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36 The Abbey Grange from The Return of Sherlock Holm · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The Adventure of the Abbey Grange. It was on a
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Speaker 1: bitterly cold and frosty morning towards the end of the
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Speaker 1: winter of ninety seven that I was awakened by a
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Speaker 1: tugging at my shoulder. It was Holmes, the candle in
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Speaker 1: his hand, shone upon his eager, stooping face, and told
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Speaker 1: me at a glance that something was amiss. Come, Watson, Come,
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Speaker 1: he cried, The game is afoot. Not a word into
0:34
Speaker 1: your clothes and come. Ten minutes later we were both
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Speaker 1: in a cab and rattling through the silent streets on
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Speaker 1: our way to Charing Cross station. The first faint winter's
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Speaker 1: dawn was beginning to appear, and we could dimly see
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Speaker 1: the occasional figure of an early workman as he passed us,
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Speaker 1: blurred and indistinct in the oppalscent London Reek. Holmes nestled
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Speaker 1: in silence into his heavy coat, and I was glad
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Speaker 1: to do the same, for the air was most bitter,
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Speaker 1: and neither of us had broken our fast. It was
1:07
Speaker 1: not until we had consumed some hot tea at the
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Speaker 1: station and taken our places in the Kentish train that
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Speaker 1: we were sufficiently thawed. He to speak and I to listen.
1:20
Speaker 1: Holmes drew a note from his pocket and read aloud
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Speaker 1: Abby Grench, Marsham, Kent, three p thirty a. M My
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Speaker 1: dear mister Holmes, I should be very glad of your
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Speaker 1: immediate assistance in what promises to be a most remarkable case.
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Speaker 1: It is something quite in your line, except for releasing
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Speaker 1: the lady. I will see that everything is kept exactly
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Speaker 1: as I have found it. But I beg you not
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Speaker 1: to lose an instant, as it is difficult to leave.
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Speaker 1: Sir Eustace there yours faithfully, Stanley Hopkins. Hopkins has called
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Speaker 1: me in seven times, and on each occasion his summons
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Speaker 1: has been entirely justify, said Holmes. I fancy that every
2:02
Speaker 1: one of his cases has found its way into your collection.
2:05
Speaker 1: And I must admit, Watson, that you have some power
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Speaker 1: of selection which atones for much which I deplore in
2:12
Speaker 1: your narratives. Your fatal habit of looking at everything from
2:16
Speaker 1: the point of view of a story instead of as
2:19
Speaker 1: a scientific exercise, has ruined what might have been an
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Speaker 1: instructive and even classical series of demonstrations. You slur overwork
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Speaker 1: of the utmost finesse and delicacy in order to dwell
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Speaker 1: upon sensational details which may excite but cannot possibly instruct
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Speaker 1: the reader. Why do you not write them yourself? I said,
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Speaker 1: with some bitterness. I will, my dear Watson, I will.
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Speaker 1: At present. I am, as you know, fairly busy, but
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Speaker 1: I propose to devote my declining years to the composition
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Speaker 1: of a text book which shall focus the whole art
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Speaker 1: of detection into one volume. Our present research appears to
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Speaker 1: be a case of murder. You think this, Sir Eustace,
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Speaker 1: is dead, then I should say so. Hopkins's writing shows
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Speaker 1: considerable agitation, and he is not an emotional man. Yes,
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Speaker 1: I gather there has been violence, and that the body
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Speaker 1: is left for our inspection. A mere suicide would not
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Speaker 1: have caused him to send for me. As to the
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Speaker 1: release of the lady, it would appear that she has
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Speaker 1: been locked in her room during the tragedy. We are
3:29
Speaker 1: moving in high life, Watson crackling paper E B monogram,
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Speaker 1: coat of arms, picturesque address. I think that friend Hopkins
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Speaker 1: will live up to his reputation, and that we shall
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Speaker 1: have an interesting morning. The crime was committed before twelve
3:44
Speaker 1: last night. How can you possibly tell by an inspection
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Speaker 1: of the trains, and by reckoning the time the local
3:52
Speaker 1: police had to be called in. They had to communicate
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Speaker 1: with Scotland Yard Hopkins had to go out, and he
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Speaker 1: in turn had to send for me. All that makes
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Speaker 1: a fair night's work. Well, here we are at Chiselhurst's station,
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Speaker 1: and we shall soon set our doubts at rest. A
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Speaker 1: drive of a couple of miles through narrow country lanes
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Speaker 1: brought us to a park gate, which was opened for
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Speaker 1: us by an old lodge keeper, whose haggard face bore
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Speaker 1: the reflection of some great disaster. The avenue ran through
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Speaker 1: a noble park, between lines of ancient elms, and ended
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Speaker 1: in a low, widespread house pillared in front after the
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Speaker 1: fashion of palladio. The central part was evidently of a
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Speaker 1: great age and shrouded in ivy, but the large windows
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Speaker 1: showed that modern changes had been carried out, and one
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Speaker 1: wing of the house appeared to be entirely new. The
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Speaker 1: youthful figure and alert, eager face of Inspector Stanley Hopkins
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Speaker 1: confronted us in the open doorway. I am very glad
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Speaker 1: you have come, mister Holmes, and you too, doctor Watson.
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Speaker 1: But in indeed, if I had my time over again,
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Speaker 1: I should not have troubled you, for since the lady
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Speaker 1: has come to herself, she has given so clear an
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Speaker 1: account of the affair that there is not much left
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Speaker 1: for us to do. You remember that Lewisham gang of burglars.
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Speaker 1: What the three randals exactly, the father and two sons.
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Speaker 1: It's their work, I have not a doubt of it.
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Speaker 1: They did a job at Sydenham a fortnight ago and
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Speaker 1: were seen and described rather cool to do another so
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Speaker 1: soon and so near. But it is they beyond all doubt.
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Speaker 1: It's a hanging matter this time. Sir Eustace is dead then, yes,
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Speaker 1: his head was knocked in with his own poker. Sir
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Speaker 1: Eustace Brackenstall, the driver tells me exactly one of the
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Speaker 1: richest men in Kent. Lady Brackenstall is in the morning room.
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Speaker 1: Poor lady, she has had a most dreadful experience. She
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Speaker 1: seemed half dead when I saw her first. I think
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Speaker 1: you had best see her and hear her account of
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Speaker 1: the facts. Then we will examine the dining room together.
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Speaker 1: Lady Brackenstall was no ordinary person. Seldom have I seen
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Speaker 1: so graceful a figure, so womanly a presence, and so
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Speaker 1: beautiful a face. She was a blonde, golden haired, blue eyed,
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Speaker 1: and would no doubt have had the perfect complexion which
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Speaker 1: goes with such coloring, had not her recent experience left
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Speaker 1: her drawn and haggard. Her sufferings were physical as well
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Speaker 1: as mental. For over one eye rose a hideous, plum
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Speaker 1: colored swelling, which her maid, a tall, austere woman, was
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Speaker 1: bathing assiduously with vinegar and water. The lady lay back,
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Speaker 1: exhausted upon a couch, but her quick, observant gaze as
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Speaker 1: we entered the room, and the alert expression of her
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Speaker 1: beautiful features, showed that neither her wits nor her courage
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Speaker 1: had been shaken by her terrible experience. She was enveloped
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Speaker 1: in a loose dressing gown of blue and silver, but
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Speaker 1: a black sequin coul of a dinner dress lay upon
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Speaker 1: the couch beside her. I have told you all that happened,
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Speaker 1: mister Hopkins, she said, wearily. Could you not repeat it
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Speaker 1: for me? Well, if you think it is necessary, I
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Speaker 1: will tell these gentlemen what occurred. Have they been in
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Speaker 1: the dining room? Yet? I thought they had better hear
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Speaker 1: your ladyship's story first. I shall be glad when you
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Speaker 1: can arrange matters. It is horrible to me to think
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Speaker 1: of him still lying there. She shuddered and buried her
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Speaker 1: face in her hands. As she did so, the loose
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Speaker 1: gown fell back from her forearms. Holmes uttered an exclamation,
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Speaker 1: you have other injuries, madam? What is this? Two vivid
7:43
Speaker 1: red spots stood out on one of the white round limbs.
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Speaker 1: She hastily covered it. It is nothing. It has no
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Speaker 1: connection with this hideous business to night. If you and
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Speaker 1: your friend will sit down, I will tell you all
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Speaker 1: I can. I am the wife of Sir you Sa
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Speaker 1: Di Brackenstall. I have been married about a year. I
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Speaker 1: suppose that it is no use my attempting to conceal
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Speaker 1: that our marriage has not been a happy one. I
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Speaker 1: fear that all our neighbors would tell you that even
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Speaker 1: if I were to attempt to deny it. Perhaps the
8:17
Speaker 1: fault may be partly mine. I was brought up in
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Speaker 1: the freer, less conventional atmosphere of South Australia, and this
8:24
Speaker 1: English life, with its proprieties and its primness, is not
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Speaker 1: congenial to me. But the main reason lies in the
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Speaker 1: one fact which is notorious to everyone, and that is
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Speaker 1: that sir Eustace was a confirmed drunkard. To be with
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Speaker 1: such a man for an hour is unpleasant. Can you
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Speaker 1: imagine what it means for a sensitive and high spirited
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Speaker 1: woman to be tied to him for day and night?
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Speaker 1: It is sacrilege, a crime, a villainy to hold that
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Speaker 1: such a marriage is binding. I say that these monstrous
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Speaker 1: laws of yours will bring a curse upon the land.
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Speaker 1: God will not let sir, wickedness endure for an instant.
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Speaker 1: She sat up, her cheeks flushed and her eyes blazing
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Speaker 1: from under the terrible mark upon her brow. Then the
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Speaker 1: strong soothing hand of the austere maid drew her head
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Speaker 1: down on to the cushion, and the wild anger died
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Speaker 1: away into passionate sobbing. At last, she continued, I will
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Speaker 1: tell you about last night. You are aware, perhaps, that
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Speaker 1: in this house all the servants sleep in the modern wing.
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Speaker 1: This central block is made up of the dwelling rooms,
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Speaker 1: with the kitchen behind and our bedroom above. My maid
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Speaker 1: Teresa sleeps above my room. There is no one else,
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Speaker 1: and no sound could alarm those who are in the
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Speaker 1: father wing. This must have been well known to the robbers,
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Speaker 1: or they would not have acted as they did. Sir
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Speaker 1: Eustace retired about half past ten. The servants had already
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Speaker 1: gone to their quarters. Only my maid was up, and
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Speaker 1: she had remained in her room at the top of
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Speaker 1: the house until I needed her services. I sat until
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Speaker 1: after eleven in this room, absorbed in a book. Then
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Speaker 1: I walked round to see that all was right before
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Speaker 1: I went upstairs. It was my custom to do this myself, for,
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Speaker 1: as I have explained, Sir Eustace was not always to
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Speaker 1: be trusted. I went into the kitchen, the butler's pantry,
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Speaker 1: the gun room, the billiard room, the drawing room, and
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Speaker 1: finally the dining room. As I approached the window, which
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Speaker 1: is covered with thick curtains, I suddenly felt the wind
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Speaker 1: blow upon my face and realized that it was open.
10:38
Speaker 1: I flung the curtain aside and found myself face to
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Speaker 1: face with a broad shouldered, elderly man who had just
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Speaker 1: stepped into the room. The window is a long French
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Speaker 1: one which really forms a door leading to the lawn.
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Speaker 1: I held my bedroom candle lit in my hand, and
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Speaker 1: by its light behind the first man, I saw two
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Speaker 1: others who were in the act of entering. I stepped back,
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Speaker 1: but the fellow was on me in an instant. He
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Speaker 1: caught me first by the wrist and then by the throat.
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Speaker 1: I opened my mouth to scream, but he struck me
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Speaker 1: a savage blow with his fist over the eye, and
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Speaker 1: felled me to the ground. I must have been unconscious
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Speaker 1: for a few minutes, for when I came to myself,
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Speaker 1: I found that they had torn down the bell rope
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Speaker 1: and had secured me tightly to the oaken chair which
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Speaker 1: stands at the head of the dining table. I was
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Speaker 1: so firmly bound that I could not move, and a
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Speaker 1: handkerchief round my mouth prevented me from uttering a sound.
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Speaker 1: It was at this instant that my unfortunate husband entered
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Speaker 1: the room. He had evidently heard some suspicious sounds, and
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Speaker 1: he came prepared for such a scene as he found.
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Speaker 1: He was dressed in night shirt and trousers, with his
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Speaker 1: favorite blackthorn cudgel in his hand. He rushed at the burglars,
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Speaker 1: but another it was an elderly man, stooped, picked the
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Speaker 1: poker out of the grate and struck him a horrible blow.
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Speaker 1: As he passed. He fell with a groan and never
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Speaker 1: moved again. I fainted once more, but again it could
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Speaker 1: only have been for a very few minutes, during which
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Speaker 1: I was insensible. When I opened my eyes, I found
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Speaker 1: that they had collected the silver from the sideboard, and
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Speaker 1: they had drawn a bottle of wine, which stood there.
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Speaker 1: Each of them had a glass in his hand. I
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Speaker 1: have already told you, have I not? That one was
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Speaker 1: elderly with a beard, and the others young hairless lads.
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Speaker 1: They might have been a father with his two sons.
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Speaker 1: They talked together in whispers. Then they came over and
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Speaker 1: made sure I was securely bound. Finally they withdrew, closing
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Speaker 1: the window after them. It was quite a quarter of
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Speaker 1: an hour before I got my mouth free. When I
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Speaker 1: did so, my screams brought the maid to my assistance.
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Speaker 1: The other servants were soon alarmed, and we sent for
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Speaker 1: the local police, who instantly communicated with London. That is
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Speaker 1: really all that I can tell you, gentlemen, and I
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Speaker 1: trust that it will not be necessary for me to
13:15
Speaker 1: go over so painful a story again. Any questions, mister
13:20
Speaker 1: Holmes asked Hopkins. I will not impose any further tax
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Speaker 1: upon Lady Brackenstall's patience and time, said Holmes. Before I
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Speaker 1: go into the dining room, I should like to hear
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Speaker 1: your experience. He looked at the maid. I saw the
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Speaker 1: men before ever they came into the house, said she.
13:40
Speaker 1: As I sat by my bedroom window, I saw three
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Speaker 1: men in the moonlight down by the lodge gate yonder,
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Speaker 1: but I thought nothing of it at the time. It
13:49
Speaker 1: was more than an hour after that I heard my
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Speaker 1: mistress scream, and down I ran to find her, poor lamb,
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Speaker 1: just as she says, and him on the floor, with
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Speaker 1: his blood and brains over the room. It was enough
14:01
Speaker 1: to drive a woman out of her wits tired there
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Speaker 1: and her very dress spotted with him. But she never
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Speaker 1: wanted courage, did Miss Mary Fraser of Adelaide. And Lady
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Speaker 1: Brackenstall of abbe Grange hasn't learnt new ways. You've questioned
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Speaker 1: her long enough, you gentlemen, and now she is coming
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Speaker 1: to her own room, just with her old Theresa, to
14:22
Speaker 1: get the rest that she badly needs. With a motherly tenderness,
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Speaker 1: the gaunt woman put her arm round her mistress and
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Speaker 1: led her from the room. She has been with her
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Speaker 1: all her life, said Hopkins. Nursed her as a baby
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Speaker 1: and came with her to England. When they first left Australia,
14:41
Speaker 1: eighteen months ago. Theresa Wright is her name, and the
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Speaker 1: kind of maid you don't pick up nowadays. This way,
14:49
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, if you please. The keen interest had passed
14:53
Speaker 1: out of Holmes's expressive face, and I knew that with
14:56
Speaker 1: the mystery all the charm of the case had departed.
15:01
Speaker 1: There still remained an arrest to be effected. But what
15:04
Speaker 1: were these commonplace robes that he should soil his hands
15:08
Speaker 1: with them. An abstruse and learned specialist who finds that
15:12
Speaker 1: he has been called in for a case of measles
15:15
Speaker 1: would experience something of the annoyance which I read in
15:18
Speaker 1: my friend's eyes. Yet the scene in the dining room
15:21
Speaker 1: of the abbey Grange was sufficiently strange to arrest his
15:25
Speaker 1: attention and to recall his waning interest. It was a
15:31
Speaker 1: very large and high chamber, with carved oak ceiling, oaken paneling,
15:36
Speaker 1: and a fine array of deer's heads and ancient weapons
15:39
Speaker 1: around the walls. At the further end from the door
15:43
Speaker 1: was the high French window of which we had heard.
15:46
Speaker 1: Three smaller windows on the right hand side filled the
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Speaker 1: apartment with cold winter sunshine. On the left was a large,
15:54
Speaker 1: deep fireplace with a massive overhanging oak mantelpiece. Beside the
15:59
Speaker 1: fire place was a heavy oaken chair with arms and
16:03
Speaker 1: crossbars at the bottom. In and out through the open
16:07
Speaker 1: woodwork was woven a crimson cord which was secured at
16:11
Speaker 1: each side to the cross piece below. In releasing the lady,
16:15
Speaker 1: the cord had been slipped off her, but the knots
16:18
Speaker 1: with which it had been secured still remained. These details
16:23
Speaker 1: only struck our attention afterwards, for our thoughts were entirely
16:27
Speaker 1: absorbed by the terrible object which lay upon the tiger
16:30
Speaker 1: skin hearth rug in front of the fire. It was
16:34
Speaker 1: the body of a tall, well made man about forty
16:37
Speaker 1: years of age. He lay upon his back, his face upturned,
16:42
Speaker 1: with his white teeth grinning through his short black beard.
16:46
Speaker 1: His two clenched hands were raised above his head, and
16:50
Speaker 1: a heavy blackthorn stick lay across them. His dark, handsome
16:55
Speaker 1: aquiline features were convulsed into a spasm of vindictive hatred,
17:01
Speaker 1: which had set his dead face in a terribly fiendish expression.
17:05
Speaker 1: He had evidently been in his bed when the alarm
17:08
Speaker 1: had broken out, for he wore a foppish embroidered night shirt,
17:12
Speaker 1: and his bare feet projected from his trousers. His head
17:17
Speaker 1: was horribly injured, and the whole room bore witness to
17:20
Speaker 1: the savage ferocity of the blow which had struck him down.
17:24
Speaker 1: Beside him lay the heavy poker, bent into a curve
17:27
Speaker 1: by the concussion. Holmes examined both it and the indescribable
17:32
Speaker 1: wreck which it had wrought. He must be a powerful man,
17:36
Speaker 1: this elder Randal, he remarked. Yes, said Hopkins, I have
17:41
Speaker 1: some record of the fellow, and he is a rough customer.
17:45
Speaker 1: You should have no difficulty in getting him, not the slightest.
17:49
Speaker 1: We've been on the lookout for him, and there was
17:51
Speaker 1: some idea that he had got away to America. Now
17:54
Speaker 1: that we know that the ganger here, I don't see
17:57
Speaker 1: how they can escape. We have the news every seaport already,
18:01
Speaker 1: and a reward will be offered before evening. What beats
18:06
Speaker 1: me is how they could have done so mad a thing.
18:09
Speaker 1: Knowing that the lady could describe them, and that we
18:12
Speaker 1: could not fail to recognize the description exactly, one would
18:17
Speaker 1: have expected that they would silence Lady Brackenstall as well.
18:22
Speaker 1: They may not have realized I suggested that she had
18:25
Speaker 1: recovered from her faint. That is likely enough, if she
18:30
Speaker 1: seemed to be senseless, they would not take her life.
18:33
Speaker 1: What about this poor fellow Hopkins. I seem to have
18:37
Speaker 1: heard some queer stories about him. He was a good
18:40
Speaker 1: hearted man when he was sober, but a perfect fiend
18:43
Speaker 1: when he was drunk, or rather when he was half drunk,
18:47
Speaker 1: for he seldom really went the whole way. The devil
18:50
Speaker 1: seemed to be in him at such times, and he
18:53
Speaker 1: was capable of anything, from what I hear. In spite
18:56
Speaker 1: of all his wealth and his title, he very nearly
18:59
Speaker 1: came up. Once or twice. There was a scandal about
19:03
Speaker 1: his drenching a dog with petroleum and setting it on fire,
19:08
Speaker 1: her Ladyship's dog, to make the matter worse, and that
19:11
Speaker 1: was only hushed up with difficulty. Then he threw a
19:15
Speaker 1: decanter at that maid, Theresa right, there was trouble about
19:18
Speaker 1: that on the whole, and between ourselves. It will be
19:23
Speaker 1: a brighter house without him. What are you looking at now?
19:28
Speaker 1: Holmes was down on his knees, examining with great attention
19:33
Speaker 1: the knots upon the red cord with which the lady
19:36
Speaker 1: had been secured. Then he carefully scrutinized the broken and
19:40
Speaker 1: frayed end where it had snapped off when the burglar
19:44
Speaker 1: had dragged it down. When this was pulled down, the
19:48
Speaker 1: bell in the kitchen must have rung loudly, he remarked.
19:52
Speaker 1: No one could hear it. The kitchen stands right at
19:55
Speaker 1: the back of the house. How did the burglar know
19:58
Speaker 1: no one could hear it? How dared he pull at
20:01
Speaker 1: a bell rope in that reckless fashion? Exactly, mister Holmes,
20:05
Speaker 1: Exactly you put the very question which I have asked
20:08
Speaker 1: myself again and again. There can be no doubt that
20:12
Speaker 1: this fellow must have known the house and its habits.
20:15
Speaker 1: He must have perfectly understood that the servants would all
20:18
Speaker 1: be in bed at that comparatively early hour, and that
20:22
Speaker 1: no one could possibly hear a bell ring in the kitchen. Therefore,
20:26
Speaker 1: he must have been in close league with one of
20:28
Speaker 1: the servants. Surely that is evident. But there are eight servants,
20:33
Speaker 1: and all of good character, other things being equal, said Holmes,
20:38
Speaker 1: one would suspect the one at whose head the master
20:41
Speaker 1: through a decanter, And yet that would involve treachery towards
20:45
Speaker 1: the mistress, to whom this woman seems devoted. Well, Well,
20:49
Speaker 1: the point is a minor one, and when you have Randall,
20:52
Speaker 1: you will probably find no difficulty in securing his accomplice.
20:57
Speaker 1: The lady's story certainly seems to be corroborated, if it
21:00
Speaker 1: needed corroboration, by every detail which we see before us.
21:06
Speaker 1: He walked to the French window and threw it open.
21:09
Speaker 1: There are no signs here, but the ground is iron hard,
21:13
Speaker 1: and one would not expect them. I see that these
21:16
Speaker 1: candles in the mantelpiece have been lighted. Yes, it was
21:20
Speaker 1: by their light and that of the lady's bedroom candle,
21:24
Speaker 1: that the burglars saw their way out. And what did
21:27
Speaker 1: they take? Well, they did not take much, only half
21:31
Speaker 1: a dozen articles of plate off the sideboard. Lady Brackenstall
21:35
Speaker 1: thinks that they were themselves so disturbed by the death
21:38
Speaker 1: of Sir Eustace that they did not ransack the house
21:42
Speaker 1: as they would otherwise have done. No doubt that is true.
21:46
Speaker 1: And yet they drank some wine, I understand, to steady
21:51
Speaker 1: their nerves. Exactly these three glasses upon the sideboard have
21:56
Speaker 1: been untouched, I suppose, yes, and the bottles stands as
22:00
Speaker 1: they left it. Let us look at it, hello, what
22:03
Speaker 1: is this? The three glasses were grouped together, all of
22:08
Speaker 1: them tinged with wine, and one of them containing some
22:12
Speaker 1: dregs of beeswing. The bottle stood near them, two thirds full,
22:18
Speaker 1: and beside it lay a long, deeply stained cork. Its
22:22
Speaker 1: appearance and the dust upon the bottle showed that it
22:25
Speaker 1: was no common vintage which the murderers had enjoyed. A
22:30
Speaker 1: chain should come over Holmes's manner. He had lost his
22:33
Speaker 1: listless expression, and again I saw an alert light of
22:37
Speaker 1: interest in his keen, deep set eyes. He raised the
22:41
Speaker 1: cork and examined it minutely. How did they draw it?
22:45
Speaker 1: He asked. Hopkins pointed to a half open drawer. In
22:50
Speaker 1: it lay some table linen and a large corkscrew. Did
22:55
Speaker 1: Lady Brackenstall say that screw was used? No, Remember that
23:00
Speaker 1: she was senseless at the moment when the bottle was opened.
23:03
Speaker 1: Quite so, as a matter of fact, that screw was
23:06
Speaker 1: not used. This bottle was opened by a pocket screw,
23:10
Speaker 1: probably contained in a knife, and not much more than
23:14
Speaker 1: an inch and a half long. If you will examine
23:17
Speaker 1: the top of the cork, you will observe that the
23:20
Speaker 1: screw was driven in three times before the cork was extracted.
23:24
Speaker 1: It has never been transfixed. This long screw would have
23:28
Speaker 1: transfixed it and drawn it up with a single pull.
23:32
Speaker 1: When you catch this fellow, you will find that he
23:34
Speaker 1: has one of these multiplex knives in his possession. Excellent,
23:40
Speaker 1: said Hopkins. But these glasses do puzzle me. I confess
23:45
Speaker 1: Lady Brackenstall actually saw the three men drinking, did she not? Yes,
23:50
Speaker 1: she was clear about that. Then there is an end
23:54
Speaker 1: of it. What more is to be said? And yet
23:58
Speaker 1: you must admit that the three glasses are very remarkable, Hopkins.
24:02
Speaker 1: But you see nothing remarkable? Well, well, let it pass.
24:08
Speaker 1: Perhaps when a man has special knowledge and special powers
24:12
Speaker 1: like my own, it rather encourages him to seek a
24:15
Speaker 1: complex explanation when a simple one is at hand. Of course,
24:21
Speaker 1: it must be a mere chance about the glasses. Well,
24:25
Speaker 1: good morning, Hopkins. I don't see that I can be
24:27
Speaker 1: of any use to you, and you appear to have
24:29
Speaker 1: your case very clear. You will let me know when
24:33
Speaker 1: Randal is arrested, and any further developments which may occur.
24:38
Speaker 1: I trust that I shall soon have to congratulate you
24:40
Speaker 1: upon a successful conclusion. Come Watson, I fancy that we
24:45
Speaker 1: may employ ourselves more profitably at home during our return journey.
24:51
Speaker 1: I could see by Holmes's face that he was much
24:54
Speaker 1: puzzled by something which he had observed. Every now and then,
24:59
Speaker 1: by an effort, he would throw off the impression and
25:02
Speaker 1: talk as if the matter were clear. But then his
25:06
Speaker 1: doubts would settle down upon him again, and his knitted
25:09
Speaker 1: brows and abstracted eyes would show that his thoughts had
25:14
Speaker 1: gone back once more to the great dining room of
25:16
Speaker 1: the abbey Grange, in which this midnight tragedy had been
25:20
Speaker 1: enacted at last, by a sudden impulse, just as our
25:25
Speaker 1: train was crawling out of a suburban station, he sprang
25:28
Speaker 1: on to the platform and pulled me out after him.
25:32
Speaker 1: Excuse me, my dear fellow, said he, as he watched
25:35
Speaker 1: the rear carriages of our train disappearing round a curve.
25:39
Speaker 1: I'm sorry to make you the victim of what may
25:41
Speaker 1: seem mere whim, But on my life, Watson, I simply
25:45
Speaker 1: can't leave that case in this condition. Every instinct that
25:49
Speaker 1: I possess cries out against it. It's wrong, It's all wrong.
25:54
Speaker 1: I'll swear that it's wrong. And yet the latest story
25:58
Speaker 1: was complete, the maid's corroboration was sufficient, the detail was
26:03
Speaker 1: fairly exact. What have I to put up against that?
26:08
Speaker 1: Three wine glasses, that is all. But if I had
26:12
Speaker 1: not taken things for granted, if I had examined everything
26:15
Speaker 1: with the care which I should have shown, had we
26:18
Speaker 1: approached the case denovo and had no cut and dried
26:21
Speaker 1: story to warp my mind, should I not then have
26:24
Speaker 1: found something more definite to go upon. Of course I
26:29
Speaker 1: should sit down on this bench, Watson, until a train
26:32
Speaker 1: for Chiselhurst arrives, and allow me to lay the evidence
26:36
Speaker 1: before you, imploring you, in the first instance, to dismiss
26:40
Speaker 1: from your mind the idea that anything which the maid
26:43
Speaker 1: or her mysteries may have said must necessarily be true.
26:47
Speaker 1: The lady's charming personality must not be permitted to warp
26:51
Speaker 1: our judgment. Surely there are details in her story which,
26:56
Speaker 1: if we looked at it in cold blood, would excite
27:00
Speaker 1: our suspicion. These burglars made a considerable haul at Sydenham
27:05
Speaker 1: a fortnight ago. Some account of them and of their
27:08
Speaker 1: appearance was in the papers, and would naturally occur to
27:12
Speaker 1: anyone who wished to invent a story in which imaginary
27:15
Speaker 1: robbers should play a part. As a matter of fact,
27:19
Speaker 1: burglars who have done a good stroke of business are,
27:22
Speaker 1: as a rule only too glad to enjoy the proceeds
27:25
Speaker 1: in peace and quiet without embarking on another perilous undertaking. Again,
27:32
Speaker 1: it is unusual for burglars to operate at so early
27:35
Speaker 1: an hour. It is unusual for burglars to strike a
27:38
Speaker 1: lady to prevent her screaming, since one would imagine that
27:42
Speaker 1: was the sure way to make her scream. It is
27:46
Speaker 1: unusual for them to commit murder when their numbers are
27:48
Speaker 1: sufficient to overpower one man. It is unusual for them
27:53
Speaker 1: to be content with the limited plunder when there was
27:56
Speaker 1: much more within their reach and find a I should
28:00
Speaker 1: say that it was very unusual for such men to
28:04
Speaker 1: leave a bottle half empty. How do all these unusuals
28:09
Speaker 1: strike you, Watson? Their cumulative effect is certainly considerable, and
28:15
Speaker 1: yet each of them is quite possible in itself. The
28:19
Speaker 1: most unusual thing of all, as it seems to me,
28:22
Speaker 1: is that the lady should be tied to the chair. Well,
28:27
Speaker 1: I'm not so clear about that, Watson, for it is
28:30
Speaker 1: evident that they must either kill her or else secure
28:34
Speaker 1: her in such a way that she could not give
28:36
Speaker 1: immediate notice of their escape. But at any rate, I
28:40
Speaker 1: have shown, have I not? That there is a certain
28:42
Speaker 1: element of improbability about the lady's story. And now on
28:48
Speaker 1: top of this comes the incident of the wineglasses. What
28:52
Speaker 1: about the wine glasses? Can you see them in your
28:56
Speaker 1: mind's eye? I see them clearly. We are told that
28:59
Speaker 1: three men drank from them. Does that strike you as lightly?
29:04
Speaker 1: Why not? There was wine in each glass exactly, But
29:09
Speaker 1: there was bees wing in only one glass. You must
29:12
Speaker 1: have noticed that fact. What does that suggest to your mind?
29:17
Speaker 1: The last glass filled would be most likely to contain
29:21
Speaker 1: bees wing, not at all. The bottle was full of it,
29:25
Speaker 1: and it is inconceivable that the first two glasses were
29:28
Speaker 1: clear and the third heavily charged with it. There are
29:33
Speaker 1: two possible explanations, and only two. One is that after
29:38
Speaker 1: the second glass was filled, the bottle was violently agitated,
29:42
Speaker 1: and so the third glass received the beeswing. That does
29:47
Speaker 1: not appear probable. No, No, I am sure that I
29:50
Speaker 1: am right. What then, do you suppose that only two
29:54
Speaker 1: glasses were used, and that the dregs of both were
29:58
Speaker 1: poured into a third glass, so as to give the
30:00
Speaker 1: false impression that three people had been here. In that way,
30:04
Speaker 1: all the bees wing would be in the last class,
30:07
Speaker 1: would it not? Yes, I am convinced that this is so.
30:11
Speaker 1: But if I have hit upon the true explanation of
30:13
Speaker 1: this one small phenomenon, then in an instant the case
30:17
Speaker 1: rises from the commonplace to the exceedingly remarkable. For it
30:21
Speaker 1: can only mean that Lady Brackenstall and her maid have
30:24
Speaker 1: deliberately lied to us, that not one word of their
30:27
Speaker 1: story is to be believed, that they have some very
30:30
Speaker 1: strong reason for covering the real criminal, and that we
30:34
Speaker 1: must construct our case for ourselves without any help from them.
30:39
Speaker 1: That is the mission which now lies before us. And
30:42
Speaker 1: here Watson is the Sydenham train. The household of the
30:49
Speaker 1: abbey Grange were much surprised at our return. The Sherlock Holmes,
30:54
Speaker 1: finding that Stanley Hopkins had gone after report to headquarters,
30:58
Speaker 1: took possession of the dining room, locked the door upon
31:01
Speaker 1: the inside, and devoted himself for two hours to one
31:05
Speaker 1: of those minute and laborious investigations which formed the solid
31:09
Speaker 1: basis on which his brilliant edifices of deduction were reared.
31:14
Speaker 1: Seated in a corner, like an interested student who observes
31:18
Speaker 1: the demonstration of his professor, I followed every step of
31:21
Speaker 1: that remarkable research. The window the curtains, the carpet, the chair,
31:27
Speaker 1: the rope, Each in turn was minutely examined and duly pondered.
31:33
Speaker 1: The body of the unfortunate baronet had been removed, and
31:37
Speaker 1: all else remained as we had seen it in the morning. Finally,
31:42
Speaker 1: to my astonishment, Holmes climbed up on to the massive
31:45
Speaker 1: mantel piece. Far above his head hung the few inches
31:50
Speaker 1: of red cord which were still attached to the wire.
31:54
Speaker 1: For a long time he gazed upward at it, and then,
31:57
Speaker 1: in an attempt to get nearer to it, he rested
32:00
Speaker 1: his knee upon a wooden bracket on the wall. This
32:04
Speaker 1: brought his hand within a few inches of the broken
32:07
Speaker 1: end of the rope. But it was not this so
32:10
Speaker 1: much as the bracket itself which seemed to engage his attention.
32:14
Speaker 1: Finally he sprang down with an ejaculation of satisfaction. It's
32:19
Speaker 1: all right, Watson said he. We have got our case,
32:23
Speaker 1: one of the most remarkable in our collection. But dear me,
32:27
Speaker 1: how slow witted I have been, and how nearly I
32:29
Speaker 1: have committed the blunder of my lifetime. Now I think that,
32:35
Speaker 1: with a few missing links, my chain is almost complete.
32:39
Speaker 1: You have got your men, man, Watson, man only one,
32:43
Speaker 1: but a very formidable person, strong as a lion, witnessed
32:48
Speaker 1: the blow that bent that poker, six foot three in height,
32:53
Speaker 1: active as a squirrel, dexterous with his fingers, finally remarkably
32:57
Speaker 1: quick witted. For this holy genius story is of his concoction. Yes, Watson,
33:03
Speaker 1: we have come upon the handiwork of a very remarkable individual.
33:07
Speaker 1: And yet in that bell rope he has given us
33:11
Speaker 1: a clue which should not have left us a doubt.
33:15
Speaker 1: Where was the clue? Well, if you were to pull
33:18
Speaker 1: down a bell rope, Watson, where would you expect it
33:21
Speaker 1: to break? Surely at the spot where it is attached
33:25
Speaker 1: to the wire. Why should it break three inches from
33:28
Speaker 1: the top, as this one has done, because it is frayed.
33:32
Speaker 1: There exactly, this end, which we can examine, is frayed.
33:38
Speaker 1: He was cunning enough to do that with his knife.
33:41
Speaker 1: But the other end is not frayed. You could not
33:44
Speaker 1: observe that from here. But if you are on the mantelpiece,
33:48
Speaker 1: you would see that it is cut clean off without
33:51
Speaker 1: any mark of fraying. Whatever you can reconstruct what occurred.
33:57
Speaker 1: The man needed the rope would not tear it down
34:01
Speaker 1: for fear of giving the alarm by ringing the bell.
34:05
Speaker 1: What did he do? He sprang up on the mantelpiece,
34:09
Speaker 1: could not quite reach it, put his knee on the bracket,
34:12
Speaker 1: you will see the impression in the dust, and so
34:15
Speaker 1: got his knife to bear upon the cord. I could
34:18
Speaker 1: not reach the place by at least three inches, from
34:21
Speaker 1: which I infer that he is at least three inches
34:24
Speaker 1: a bigger man than I. Look at that mark upon
34:28
Speaker 1: the seat of the oaken chair. What is it? Blood?
34:33
Speaker 1: Undoubtedly it is blood. This alone puts the lady's story
34:37
Speaker 1: out of court. If she were seated on the chair
34:41
Speaker 1: when the crime was done, how comes that mark? No? No,
34:45
Speaker 1: she was placed in the chair after the death of
34:47
Speaker 1: her husband. I'll wager that the black dress shows a
34:52
Speaker 1: corresponding mark to this. We have not yet met our
34:56
Speaker 1: Waterloo Watson, but this is our merengo, for it begins
35:01
Speaker 1: in defeat and ends in victory. I should like now
35:06
Speaker 1: to have a few words with the nurse Theresa. We
35:09
Speaker 1: must be wary for a while if we are to
35:12
Speaker 1: get the information which we want. She was an interesting person,
35:17
Speaker 1: This stern Australian nurse Taciturn suspicious ungracious. It took some
35:23
Speaker 1: time before Holmes's pleasant manner and frank acceptance of all
35:27
Speaker 1: that she had said thawed her into a corresponding amiability.
35:32
Speaker 1: She did not attempt to conceal her hatred for her
35:35
Speaker 1: late employer. Yes, sir, it is true that he threw
35:39
Speaker 1: the decanter at me. I heard him call my mistress
35:42
Speaker 1: a name, and I told him that he would not
35:45
Speaker 1: dare to speak. So if her brother had been there,
35:48
Speaker 1: then it was that he threw it at me. He
35:51
Speaker 1: might have thrown a dozen if he had but left
35:53
Speaker 1: my bonny bird alone. He was forever ill treating her,
35:58
Speaker 1: and she too proud to complain. She will not even
36:02
Speaker 1: tell me all that he has done to her. She
36:05
Speaker 1: never told me of those marks on her arm that
36:07
Speaker 1: you saw this morning, but I very well know that
36:10
Speaker 1: they come from a stab with a hat pin. The
36:14
Speaker 1: sly devil. God forgive me that I should speak of
36:17
Speaker 1: him so now that he is dead. But a devil
36:20
Speaker 1: he was, if ever one walked the earth. He was
36:24
Speaker 1: all honey when first we met him, only eighteen months ago,
36:28
Speaker 1: and we both feel as if it were eighteen years.
36:32
Speaker 1: She had only just arrived in London. Yes, it was
36:35
Speaker 1: her first voyage. She had never been from home before.
36:40
Speaker 1: He won her with his title and his money and
36:42
Speaker 1: his false London ways. If she made a mistake, she
36:47
Speaker 1: has paid for it. If ever a woman did, what
36:50
Speaker 1: month did we meet him? Well, I tell you it
36:53
Speaker 1: was just after we arrived. We arrived in June, and
36:57
Speaker 1: it was July. They were married in January of last year. Yes,
37:04
Speaker 1: she is down in the morning room again, and I
37:07
Speaker 1: have no doubt she will see you. But you must
37:10
Speaker 1: not ask too much of her, for she has gone
37:12
Speaker 1: through all that flesh and blood will stand. Lady Brackenstall
37:18
Speaker 1: was reclining on the same couch, but looked brighter than before.
37:23
Speaker 1: The maid had entered with us, and began once more
37:26
Speaker 1: to foment the bruise upon her mistress's brow. I hope,
37:31
Speaker 1: said the lady, that you have not come to cross
37:35
Speaker 1: examine me again. No, Holmes answered in his gentlest voice.
37:40
Speaker 1: I will not cause you any unnecessary trouble, Lady Brackenstall,
37:45
Speaker 1: And my whole desire is to make things easy for you,
37:49
Speaker 1: for I am convinced that you are a much tried woman.
37:53
Speaker 1: If you will treat me as a friend and trust me,
37:56
Speaker 1: you may find that I will justify your trust. What
38:00
Speaker 1: do you want me to do to tell me the truth,
38:04
Speaker 1: mister Holmes. No, no, Lady Brakenstall, it is no use.
38:09
Speaker 1: You may have heard of any little reputation which I possess.
38:13
Speaker 1: I will stake it all on the fact that your
38:15
Speaker 1: story is an absolute fabrication. Mistress and maid were both
38:21
Speaker 1: staring at Holmes with pale faces and frightened eyes. You
38:25
Speaker 1: are an impudent fellow, cried Teresa. Do you mean to
38:29
Speaker 1: say that my mistress has told a lie? Holmes rose
38:33
Speaker 1: from his chair. Have you nothing to tell me? I
38:37
Speaker 1: have told you everything. Think once more, Lady Brakenstall, would
38:42
Speaker 1: it not be better to be frank? For an instant?
38:45
Speaker 1: There was hesitation in her beautiful face. Then some new
38:50
Speaker 1: strong thought caused it to set like a mask. I
38:54
Speaker 1: have told you all I know. Holmes took his hat
38:57
Speaker 1: and shrugged his shoulders. I am sorry, he said, and
39:03
Speaker 1: without another word, we left the room and the house.
39:07
Speaker 1: There was a pond in the park, and to this
39:10
Speaker 1: my friend led the way. It was frozen over, but
39:14
Speaker 1: a single hole was left for the convenience of a
39:17
Speaker 1: solitary swan. Holmes gazed at it and then passed on
39:22
Speaker 1: to the lodge gate. There he scribbled a short note
39:26
Speaker 1: for Stanley Hopkins and left it with the lodge keeper.
39:30
Speaker 1: It may be a hit or it may be a miss,
39:33
Speaker 1: but we are bound to do something for friend Hopkins,
39:37
Speaker 1: just to justify this second visit, said he. I will
39:41
Speaker 1: not quite take him into my confidence yet. I think
39:44
Speaker 1: our next scene of operations must be the shipping office
39:48
Speaker 1: of the Adelaide Southampton line, which stands at the end
39:51
Speaker 1: of Pall Mall. If I remember right, there is a
39:55
Speaker 1: second line of steamers which connect South Australia with England.
39:58
Speaker 1: But we will draw the larger cover first. Holmes's card
40:03
Speaker 1: sent into the manager insured instant attention, and he was
40:08
Speaker 1: not long in acquiring all the information he needed. In
40:12
Speaker 1: June of ninety five, only one of their line had
40:15
Speaker 1: reached a home port. It was the Rock of Gibraltar,
40:19
Speaker 1: their largest and best boat. A reference to the passenger
40:24
Speaker 1: list showed that Miss Fraser of Adelaide with her maid,
40:27
Speaker 1: had made the voyage in her The boat was now
40:30
Speaker 1: somewhere south of the Siuez Canal on her way to Australia.
40:35
Speaker 1: Her officers were the same as in ninety five, with
40:39
Speaker 1: one exception. The first officer, mister Jack Crocker, had been
40:43
Speaker 1: made a captain and was to take charge of their
40:46
Speaker 1: new ship, the bass Rock, sailing in two days time
40:50
Speaker 1: from Southampton. He lived at Sydenham, but he was likely
40:54
Speaker 1: to be in that morning for instructions if we cared
40:57
Speaker 1: to wait for him. No, oh, mister Holmes had no
41:01
Speaker 1: desire to see him, but would be glad to know
41:03
Speaker 1: more about his record and character. His record was magnificent.
41:09
Speaker 1: There was not an officer in the fleet to touch
41:12
Speaker 1: him as to his character. He was reliable on duty,
41:17
Speaker 1: but a wild, desperate fellow off the deck of his ship.
41:21
Speaker 1: Hot headed, excitable, but loyal, honest and kind hearted. That
41:27
Speaker 1: was the pith of the information with which Holmes left
41:30
Speaker 1: the office of the Adelaide Southampton Company. Thence he drove
41:35
Speaker 1: to Scotland Yard, but instead of entering, he sat in
41:38
Speaker 1: his cab with his brows drawn down, lost in profound thought.
41:45
Speaker 1: Finally he drove round to the charing Cross Telegraph Office,
41:48
Speaker 1: sent off a message, and then at last we made
41:51
Speaker 1: for Baker Street once more. No I couldn't do it,
41:56
Speaker 1: Watson said he as we re entered our room. Once
42:00
Speaker 1: that warrant was made out nothing on earth would save him.
42:04
Speaker 1: Once or twice in my career, I feel that I
42:07
Speaker 1: have done more real harm by my discovery of the
42:10
Speaker 1: criminal than ever he had done by his crime. I
42:13
Speaker 1: have learned caution now, and I had rather played tricks
42:17
Speaker 1: with the law of England than with my own conscience.
42:21
Speaker 1: Let us know a little more before we act. Before evening,
42:26
Speaker 1: we had a visit from Inspector Stanley Hopkins. Things were
42:31
Speaker 1: not going very well with him. I believe that you
42:34
Speaker 1: are a wizard, mister Holmes. I really do sometimes think
42:38
Speaker 1: that you have powers that are not human. Now, how
42:41
Speaker 1: on earth could you know that the stolen silver was
42:44
Speaker 1: at the bottom of that pond? I didn't know it,
42:49
Speaker 1: but you told me to examine it. You got it, then, Yes,
42:53
Speaker 1: I got it. I am very glad if I have
42:55
Speaker 1: helped you, But you haven't helped me. You have made
42:59
Speaker 1: the affair more difficult. What sort of burglars are they
43:03
Speaker 1: who steel silver and then throw it into the nearest pond.
43:09
Speaker 1: It was certainly rather eccentric behavior. I was merely going
43:13
Speaker 1: on the idea that if the silver had been taken
43:16
Speaker 1: by persons who did not want it, who merely took it,
43:19
Speaker 1: for a blind as it were, then they would naturally
43:22
Speaker 1: be anxious to get rid of it. But why should
43:26
Speaker 1: such an idea cross your mind? Well, I thought it
43:30
Speaker 1: was possible. When they came out through the French window.
43:34
Speaker 1: There was the pond with one tempting little hole in
43:37
Speaker 1: the ice, right in front of their noses. Could there
43:41
Speaker 1: be a better hiding place? Ah, a hiding place that
43:46
Speaker 1: is better, cried Stanley Hopkins. Yes, yes, I see it
43:50
Speaker 1: all now. It was early, there were folk upon the roads.
43:53
Speaker 1: They were afraid of being seen with the silver, so
43:56
Speaker 1: they sank it in the pond, intending to return for
43:59
Speaker 1: it when the coast was clear. Excellent, mister Holmes. That
44:03
Speaker 1: is better than your idea of a blind. Quite so
44:07
Speaker 1: you have got an admirable theory. I have no doubt
44:11
Speaker 1: that my own ideas were quite wild, but you must
44:15
Speaker 1: admit that they have ended in discovering the silver. Yes, sir, yes,
44:20
Speaker 1: it was all you're doing. But I have had a
44:23
Speaker 1: bad setback, a setback, yes, mister Holmes. The Randal Gang
44:29
Speaker 1: were arrested in New York this morning. Dear me, Hopkins,
44:33
Speaker 1: that is certainly rather against your theory that they committed
44:37
Speaker 1: a murder in Kent last night. It is fatal, mister Holmes,
44:42
Speaker 1: absolutely fatal. Still there are other gangs of three besides
44:47
Speaker 1: the Randals, or it may be some new gang of
44:50
Speaker 1: which the police have never heard. Quite so it is
44:54
Speaker 1: perfectly possible. What are you off, Yes, mister Holmes, there
44:59
Speaker 1: is no rest for me until I have got to
45:01
Speaker 1: the bottom of the business. I suppose you have no
45:04
Speaker 1: hint to give me. I have given you one, which well,
45:09
Speaker 1: I suggested, a blind. But why, mister Holmes, Why Ah,
45:14
Speaker 1: that's the question, of course. But I commend the idea
45:18
Speaker 1: to your mind. You might possibly find that there was
45:22
Speaker 1: something in it. You won't stop for dinner? Well, good bye,
45:28
Speaker 1: and let us know how you get on. Dinner was
45:32
Speaker 1: over and the table cleared before Holmes alluded to the
45:36
Speaker 1: matter again. He had lit his pipe and held his
45:40
Speaker 1: slippered feet to the cheerful blaze of the fire. Suddenly
45:44
Speaker 1: he looked at his watch. I expect developments, Watson, when
45:49
Speaker 1: now within a few minutes, I dare say you thought
45:53
Speaker 1: I acted rather badly to Stanley Hopkins just now I
45:57
Speaker 1: trust your judgment. A very sensible reply, Watson. You must
46:02
Speaker 1: look at it this way. What I know is unofficial.
46:06
Speaker 1: What he knows is official. I have the right to
46:09
Speaker 1: private judgment, but he has none. He must disclose all
46:13
Speaker 1: or he is a traitor to his service. In a
46:17
Speaker 1: doubtful case, I would not put him in so painful
46:19
Speaker 1: a position, and so I reserve my information until my
46:23
Speaker 1: own mind is clear upon the matter. But when will
46:27
Speaker 1: that be? The time has come. You will now be
46:31
Speaker 1: present at the last scene of a remarkable little drama.
46:36
Speaker 1: There was a sound upon the stairs, and our door
46:39
Speaker 1: was opened to admit as fine a specimen of manhood
46:42
Speaker 1: as ever passed through it. He was a very tall
46:45
Speaker 1: young man, golden mustached, blue eyed, with a skin which
46:49
Speaker 1: had been burned by tropical suns, and a springy step
46:54
Speaker 1: which showed that the huge frame was as active as
46:57
Speaker 1: it was strong. He closed the door behind him, and
47:00
Speaker 1: then stood with clenched hands and heaving breast, choking down
47:05
Speaker 1: some overmastering emotion. Sit down, Captain Crocker, you got my telegram.
47:12
Speaker 1: Our visitor sank into an arm chair and looked from
47:15
Speaker 1: one to the other of us with questioning eyes. I
47:19
Speaker 1: got your telegram, and I came round at the hour
47:21
Speaker 1: you said. I heard that you had been down to
47:24
Speaker 1: the office there was no getting away from you. Let's
47:27
Speaker 1: hear the worst. What are you going to do with me?
47:30
Speaker 1: Arrest me or speak out? Man, You can't sit there
47:34
Speaker 1: and play with me like a cat with a mouse.
47:38
Speaker 1: Give him a cigar, said Holmes. Bite on that, Captain Crocker,
47:42
Speaker 1: and don't let your nerves run away with you. I
47:45
Speaker 1: should not sit here smoking with you if I thought
47:47
Speaker 1: that you were a common criminal. You may be sure
47:50
Speaker 1: of that. Be frank with me, and we may do
47:52
Speaker 1: some good play tricks with me, and I'll crush you.
47:57
Speaker 1: What do you wish me to do to give me
48:00
Speaker 1: a true account of all that happened at the abbey
48:04
Speaker 1: Grange last night? A true account, mind you, with nothing
48:09
Speaker 1: added and nothing taken off. I know so much already
48:14
Speaker 1: that if you go one inch half the strait, I'll
48:17
Speaker 1: blow this police whistle from my window, and the affair
48:20
Speaker 1: goes out of my hands forever. The sailor thought for
48:25
Speaker 1: a little. Then he struck his leg with his great
48:28
Speaker 1: sunburned hand. I'll chance it, he cried. I believe you
48:34
Speaker 1: are a man of your word and a white man,
48:36
Speaker 1: and I'll tell you the whole story. But one thing
48:40
Speaker 1: I will say first. So far as I am concerned.
48:43
Speaker 1: I regret nothing, and I fear nothing, and I would
48:46
Speaker 1: do it all again and be proud of the job.
48:49
Speaker 1: Damn the beast. If he had as many lives as
48:52
Speaker 1: a cat, he would owe them all to me. But
48:56
Speaker 1: it's the lady Mary Mary Fraser. Never will I call
49:00
Speaker 1: her by that accursed name when I think of getting
49:04
Speaker 1: her into trouble. I who would give my life just
49:08
Speaker 1: to bring one smile to her dear face. It's that
49:11
Speaker 1: that turns my soul into water. And yet, and yet,
49:16
Speaker 1: what less could I do? I'll tell you my story, gentlemen,
49:21
Speaker 1: and then I'll ask you, as man to man, what
49:24
Speaker 1: less could I do? I must go back a bit.
49:29
Speaker 1: You seem to know everything, so I expect that you
49:32
Speaker 1: know that I met her when she was a passenger,
49:34
Speaker 1: and I was first Officer of the Rock of Gibraltar.
49:39
Speaker 1: From the first day I met her, she was the
49:41
Speaker 1: only woman to me. Every day of that voyage I
49:45
Speaker 1: loved her more, and many a time since have I
49:48
Speaker 1: kneeled down in the darkness of the night watch and
49:52
Speaker 1: kissed the deck of that ship because I knew her
49:54
Speaker 1: dear feet had trodd it. She was never engaged to
49:58
Speaker 1: me She treated me me as fairly as ever a
50:01
Speaker 1: woman treated a man. I have no complaint to make.
50:05
Speaker 1: It was all love on my side and all good
50:07
Speaker 1: comradeship and friendship on hers. When we parted, she was
50:12
Speaker 1: a free woman, but I could never again be a
50:15
Speaker 1: free man. Next time I came back from c I
50:20
Speaker 1: heard of her marriage. Well, why shouldn't she marry whom
50:24
Speaker 1: she liked? Title and money, who could carry them better
50:28
Speaker 1: than she? She was born for all that is beautiful
50:31
Speaker 1: and dainty. I didn't grieve over her marriage. I was
50:36
Speaker 1: not such a selfish hound as that. I just rejoiced
50:40
Speaker 1: that good luck hauld come her way, and that she
50:42
Speaker 1: had not thrown herself away on a penniless sailor. But
50:46
Speaker 1: that's how I loved Mary Fraser. Well. I never thought
50:51
Speaker 1: to see her again. But last voyage I was promoted
50:55
Speaker 1: and the new boat was not yet launched, so I
50:58
Speaker 1: had to wait for a couple of months with my
51:00
Speaker 1: people at Sydenham. One day out in a country lane,
51:04
Speaker 1: I met Teresa Wright, her old maid. She told me
51:08
Speaker 1: all about her, about him, about everything I tell you, gentlemen,
51:13
Speaker 1: It nearly drove me mad, this drunken hound that he
51:18
Speaker 1: should dare to raise his hand to her, whose boots
51:21
Speaker 1: he was not worthy to lick. I met Teresa again.
51:27
Speaker 1: Then I met Mary herself, and met her again. Then
51:31
Speaker 1: she would meet me no more. But the other day
51:34
Speaker 1: I had a notice that I was to start on
51:36
Speaker 1: my voyage within a week, and I determined that I
51:39
Speaker 1: would see her once before I left. Theresa was always
51:43
Speaker 1: my friend, for she loved Mary and hated this villain
51:47
Speaker 1: almost as much as I did. From her, I learned
51:50
Speaker 1: the ways of the house. Mary used to sit up
51:54
Speaker 1: reading in her own little room downstairs. I crept round
51:59
Speaker 1: there last night night and scratched at the window. At
52:04
Speaker 1: first she would not open to me. But in her
52:08
Speaker 1: heart I know that now she loves me, and she
52:11
Speaker 1: could not leave me. In the frosty night, she whispered
52:14
Speaker 1: to me to come round to the big front window,
52:17
Speaker 1: and I found it open before me, so as to
52:20
Speaker 1: let me into the dining room. Again I heard from
52:23
Speaker 1: her own lips things that made my blood boil, And
52:27
Speaker 1: again I cursed this brute who mishandled the woman I loved. Well, gentlemen,
52:32
Speaker 1: I was standing with her just inside the window, in
52:35
Speaker 1: all innocence, as God is my judge, when he rushed
52:38
Speaker 1: like a madman into the room, called her the vilest
52:42
Speaker 1: name that a man could use to a woman, and
52:45
Speaker 1: welted her across the face with the stick he had
52:48
Speaker 1: in his hand. I had sprung for the poker, and
52:52
Speaker 1: it was a fair fight between us. See here on
52:55
Speaker 1: my arm where his first blow fell. Then it was
52:59
Speaker 1: my turn, and I went through him as if he
53:02
Speaker 1: had been a rotten pumpkin. Do you think I was sorry?
53:06
Speaker 1: Not I It was his life or mine. But far
53:11
Speaker 1: more than that, it was his life or hers. For
53:14
Speaker 1: how could I leave her in the power of this madman?
53:18
Speaker 1: That was how I killed him. Was I wrong? Well,
53:21
Speaker 1: then what would either of you, gentlemen have done if
53:23
Speaker 1: you had been in my position? She had screamed when
53:27
Speaker 1: he struck her, and that brought old Teresa down from
53:31
Speaker 1: the room above. There was a bottle of wine on
53:34
Speaker 1: the sideboard, and I opened it and poured a little
53:36
Speaker 1: between Mary's lips, for she was half dead with shock.
53:41
Speaker 1: Then I took a drop myself. Teresa was as cool
53:45
Speaker 1: as ice, and it was her plot as much as mine.
53:50
Speaker 1: We must make it appear that Burglars had done the thing.
53:54
Speaker 1: Teresa kept on repeating our story to her mistress, while
53:58
Speaker 1: I swarmed up and cut the rope of the bell.
54:01
Speaker 1: Then I lashed her in her chair and frayed out
54:05
Speaker 1: the end of the rope to make it look natural,
54:08
Speaker 1: else they would wonder how in the world a burglar
54:10
Speaker 1: could have got up there to cut it. Then I
54:13
Speaker 1: gathered up a few plates and pots of silver to
54:16
Speaker 1: carry out the idea of the robbery, and there I
54:19
Speaker 1: left them with orders to give the alarm. When I
54:23
Speaker 1: had a quarter of an hour's start, I dropped the
54:26
Speaker 1: silver into the pond and made off for Sidnam, feeling
54:31
Speaker 1: that for once in my life I had done a
54:32
Speaker 1: real good night's work. And that's the truth and the
54:36
Speaker 1: whole truth, mister Holmes, if it costs me my neck,
54:42
Speaker 1: homes smoked for some time in silence. Then he crossed
54:45
Speaker 1: the room and shook our visitor by the hand. That's
54:50
Speaker 1: what I think, said he. I know that every word
54:53
Speaker 1: is true, for you have hardly said a word which
54:57
Speaker 1: I did not know. No no one but an acrobat
55:01
Speaker 1: or a sailor could have got up to that bell
55:03
Speaker 1: rope from the bracket, and no one but a sailor
55:07
Speaker 1: could have made the knots with which the cord was
55:09
Speaker 1: fastened to the chair. Only once had this lady been
55:14
Speaker 1: brought into contact with sailors, and that was on her voyage,
55:19
Speaker 1: and it was someone of her own class of life.
55:22
Speaker 1: Since she was trying hard to shield him and so
55:25
Speaker 1: showing that she loved him. You see how easy it
55:29
Speaker 1: was for me to lay my hands upon you, when
55:31
Speaker 1: once I had started upon the right trail, I thought
55:35
Speaker 1: the police never could have seen through our dodge. And
55:38
Speaker 1: the police haven't nor will they, to the best of
55:41
Speaker 1: my belief. Now look here, Captain Crocker, this is a
55:45
Speaker 1: very serious matter. Though I am willing to admit that
55:48
Speaker 1: you acted under the most extreme provocation to which any
55:51
Speaker 1: man could be subjected, I am not sure that in
55:55
Speaker 1: defense of your own life, your action will not be
55:58
Speaker 1: pronounced legitimate. However, that is for a British jury to decide. Meanwhile,
56:06
Speaker 1: I have so much sympathy for you that if you
56:09
Speaker 1: choose to disappear in the next twenty four hours, I
56:12
Speaker 1: will promise you that no one will hinder you, and
56:15
Speaker 1: then it will all come out. Certainly it will come
56:18
Speaker 1: out the sailor flushed with anger. What sort of proposal
56:23
Speaker 1: is that to make to a man? I know enough
56:26
Speaker 1: of law to understand that Mary would be held as
56:29
Speaker 1: a complice. Do you think I would leave her alone
56:31
Speaker 1: to face the music while I slunk away? No, sir,
56:35
Speaker 1: let them do their worst upon me. But for Heaven's sake,
56:39
Speaker 1: mister Holmes finds some way of keeping my poor Mary
56:42
Speaker 1: out of the courts. Holmes for a second time held
56:46
Speaker 1: out his hand to the sailor. I was only testing you,
56:51
Speaker 1: and you ring true every time. Well, it is a
56:55
Speaker 1: great responsibility that I take upon myself. But I have
56:59
Speaker 1: given Hopkins and excellent hint, and if he can't avail
57:02
Speaker 1: himself of it, I can do no more. See here,
57:06
Speaker 1: Captain Crocker will do this in due form of law.
57:10
Speaker 1: You are the prisoner, Watson. You are a British jury,
57:15
Speaker 1: and I never met a man who was more eminently
57:18
Speaker 1: fitted to represent one. I am the judge. Now, gentlemen
57:24
Speaker 1: of the jury, you have heard the evidence. Do you
57:28
Speaker 1: find the prisoner guilty or not guilty? Not guilty, my Lord,
57:34
Speaker 1: said I vox popularly vox day you are acquitted, Captain Crocker.
57:42
Speaker 1: So long as the Lord does not find some other victim,
57:46
Speaker 1: you are safe from me. Come back to this lady
57:50
Speaker 1: in a year, and may her future and yours justify
57:54
Speaker 1: us in the judgment which we have pronounced this night.