Latest / Sherlock Holmes / Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets from THE HOUND OF THE BAS
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- 0:02Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, fixing the Nets. We are at close grips
- 0:09Speaker 1: at last, said Holmes, as we walked together across the moor.
- 0:13Speaker 1: What a nerve the fellow has. How he pulled himself
- 0:16Speaker 1: together in the face of what must have been a
- 0:18Speaker 1: paralyzing shock when he found that the wrong man had
- 0:22Speaker 1: fallen a victim to his plot. I told you in London, Watson,
- 0:26Speaker 1: and I tell you now again that we have never
- 0:29Speaker 1: had a foeman more worthy of our steel. I am
- 0:32Speaker 1: sorry that he has seen you, and so was I
- 0:35Speaker 1: at first, but there was no getting outfit. What effect
- 0:40Speaker 1: do you think it will have upon his plans now
- 0:42Speaker 1: that he knows you are here. It may cause him
- 0:44Speaker 1: to be more cautious, or it may drive him to
- 0:47Speaker 1: desperate measures at once. Like most clever criminals, he may
- 0:52Speaker 1: be too confident in his own cleverness, and imagine that
- 0:55Speaker 1: he has completely deceived us. Why should we not arrest
- 0:58Speaker 1: him at once? My dear Watson, you were born to
- 1:01Speaker 1: be a man of action. Your instinct is always to
- 1:04Speaker 1: do something energetic. But supposing, for argument's sake, that we
- 1:08Speaker 1: had him arrested tonight, what on earth the better off
- 1:11Speaker 1: should we be? For that we could prove nothing against him.
- 1:15Speaker 1: There's the devilish cunning of it. If he were acting
- 1:19Speaker 1: through a human agent, we could get some evidence. But
- 1:22Speaker 1: if we were to drag this great dog to the
- 1:24Speaker 1: light of day, it would not help us in putting
- 1:27Speaker 1: a rope round the neck of its master. Surely we
- 1:30Speaker 1: have a case, not a shadow of one, only a
- 1:33Speaker 1: surmise and conjecture. We should be laughed out of court
- 1:36Speaker 1: if we came with such a story and such evidence.
- 1:39Speaker 1: There is Sir Charles's death, found dead without a mark
- 1:43Speaker 1: upon him. You and I know that he died of
- 1:46Speaker 1: sheer fright, and we also know what frightened him. But
- 1:49Speaker 1: how are we to get twelve stolid jurymen to know it?
- 1:53Speaker 1: What signs are there of a hound? Where are the
- 1:56Speaker 1: marks of its fangs? Of course we know that a
- 1:59Speaker 1: hound does not fight a dead body, and that Sir
- 2:01Speaker 1: Charles was dead before ever the brute overtook him. But
- 2:05Speaker 1: we have to prove all this, and we are not
- 2:07Speaker 1: in a position to do it. Well, then tonight we
- 2:12Speaker 1: are not much better off tonight. Again, there was no
- 2:15Speaker 1: direct connection between the hound and the man's death. We
- 2:19Speaker 1: never saw the hound. We heard it, but we could
- 2:22Speaker 1: not prove that it was running upon this man's trail.
- 2:25Speaker 1: There is a complete absence of motive. No, my dear fellow,
- 2:29Speaker 1: we must reconcile ourselves to the fact that we have
- 2:31Speaker 1: no case at present, and that it is worth our
- 2:34Speaker 1: while to run any risk in order to establish one.
- 2:38Speaker 1: And how do you propose to do so? I have
- 2:40Speaker 1: great hopes of what missus Laura Lyons may do for
- 2:43Speaker 1: us when the position of affairs is made clear to her,
- 2:47Speaker 1: and I have my own plan as well. Sufficient for
- 2:50Speaker 1: tomorrow is the evil thereof, But I hope before the
- 2:54Speaker 1: days passed to have the upper hand. At last I
- 2:58Speaker 1: could draw nothing further from him, and he walked lost
- 3:02Speaker 1: in thought. As far as the Baskerville gates, are you
- 3:05Speaker 1: coming up? Yes? I see no reason for further concealment.
- 3:09Speaker 1: But one last word, Watson, say nothing of the hound
- 3:13Speaker 1: to Sir Henry. Let him think that Selden's death was
- 3:17Speaker 1: as Stapleton would have us. Believe he will have a
- 3:20Speaker 1: better nerve for the ordeal which he will have to
- 3:22Speaker 1: undergo tomorrow when he is engaged. If I remember your
- 3:26Speaker 1: report aright to dine with these people, and so am I,
- 3:30Speaker 1: then you must excuse yourself, and he must go alone.
- 3:34Speaker 1: That will be easily arranged. And now, if we are
- 3:37Speaker 1: too late for dinner, I think that we are both
- 3:39Speaker 1: ready for our suppers. Sir Henry was more pleased than
- 3:43Speaker 1: surprised to see Sherlock Holmes, for he had for some
- 3:47Speaker 1: days been expecting that recent events would bring him down
- 3:50Speaker 1: from London. He did raise his eyebrows, however, when he
- 3:53Speaker 1: found that my friend had neither any luggage nor any
- 3:57Speaker 1: explanations for its absence, but us. We soon supplied his wants,
- 4:02Speaker 1: and then, over a belated supper, we explained to the
- 4:05Speaker 1: Baronet as much of our experience as it seemed desirable
- 4:08Speaker 1: that he should know. But first I had the unpleasant
- 4:11Speaker 1: duty of breaking the news to Barrymore and his wife.
- 4:15Speaker 1: To him, it may have been an unmitigated relief, but
- 4:19Speaker 1: she wept bitterly in her apron To all the world
- 4:24Speaker 1: he was a man of violence, half animal and half demon.
- 4:28Speaker 1: But to her he always remained the little wilful boy
- 4:31Speaker 1: of her own girlhood, the child who had clung to
- 4:34Speaker 1: her hand. Evil indeed is the man who has not
- 4:38Speaker 1: one woman to mourn him. I've been moping in the
- 4:42Speaker 1: house all day since Watson went off in the morning,
- 4:45Speaker 1: said the Baronet. I guess I should have some credit,
- 4:48Speaker 1: for I have kept my promise. If I hadn't sworn
- 4:51Speaker 1: not to go about alone, I might have had a
- 4:53Speaker 1: more lively evening, for I had a message from Stapleton
- 4:57Speaker 1: asking me over there. I have no doubt that you
- 5:00Speaker 1: would have had a more lively evening, said Holmes dryly.
- 5:04Speaker 1: By the way, I don't suppose you appreciate that we
- 5:07Speaker 1: have been mourning over you as having broken your neck.
- 5:11Speaker 1: Sir Henry opened his eyes. How was that this poor
- 5:15Speaker 1: wretch was dressed in your clothes? I fear your servant
- 5:18Speaker 1: who gave them to him may get into trouble with
- 5:21Speaker 1: the police. That is unlikely. There was no mark on
- 5:24Speaker 1: any of them, as far as I know. That's lucky
- 5:27Speaker 1: for him. In fact, it's lucky for all of you,
- 5:31Speaker 1: since you are all on the wrong side of the
- 5:33Speaker 1: law in this matter. I'm not sure that as a
- 5:36Speaker 1: conscientious detective my first duty is not to arrest the
- 5:39Speaker 1: whole household. Watson's reports are most incriminating documents. But how
- 5:45Speaker 1: about the case, asked the Baronet, have you made anything
- 5:49Speaker 1: out of the tangle? I don't know that Watson and
- 5:52Speaker 1: I are much the wiser since we came down. I
- 5:55Speaker 1: think that I shall be in a position to make
- 5:57Speaker 1: the situation rather more clear to you before long. It
- 6:00Speaker 1: has been an exceedingly difficult and most complicated business. There
- 6:04Speaker 1: are several points upon which we still want light, but
- 6:08Speaker 1: it is coming all the same. We've had one experience,
- 6:11Speaker 1: as Watson has no doubt told you we heard the
- 6:14Speaker 1: hound are the more so I can swear that it
- 6:17Speaker 1: is not all empty superstition. I had something to do
- 6:21Speaker 1: with dogs when I was out west, and I know
- 6:23Speaker 1: one when I hear one. If you can muzzle that
- 6:26Speaker 1: one and put him on a chain, I'll be ready
- 6:28Speaker 1: to swear you are the greatest detective of all time.
- 6:32Speaker 1: I think I will muzzle him and chain him all right,
- 6:35Speaker 1: if he will give me your help. Whatever you tell
- 6:38Speaker 1: me to do, I will do very good. And I
- 6:40Speaker 1: will ask you also to do it blindly, without always
- 6:43Speaker 1: asking the reason, just as you like. If you will
- 6:47Speaker 1: do this, I think the chances are that our little
- 6:49Speaker 1: problem will soon be solved. I have no doubt. He
- 6:53Speaker 1: stopped suddenly and stared fixedly up over my head into
- 6:57Speaker 1: the air. The lamp beat on his face and so
- 7:02Speaker 1: intent was it, and so still that it might have
- 7:05Speaker 1: been that of a clear cut classical statue, a personification
- 7:09Speaker 1: of alertness and expectation. What is it? We both cried.
- 7:15Speaker 1: I could see as he looked down that he was
- 7:18Speaker 1: repressing some internal emotion. His features were still composed, but
- 7:24Speaker 1: his eyes shone with amused exultation. Excuse the admiration of
- 7:29Speaker 1: a connoisseur, said he, as he waved his hand towards
- 7:33Speaker 1: the line of portraits which covered the opposite wall. Watson
- 7:37Speaker 1: won't allow that I know anything of art, but that
- 7:40Speaker 1: is mere jealousy, because our views upon the subject differ.
- 7:44Speaker 1: Now these are a really very fine series of portraits. Well,
- 7:48Speaker 1: I'm glad to hear you say so, said Sir Henry,
- 7:50Speaker 1: glancing with some surprise at my friend. I don't pretend
- 7:54Speaker 1: to know much about these things, and I'd be a
- 7:56Speaker 1: better judge of a horse or a steer than of
- 7:59Speaker 1: a picture. I didn't know that you found time for
- 8:02Speaker 1: such things. I know what is good when I see it,
- 8:05Speaker 1: and I see it now that's Annella. I'll swear that
- 8:09Speaker 1: lady in the blue silk over yonder, and the stout
- 8:12Speaker 1: gentleman with the wig ought to be a Reynolds. They
- 8:16Speaker 1: are all family portraits. I presume every one you know
- 8:20Speaker 1: the names. Barrymore has been coaching me in them, and
- 8:24Speaker 1: I think I can say my lessons fairly well. Who
- 8:27Speaker 1: is the gentleman with the telescope. That is Rear Admiral Baskerville,
- 8:31Speaker 1: who served under Rodney in the West Indies. The man
- 8:34Speaker 1: with the blue coat and the roll of paper is
- 8:36Speaker 1: Sir William Baskerville, who was Chairman of Committees of the
- 8:40Speaker 1: House of Commons under Pitt. And this cavalier opposite to me,
- 8:45Speaker 1: the one with the black velvet and the lace. Ah,
- 8:48Speaker 1: you have a right to know about him. That is
- 8:51Speaker 1: the cause of all the mischief, the wicked hugo who
- 8:54Speaker 1: started the Hound of the Baskervilles. We're not likely to
- 8:57Speaker 1: forget him. I gazed with interest and some surprise upon
- 9:01Speaker 1: the portrait, dear me, said Holmes. He seems a quiet,
- 9:05Speaker 1: meek mannered man enough, but I dare say that there
- 9:08Speaker 1: was a lurking devil in his eyes. I had pictured
- 9:12Speaker 1: him as a more robust and ruffianly person. There is
- 9:15Speaker 1: no doubt about the authenticity for the name and the
- 9:18Speaker 1: date sixteen forty seven around the back of the canvas.
- 9:23Speaker 1: Holmes said little more, but the picture of the old
- 9:26Speaker 1: Roysterer seemed to have a fascination for him, and his
- 9:30Speaker 1: eyes were continually fixed upon it during supper. It was
- 9:35Speaker 1: not until later, when Sir Henry had gone to his room,
- 9:38Speaker 1: that I was able to follow the trend of his thoughts.
- 9:41Speaker 1: He led me back into the banqueting hall, his bedroom
- 9:44Speaker 1: candle in his hand, and he held it up against
- 9:47Speaker 1: the time stained portrait on the wall. You see anything there?
- 9:53Speaker 1: I looked at the broad plumed hat, the curling love locks,
- 9:56Speaker 1: the white lace collar, and the straight, severe face which
- 9:59Speaker 1: was framed between them. It was not a brutal countenance,
- 10:03Speaker 1: but it was prim hard and stern, with a firm set,
- 10:07Speaker 1: thin lipped mouth, and a coldly intolerant eye. Is it
- 10:12Speaker 1: like anyone? You know? There is something of Sir Henry
- 10:16Speaker 1: about the jaw, just a suggestion, perhaps, But wait an instant.
- 10:21Speaker 1: He stood upon a chair, and, holding up the light
- 10:24Speaker 1: in his left hand, he curved his right arm over
- 10:28Speaker 1: the broad hat and round the long ringlets. Good heavens,
- 10:33Speaker 1: I cried in amazement. The face of Stapleton had sprung
- 10:38Speaker 1: out of the canvas. Ha You see it now? My
- 10:41Speaker 1: eyes have been trained to examine faces and not their trimmings.
- 10:45Speaker 1: It is the first quality of a criminal investigator that
- 10:48Speaker 1: he should see through a disguise. But this is marvelous.
- 10:52Speaker 1: It might be his portrait. Yes, it is an interesting
- 10:55Speaker 1: instance of a throwback which appears to be both physical
- 10:59Speaker 1: and spiritual. A study of family portraits is enough to
- 11:03Speaker 1: convert a man to the doctrine of reincarnation. The fellow
- 11:07Speaker 1: is a baskerville that is evident with designs upon the succession. Exactly.
- 11:13Speaker 1: This chance of the picture has supplied us with one
- 11:16Speaker 1: of our most obvious missing links. We have him, Watson.
- 11:20Speaker 1: We have him, and I dare swear that before to
- 11:23Speaker 1: morrow night he will be fluttering in our net, as
- 11:26Speaker 1: helpless as one of his own butterflies, A pin, a
- 11:30Speaker 1: cork and a card, and we add him to the
- 11:33Speaker 1: Baker Street collection. He burst into one of his rare
- 11:37Speaker 1: fits of laughter as he turned away from the picture.
- 11:41Speaker 1: I have not heard him laugh often, and it has
- 11:43Speaker 1: always boded ill to somebody. I was up betimes in
- 11:48Speaker 1: the morning, but Holmes was afoot earlier still, for I
- 11:52Speaker 1: saw him as I dressed, coming up the drive. Yes,
- 11:55Speaker 1: we should have a full day to day, he remarked,
- 11:58Speaker 1: and he rubbed his hands with the joy of action.
- 12:01Speaker 1: The nets are all in place, and the drag is
- 12:04Speaker 1: about to begin. We'll know before the day is out
- 12:06Speaker 1: whether we have caught our big, lean jawed pike or
- 12:10Speaker 1: whether he has got through the meshes. Have you been
- 12:13Speaker 1: on the moor already? I have sent a report from
- 12:16Speaker 1: Grimpen to Princetown as to the death of Selden. I
- 12:20Speaker 1: think I can promise that none of you will be
- 12:22Speaker 1: troubled in the matter. And I have also communicated with
- 12:25Speaker 1: my faithful Cartwright, who would certainly have pined away at
- 12:29Speaker 1: the door of my hut as a dog does at
- 12:31Speaker 1: his master's grave, if I had not set his mind
- 12:34Speaker 1: at rest about my safety. What is the next move?
- 12:38Speaker 1: To see? Sir Henry Ah here he is. Good morning, Holmes,
- 12:42Speaker 1: said the baronet. You look like a general who is
- 12:45Speaker 1: planning a battle with his chief of the staff. That
- 12:49Speaker 1: is the exact situation. Watson was asking for orders, and
- 12:53Speaker 1: so do. I very good you are engaged, as I understand,
- 12:57Speaker 1: to dine with our friends, the Stapletons tonight night. I
- 13:01Speaker 1: hope that you will come also. They are very hospitable people,
- 13:05Speaker 1: and I am sure that they would be very glad
- 13:07Speaker 1: to see you. I fear that Watson and I must
- 13:10Speaker 1: go to London. To London, yes, I think that we
- 13:14Speaker 1: should be more useful there at the present juncture. The
- 13:18Speaker 1: Baronet's face perceptibly lengthened. I hoped that you were going
- 13:23Speaker 1: to see me through this business. The hall and the
- 13:25Speaker 1: moor are not very pleasant places when one is alone.
- 13:29Speaker 1: My dear fellow, you must trust me implicitly and do
- 13:32Speaker 1: exactly what I tell you. You can tell your friends that
- 13:36Speaker 1: we should have been happy to have come with you,
- 13:38Speaker 1: but that urgent business required us to be in town.
- 13:41Speaker 1: We hope very soon to return to Devonshire. Will you
- 13:45Speaker 1: remember to give them that message? If you insist upon it.
- 13:49Speaker 1: There is no alternative, I assure you. I saw by
- 13:53Speaker 1: the baronet's clouded brow that he was deeply hurt by
- 13:57Speaker 1: what he regarded as our desertion. When do you desire
- 14:01Speaker 1: to go, he asked coldly. Immediately after breakfast, we will
- 14:06Speaker 1: drive in to Coombe Tracy, but Watson will leave his
- 14:09Speaker 1: things as a pledge that he will come back to you. Watson,
- 14:13Speaker 1: you will send a note to Stapleton to tell him
- 14:15Speaker 1: that you regret that you cannot come. I have a
- 14:19Speaker 1: good mind to go to London with you, said the baronet.
- 14:22Speaker 1: Why should I stay here alone? Because it is your
- 14:25Speaker 1: post of duty, because you gave me your word that
- 14:27Speaker 1: you would do as you were told, and I tell
- 14:30Speaker 1: you to stay all right, then I'll stay one more direction.
- 14:35Speaker 1: I wish you to drive to Merry Pit House. Send
- 14:38Speaker 1: back your trap, however, and let them know that you
- 14:41Speaker 1: intend to walk home, to walk across the moor. Yes,
- 14:46Speaker 1: but that is the very thing which you have so
- 14:47Speaker 1: often cautioned me not to do. This time you may
- 14:50Speaker 1: do it with safety. If I had not every confidence
- 14:53Speaker 1: in your nerve and courage, I would not suggest it.
- 14:57Speaker 1: But it is essential that you should do it. Then
- 15:01Speaker 1: I will do it. And as you value your life,
- 15:05Speaker 1: do not go across the moor in any direction save
- 15:08Speaker 1: along the straight path which leads from Mery Pitt House
- 15:11Speaker 1: to the Grimpen Road and is your natural way home.
- 15:15Speaker 1: I will do just what you say. Very good. I
- 15:18Speaker 1: should be glad to get away as soon after breakfast
- 15:20Speaker 1: as possible, so as to reach London in the afternoon.
- 15:24Speaker 1: I was very much astounded by this program, though I
- 15:28Speaker 1: remembered that Holmes had said to Stapleton on the night
- 15:30Speaker 1: before that his visit would terminate next day. It had
- 15:34Speaker 1: not crossed my mind, however, that he would wish me
- 15:37Speaker 1: to go with him, Nor could I understand how we
- 15:40Speaker 1: could both be absent at a moment which he himself
- 15:43Speaker 1: declared to be critical. There was nothing for it, however,
- 15:47Speaker 1: but implicit obedience. So we bade good bye to our
- 15:51Speaker 1: rueful friend, and a couple of hours afterwards we were
- 15:54Speaker 1: at the station of Coombe Tracy, and had despatched the trap.
- 15:58Speaker 1: Upon its return journey, a small boy was waiting upon
- 16:02Speaker 1: the platform. Any order, sir, you will take this train
- 16:06Speaker 1: to town Cartwright. The moment you arrive, you will send
- 16:09Speaker 1: a wire to Sir Henry Baskerville in my name, to
- 16:12Speaker 1: say that if he finds the pocket book which I
- 16:14Speaker 1: have dropped, he is to send it by registered post
- 16:17Speaker 1: to Baker Street. Yes, sir, and ask at the station
- 16:21Speaker 1: if there is a message for me. The boy returned
- 16:24Speaker 1: with the telegram, which Holmes handed to me. It ran,
- 16:28Speaker 1: whyre received coming down with unsigned warrant arrived five forty lestrade.
- 16:34Speaker 1: That is in answer to mine of this morning. He
- 16:37Speaker 1: is the best of the professionals. I think and we
- 16:39Speaker 1: may need his assistance now, Watson, I think that we
- 16:42Speaker 1: cannot employ our time better than by calling upon your acquaintance,
- 16:46Speaker 1: Missus Laura Lyons. His plan of campaign was beginning to
- 16:51Speaker 1: be evident. He would use the baronet in order to
- 16:54Speaker 1: convince the Stapletons that we were really gone, while we
- 16:58Speaker 1: should actually return at the instant when we were likely
- 17:01Speaker 1: to be needed. That telegram from London, if mentioned by
- 17:05Speaker 1: Sir Henry to the Stapletons, must remove the last suspicions
- 17:09Speaker 1: from their minds. Already I seem to see our nets
- 17:13Speaker 1: drawing closer around that lean jawed pike. Missus Laura Lyons
- 17:19Speaker 1: was in her office and Sherlock Holmes opened his interview
- 17:23Speaker 1: with a frankness and directness which considerably amazed her. I
- 17:27Speaker 1: am investigating the circumstances which attended the death of the
- 17:30Speaker 1: late Sir Charles Baskerville, said he. My friend here, Doctor Watson,
- 17:34Speaker 1: has informed me of what you have communicated and also
- 17:38Speaker 1: of what you have withheld in connection with that matter.
- 17:43Speaker 1: What have I withheld? She asked defiantly. You have confessed
- 17:48Speaker 1: that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate
- 17:50Speaker 1: at ten o'clock. We know that that was the place
- 17:53Speaker 1: and hour of his death. You have withheld what the
- 17:58Speaker 1: connection is between them these events. There is no connection
- 18:03Speaker 1: in that case. The coincidence must indeed be an extraordinary one.
- 18:07Speaker 1: But I think that we shall succeed in establishing a connection.
- 18:10Speaker 1: After all, I wish to be perfectly frank with you,
- 18:14Speaker 1: Missus Lyons. We regard this case as one of murder,
- 18:18Speaker 1: and the evidence may implicate not only your friend, mister Stapleton,
- 18:22Speaker 1: but his wife as well. The lady sprang from her chair.
- 18:27Speaker 1: His wife, she cried, The fact is no longer a secret.
- 18:31Speaker 1: The person who has passed for his sister is really
- 18:34Speaker 1: his wife. Missus Lyons had resumed her seat. Her hands
- 18:40Speaker 1: were grasping the arms of her chair, and I saw
- 18:43Speaker 1: that the pink nails had turned white with the pressure
- 18:47Speaker 1: of her grip. His wife, she said again, his wife.
- 18:52Speaker 1: He is not a married man. Sherlock Holne shrugged his shoulders.
- 18:56Speaker 1: Prove it to me, prove it to me, and if
- 18:58Speaker 1: you can do so, the fierce flash of her eyes
- 19:01Speaker 1: said more than any words, I have come prepared to
- 19:04Speaker 1: do so, said Holmes, drawing several papers from his pocket.
- 19:08Speaker 1: Here is a photograph of the couple taken in York
- 19:11Speaker 1: four years ago. It is endorsed mister and Missus van
- 19:16Speaker 1: de Leur. But you will also have no difficulty in
- 19:19Speaker 1: recognizing him and her also if you know her by sight.
- 19:24Speaker 1: Here are three written descriptions by trustworthy witnesses of mister
- 19:28Speaker 1: and Missus van de Leur, who at that time kept
- 19:31Speaker 1: Saint Oliver's private school. Read them and see if you
- 19:34Speaker 1: can doubt the identity of these people. She glanced at
- 19:38Speaker 1: them and then looked up at us with the set,
- 19:40Speaker 1: rigid face of a desperate woman. Mister Holmes, she said,
- 19:45Speaker 1: this man had offered me marriage on condition that I
- 19:48Speaker 1: could get a divorce from my husband. He has lied
- 19:51Speaker 1: to me, the villain, in every conceivable way. Not one
- 19:55Speaker 1: word of truth has he ever told me. And why
- 19:58Speaker 1: why I imagine the it all was for my own sake?
- 20:02Speaker 1: But now I see that I was never anything but
- 20:04Speaker 1: a tool in his hands. Why should I preserve faith
- 20:07Speaker 1: with him who never kept any with me? Why should
- 20:11Speaker 1: I try to shield him from the consequences of his
- 20:14Speaker 1: own wicked acts? Ask me what you like, and there
- 20:18Speaker 1: is nothing which I shall hold back. One thing I
- 20:20Speaker 1: swear to you and that is that when I wrote
- 20:23Speaker 1: the letter, I never dreamed of any harm to the
- 20:26Speaker 1: old gentleman who had been my kindest friend. I entirely
- 20:30Speaker 1: believe you, madam, said Sherlock Holmes. The recital of these
- 20:34Speaker 1: events must be very painful to you, and perhaps it
- 20:37Speaker 1: will make it easier if I tell you what occurred,
- 20:41Speaker 1: and you can check me if I make any material mistake.
- 20:45Speaker 1: The sending of this letter was suggested to you by Stapleton,
- 20:49Speaker 1: he dictated it. I presumed that the reason he gave
- 20:52Speaker 1: was that you would receive help from Sir Charles for
- 20:55Speaker 1: legal expenses connected with your divorce exactly. And then after
- 21:00Speaker 1: you had sent the letter, he dissuaded you from keeping
- 21:03Speaker 1: the appointment. He told me that it would hurt his
- 21:07Speaker 1: self respect that any other man should find the money
- 21:11Speaker 1: for such an object, and that though he was a
- 21:14Speaker 1: poor man himself, he would devote his last penny to
- 21:16Speaker 1: removing the obstacles which divided us. He appears to be
- 21:20Speaker 1: a very consistent character. And then you heard nothing until
- 21:24Speaker 1: you read the reports of the death in the paper. No,
- 21:29Speaker 1: and he made you swear to say nothing about your
- 21:31Speaker 1: appointment with Sir Charles. He did, he said, that the
- 21:34Speaker 1: death was a very mysterious one, that I should certainly
- 21:38Speaker 1: be suspected if the facts came out. He frightened me
- 21:41Speaker 1: into remaining silent. Quite so, but you had your suspicions.
- 21:46Speaker 1: She hesitated and looked down. I knew him, she said,
- 21:50Speaker 1: But if he had kept faith with me, I should
- 21:53Speaker 1: always have done so with him. I think that on
- 21:56Speaker 1: the whole you have had a fortunate escape at Sherlock, Holmes.
- 22:02Speaker 1: You have had him in your power, and he knew it.
- 22:05Speaker 1: And yet you are alive. You have been walking for
- 22:08Speaker 1: some months very near to the edge of a precipice.
- 22:12Speaker 1: We must wish you good morning now, missus Lyons, and
- 22:15Speaker 1: it is probable that you will very shortly hear from
- 22:18Speaker 1: us again. Our case becomes rounded off, and difficulty after
- 22:23Speaker 1: difficulty thins away in front of us, said Holmes, as
- 22:27Speaker 1: we stood waiting for the arrival of the express from town.
- 22:31Speaker 1: I shall soon be in the position of being able
- 22:33Speaker 1: to put into a single connected narrative one of the
- 22:36Speaker 1: most singular and sensational crimes of modern times. Students of
- 22:42Speaker 1: criminology will remember the analogous incidents in god know in
- 22:45Speaker 1: Little Russia in the year sixty six, And of course
- 22:49Speaker 1: there are the Andersen murders in North Carolina. But this
- 22:53Speaker 1: case possesses some features which are entirely its own. Even
- 22:57Speaker 1: now we have no clear case against this very warily man.
- 23:01Speaker 1: But I shall be very much surprised if it is
- 23:03Speaker 1: not clear enough. Before we go to bed this night,
- 23:08Speaker 1: the London Express came roaring into the station, and a small,
- 23:11Speaker 1: wiry bull dog of a man had sprung from a
- 23:15Speaker 1: first class carriage. We all three shook hands, and I
- 23:19Speaker 1: saw at once from the reverential way in which Lestrade
- 23:22Speaker 1: gazed at my companion, that he had learned a good
- 23:24Speaker 1: deal since the days when they at first worked together.
- 23:28Speaker 1: I could well remember the scorn which the theories of
- 23:31Speaker 1: the reasoner used then to excite in the practical man.
- 23:35Speaker 1: Anything good, he asked, the biggest thing for years, said Holmes.
- 23:40Speaker 1: We have two hours before we need to think of starting.
- 23:43Speaker 1: I think we might employ it in getting some dinner,
- 23:46Speaker 1: And then, Lestrade, we will take the London fog out
- 23:49Speaker 1: of your throat by giving you a breath of the
- 23:52Speaker 1: pure night air of Dartmoor. Never been there. Oh well,
- 23:56Speaker 1: I don't suppose you will forget your first visit