Latest / Classic Adventure Books - Daily / The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Transcript

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

0:00
Speaker 1: The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet. Holmes said, I, as
0:04
Speaker 1: I stood one morning in our bow window looking down
0:07
Speaker 1: the street, here is a madman coming along. It seems
0:12
Speaker 1: rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come
0:14
Speaker 1: out alone. My friend rose lazily from his arm chair
0:20
Speaker 1: and stood with his hands in the pockets of his
0:22
Speaker 1: dressing gown, looking over my shoulder. It was a bright,
0:26
Speaker 1: crisp February morning, and the snow of the day before
0:30
Speaker 1: still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the
0:34
Speaker 1: wintry sun. Down the center of Baker Street, it had
0:38
Speaker 1: been plowed into a brown, crumbly band by the traffic,
0:43
Speaker 1: but at either side, and on the heaped up edges
0:45
Speaker 1: of the foot paths, it still lay as white as
0:48
Speaker 1: when it fell. The gray pavement had been cleaned and scraped,
0:52
Speaker 1: but was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer
0:56
Speaker 1: passengers than usual. Indeed, from the direction of Metropolitan Station,
1:01
Speaker 1: no one was coming save the single gentleman whose eccentric
1:05
Speaker 1: conduct had drawn my attention. He was a man of
1:09
Speaker 1: about fifty tall, portly and imposing, with a massive, strongly
1:14
Speaker 1: marked face and commanding figure. He was dressed in a
1:18
Speaker 1: somber yet rich style, in black frock coat, shining hat,
1:23
Speaker 1: neat brown gaiters, and well cut pearl gray trousers. Yet
1:27
Speaker 1: his actions were an absurd contrast to the dignity of
1:31
Speaker 1: his dress and features, for he was running hard with
1:34
Speaker 1: occasional little springs, such as a weary man gives who
1:38
Speaker 1: is little accustomed to set any tax upon his legs.
1:43
Speaker 1: As he ran, he jacked his hands up and down,
1:46
Speaker 1: waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most
1:49
Speaker 1: extraordinary contortions. What on earth can be the matter with him?
1:54
Speaker 1: I asked? He is looking up at the numbers of
1:57
Speaker 1: the houses. I believe that he is coming here, said Holmes,
2:02
Speaker 1: rubbing his hands here. Yes, I rather think he is
2:07
Speaker 1: coming to consult me professionally. I think that I recognized
2:11
Speaker 1: the symptoms. Ha, did I not tell you? As he spoke,
2:16
Speaker 1: the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and
2:19
Speaker 1: pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with
2:22
Speaker 1: the clanging. A few moments later he was in our room,
2:26
Speaker 1: still puffing, still gesticulating, but with so fixed a look
2:30
Speaker 1: of grief and despair in his eye that our smiles
2:33
Speaker 1: were turned in an instant to horror and pity. For
2:37
Speaker 1: a while he could not get his words out, but
2:39
Speaker 1: swayed his body and plucked at his hair, like one
2:42
Speaker 1: who has been driven to the extreme limits of his reason. Then,
2:47
Speaker 1: suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against
2:50
Speaker 1: the wall with such force that we both rushed upon
2:53
Speaker 1: him and tore him away to the center of the room.
2:57
Speaker 1: Sharlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy chair, and,
3:01
Speaker 1: sitting beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him
3:05
Speaker 1: in the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well.
3:08
Speaker 1: How to employ You have come to tell me your story,
3:12
Speaker 1: have you not, said he? You are fatigued with your haste. Pray,
3:17
Speaker 1: wait until you have recovered yourself, and then I shall
3:19
Speaker 1: be most happy to look into any little problem which
3:22
Speaker 1: you may submit to me. The man sat for a
3:25
Speaker 1: minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion.
3:30
Speaker 1: Then he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his
3:33
Speaker 1: lips tight, and turned his face towards us. No doubt,
3:38
Speaker 1: ye think me mad, said he. I see that you
3:41
Speaker 1: have had some great trouble, responded Holmes. God knows I
3:46
Speaker 1: have a trouble which is enough to unseat my reason.
3:50
Speaker 1: So sudden and so terrible is it public disgrace I
3:53
Speaker 1: might have faced, although I am a man whose character
3:56
Speaker 1: has never yet borne a stain private affliction. All so
4:00
Speaker 1: is the lot of every man. But the two coming
4:03
Speaker 1: together and in so frightful a form, have been enough
4:06
Speaker 1: to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone.
4:12
Speaker 1: The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some
4:15
Speaker 1: way be found out of this horrible affair. Pray compose yourself, sir,
4:21
Speaker 1: said Holmes, and let me have a clear account of
4:24
Speaker 1: who you are and what it is that has befallen you.
4:29
Speaker 1: My name, answered our visitor, is probably familiar to your ears.
4:34
Speaker 1: I am Alexander Holder of the bank firm of Holder,
4:37
Speaker 1: and Stephenson of Threadneedle Street. The name was indeed well
4:42
Speaker 1: known to us as belonging to the senior partner in
4:45
Speaker 1: the second largest private banking concern in the city of London.
4:50
Speaker 1: What could have happened then, to bring one of the
4:52
Speaker 1: foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass. We
4:58
Speaker 1: waited all curiosity until with another effort, he braced himself
5:02
Speaker 1: to tell his story. I feel the time is of value,
5:06
Speaker 1: said he. That is why I hastened here when the
5:09
Speaker 1: police inspector suggested that it should secure your corporation. I
5:15
Speaker 1: came to Baker Street by the underground and hurried from
5:18
Speaker 1: here on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this snow.
5:22
Speaker 1: That is why I was so out of breath, for
5:24
Speaker 1: I am a man who takes very little exercise. I
5:27
Speaker 1: feel better now and will put the facts before you
5:30
Speaker 1: as shortly and yet as clearly as I can. It
5:34
Speaker 1: is of course well known to you that in a
5:36
Speaker 1: successful banking business, as much depends upon our being able
5:40
Speaker 1: to find remunerative investments for our funds, as upon our
5:44
Speaker 1: increasing our connection and the number of our depositors. One
5:49
Speaker 1: of our most lucrative means of laying out money is
5:52
Speaker 1: in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable.
5:57
Speaker 1: We have done a good deal in this direction during
5:59
Speaker 1: the last few years, and there are many noble families
6:02
Speaker 1: to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security
6:05
Speaker 1: of their pictures, libraries or plate. Yesterday morning, I was
6:10
Speaker 1: seated in my office at the bank when a card
6:13
Speaker 1: was brought to me by one of the clerks. I
6:17
Speaker 1: started when I saw the name, for it was that
6:19
Speaker 1: of none other than well perhaps even to you, I
6:22
Speaker 1: had better say no more than that it was a
6:25
Speaker 1: name which is a household word all over the earth,
6:29
Speaker 1: one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England.
6:34
Speaker 1: I was overwhelmed by the honor, and attempted when he
6:37
Speaker 1: entered to say so, But he plunged at once into business,
6:41
Speaker 1: with the air of a man who wishes to hurry
6:43
Speaker 1: quickly through a disagreeable task. Mister Holder said he, I
6:49
Speaker 1: have been informed that you are in the habit of
6:51
Speaker 1: advancing money. The firm does so when the security is good.
6:56
Speaker 1: I answered, it is absolutely essential to me, said he,
7:01
Speaker 1: that I should have fifty thousand pounds at once. I could,
7:05
Speaker 1: of course borrow so trifling a sum ten times over
7:08
Speaker 1: from my friends, but I much prefer to make it
7:11
Speaker 1: a matter of business, and so carry out that business myself.
7:15
Speaker 1: In my position, you can readily understand that it is
7:18
Speaker 1: unwise to place one's self under obligations. For How long?
7:23
Speaker 1: May I ask? Do you want this sum? I asked,
7:27
Speaker 1: next Monday. I have a large sum due to me,
7:30
Speaker 1: and I shall then most certainly repay what you advance,
7:34
Speaker 1: with whatever interest you think is right to charge. But
7:37
Speaker 1: it is very essential to me that the money should
7:40
Speaker 1: be paid at once. I should be happy to advance
7:44
Speaker 1: it without further parley from my own private purse, said I,
7:49
Speaker 1: were it not that the strain would be rather more
7:52
Speaker 1: than I could bear. If, on the other hand, I
7:55
Speaker 1: am to do it in the name of the firm,
7:57
Speaker 1: then in justice to my partner, I must insist that,
8:00
Speaker 1: even in your case, every businesslike precaution should be taken.
8:06
Speaker 1: I should much prefer to have it, so, said he,
8:09
Speaker 1: raising up a square black Morocco case which he had
8:12
Speaker 1: laid beside his chair. You have doubtless heard of the
8:16
Speaker 1: Beryl coronet, one of the most precious public possessions of
8:21
Speaker 1: the Empire, said I precisely. He opened the case, and there,
8:27
Speaker 1: embedded in soft flesh colored velvet lay the magnificent piece
8:32
Speaker 1: of jewelry which he had named. There are thirty nine
8:36
Speaker 1: enormous beryls, said he. And the price of the gold
8:40
Speaker 1: chasing is incalculable. The lowest estimate would put the worse
8:44
Speaker 1: of the coronet at double the sum which I have asked.
8:48
Speaker 1: I am prepared to leave it with you as my security.
8:52
Speaker 1: I took the precious case into my hands and looked
8:55
Speaker 1: in some perplexity from it to my illustrious client. Ye
9:00
Speaker 1: doubt its value, he asked, not at all. I only
9:05
Speaker 1: doubt the propriety of my leaving it. You may set
9:09
Speaker 1: your mind at rest about that. I should not dream
9:11
Speaker 1: of doing so were it not absolutely certain that I
9:15
Speaker 1: should be able in four days to reclaim it. It
9:18
Speaker 1: is a pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient ample?
9:24
Speaker 1: You understand, mister holder, that I am giving you a
9:27
Speaker 1: strong proof of the confidence which I have in you,
9:30
Speaker 1: founded upon all that I have heard of you. I
9:33
Speaker 1: rely upon you not only to be discreet and to
9:37
Speaker 1: refrain from all gossip upon the matter, but above all,
9:41
Speaker 1: to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution, because I
9:45
Speaker 1: need not say that a great public scandal would be
9:48
Speaker 1: caused if any harm were to befall it. Any injury
9:52
Speaker 1: to it would be almost as serious as its complete loss,
9:56
Speaker 1: for there are no beryls in the world to match these,
9:59
Speaker 1: and it would be impossible to replace them. I leave
10:03
Speaker 1: it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall
10:06
Speaker 1: call for it in person on Monday morning. Seeing that
10:10
Speaker 1: my client was anxious to leave, I said no more,
10:13
Speaker 1: but calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay
10:16
Speaker 1: over fifty one thousand pound notes. When I was alone
10:20
Speaker 1: once more. However, with a precious case lying upon the
10:24
Speaker 1: table in front of me, I could not but think
10:27
Speaker 1: with some misgivings of the immense responsibility which it entailed
10:31
Speaker 1: upon me. There could be no doubt that, as it
10:34
Speaker 1: was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if
10:38
Speaker 1: any misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted, having
10:43
Speaker 1: ever consented to take charge of it. However, it was
10:47
Speaker 1: too late to alter the matter now, so I locked
10:50
Speaker 1: it up in my private safe and turned once more
10:53
Speaker 1: to my work. When evening came, I felt that it
10:57
Speaker 1: would be an imprudence to leave so precious a thing
10:59
Speaker 1: in the behind me. Banker's safes had been forced before now,
11:04
Speaker 1: and why should not mine be. If so, how terrible
11:08
Speaker 1: would be the position in which I should find myself.
11:11
Speaker 1: I determined therefore, that for the next few days I
11:15
Speaker 1: would always carry the case backward and forward with me,
11:18
Speaker 1: so that it might never be really out of my reach.
11:21
Speaker 1: With this intention, I called a cab and drove out
11:24
Speaker 1: to my house at Stretham, carrying the jewel with me.
11:29
Speaker 1: I did not breathe freely until I had taken it
11:31
Speaker 1: upstairs and locked it in the bureau of my dressing room.
11:36
Speaker 1: And now a word as to my household, mister Holmes,
11:39
Speaker 1: for I wish you to thoroughly understand the situation. My
11:42
Speaker 1: groom and my page sleep out of the house and
11:46
Speaker 1: may be set aside. Altogether. I have three maid servants
11:50
Speaker 1: who have been with me a number of years, and
11:52
Speaker 1: whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy Parr,
11:59
Speaker 1: the second waiting maid, has only been in my service
12:02
Speaker 1: a few months. She came with an excellent character, however,
12:06
Speaker 1: and has always given me satisfaction. She is a very
12:09
Speaker 1: pretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung
12:13
Speaker 1: about the place. That is the only drawback which we
12:17
Speaker 1: have found to her. But we believe her to be
12:19
Speaker 1: a sorrowly good girl in every way. So much for
12:23
Speaker 1: the servants. My family itself is so small that it
12:27
Speaker 1: will not take me long to describe it. I am
12:30
Speaker 1: a widower and I have an only son, Arthur. He
12:34
Speaker 1: has been a disappointment to me, mister Holmes, a grievous disappointment.
12:39
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that I am myself to blame.
12:42
Speaker 1: People tell me that I have spoiled him very likely
12:46
Speaker 1: I have. When my dear wife died, I felt that
12:50
Speaker 1: he was all I had to love. I could not
12:53
Speaker 1: bear to see the smile fade, even for a moment
12:55
Speaker 1: from his face. I have never denied him a wish.
12:59
Speaker 1: Perhaps that would have been better for both of us
13:02
Speaker 1: had I been sterner, but I meant it for the best.
13:06
Speaker 1: It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me
13:09
Speaker 1: in my business. But he was not of a business turn.
13:13
Speaker 1: He was wild, wayward, and to speak the truth, I
13:17
Speaker 1: could not trust him in the handling of large sums
13:19
Speaker 1: of money. When he was young, he became a member
13:22
Speaker 1: of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming manners, he
13:27
Speaker 1: was soon the intimate of a number of men with
13:29
Speaker 1: long purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily
13:34
Speaker 1: at cards, and to squander money on the turf, until
13:38
Speaker 1: he had again and again to come to me and
13:40
Speaker 1: implore me to give him an advance upon his allowance,
13:44
Speaker 1: that he might settle his debts of honor. He tried
13:47
Speaker 1: more than once to break away from the dangerous company
13:50
Speaker 1: which he was keeping, but each time the influence of
13:53
Speaker 1: his friend, Sir George Burnwell was enough to draw him back. Again,
13:58
Speaker 1: And indeed I could not wonder that such a man
14:01
Speaker 1: as Sir George Banwell should gain an influence over him,
14:05
Speaker 1: for he has frequently brought him to my house, and
14:08
Speaker 1: I have found myself that I could hardly resist the
14:10
Speaker 1: fascination of his manner. He is older than Arthur, a
14:14
Speaker 1: man of the world to his finger tips, one who
14:17
Speaker 1: had been everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a
14:21
Speaker 1: man of great personal beauty. Yet when I think of
14:25
Speaker 1: him in cold blood, far away from the glamor of
14:28
Speaker 1: his presence, I am convinced, from his cynical speech and
14:32
Speaker 1: the look which I may have caught in his eyes,
14:35
Speaker 1: that he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So
14:38
Speaker 1: I think, and so too thinks my little Mary, who
14:41
Speaker 1: has a woman's quick insight into character. And now there
14:45
Speaker 1: is only she to be described. She is my niece.
14:49
Speaker 1: But when my brother died five years ago and left
14:52
Speaker 1: her alone in the world, I adopted her and have
14:55
Speaker 1: looked upon her ever since as my daughter. She is
14:58
Speaker 1: a sunbeam in my house, sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful
15:03
Speaker 1: manager and housekeeper. Yet as tender and quiet and gentle
15:07
Speaker 1: as a woman could be. She is my right hand.
15:11
Speaker 1: I do not know what I could do without her.
15:14
Speaker 1: In only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes.
15:17
Speaker 1: Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for
15:20
Speaker 1: he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him.
15:25
Speaker 1: I think that if any one could have drawn him
15:27
Speaker 1: into the right path, it would have been she, and
15:31
Speaker 1: that his marriage might have changed his whole life. But now,
15:35
Speaker 1: alas it is too late, forever too late. Now, mister Holmes,
15:41
Speaker 1: ye know the people he live under my roof, and
15:43
Speaker 1: I shall continue with my miserable story. When we were
15:47
Speaker 1: taking coffee in the drawing room that night after dinner,
15:50
Speaker 1: I told Arthur and Mary my experience and of the
15:54
Speaker 1: precious treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only
15:58
Speaker 1: the name of my client, Lucy Parr, who had brought
16:02
Speaker 1: in the coffee. Had I am sure left the room,
16:05
Speaker 1: but I cannot swear that the door was closed. Mary
16:09
Speaker 1: and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the
16:12
Speaker 1: famous coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it.
16:16
Speaker 1: Where have you put it? Asked Arthur in my own bureau. Well,
16:22
Speaker 1: I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during
16:24
Speaker 1: the night, said he. It is locked up, I answered, Oh,
16:29
Speaker 1: any old key will fit that bureau. When I was
16:32
Speaker 1: a youngster, I have opened it myself with the key
16:34
Speaker 1: of the box room cupboard. He often had a wild
16:38
Speaker 1: way of talking, so that I thought little of what
16:41
Speaker 1: he said. He followed me to my room. However, that
16:44
Speaker 1: night with a very grave face. Look here, Dad said
16:49
Speaker 1: he with his eyes cast down. Can you let me
16:51
Speaker 1: have two hundred pounds? No? I cannot, I answered sharply.
16:57
Speaker 1: I have been far too generous with you in money matter.
17:01
Speaker 1: You have been very kind, said he. But I must
17:05
Speaker 1: have this money or else I can never show my
17:07
Speaker 1: face inside the club again. And a very good thing too,
17:12
Speaker 1: I cried, yes, But YE would not have me leave it.
17:16
Speaker 1: A dishonored man said he. I could not bear the disgrace.
17:21
Speaker 1: I must raise the money in some way, and if
17:24
Speaker 1: you will not let me have it, then I must
17:26
Speaker 1: try other means. I was very angry, for this was
17:30
Speaker 1: the surge demand during the month. You shall not have
17:34
Speaker 1: a farthing from me, I cried, on which he bowed
17:37
Speaker 1: and left the room without another word. When he was gone,
17:41
Speaker 1: I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my treasure was safe,
17:45
Speaker 1: and locked it again. Then I started to go round
17:49
Speaker 1: the house to see that all was secure, a duty
17:51
Speaker 1: which I normally leave to marry, but which I sought
17:54
Speaker 1: it well to perform myself. That night. As I came
17:58
Speaker 1: down the stairs, I saw Mary herself at the side
18:00
Speaker 1: window of the hall, which she closed and fastened. As
18:04
Speaker 1: I approached. Tell me, Dad, she said, looking I thought
18:08
Speaker 1: a little disturbed. Did you give Lucy the maid leave
18:12
Speaker 1: to go out to night? Certainly not. She came in
18:17
Speaker 1: just now by the back door. I have no doubt
18:20
Speaker 1: that she has only been to the side gate to
18:22
Speaker 1: see some one. But I think that it is hardly
18:24
Speaker 1: safe and should be stopped. You must speak to her
18:28
Speaker 1: in the morning, or I will if you prefer it.
18:31
Speaker 1: Are you sure that everything is fastened? Quite sure? Dad?
18:35
Speaker 1: Then good night. I kissed her and went up to
18:39
Speaker 1: my bedroom again, where I was soon asleep. I am
18:43
Speaker 1: endeavoring to tell you everything, mister Holmes, which may have
18:46
Speaker 1: any bearing upon the case, But I beg that you
18:49
Speaker 1: will question me upon any point which I do not
18:51
Speaker 1: make clear. On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid.
18:57
Speaker 1: I come to a part of my story now which
18:59
Speaker 1: I could wish to be particularly so I am not
19:03
Speaker 1: a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety in my mind
19:06
Speaker 1: tendered no doubt to make me even less so than usual.
19:11
Speaker 1: About two in the morning, then I was awakened by
19:14
Speaker 1: some sound in the house. It had ceased. ERE was
19:17
Speaker 1: wide awake, but it had left an impression behind, as
19:21
Speaker 1: though a window had gently closed somewhere. I lay listening
19:26
Speaker 1: with all my ears. Suddenly, to my horror, there was
19:30
Speaker 1: a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in the next room.
19:34
Speaker 1: I slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear, and
19:38
Speaker 1: peeped round the corner of my dressing room door. Arthur.
19:42
Speaker 1: I screamed, you villain, you thief, how dare you touch
19:46
Speaker 1: that coronet? The gas was half up as I had
19:50
Speaker 1: left it, and my unhappy boy, dressed only in his
19:53
Speaker 1: shirt and trousers, was standing beside the light, holding the
19:58
Speaker 1: coronet in his hands. He appeared to be wrenching at
20:01
Speaker 1: it or bending it with all his strength. At my cry,
20:06
Speaker 1: he dropped it from his grasp and turned as pale
20:09
Speaker 1: as death. I snatched it up and examined it. One
20:14
Speaker 1: of the gold corners with three of the beryls in
20:17
Speaker 1: it was missing, you blackguard. I shouted beside me with rage.
20:24
Speaker 1: You have destroyed it. You have dishonored me forever. Where
20:28
Speaker 1: are the jewels which you have stolen? Stolen? He cried, Yes, thief,
20:36
Speaker 1: I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. There are none missing.
20:41
Speaker 1: There cannot be any missing, said he. There are three missing,
20:45
Speaker 1: and you know where they are. Must I call you
20:48
Speaker 1: a liar as well as a thief. Did I not
20:51
Speaker 1: see you trying to tear off another piece? You have
20:55
Speaker 1: called me names enough, said he. I will not stand
20:58
Speaker 1: it any longer. I shall not say another word about
21:01
Speaker 1: this business. Since you have chosen to insult me. I
21:05
Speaker 1: will leave your house in the morning and make my
21:07
Speaker 1: own way in the world. You shall leave it in
21:10
Speaker 1: the hands of the police, I cried, half mad with
21:13
Speaker 1: grief and rage. I shall have this matter probed to
21:17
Speaker 1: the bottom. You shall learn nothing from me, said he,
21:21
Speaker 1: with a passion such as I should not have thought
21:24
Speaker 1: was in his nature. If you choose to call the police,
21:28
Speaker 1: let the police find what they can. By this time
21:32
Speaker 1: the whole house was astir, for I had raised my
21:35
Speaker 1: voice in my anger. Mary was the first to rush
21:38
Speaker 1: into my room, and at the sight of the coronet
21:41
Speaker 1: and of Arthur's face. She read the whole story, and
21:44
Speaker 1: with a scream, fell down senseless on the ground. I
21:48
Speaker 1: sent the housemaid for the police and put the investigation
21:52
Speaker 1: into their hands at once. When the inspector and a
21:56
Speaker 1: constable entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with
22:00
Speaker 1: his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention
22:03
Speaker 1: to charge him with theft. I answered that it had
22:06
Speaker 1: ceased to be a private matter, but had become a
22:10
Speaker 1: public one, since the ruined coronet was national property. I
22:15
Speaker 1: was determined that the law should have its way in everything.
22:19
Speaker 1: At least, he said, you will not have me arrested
22:22
Speaker 1: at once. It would be to your advantage as well
22:25
Speaker 1: as mine if I might leave the house for five minutes,
22:30
Speaker 1: that you may get away, or perhaps that you may
22:32
Speaker 1: conceal what you have stolen, said I, and then, realizing
22:37
Speaker 1: the dreadful position in which I was placed, I implored
22:40
Speaker 1: him to remember that not only my honor, but that
22:44
Speaker 1: of one who was far greater than I, was at stake,
22:47
Speaker 1: and that he threatened to raise the scandal which would
22:50
Speaker 1: convulse the nation. He might avert it all if you
22:54
Speaker 1: would but tell me what he had done with the
22:57
Speaker 1: three missing stones. You may as well face the matter,
23:01
Speaker 1: said I. You have been caught in the act, and
23:04
Speaker 1: no confession could make you guilt more heinous. If you
23:07
Speaker 1: but make such reparation as is in your power by
23:11
Speaker 1: telling us where the beryls are, all shall be forgiven
23:14
Speaker 1: and forgotten. Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,
23:18
Speaker 1: he answered, turning away from me with a sneer. I
23:23
Speaker 1: saw that he was too hardened for any words of
23:25
Speaker 1: mind to influence him. There was but one way for it.
23:29
Speaker 1: I called in the inspector and gave him into custody.
23:33
Speaker 1: As such was made at once, not only of his person,
23:36
Speaker 1: but of his room and of every portion of the
23:39
Speaker 1: house where he could possibly have concealed the gems. But
23:43
Speaker 1: no trace of them could be found, Nor would the
23:45
Speaker 1: wretched boy open his mouth. For all our persuasions and
23:49
Speaker 1: our threats. This morning he was removed to a cell,
23:53
Speaker 1: and I, after going through all the police formalities, have
23:57
Speaker 1: hurried round to you to implore you to use your
23:59
Speaker 1: skill in unraveling the matter. The police have openly confessed
24:04
Speaker 1: that they can at present make nothing of it. You
24:07
Speaker 1: may go to any expense which you think necessary. I
24:10
Speaker 1: have already offered a reward of one thousand pounds. My god,
24:14
Speaker 1: what shall I do? I have lost my honor, my gems,
24:18
Speaker 1: and my son in one night. Oh what shall I do?
24:23
Speaker 1: He put a hand on either side of his head
24:26
Speaker 1: and rocked himself to and fro, droning to himself like
24:29
Speaker 1: a child whose grief has got beyond words. Sharlock Holmes
24:34
Speaker 1: sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted
24:38
Speaker 1: and his eyes fixed upon the fire. Do you receive
24:42
Speaker 1: much company? He asked, None save my partner with his family,
24:47
Speaker 1: and an occasional friend of Arthur's, Sir George Bernwill, has
24:51
Speaker 1: been several times lately. No one else, I think. Do
24:55
Speaker 1: you go out much in society? Arthur? Does Mary and
25:00
Speaker 1: I stay at home? We neither of us care for it.
25:04
Speaker 1: That is unusual in a young girl. She is of
25:07
Speaker 1: a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young.
25:12
Speaker 1: She is four and twenty. This matter, from what you say,
25:16
Speaker 1: seems to have been a shock to her, also terrible.
25:20
Speaker 1: She is even more affected than I. You have neither
25:23
Speaker 1: of you any doubt as to your son's guilt? How
25:27
Speaker 1: can we have? When I saw him with my own
25:29
Speaker 1: eyes with the coronet in his hands. I hardly consider
25:34
Speaker 1: that a conclusive proof. Was the remainder of the coronet
25:38
Speaker 1: at all injured? Yes, it was twisted. Do you not
25:43
Speaker 1: think then that you might have been trying to straighten it?
25:46
Speaker 1: God bless you. You are doing what you can for
25:49
Speaker 1: him and for me, But it is too heavy a task.
25:53
Speaker 1: What was he doing there at all? If his purpose
25:56
Speaker 1: were innocent, why did he not say so precisely? And
26:01
Speaker 1: if he were guilty, why did he not invent a lie?
26:05
Speaker 1: His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There
26:08
Speaker 1: are several singular points about the case. What did the
26:12
Speaker 1: police think of the noise which awoke you from your sleep?
26:17
Speaker 1: They considered that it might be caused by Arthur's closing
26:20
Speaker 1: his bedroom door, a likely story, as if a man
26:24
Speaker 1: bent on felony would slam his door so as to
26:27
Speaker 1: wake a household. What did they say, then, of the
26:31
Speaker 1: disappearance of these gems. They are still sounding the planking
26:36
Speaker 1: and probing the furniture in the hope of finding them.
26:40
Speaker 1: Have they sort of looking outside the house? Yes, they
26:44
Speaker 1: have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has already been
26:47
Speaker 1: minutely examined. Now, my dear sir, said Holmes, it is
26:52
Speaker 1: not obvious to you now that this matter really strikes
26:56
Speaker 1: very much deeper than either you or the police were
26:59
Speaker 1: at first inclined to think. It appeared to you to
27:03
Speaker 1: be a simple case. To me, it seems exceedingly complex.
27:08
Speaker 1: Consider what is involved by your theory. You suppose that
27:11
Speaker 1: your son came down from his bed, went at great
27:15
Speaker 1: risk to your dressing room, opened your bureau, took out
27:18
Speaker 1: your coronet, broke off by main force a small portion
27:22
Speaker 1: of it, went off to some other place, concealed three
27:26
Speaker 1: gems out of the thirty nine with such skill that
27:29
Speaker 1: nobody can find them, and then returned with the other
27:33
Speaker 1: thirty six into the room in which he exposed himself
27:36
Speaker 1: to the greatest danger of being discovered. I ask you, now,
27:40
Speaker 1: is such a theory tenable? But what other is there?
27:45
Speaker 1: Cried the banker, with a gesture of despair. If his
27:49
Speaker 1: motives were innocent, why does he not explain them? It
27:53
Speaker 1: is our task to find that out, replied Holmes. So now,
27:58
Speaker 1: if you please, mister Holder, we will set off for
28:01
Speaker 1: Stresthen together and devote an hour to glancing a little
28:05
Speaker 1: more closely into details. My friend insisted upon my accompanying
28:10
Speaker 1: them in their expedition, which I was eager enough to do,
28:13
Speaker 1: for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the
28:17
Speaker 1: story to which we had listened. I confess that the
28:20
Speaker 1: guilt of the banker's son appeared to me to be
28:23
Speaker 1: as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but
28:26
Speaker 1: still had such faith in Holmes's judgment that I felt
28:30
Speaker 1: that there must be some grounds for hope as long
28:32
Speaker 1: as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation. He hardly
28:37
Speaker 1: spoke a word the whole way out to the southern suburb,
28:41
Speaker 1: but sat with his chin upon his breast and his
28:43
Speaker 1: hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought.
28:48
Speaker 1: Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the
28:51
Speaker 1: little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him,
28:54
Speaker 1: and he even broke into a desultory chat with me
28:57
Speaker 1: over his business affairs. A short railway journey and a
29:01
Speaker 1: shorter walk brought us to Fairbank. The modest residence of
29:05
Speaker 1: the great financier Fairbank was a good sized square house
29:10
Speaker 1: of white stone, standing back a little from the road.
29:14
Speaker 1: A double carriage sweep with a snow clad lawn stretched
29:18
Speaker 1: down in front. Of two large iron gates which closed
29:22
Speaker 1: the entrance. On the right side was a small wooden
29:26
Speaker 1: thicket which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges,
29:31
Speaker 1: stretching from the road to the kitchen door and forming
29:34
Speaker 1: the trademan's entrance. On the left ran a lane which
29:39
Speaker 1: led to the stables, and was not itself within the
29:42
Speaker 1: grounds at all, being a public so little used soroughfare.
29:48
Speaker 1: Holmes left us standing at the door, and walked slowly
29:51
Speaker 1: all round the house, across the front, down the tradesman's path,
29:56
Speaker 1: and so round by the garden behind into the stable.
30:01
Speaker 1: So long was he that mister Holder and I went
30:03
Speaker 1: into the dining room and waited by the fire until
30:06
Speaker 1: he should return. We were sitting there in silence when
30:10
Speaker 1: the door opened and the young lady came in. She
30:14
Speaker 1: was rather above the middle height, slim, with dark hair
30:17
Speaker 1: and eyes which seemed the darker against the absolute pallor
30:21
Speaker 1: of her skin. I do not think that I have
30:24
Speaker 1: ever seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too,
30:30
Speaker 1: were bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As
30:34
Speaker 1: she swept silently into the room. She impressed me with
30:37
Speaker 1: a greater sense of grief than the banker had done
30:40
Speaker 1: in the morning, and it was the more striking in
30:43
Speaker 1: her as she was evidently a woman of strong character
30:46
Speaker 1: with immense capacity for self restraint. Disregarding my presence, she
30:52
Speaker 1: went straight to her uncle and passed her hand over
30:55
Speaker 1: his head with a sweet womanly caress. You have given
30:59
Speaker 1: orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you not dared?
31:02
Speaker 1: She asked? No, No, my girl, The matter must be
31:07
Speaker 1: probed to the bottom. But I am so sure that
31:10
Speaker 1: he is innocent. You know what woman's instincts are. I
31:15
Speaker 1: know that he has done no harm and that you
31:17
Speaker 1: will be sorry for having acted so harshly. Why is
31:22
Speaker 1: he silent then, if he is innocent? Who knows? Perhaps
31:26
Speaker 1: because he was so angry that you should suspect him.
31:30
Speaker 1: How could I help suspecting him when I actually saw
31:33
Speaker 1: him with a coronet in his hand. Oh, but he
31:37
Speaker 1: had only picked it up to look at it. Oh,
31:39
Speaker 1: do do take my word for it that he is innocent.
31:43
Speaker 1: Let the matter drop and say no more. It is
31:46
Speaker 1: so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in prison.
31:50
Speaker 1: I shall never let it drop until the gems are found.
31:54
Speaker 1: Never marry your affection for Arthur blinds you as to
31:58
Speaker 1: the awful consequences to me. Far from hushing the thing up,
32:02
Speaker 1: I have brought gentlemen down from London to inquire more
32:05
Speaker 1: deeply into it. This gentleman, she asked, facing round to me. No,
32:12
Speaker 1: his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He
32:16
Speaker 1: is round in the stable lane. Now the stable lane,
32:20
Speaker 1: she raised her dark eyebrows. What can he hope to
32:24
Speaker 1: find there? Ah, this, I suppose is he? I trust, sir,
32:29
Speaker 1: that you will succeed in proving what I feel sure
32:32
Speaker 1: is the truth that my cousin Arthur is innocent of
32:34
Speaker 1: his crime. I fully share your opinion, and I trust
32:38
Speaker 1: with you that we may prove it, returned Holmes, going
32:43
Speaker 1: back to the match to knock the snow from his shoes.
32:46
Speaker 1: I believe I have the honor of addressing Miss Mary Holder.
32:50
Speaker 1: May I ask you a question or two? Pray do, sir,
32:54
Speaker 1: if it may help you, if it may help to
32:56
Speaker 1: clear this horrible affair up. You heard nothing yourself last night,
33:02
Speaker 1: nothing until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I
33:06
Speaker 1: heard that, and I came down. You shut up the
33:09
Speaker 1: windows and doors the night before? Did you fasten all
33:12
Speaker 1: the windows? Yes? Were they all fastened this morning? Yes,
33:19
Speaker 1: you have a maid who has a sweetheart. I think
33:22
Speaker 1: that you remarked to your uncle last night that you
33:24
Speaker 1: had been out to see him. Yes, and she was
33:28
Speaker 1: the girl who waited in the drawing room, and who
33:30
Speaker 1: may have heard Uncle's remarks about the coronet. I see
33:35
Speaker 1: you infer that she may have gone out to tell
33:38
Speaker 1: her sweetheart, and that the two may have planned the robbery.
33:42
Speaker 1: But what is the good of all these vague theories,
33:45
Speaker 1: cried the banker impatiently, when I have told you that
33:48
Speaker 1: I saw Arthur with a coronet in his hands. Wait
33:52
Speaker 1: a little, mister Holder, We must come back to that.
33:56
Speaker 1: About this girl, Miss Holder, you saw her return by
33:59
Speaker 1: the king door, I presume yes. When I went to
34:03
Speaker 1: see if the door was fastened for the night, I
34:05
Speaker 1: met her slipping in. I saw the man too, in
34:09
Speaker 1: the gloom. Do you know him? Oh? Yes, he is
34:14
Speaker 1: the greengrocer who brings our vegetable friend. His name is
34:18
Speaker 1: Francis Prosper. He stood, said Holmes, to the left of
34:23
Speaker 1: the door, that is to say, farther up the path
34:26
Speaker 1: than is necessary to reach the door. Yes he did,
34:30
Speaker 1: And he is a man with a wooden leg. Something
34:34
Speaker 1: like fear sprang up in the lady's expressive black eyes.
34:39
Speaker 1: Why you are like a magician, said she. How do
34:42
Speaker 1: you know that? She smiled, but there was no answering
34:46
Speaker 1: smile in Holmes's thin, eager face. I should be very
34:50
Speaker 1: glad now to go upstairs, said he. I shall probably
34:54
Speaker 1: wish to go over to the outside of the house again.
34:57
Speaker 1: Perhaps I had better take a look at the lower
34:59
Speaker 1: window before I go up. He walked swiftly round from
35:03
Speaker 1: one to the other, pausing only at a large one
35:06
Speaker 1: which looked from the hall into the stable lane. This
35:10
Speaker 1: he opened and made a very careful examination of the
35:13
Speaker 1: sill with his powerful magnifying lens. Now we shall go upstairs,
35:18
Speaker 1: said he. At last. The banker's dressing room was a
35:22
Speaker 1: plainly furnished little chamber with a gray carpet, a large bureau,
35:27
Speaker 1: and a long mirror. Holmes went to the bureau first
35:31
Speaker 1: and looked hard at the lock which key was used
35:35
Speaker 1: to open it. He asked, that which my son himself
35:39
Speaker 1: indicated that of the cupboard of the lumber room. Have
35:45
Speaker 1: you it here? That is it on the dressing table,
35:49
Speaker 1: Sharlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. It
35:53
Speaker 1: is a noiseless lock, said he. It is no wonder
35:56
Speaker 1: that it did not wake you. This case, I presume
35:59
Speaker 1: can hains the coronet. We must have a look at it.
36:04
Speaker 1: He opened the case, and taking out the diadem, he
36:07
Speaker 1: laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen
36:11
Speaker 1: of the jeweler's art, and the thirty six stones were
36:15
Speaker 1: the finest that I have ever seen. At one side
36:18
Speaker 1: of the coronet was a cracked edge, where a corner
36:21
Speaker 1: holding three gems had been torn away. Now, mister Holder,
36:26
Speaker 1: said Holmes, here is the corner which corresponds to that
36:30
Speaker 1: which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I beg that
36:34
Speaker 1: you will break it off? The banker recoiled in horror.
36:39
Speaker 1: I should not dream of trying it, said he. Then
36:42
Speaker 1: I will. Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but
36:47
Speaker 1: without result. I feel it give a little, said he.
36:51
Speaker 1: But though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it
36:55
Speaker 1: would take me all my time to break it. An
36:58
Speaker 1: ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you
37:01
Speaker 1: think would happen if I did break it, mister Holder?
37:05
Speaker 1: There would be a noise like a pistol shot. Do
37:08
Speaker 1: you tell me that all this happened within a few
37:10
Speaker 1: yards of your bed, and that you had nothing of it.
37:14
Speaker 1: I do not know what to think. It is all
37:16
Speaker 1: dark to me, but perhaps it may grow lighter as
37:21
Speaker 1: we go. What do you think, miss Holder? I confess
37:25
Speaker 1: that I still share my uncle's perplexity. Your son had
37:29
Speaker 1: no shoes or slippers on when you saw him. He
37:32
Speaker 1: had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt. Thank you.
37:37
Speaker 1: We have certainly been favored with extraordinary luck during this inquiry,
37:41
Speaker 1: and it will be entirely our own fault if we
37:43
Speaker 1: do not succeed in clearing this matter up. With your permission,
37:47
Speaker 1: mister Holder, I shall now continue my investigations outside. He
37:52
Speaker 1: went alone, at his own request, for he explained that
37:56
Speaker 1: any unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For
38:01
Speaker 1: an hour or more he was at work, returning at
38:04
Speaker 1: last with his feet heavy with snow and his features
38:08
Speaker 1: as inscrutable as ever. I think that I have seen
38:12
Speaker 1: now all there is to see, mister Holder said he.
38:14
Speaker 1: I can serve you best by returning to my rooms.
38:18
Speaker 1: But the gems, mister Holmes, where are they? I cannot tell.
38:24
Speaker 1: The banker wrung his hands. I shall never see them again.
38:28
Speaker 1: He cried, and my son, you give me hopes my
38:33
Speaker 1: opinion is in no way altered. Then, for God's sake,
38:37
Speaker 1: what was this dark business which was acted in my
38:40
Speaker 1: house last night? If you can call upon me at
38:43
Speaker 1: my Baker Street rooms to morrow morning between nine and ten,
38:47
Speaker 1: I shall be happy to do what I can to
38:49
Speaker 1: make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte
38:53
Speaker 1: blanche to act for you, provided only that I get
38:56
Speaker 1: back the gems, and that you place no limit on
38:59
Speaker 1: the summer draw. I would give my fortune to have
39:03
Speaker 1: them back. Very good. I shall look into the matter
39:07
Speaker 1: between this and then good bye. It is just possible
39:11
Speaker 1: that I may have to come over here again before evening.
39:15
Speaker 1: It was obvious to me that my companion's mind was
39:18
Speaker 1: now made up about the case, although what his conclusions
39:21
Speaker 1: were was no more than I could even dimly imagine.
39:25
Speaker 1: Several times during our homeward journey I endeavored to sound
39:29
Speaker 1: him upon the point, but he always glided away to
39:32
Speaker 1: some other topic, until at last I gave it over
39:35
Speaker 1: in despair. It was not yet three when we found
39:38
Speaker 1: ourselves in our rooms once more. He hurried to his
39:42
Speaker 1: chamber and was down again in a few minutes. Dressed
39:45
Speaker 1: as a common loafer, with his collar tned up, his
39:49
Speaker 1: shiny seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots.
39:53
Speaker 1: He was a perfect sample of the class. I think
39:57
Speaker 1: that this should do, said he, glancing into the glow
40:00
Speaker 1: above the fireplace. I only wish that you could come
40:03
Speaker 1: with me, Watson, but a fear that it won't do.
40:07
Speaker 1: I may be on my trail in this matter, or
40:09
Speaker 1: I may be following a will o the wisp, but
40:12
Speaker 1: I shall soon know which it is. I hope that
40:15
Speaker 1: I may be back in a few hours. He cut
40:19
Speaker 1: a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard,
40:22
Speaker 1: sandwiched it between two rounds of bread, and thrusting this
40:26
Speaker 1: rude meal into his pocket, he started off upon his expedition.
40:31
Speaker 1: I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently
40:34
Speaker 1: in excellent spirits. Swinging an old elastic sided boot in
40:38
Speaker 1: his hand, he chucked it down into a corner and
40:42
Speaker 1: helped himself to a cup of tea. I only looked
40:45
Speaker 1: in as I passed, said he. I am going right
40:49
Speaker 1: on where too, Oh, to the other side of the
40:53
Speaker 1: west end. It may be some time before I get back.
40:57
Speaker 1: Don't wait up for me In case I should be late.
41:00
Speaker 1: How are you getting on? Oh? So, so nothing to
41:04
Speaker 1: complain of. I have been out to Strestham since I
41:07
Speaker 1: saw you last, but I did not call at the house.
41:11
Speaker 1: It is a very sweet little problem, and I would
41:14
Speaker 1: not have missed it for a good deal. However, I
41:17
Speaker 1: must not sit gossiping here, but must get these disreputable
41:20
Speaker 1: clothes off and return to my highly respectable self. I
41:25
Speaker 1: could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons
41:28
Speaker 1: for satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled,
41:33
Speaker 1: and there was even a touch of color upon his
41:35
Speaker 1: sallow cheeks. He hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later
41:40
Speaker 1: I heard the slam of the hall door, which told
41:42
Speaker 1: me that he was off once more upon his congenial hunt.
41:46
Speaker 1: I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of
41:49
Speaker 1: his return, so I retired to my room. It was
41:52
Speaker 1: no uncommon thing for him to be away for days
41:55
Speaker 1: and nights on end when he was hot upon ascent,
41:58
Speaker 1: so that his lateness caused me no surprise. I do
42:02
Speaker 1: not know at what hour he came in, but when
42:04
Speaker 1: I came down to breakfast in the morning, there he
42:07
Speaker 1: was with a cup of coffee in one hand and
42:09
Speaker 1: the paper in the other, as fresh and trim as possible.
42:14
Speaker 1: You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson said he.
42:18
Speaker 1: But you remember that our client has rather an early
42:21
Speaker 1: appointment this morning. Why it is after nine now, I answered,
42:26
Speaker 1: I should not be surprised if that were he. I
42:29
Speaker 1: thought I heard a ring. It was indeed, our friend,
42:32
Speaker 1: the financier. I was shocked by the change which had
42:36
Speaker 1: come over him, for his face, which was naturally of
42:39
Speaker 1: a broad and massive mold, was now pinched and fallen in,
42:43
Speaker 1: while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter.
42:47
Speaker 1: He entered with a weariness and lethargy which was even
42:50
Speaker 1: more painful than his violence of the morning before, and
42:54
Speaker 1: he dropped heavily into the arm chair, which I pushed
42:56
Speaker 1: forward for him. I do not know what I have
43:00
Speaker 1: done to be so severely tried, said he. Only two
43:04
Speaker 1: days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without
43:07
Speaker 1: a care in the world. Now I am left to
43:10
Speaker 1: a lonely and dishonored age. One sorrow comes close upon
43:15
Speaker 1: the heels of another. My niece Mary has deserted me,
43:19
Speaker 1: deserted you, Yes, her bed this morning had not been
43:23
Speaker 1: slept in. Her room was empty, and a note for
43:26
Speaker 1: me lay upon the hall table. I had said to
43:30
Speaker 1: her last night, in sorrow and not in anger, that
43:33
Speaker 1: if she had married my boy, all might have been
43:35
Speaker 1: well with him. Perhaps it was thoughtless of me to
43:38
Speaker 1: say so. It is to that remark that she refers
43:42
Speaker 1: in this note. My dearest uncle, I feel that I
43:46
Speaker 1: have brought trouble upon you, and that if I had
43:49
Speaker 1: acted differently, this terrible misfortune might never have occurred. I cannot,
43:55
Speaker 1: with this thought in my mind ever again be happy
43:58
Speaker 1: under your roof, and I feel that I must leave
44:01
Speaker 1: you forever. Do not worry about my future, for that
44:05
Speaker 1: is provided for, And above all, do not search for me,
44:09
Speaker 1: for it will be fruitless labor and an ill service
44:12
Speaker 1: to me in life or in death. I am, ever,
44:15
Speaker 1: your loving Mary. What could she mean by that note,
44:21
Speaker 1: mister Holmes? Do you think it points to suicide? No? No,
44:25
Speaker 1: nothing of the kind. It is perhaps the best possible solution.
44:30
Speaker 1: I trust, mister Holder, that you are nearing the end
44:33
Speaker 1: of your troubles. Ha you say so, you have heard something,
44:38
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, You have learned something. Where are the gems?
44:43
Speaker 1: You would not think one thousand pounds apiece, an excessive
44:46
Speaker 1: sum for them. I would pay ten. That would be unnecessary.
44:52
Speaker 1: Three thousand will cover the matter, and there is a
44:55
Speaker 1: little reward. I fancy have you your check book? There
45:00
Speaker 1: is a pen. Better make it out for four thousand pounds.
45:06
Speaker 1: With a dazed face, the banker made out the required check.
45:10
Speaker 1: Holmes walked over to his desk, took out a little
45:12
Speaker 1: triangular piece of gold with three gems in it, and
45:16
Speaker 1: threw it down upon the table with a shriek of joy.
45:20
Speaker 1: Our client clutched it up. You have it, he gasped.
45:25
Speaker 1: I am saved, I am saved. The reaction of joy
45:29
Speaker 1: was as passionate as his grief had been, and he
45:32
Speaker 1: hugged his recovered gems to his bosom. There is one
45:36
Speaker 1: other thing you owe, mister holder, said Sherlock Holmes, rather sternly. Oh,
45:44
Speaker 1: he caught up a pen. Name the sum, and I
45:46
Speaker 1: will pay it. No, the debt is not to me.
45:51
Speaker 1: You owe a very humble apology to that noble lad
45:54
Speaker 1: your son, who has carried himself in this matter, as
45:58
Speaker 1: I should be proud to see my own son do,
46:00
Speaker 1: should I ever chance to have one. Then it was
46:04
Speaker 1: not Arthur who took them. I told you yesterday, and
46:08
Speaker 1: I repeat to day that it was not. You are
46:12
Speaker 1: sure of it, then let us hurry to him at
46:15
Speaker 1: once to let him know that the truth is known.
46:18
Speaker 1: He knows it already. When I had cleared it up,
46:22
Speaker 1: I had an interview with him, and, finding that he
46:24
Speaker 1: would not tell me the story, I told it to him,
46:28
Speaker 1: on which he had to confess that I was right,
46:31
Speaker 1: and to add the very few details which were not
46:34
Speaker 1: yet quite clear to me. Your news of this morning, however,
46:38
Speaker 1: may open his lips, for Heaven's sake. Tell me, then,
46:43
Speaker 1: what is this extraordinary mystery? I will do so, and
46:48
Speaker 1: I will show you the steps by which I reached it.
46:51
Speaker 1: And let me say to you first that which it
46:54
Speaker 1: is hardest for me to say and for you to hear.
46:57
Speaker 1: There has been an understanding between Sir George and uniece Mary.
47:02
Speaker 1: They have now fled together, My Mary. Impossible, It is
47:10
Speaker 1: unfortunately more than possible. It is certain neither you nor
47:15
Speaker 1: your son knew the true character of this man when
47:19
Speaker 1: you admitted him into your family circle. He is one
47:22
Speaker 1: of the most dangerous men in England, A ruined gambler,
47:26
Speaker 1: an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience.
47:32
Speaker 1: Your niece knew nothing of such men. When he breathed
47:35
Speaker 1: his vows to her, as he had done to a
47:38
Speaker 1: hundred before her, she flattered herself that she alone had
47:42
Speaker 1: touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said.
47:46
Speaker 1: But at least she became his tool, and was in
47:48
Speaker 1: the habit of seeing him nearly every evening. I cannot
47:53
Speaker 1: and I will not believe it, cried the banker, with
47:57
Speaker 1: an ashen face. I will tell you then, what occurred
48:01
Speaker 1: in your house last night, Your niece, when you had,
48:04
Speaker 1: as she thought, gone to your room, slipped down and
48:08
Speaker 1: talked to her lover through the window which leads into
48:11
Speaker 1: the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right through the snow,
48:17
Speaker 1: so long had he stood there. She told him of
48:20
Speaker 1: the coronet. His wicket lust for gold kindled at the news,
48:24
Speaker 1: and he bent her to his will. I have no
48:27
Speaker 1: doubt that she loved you. But there are women in
48:31
Speaker 1: whom the love of a lover extinguishes all other loves,
48:34
Speaker 1: and I think that she must have been one. She
48:37
Speaker 1: had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you
48:40
Speaker 1: coming downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and
48:45
Speaker 1: told you about one of the servants escapade with her
48:48
Speaker 1: wooden legged lover, which was all perfectly true. Your boy
48:54
Speaker 1: Arthur went to bed after his interview with you, but
48:57
Speaker 1: he slept badly on account of his uneasiness his club debts.
49:02
Speaker 1: In the middle of the night, he heard a soft
49:05
Speaker 1: tread pass his door, so he rose, and, looking out,
49:09
Speaker 1: was surprised to see his cousin walking very stealthily along
49:13
Speaker 1: the passage, until she disappeared into your dressing room. Petrified
49:19
Speaker 1: with astonishment, the lad slipped on some clothes and waited
49:23
Speaker 1: there in the dark to see what would come of
49:25
Speaker 1: this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again,
49:30
Speaker 1: and in the light of the passage lamp, your son
49:33
Speaker 1: saw that she carried the precious coronet in her hands.
49:36
Speaker 1: She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror,
49:41
Speaker 1: ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door,
49:45
Speaker 1: whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath.
49:49
Speaker 1: He saw her stealthily open the window, hand out the
49:52
Speaker 1: coronet to someone in the gloom, and then closing it
49:55
Speaker 1: once more, hurry back to her room, passing quite close
49:59
Speaker 1: to way he stood hid behind the curtain. As long
50:04
Speaker 1: as she was on the scene, he could not take
50:06
Speaker 1: any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom
50:09
Speaker 1: he loved. But the instant that she was gone, he
50:14
Speaker 1: realized how crushing a misfortune this would be for you,
50:17
Speaker 1: and how all important it was to set it right.
50:21
Speaker 1: He rushed down just as he was in his bare feet,
50:25
Speaker 1: opened the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran
50:29
Speaker 1: down the lane, where he could see a dark figure
50:31
Speaker 1: in the moonlight, Sir George Banwell. Tried to get away,
50:36
Speaker 1: but Arthur caught him, and there was a struggle between them,
50:39
Speaker 1: your lad tugging at one side of the coronet and
50:42
Speaker 1: his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son
50:46
Speaker 1: struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then
50:50
Speaker 1: something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had
50:54
Speaker 1: the coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window,
50:58
Speaker 1: ascended to your room, and had just observed that the
51:01
Speaker 1: coronet had been twisted in the struggle, and was endeavoring
51:04
Speaker 1: to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene. Is
51:09
Speaker 1: it possible, gasped the banker. You then roused his anger
51:15
Speaker 1: by calling him names at a moment when he felt
51:18
Speaker 1: that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not
51:21
Speaker 1: explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who
51:26
Speaker 1: certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took
51:31
Speaker 1: the more chivalrous view, however, and preserved her secret. And
51:36
Speaker 1: that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw
51:39
Speaker 1: the coronet. Cried mister holder, O, my god, what a
51:43
Speaker 1: blind fool I have been, and his asking to be
51:47
Speaker 1: allowed to go out for five minutes. The dear fellow
51:51
Speaker 1: wanted to see if the missing peace were at the
51:53
Speaker 1: scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him.
51:58
Speaker 1: When I arrived at the house, continued homes. I at
52:01
Speaker 1: once went very carefully round it to observe if there
52:04
Speaker 1: were any traces in the snow which might help me.
52:09
Speaker 1: I knew that none had fallen since the evening before,
52:13
Speaker 1: and also that there had been a strong frost to
52:16
Speaker 1: preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesman's path, but found
52:20
Speaker 1: it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond, however, at
52:25
Speaker 1: the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had
52:28
Speaker 1: stood and talked with a man whose round impressions on
52:32
Speaker 1: one side showed that he had a wooden leg. I
52:36
Speaker 1: could even tell that he had been disturbed, for the
52:38
Speaker 1: woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was
52:41
Speaker 1: shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while
52:45
Speaker 1: wooden leg had waited a little and then had gone away.
52:49
Speaker 1: I thought at the time that this might be the
52:51
Speaker 1: maid and her sweetheart, of whom he had already spoken
52:54
Speaker 1: to me, and inquiry showed it was so. I passed
52:59
Speaker 1: round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks,
53:03
Speaker 1: which I took to be the police. But when I
53:05
Speaker 1: got into the stable lane, a very long and complex
53:09
Speaker 1: story was written in the snow. In front of me.
53:13
Speaker 1: There was a double line of tracks of a booted man,
53:17
Speaker 1: and a second double line, which I saw with delight,
53:20
Speaker 1: belonged to a man with naked feet. I was at
53:24
Speaker 1: once convinced from what you had told me that the
53:26
Speaker 1: latter was your son. The first had walked both ways,
53:31
Speaker 1: but the other had run swiftly, and as his tread
53:34
Speaker 1: was marked in places over the depression of the boot,
53:37
Speaker 1: it was obvious that he had passed after the other.
53:40
Speaker 1: I followed them up and found they led to the
53:42
Speaker 1: hall window, where boots had worn all the snow away
53:46
Speaker 1: while waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which
53:50
Speaker 1: was a hundred yards or more down the lane. I
53:54
Speaker 1: saw where boots had faced round, where the snow was
53:57
Speaker 1: cut up as though there had been a struggle, and
54:00
Speaker 1: finally where a few drops of blood had fallen to
54:04
Speaker 1: show me that I was not mistaken. Boots had then
54:08
Speaker 1: run down the lane, and another little smudge of blood
54:11
Speaker 1: showed that it was he who had been hurt. When
54:15
Speaker 1: he came to the high road. At the other end,
54:17
Speaker 1: I found that the pavement had been cleared, so there
54:21
Speaker 1: was an end to that clue. On entering the house, however,
54:27
Speaker 1: I examined, as you remember, the sill and framework of
54:30
Speaker 1: the hall window with my lents, and I could at
54:34
Speaker 1: once see that some one had passed out. I could
54:37
Speaker 1: distinguish the outline of an instep where the wet foot
54:41
Speaker 1: had been placed in coming in. I was then beginning
54:44
Speaker 1: to be able to form an opinion as to what
54:46
Speaker 1: had occurred. A man had waited outside the window. Some
54:51
Speaker 1: one had brought the gems. The deed had been overseen
54:54
Speaker 1: by your son. He had pursued the thief, had struggled
54:58
Speaker 1: with him. They had each tugged at the coronet their
55:01
Speaker 1: united strength, causing injuries which neither alone could have effected.
55:07
Speaker 1: He had returned with a prize, but had left a
55:11
Speaker 1: fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So far I
55:14
Speaker 1: was clear. The question now was who was the man
55:19
Speaker 1: and who was it brought him the coronet? It is
55:22
Speaker 1: an old maxim of mine that, when you have excluded
55:25
Speaker 1: the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
55:32
Speaker 1: Now I knew that it was not you who had
55:35
Speaker 1: brought it down, So there only remained your niece and
55:38
Speaker 1: the maids. And if it were the maids, why should
55:42
Speaker 1: your son allow himself to be accused in their place?
55:45
Speaker 1: There could be no possible reason, as he loved his cousin. However,
55:50
Speaker 1: there was an excellent explanation why he should retain her secret,
55:55
Speaker 1: the more so as the secret was a disgraceful one.
55:59
Speaker 1: Whenever remembered that you had seen her at that window,
56:02
Speaker 1: and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again,
56:06
Speaker 1: my conjecture became a certainty. And who could it be?
56:10
Speaker 1: Who was her confederate? A lover? Evidently? For who else
56:15
Speaker 1: could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel
56:18
Speaker 1: for you? I knew that you went out little, and
56:21
Speaker 1: that your circle of friends was a very limited one.
56:24
Speaker 1: But among them was Sir George Burnwell. I had heard
56:29
Speaker 1: of him before as a man of evil reputation among women.
56:33
Speaker 1: It must have been he who wore those boots and
56:36
Speaker 1: retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur
56:40
Speaker 1: had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he
56:44
Speaker 1: was safe, for the lad could not say a word
56:47
Speaker 1: without compromising his own family. Well, your own good sense
56:52
Speaker 1: will suggest what measures I took. Next, I went in
56:56
Speaker 1: the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house, managed
56:59
Speaker 1: to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that
57:03
Speaker 1: his master had cut his head the night before, and finally,
57:07
Speaker 1: at the expense of six shillings, made all sure by
57:10
Speaker 1: buying a pair of his cast off shoes. With these
57:14
Speaker 1: I journeyed down to Stretham and saw that they exactly
57:17
Speaker 1: fitted the tracks. I saw an ill dressed vagabund on
57:22
Speaker 1: the lane yesterday evening, said mister Holder. Precisely it was I.
57:29
Speaker 1: I found that I had my man, so I came
57:31
Speaker 1: home and changed my clothes. It was a delicate part
57:34
Speaker 1: which I had to play then, for I saw that
57:37
Speaker 1: prosecution must be avoided to avat scandal. And I knew
57:41
Speaker 1: that so astute a villain would see that our hands
57:44
Speaker 1: were tied in the matter. I went and saw him.
57:47
Speaker 1: At first, of course he denied everything, but when I
57:51
Speaker 1: gave him every particular that had occurred, he tried to
57:55
Speaker 1: bluster and took down a life preserver from the wall.
57:58
Speaker 1: I knew my man, however, and I clapped a pistol
58:01
Speaker 1: to his head before he could strike. Then he became
58:05
Speaker 1: a little more reasonable. I told him that we would
58:08
Speaker 1: give him a price for the stones. He held one
58:11
Speaker 1: thousand pounds apiece. That brought out the first signs of
58:15
Speaker 1: grief that he had shown. Why dash it all? Said
58:19
Speaker 1: he I have let them go at six hundred for
58:22
Speaker 1: the three. I soon managed to get the address of
58:26
Speaker 1: the receiver who had them on, promising him that there
58:29
Speaker 1: would be no prosecution. Off, I said to him, and
58:33
Speaker 1: after much chaffering, I got our stones at one thousand
58:37
Speaker 1: pounds apiece. Then I looked in upon your son, told
58:41
Speaker 1: him that all was right, and eventually got to my
58:44
Speaker 1: bed at about two o'clock, after what I may call
58:47
Speaker 1: a really hard day's work, a day which has saved
58:52
Speaker 1: England from a great public scandal, said the banker, rising, Sir,
58:58
Speaker 1: I cannot find words to thank you, but you shall
59:01
Speaker 1: not find me ungrateful for what you have done. Your
59:04
Speaker 1: skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of,
59:08
Speaker 1: And now I must fly to my dear boy to
59:11
Speaker 1: apologize to him for the wrong which I have done him.
59:15
Speaker 1: As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it
59:18
Speaker 1: goes to my very heart not even your skill can
59:21
Speaker 1: inform me where she is. Now. I think that we
59:26
Speaker 1: may safely say, returned Holmes, that she is wherever Sir
59:30
Speaker 1: George Burnwell is. It is equally certain too that whatever
59:35
Speaker 1: her sins are, they will soon receive a more than
59:38
Speaker 1: sufficient punishment. And of the Beryl Coronet,