speaker 1: had jumped off from the top of the very box
28:42
Speaker 1: that he showed us yesterday. Holmes stood for a moment
28:46
Speaker 1: in deep thought. With your permission, said he, At last,
28:50
Speaker 1: I should like to go upstairs and look into the matter.
28:54
Speaker 1: We both ascended, followed by the doctor. It was a
28:58
Speaker 1: dreadful sight which met us as we entered the bedroom door.
29:03
Speaker 1: I have spoken of the impression of flabbiness which this
29:06
Speaker 1: man Blessington conveyed as he dangled from the hook. It
29:12
Speaker 1: was exaggerated and intensified until he was scarce human in
29:16
Speaker 1: his appearance. The neck was drawn out like a plucked chicken's,
29:23
Speaker 1: making the rest of him seem the more obese and unnatural.
29:26
Speaker 1: By the contrast, he was clad only in his long
29:30
Speaker 1: night dress, and his swollen ankles and ungainly feet protruded
29:36
Speaker 1: starkly from beneath it. Beside him stood a smart looking
29:40
Speaker 1: police inspector who was taking notes in a pocket book. Ah,
29:44
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, said he heartily, as my friend entered. I
29:48
Speaker 1: am delighted to see you. Good morning, Lanna answered Holmes.
29:53
Speaker 1: You won't think me an intruder. I am sure. Have
29:57
Speaker 1: you heard of the events which led up to this affair? Yes,
30:00
Speaker 1: I heard something of them. Have you formed any opinion?
30:05
Speaker 1: As far as I can see, the man has been
30:07
Speaker 1: driven out of his senses by fright. The bed has
30:10
Speaker 1: been well slept in. You see, there's his impression deep enough.
30:15
Speaker 1: It's about five in the morning. You know that suicides
30:18
Speaker 1: are most common. That would be about his time for
30:21
Speaker 1: hanging himself. It seems to have been a very deliberate affair.
30:26
Speaker 1: I should say that he has been dead about three hours,
30:29
Speaker 1: judging by the rigidity of the muscles. Said, I notice
30:33
Speaker 1: anything particular about the room, asked Holmes. Found a screwdriver
30:38
Speaker 1: and some screws on the washhandstand. Seems to have smoked
30:41
Speaker 1: heavily during the night too. Here arefore cigar ends that
30:44
Speaker 1: I have picked out of the fireplace. Hmm, said Holmes.
30:48
Speaker 1: Have you got his cigar holder? No, I have seen
30:51
Speaker 1: none his cigar case. Then, yes, it was in his
30:55
Speaker 1: coat pocket. Holmes opened it and smelled the singles cigar
31:00
Speaker 1: which it contained. Oh, this is a Havana and these
31:06
Speaker 1: others are cigars of the peculiar sort, which are imported
31:09
Speaker 1: by the Dutch from their East Indian colonies. They are
31:13
Speaker 1: usually wrapped in straw, you know, and are thinner for
31:16
Speaker 1: their length than any other brand. He picked up the
31:21
Speaker 1: four ends and examined them with his pocket lens. Two
31:25
Speaker 1: of these have been smoked from a holder, and two without,
31:28
Speaker 1: said he. Two have been cut by a not very
31:31
Speaker 1: sharp knife, and two have had the ends bitten off
31:34
Speaker 1: by a set of excellent teeth. This is no suicide,
31:38
Speaker 1: mister Lanner. It is a very deeply planned and cold
31:42
Speaker 1: blooded murder. Impossible, cried the inspector. And why why should
31:48
Speaker 1: any one murder a man in so clumsy a fashion
31:50
Speaker 1: as by hanging him? That is what we have to
31:53
Speaker 1: find out. How could they get in through the front door.
31:58
Speaker 1: It was barred in the morning, then it was barred
32:01
Speaker 1: after them. How do you know I saw their traces.
32:05
Speaker 1: Excuse me a moment, and I may be able to
32:08
Speaker 1: give you some further information about it. He went over
32:11
Speaker 1: to the door, and turning the lock, he examined it
32:15
Speaker 1: in his methodical fashion. Then he took out the key,
32:19
Speaker 1: which was on the inside, and inspected that. Also the bed,
32:24
Speaker 1: the carpet, the chairs, the mantelpiece, the dead body, and
32:27
Speaker 1: the rope were each in turn examined, until at last
32:31
Speaker 1: he professed himself satisfied, and with my aid and that
32:35
Speaker 1: of the inspector, cut down the wretched object and laid
32:40
Speaker 1: it reverently under a sheet. How about this rope, he asked,
32:45
Speaker 1: It is cut off, This said doctor Trevellian, drawing a
32:49
Speaker 1: large coil from under the bed. He was morbidly nervous
32:54
Speaker 1: of fire, and always kept this beside him so that
32:57
Speaker 1: he might escape by the window in case the stairs
33:00
Speaker 1: were burning. That must have saved them trouble, said Holmes thoughtfully. Yes,
33:07
Speaker 1: the actual facts are very plain, and I shall be
33:10
Speaker 1: surprised if by the afternoon I cannot give you the
33:13
Speaker 1: reasons for them as well. I will take this photograph
33:17
Speaker 1: of Blessington, which I see upon the mantelpiece as it
33:20
Speaker 1: may help me in my inquiries. But you have told
33:23
Speaker 1: us nothing, cried the doctor. Oh, there can be no
33:27
Speaker 1: doubt as to the sequence of events, said Holmes. There
33:30
Speaker 1: were three of them in it, the young man, the
33:33
Speaker 1: old man, and the third, to whose identity I have
33:37
Speaker 1: no clue. The first two, I need hardly remark, are
33:41
Speaker 1: the same who masqueraded as the Russian count and his son,
33:45
Speaker 1: so we can give a very full description of them.
33:49
Speaker 1: They were admitted by a confederate inside the house. If
33:53
Speaker 1: I might offer you a word of advice, Inspector, it
33:55
Speaker 1: would be to arrest the page, who, as I understand,
33:58
Speaker 1: has only recently come into your service. Doctor. The young
34:02
Speaker 1: imp cannot be found, said Doctor Trevellian. The maid and
34:06
Speaker 1: the cook have just been searching for him. Holmes shrugged
34:10
Speaker 1: his shoulders. He has played a not unimportant part in
34:13
Speaker 1: this drama, said he, the three men having ascended the stair,
34:18
Speaker 1: which they did on tiptoe, the elder man first, the
34:21
Speaker 1: younger man second, and the unknown man in the rear.
34:24
Speaker 1: My dear Holmes, I ejaculated, Oh, there could be no
34:28
Speaker 1: question as to the superimposing of the footmarks. I had
34:31
Speaker 1: the advantage of learning, which was witch last night. They
34:35
Speaker 1: ascended then to mister Blessington's rooms, the door of which
34:38
Speaker 1: they found to be locked. With the help of a wire. However,
34:42
Speaker 1: they forced round the key even without a lens. You
34:45
Speaker 1: will perceive by the scratches on this ward where the
34:48
Speaker 1: pressure was applied on entering the room. Their first proceeding
34:52
Speaker 1: must have been to gag mister Blessington. He may have
34:55
Speaker 1: been asleep, or he may have been so paralyzed with
34:58
Speaker 1: terror as to have been unable to cry out. These
35:02
Speaker 1: walls are thick, and it is conceivable that his shriek,
35:06
Speaker 1: if he had time to utter one, was unheard. Having
35:09
Speaker 1: secured them, it is evident to me that a consultation
35:12
Speaker 1: of some sort was held. Probably it was something in
35:16
Speaker 1: the nature of a judicial proceeding. It must have lasted
35:19
Speaker 1: for some time, for it was then that these cigars
35:22
Speaker 1: were smoked. The older man sat in that wicker chair.
35:26
Speaker 1: It was he who used the cigar holder. The younger
35:29
Speaker 1: man sat over yonder. He knocked his ash off against
35:32
Speaker 1: the chest of raws. The third fellow paced up and down.
35:36
Speaker 1: Blessington I think sat upright in the bed, but of
35:39
Speaker 1: that I cannot be absolutely certain. Well it ended by
35:43
Speaker 1: their taking Blessington and hanging him. The matter was so
35:47
Speaker 1: pre arranged that it is my belief that they brought
35:50
Speaker 1: with them some sort of block or pulley which might
35:52
Speaker 1: serve as a gallows. That screwdriver, and those screws were
35:57
Speaker 1: as I conceived, for fixing it up. Seeing the hook, however,
36:01
Speaker 1: they naturally saved themselves the trouble. Having finished their work,
36:06
Speaker 1: they made off, and the door was barred behind them
36:09
Speaker 1: by their confederate. We had all listened with the deepest
36:14
Speaker 1: interest to this sketch of the night's doings, which Holmes
36:18
Speaker 1: had deduced from signs so subtle and minute that even
36:22
Speaker 1: when he had pointed them out to us, we could
36:24
Speaker 1: scarcely follow him in his reasonings. The inspector hurried away
36:29
Speaker 1: on the instant to make inquiries about the page, while
36:32
Speaker 1: Holmes and I returned to Baker Street for breakfast. I'll
36:36
Speaker 1: be back by three, said he, when we had finished
36:39
Speaker 1: our meal. Both the inspector and the doctor will meet
36:42
Speaker 1: me here at that hour, and I hope by that
36:45
Speaker 1: time to have cleared up any little obscurity which the
36:48
Speaker 1: case may still present. Our visitors arrived at the appointed time,
36:54
Speaker 1: but it was a quarter to four before my friend
36:57
Speaker 1: put in an appearance. From his expression as he entered, however,
37:01
Speaker 1: I could see that all had gone well with him.
37:04
Speaker 1: Any news, Inspector. We have got the boy, sir, excellent,
37:08
Speaker 1: and I have got the men. You have got them,
37:12
Speaker 1: we cried all three. Well, at least I have got
37:15
Speaker 1: their identity. This so called Blessington is, as I expected,
37:20
Speaker 1: well known at headquarters, and so are his assailants. Their
37:26
Speaker 1: names are Biddle, Heywood and Moffat the Worthington Bank gang,
37:32
Speaker 1: cried the inspector. Precisely, said Holmes. Then Blessington must have
37:36
Speaker 1: been Sutton. Exactly, said Holmes. Why that makes it as
37:40
Speaker 1: clear as crystal, said the inspector. The Trevellion and I
37:45
Speaker 1: looked at each other in bewilderment. You must surely remember
37:48
Speaker 1: the great Worthington Bank business, said Holmes. Five men were
37:52
Speaker 1: in it, these four and a fifth called Cartwright Tobin,
37:58
Speaker 1: the caretaker was murdered and the thieves got away with
38:01
Speaker 1: seven thousand pounds. For this was in eighteen seventy five.
38:05
Speaker 1: They were all five arrested, but the evidence against them
38:08
Speaker 1: was by no means conclusive. This Blessington or Sutton, who
38:12
Speaker 1: was the worst of the gang turned informer on his evidence.
38:16
Speaker 1: Cartwright was hanged and the other three got fifteen years apiece.
38:22
Speaker 1: When they got out the other day, which was some
38:24
Speaker 1: years before their full term. They set themselves, as you perceive,
38:28
Speaker 1: to hunt down the traitor and to avenge the death
38:31
Speaker 1: of their comrade upon him. Twice they tried to get
38:35
Speaker 1: at him and failed. A third time. You see it
38:38
Speaker 1: came off. Is there anything further which I can explain,
38:42
Speaker 1: Doctor Trevellian? I think you have made it all remarkably clear,
38:47
Speaker 1: said the doctor, no doubt. The day on which he
38:50
Speaker 1: was so perturbed was the day when he had read
38:52
Speaker 1: of their release in the newspapers. Quite so, his talk
38:56
Speaker 1: about Burglary was the merest blind. I could he not
39:00
Speaker 1: tell you this well, my dear sir. Knowing the vindictive
39:05
Speaker 1: character of his old associates, he was trying to hide
39:08
Speaker 1: his own identity from everybody as long as he could.
39:11
Speaker 1: His secret was a shameful one, and he could not
39:14
Speaker 1: bring himself to divulge it. However, wretch as he was,
39:18
Speaker 1: he was still living under the shield of British law.
39:21
Speaker 1: And I have no doubt, Inspector, that you will see
39:24
Speaker 1: that though that shield may fail to guard. The sword
39:28
Speaker 1: of justice is still there to avenge. Such were the
39:33
Speaker 1: singular circumstances in connection with the Resident Patient and the
39:37
Speaker 1: brook Street Doctor. From that night. Nothing has been seen
39:42
Speaker 1: of the three murderers by the police, and it is
39:46
Speaker 1: surmised at Scotland Yard that they were among the passengers
39:50
Speaker 1: of the ill fated steamer Norah Craner, which was lost
39:55
Speaker 1: some years ago with all hands upon the Portuguese coast,
39:59
Speaker 1: some leagues to the north of a Porto. The proceedings
40:03
Speaker 1: against the page broke down for want of evidence, and
40:06
Speaker 1: the brook Street mystery, as it was called, has never
40:10
Speaker 1: until now been fully dealt with in any public print.
40:19
Speaker 1: That is the end of the adventure of the Resident Patient.
40:24
Speaker 1: From the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
40:29
Speaker 1: read by Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio twenty sixteen.