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The Five Orange Pips - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Adventure Books Library

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The Five Orange Pips. When I glance over my notes and records of the
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Sherlock Holmes cases between the years eighty two and ninety, I am faced by
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so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to
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know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however, have already
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gained publicity through the papers, and others have not offered a field for those
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peculiar qualities which my friend possessed in so high a degree, and which it
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is the object of these papers to illustrate. Some too, have baffled his
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analytical skill, and would be as narratives beginning without an ending, while others
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have been but partially cleared up, and have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture
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and surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to him.
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There is, however, one of these last, which was so remarkable in
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its details and so startling in its results, that I am tempted to give
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some account of it, in spite of the fact that there are points in
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connection with it which have never been and probably never will be entirely cleared up.
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The year eighty seven furnished us with a long series of cases of greater
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or less interest, of which I retain the records among my headings under this
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one twelve months, I find an account of the adventure of the Paradol Chamber
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of the Amateur Mendicant Society, who held a luxurious club in the lower vault
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of a furniture warehouse. Of the facts connected with the loss of the British
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bark Sophie Anderson, of the singular adventures of the Greis Pattersons in the island
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of Ufa, And finally of the Camberwell poisoning case. In the latter,
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as may be remembered, Schulock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead
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man's watch, to prove that it had been wound up two hours before,
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and that therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time, a deduction
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which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the case. All these I
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may sketch out at some future date, but none of them present such singular
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features as the strange train of circumstances which I have now taken up my pen
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to describe. It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial
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gales had set in with exceptional violence. All day, the wind had screamed
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and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the
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heart of great hand made London, we were forced to raise our minds for
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the instant from the routine of life, and to recognize the presence of those
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great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilization, like
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untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew higher
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and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney.
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Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the fireplace, cross indexing his
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records of crime, while I at the other, was deep in one of
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Clark Russell's fine sea stories, until the howl of the gale from without seemed
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to blend with the text, and the splash of the rain to lengthen out
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into the long swash of the sea waves. My wife was on a visit
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to her mother's, and for a few days I was a dweller once more
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in my old quarters at Baker Street. Why said I, glancing up at
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my companion, That was surely the bell who could come up to night,
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some friend of yours perhaps, except yourself, I have none, he answered,
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I do not encourage visitors a client. Then if so it is a
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serious case. Nothing less would bring a man out on such a day and
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at such an hour. But I take it that it is more likely to
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be some crony of the landlady's Sherlock. Holmes was wrong in his conjecture,
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however, for there came a step in the passage, and a tapping at
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the door. He stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from
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himself and towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit. Come in,
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said he. The man who entered was young, some two and twenty
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at the outside, well groomed and trimly clad, with something of refinement and
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delicacy in his bed. The streaming umbrella which he held in his hand,
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and his long shining waterproof told of the fierce weather through which he had come.
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He looked about him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and I
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could see that his face was pale, and his eyes heavy, like those
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of a man who is weighed down with some great anxiety. I owe you
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an apology he said, raising his golden pontene to his eyes. I trust
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that I am not intruding. I fear that I have brought some traces of
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the storm and rain into your snug chamber. Give me your coat and umbrella,
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said Holmes. They may rest here on the hook and will be dry.
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Presently. You have come up from the southwest. I see, yes,
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from Horsham. That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe
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caps is quite distinctive. I have come for advice that is easily got,
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and help that is not always so easy. I have heard of you,
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mister Holmes. I heard from Major Prendergast how you saved him in the Bankerville
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club scandal. Ah. Of course he was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards.
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He said that you could solve anything. He said too much, that
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you are never beaten. I have been beaten four times, three times by
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men and once by a woman. But what is that compared with the number
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of your successes. It is true that I have been generally successful. Then
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you may be so with me. I beg that you will draw up your
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chair to the fire and favor me with some details as to your case.
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It is no ordinary one. None of those which come to me are.
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I am the last court of appeal. And yet I question, sir,
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whether, in all your experience you have ever listened to a more mysterious and
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inexplicable chain of events than those which have happened in my own family. You
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fill me with interest, said Holmes. Pray, give us the essential facts
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from the commencement, and I can afterwards question you as to those details which
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seemed to me to be most important. The young man pulled his chair up
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and pushed his wet feet out toward the blaze. My name, said,
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he is John Openshaw. But my own affairs have, as far as I
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can understand, little to do with this awful business. It is a hereditary
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matter. So in order to give you an idea of the facts, I
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must go back to the commencement of the affair. You must know that my
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grandfather had two sons, my uncle Elias and my father Joseph. My father
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had a small factory at Coventry, which he enlarged at the time of the
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invention of bicycling. He was a patentee of the open shore unbreakable tire,
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and his business met with such success that he was able to sell it and
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to retire upon a handsome competence. My uncle Elias emigrated to America when he
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was a young man and became a painter in Florida, where he was reported
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to have done very well. At the time of the war, he fought
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in Jackson's army and afterwards under Hood, where he rose to be a colonel.
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When Lee laid down his arms, my uncle returned to his plantation,
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where he remained for three or four years. About eighteen sixty nine or eighteen
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seventy he came back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near
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Horsham. He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his
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reason for leaving them was his aversion to the Negroes and his dislike of the
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Republican policy in extending the franchise to them. He was a singular man,
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fierce and quick tempered, very foul mouthed when he was angry, and of
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a most retiring disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham,
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I doubt if he ever set foot in the town. He had a garden
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and two or three fields round his house, and there he would take his
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exercise though very often for weeks on end, he would never leave his room.
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He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very heavily, but he
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would see no society and did not want any friends, not even his own
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brother. He didn't mind me, in fact, he took a fancy to
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me, for at the time when he saw me first, I was a
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youngster of twelve or so. This would be in the year eighteen seventy eight,
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after he had been eight or nine years in England. He begged my
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father to let me live with him, and he was very kind to me
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in his way. When he was sober. He used to be fond of
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playing backgammon and drafts with me, and he would make me his representative both
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with the servants and with the trade people, so that by the time I
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was sixteen, I was quite master of the house. I kept all the
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keys and could go where I liked and do what I liked, so long
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as I did not disturb him in his privacy. There was one singular exception,
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however, for he had a single room, a lumber room up among
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the attics, which was invariably locked, and which he would never permit either
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me or any one else to enter with a boy's curiosity. I have peeped
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through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a
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collection of old trunks and bundles as would be expected in such a room.
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One day, it was March of eighteen eighty three, a letter with a
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foreign stamp lay upon the table in front of the colonel's plate. It was
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not a common thing for him to receive letters, for his bills were all
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paid in ready money, and he had no friends of any sort from India,
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said he, as he took it up. Pond a cherry postmark.
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What can this be? Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little dried
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orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. I began to laugh at
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this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight of his
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face. His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding, his skin the
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color of putty, and he glared at the envelope, which he still held
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in his trembling hand. Kay k kay, he shrieked. And then,
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my god, my god, my sins have overtaken me. What is it?
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Uncle? I cried deaf, said he, and rising from the table,
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he retired to his room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took
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up the envelope and saw scrawlding red ink upon the inner flap, just above
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the gum, the letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else save
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the five dried pips. What could be the reason of his overpowering terror?
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I left the breakfast table, and as I ascended the stair I met him
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coming down with an old rusty key which must have belonged to the attic,
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in one hand, and a small brass box like a cash box in the
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other. They may do what they like, but I'll checkmate them, still,
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said he, with an oath, tell Mary that I shall want a
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fire in my room to day and send down to Fordham, the Horsham lawyer.
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I did as he ordered, and when the lawyer arrived, I was
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asked to step up to the room. The fire was burning brightly, and
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in the grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes as of burned
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paper, while the brass box stood open an empty beside it. As I
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glanced at the box, I noticed with a start that upon the lid was
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printed the treblequet which I had read in the morning. Upon the envelope.
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I wish you, John, said my uncle, to witness my will.
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I leave my estate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages, to
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my brother, your father. Whence it will no doubt descend to you,
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if you can enjoy it in peace, well and good. If you find
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you cannot take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest
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enemy, I am sorry to give you such a two edged thing, but
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I can't say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper
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where mister Fordham shows you. I signed the paper as directed, and the
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lawyer took it away with him. The singular incident made, as you may
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think, the deepest impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned
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it every way in my mind, without being able to make anything of it.
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Yet I could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left
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behind. Though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed and nothing happened
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to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I could see a change in
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my uncle. However, he drank more than ever, and he was less
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inclined for any sort of snens society. Most of his time he would spend
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in his room with the door locked upon me inside. But sometimes he would
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emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy, and would burst out of the house
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and tear about the garden with a revolver in his hand, screaming out that
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he was afraid of no man, and that he was not to be cooped
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up like a sheep in a pen by man or devil. When these hot
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fits were over, however, he would rush tumultuously in at the door,
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and lock and bar it behind him, like a man who can brazen it
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out no longer against the terror which lies at the root of his soul.
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At such times I have seen his face, even on a cold day,
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glisten with moisture, as though it were new raised from a basin. Well,
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to come to an end of the matter, mister Holmes, and not
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to abuse your patience. There came a night when he made one of those
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drunken sallies, from which he never came back. We found him when we
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went to search for him, face downward in a little green, scummed pool
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which lay at the foot of the garden. There was no sign of any
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violence, and the water was but two feet deep. So that the jury,
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having regard to his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict of suicide.
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But I, who knew how he winced from the very thought of death,
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had much ado to persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to
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meet it. The matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession
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of the estate and of some fourteen thousand pounds which lay to his credit at
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the bank. One moment, Holmes interposed, your statement is I foresee,
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one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me have
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the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter and the date of
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his supposed suicide. The letter arrived on March tenth, eighteen eighty three.
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His death was seven weeks later, upon the night of May second. Thank
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you, pray proceed. When my father took over the Horsham property, he,
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at my request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had
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been always locked up. We found the brass box there, although its contents
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had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label with
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the initials of K K K repeated upon it, and letters, memoranda,
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receipts, and a register written beneath these, we presume, indicated the nature
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of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest,
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there was nothing of much importance in the attic, save a great many scattered
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papers and note books bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of them
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were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and
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had borne the repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during
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the reconstruction of the Southern States, and were mostly concerned with politics, for
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he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet bag politicians who had
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been sent down from the North Well. It was the beginning of eighty four
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when my father came to live at Horseham, and all went as well as
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possible until the January of eighty five. On the fourth day after the new
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year, I heard and my father give a sharp cry of surprise as we
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sat together at the breakfast table. There he was sitting with a newly opened
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envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the
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other one. He had always laughed at what he called my cock and bull
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story about the colonel. But he looked very scared and puzzled now that the
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same thing had come upon him. Why what on earth does this mean?
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John, he stammered, My heart had turned to lead. It is K
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K K, said I. He looked inside the envelope. So it is,
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he cried. Here are the very letters. But what is this written
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above them? Put the papers on the sun dial? I read, peeping
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over his shoulder. What papers? What sun dial? He asked, The
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sun dial in the garden. There is no other, said I. But
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the papers must be those that are destroyed. Pooh, said he, gripping
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hard at his courage. We are in a civilized land here, and we
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can't have tomfoolery of this kind. Where does the thing come from from?
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Dundee, I answered, glancing at the post mark. Some preposterous practical joke,
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said he. What have I to do with sun dials and papers?
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I shall take no notice of such nonsense. I should certainly speak to the
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police, I said, and be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of
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the sort, then let me do so. No, I forbid you.
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I won't have a fuss made about such nonsense. It was in vain to
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argue with him for he was a very obstinate man. I went about,
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however, with a heart which was full of forebodings. On the third day
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after the coming of the letter, my father went from home to visit an
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old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is in the command of one
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of the forts upon portsdown Hill. I was glad that he should go,
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for it seemed to me that he was further from danger when he was away
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from home. In that, however, I was in error. Upon the
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second day of his absence, I received a telegram from the Major employed me
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to come at once. My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk
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pits which abound in the neighborhood, and was lying senseless with a shattered skull.
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I hurried to him, but he passed away without ever having recovered his
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consciousness. He had, as it appears, been returning from Fareham in the
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twilight, and as the country was unknown to him and the chalk pit unfenced,
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the jury had no hesitation in bringing in a verdict of death from accidental
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causes. Carefully, as I examined every fact connected with his death, I
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was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of murder. There were
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no signs of violence, no footmarks, no robbery, no record of strangers
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having been seen upon the roads. And yet I need not tell you that
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my mind was far from at ease, and that I was well nigh certain
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that some foul plot had been woven around him. In this sinister way I
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came into my inheritance. You will ask me why I did not dispose of
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it. I answer because I was well convinced that our troubles were in some
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way dependent upon an incident in my uncle's life, and that the danger would
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be as pressing in one house as in another. It was in January of
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eighty five that my poor father met his end, and two years and eight
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months have elapsed since then. During that time I have lived happily at Horsham,
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and I had begun to hope that this curse had passed away from the
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family, and that it had ended with the last generation. I had begun
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to take comfort too soon. However, yesterday morning the blow fell in the
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very shape in which it had come upon my father. The young man took
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from his waistcoat a crumpled envelope, and turning to the table, he shook
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out upon it five little dried orange pips. This is the envelope, he
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continued. The postmark is London Eastern Division. Within are the very words which
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were upon my father's last message, K K K. And then put the
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papers on the sun dial. What have you done, asked Holmes. Nothing,
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nothing to tell the truth. He sank his face into his thin white
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hands. I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor
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rabbits when the snake is riding toward it. I seem to be in the
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grasp of some resistless, inexorable evil which no foresight and no precautions can guard
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against. Tut tut, cried Sherlock Holmes. You must act, man,
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or you are lost. Nothing but energy can save you. This is no
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time for despair. I have seen the police ah, but then listen to
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my story with a smile. I am convinced that the inspector has formed the
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opinion that the letters were all practical jokes, and that the deaths of my
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relations were really accidents, as the jury stated, and were not to be
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connected with the warnings. Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air. Incredible
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imbecility, he cried. They have, however, allowed me a policeman who
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may remain in the house with me? Has he come with you tonight?
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No? His order were to stay in the house again. Holmes raved in
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the air. Why did you come to me, he cried, And above
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all, why did you not come at once? I did not know.
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It was only to day that I spoke to Major Prendergast about my troubles,
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and was advised by him to come to you. It is really two days
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since you have had the letter. We should have acted before this. You
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have no further evidence, I suppose, than that which you have placed before
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us, no suggestive detail which might help us. There is one thing,
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said John openshawl He rummaged in his coat pocket, and, drawing out a
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piece of discolored, blue tinted paper, he laid it out upon the table.
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I have some remembrance, said he, that on the day when my
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uncle burned the papers, I observed that the small, unburned margins which lay
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amid the ashes were of this particular color. I found this single sheet upon
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the floor of his room, and I am inclined to think that it may
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be one of the papers which has perhaps fluttered out from among the others,
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and in that way has escaped destruction. Beyond the mention of pips. I
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do not see that it helps us much. I think myself that it is
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a page from some private diary. The writing is undoubtedly my uncle's. Holmes
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moved the lamp and we both bent over the sheet of paper, which showed
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by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from a book. It
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was headed March eighteen sixty nine, and beneath were the following enigmatical notices.
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Fourth Hudson came same old platform. Seventh set the pips on Macauley, Paramour,
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and John Swain of Saint Augustine ninth. Mc cauley cleared, tenth,
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John Swain cleared twelfth, visited Paramour. All well, thank you, said
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Holmes, folding up the paper and returning it to our visitor. And now
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you must, on no account lose another instant. We cannot spare time even
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to discuss what you have told me. You must get home instantly and act.
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What shall I do? There is but one thing to do. It
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must be done at once. You must put this piece of paper which you
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have shown us into the brass box which you have described. You must also
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put in a note to say that all the other papers were burned by your
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uncle, and that this is the only one which remains. You must assert
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that in such words as will carry conviction with them. Having done this,
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you must at once put the box out upon the sun dial as directed.
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Do you understand entirely? Do not think of revenge or anything of that sort
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at present. I think that we may gain that by means of the law.
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But we have our web to weave, while theirs is already woven.
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The first consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens you. The second
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is to clear up the mystery and to punish the guilty parties. I thank
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you, said the young man, rising and pulling on his overcoat. You
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have given me fresh life and hope. I shall certainly do as you advise,
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do not lose an instant, and above all, take care of yourself
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in the meanwhile, For I do not think that there can be a doubt
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that you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you
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go back by train from Waterloo? It is not yet nine. The streets
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will be crowded, so I trust that you may be in safety. And
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yet you cannot guard yourself too closely. I am armed. That is well,
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to morrow I shall set to work upon your case. I shall see
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you at Hortammen. No, your secret lies in London. It is there
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that I shall seek it. Then I shall call upon you in a day,
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or in two days, with news as to the box and the papers.
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I shall take your advice in every particular. He shook hands with us
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and took his leave. Outside, the wind still screamed, and the rain
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splashed and pattered against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have
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come to us from amid the mad elements, blown in upon us like a
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sheet of seaweed in a game, and now to have been reabsorbed by them
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once more. Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head
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sunk forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then
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he lit his pipe, and, leaning back in his chair, he watched
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the blue smoke rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling. I
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think Watson. He remarked at last, that of all our cases we have
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had none more fantastic than this, save perhaps the sign of four well,
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yes, save perhaps that. And yet this John Openshaw seems to me to
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be walking amid even greater perils than did the Shoultos. But have you,
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i asked, formed any definite conception as to what these perils are? There
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can be no question as to their nature? He answered, Then what are
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they? Who is this K K K? And why does he pursue this
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unhappy family? Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the arms
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of his chair, with his his finger tips together. The ideal reasoner,
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he remarked, would, when he had once been shown a single fact in
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all its bearings, deduce from it not only all the chain of events which
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led up to it, but also all the results which would follow from it.
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As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single
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bone, so the observer, who has thoroughly understood one link in a series
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of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before
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and after. We have not yet grasped the results which the reason alone can
25:33
attain to. Problems may be solved in the study which have baffled all those
25:38
who have sought a solution by the aid of their senses. To carry the
25:42
art, however, to its highest pitch. It is necessary that the reasoner
25:47
should be able to utilize all the facts which have come to his knowledge,
25:51
and this in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of
25:55
all knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and encycloped medias,
26:00
is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so impossible, however,
26:04
that a man should possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him
26:08
in his work. And this I have endeavored in my case to do.
26:12
If I remember rightly, you, on one occasion in the early days of
26:17
our friendship, defined my limits in a very precise fashion. Yes, I
26:22
answered, laughing. It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and
26:26
politics were marked at zero. I remember botany variable, geology, profound as
26:32
regards the mud stains from any region within fifty miles of town, Chemistry,
26:37
eccentric anatomy, unsystematic sensational literature, and crime records, unique violin player,
26:42
boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those
26:48
I think were the main points of my analysis. Holmes grinned at the last
26:52
item. Well, he said, I say, now, as I said
26:55
then, that a man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the
26:59
furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away
27:03
in the lumber room of his library, where he can get at it if
27:06
he wants it. Now, for such a case as the one which has
27:08
been submitted to us to night, we need certainly to muster all our resources.
27:14
Kindly hand me down the letter K of the American Encyclopedia, which stands
27:18
upon the shelf beside you. Thank you. Now let us consider the situation
27:22
and see what may be deduced from it. In the first place, we
27:26
may start with a strong presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason for
27:32
leaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all their habits
27:37
and exchange willingly the charming climate of Florida for the lonely life of an English
27:41
provincial town. His extreme love of solitude in England suggests the idea that he
27:47
was in fear of something or some one. So we may assume, as
27:49
a working hypothesis that it was fear of some one or something which drove him
27:55
from America. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce
27:59
that by considering the formidable letters which were received by himself and his successors.
28:04
Did you remark the post marks of those letters? The first was from Pondicherry,
28:11
the second from Dundee, and the third from London, from East London.
28:15
What do you deduce from that? They are all seaports. That the
28:19
writer was on board of a ship. Excellent, We have already a clue.
28:25
There can be no doubt that the probability, the strong probability, is
28:29
that the writer was on board of a ship. And now let us consider
28:33
another point. In the case of Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat
28:37
and its fulfillments. In Dundee it was only some three or four days.
28:44
Does that suggest anything a greater distance to travel? But the letter also had
28:49
a greater distance to come. Then I do not see the point. There
28:55
is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or men are
28:59
is a sailing shop. It looks as if they always send their singular warning
29:03
or token before them when starting upon their mission. You see how quickly the
29:07
deed followed the sign when it came from Dundee. If they had come from
29:11
Pondicherry in a steamer, they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter,
29:15
But as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that
29:19
those seven weeks represented the difference between the mail boat which brought the letter and
29:25
the sailing vessel which brought the writer. It is possible, more than that,
29:30
it is probable. And now you see the deadly urgency of this new
29:33
case, and why I urged young Openshaw to caution. The blow has always
29:37
fallen at the end of the time which it would take the senders to travel
29:41
the distance. But this one comes from London, and therefore we cannot count
29:45
upon delay. Good God, I cried, what can it mean? This
29:49
relentless persecution. The papers which open Shore carried are obviously of vital importance to
29:56
the person or persons in the sailing ship. I think that it is quite
30:00
clear that there must be more than one of them. A single man could
30:03
not have carried out two deaths in such a way as to deceive a coroner's
30:07
jury. There must have been several in it, and they must have been
30:11
men of resource and determination. Their papers they mean to have be the holder
30:15
of them, who it may in this way you see k K K ceases
30:19
to be the initials of an individual and becomes the badge of a society.
30:26
But of what society have you never, said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and
30:32
sinking his voice. Have you never heard of the ku klux Klan? I
30:37
never have Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. Here
30:44
it is said he presently ku klux Klan, A name derived from the fanciful
30:49
resemblance to the sound produced by cocking a rival. This terrible secret Society was
30:55
formed by some ex Confederate soldiers in the Southern States after the Civil War,
31:00
and it rapidly formed local branches in different parts of the country, notably in
31:04
Tennessee, Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was
31:11
used for political purposes, principally for the terrorizing of the Negro voters and the
31:15
murdering and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views.
31:21
Its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some
31:26
fantastic but generally recognized shape a sprig of oak leaves in some parts, melon
31:30
seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this the victim might either openly
31:37
abjure his former ways, or might fly from the country. If he braved
31:41
the matter out, death would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some
31:45
strange and unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organization of the society, and
31:52
so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a case upon record where any
31:56
man succeeded in braving it with impunity, or in which any of its outrages
32:01
were traced home to the perpetrators. For some years the organization flourished, in
32:07
spite of the efforts of the United States government and of the better classes of
32:10
the community in the South. Eventually, in the year eighteen sixty nine,
32:15
the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have been sporadic outbreaks of the same
32:21
sort since that date. You will observe, said Holmes, laying down the
32:25
volume, that the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the disappearance
32:30
of Openshaw from America with their papers. It may well have been cause and
32:35
effect. It is no wonder that he and his family have some of the
32:38
more implacable spirits upon their track. You can understand that this register and diary
32:45
may implicate some of the first men in the south, and that there may
32:49
be many who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered. Then
32:52
the page we have seen is such as we might expect it ran If I
32:58
remember right, sent the lips to A, B and C, that is,
33:02
sent the society's warning to them. Then there are successive entries that A
33:07
and B cleared or left the country, and finally that sea was visited with
33:13
I fear a sinister result for C. Well, I think, doctor,
33:16
that we may let some light into this dark place. And I believe that
33:21
the only chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have
33:24
told him. There is nothing more to be said or to be done to
33:28
night. So hand me over my violin, and let us try to forget
33:31
for half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable ways of our
33:36
fellow men. It had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining
33:42
with a subdued brightness through the dim veil which hangs over the great city.
33:45
Sherlock Holmes was already at breakfast when I came down. You will excuse me
33:50
for not waiting for you, said he. I have I foresee a very
33:53
busy day before me in looking into this case of young Openshaws. What steps
33:59
will you take? I asked, It will very much depend upon the results
34:04
of my first enquiries. I may have to go down to Horsham. After
34:07
all, you will not go there first, No, I shall commence with
34:12
the city. Just ring the bell and the maid will bring you up your
34:15
coffee. As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and
34:20
glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a chill
34:24
to my heart. Holmes, I cried, you are too late, ah
34:30
said he, laying down his cup. I feared as much. How is
34:32
it done? He spoke calmly, but I could see that he was deeply
34:37
moved. My eye caught the name of Openshaw and the heading Tragedy near Waterloo
34:43
Bridge. Here is the account. Between nine and ten last night, police
34:47
Constable Cook of the h Division, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a
34:52
cry for help and a splash in the water. The night, however,
34:57
was extremely dark and stormy, so that in despite of the help of several
35:00
passers by, it was quite impossible to effect a rescue. The alarm,
35:06
however, was given and by the aid of the water police. The body
35:09
was eventually recovered. It proved to be that of a young gentleman, whose
35:14
name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his pocket,
35:17
was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham. It is conjectured that
35:22
he may have been hurrying down to catch the last train from Waterloo station,
35:27
and that in his haste and the extreme darkness, he missed his path and
35:31
walked over the edge of one of the small landing places for river steamboats.
35:36
The body exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that
35:39
the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, which should have the
35:44
effect of calling the attention of the authorities to the condition of the river side
35:49
landing stages. We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and
35:53
shaken than I had ever seen him. That hurts my pride, Watson said
36:00
at last. It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts
36:02
my pride. It becomes a personal matter with me now, and if God
36:07
sends me health, I shall set my hands upon this gang, that he
36:10
should come to me for help and that I should send him away to his
36:15
death. He sprang from his chair and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation,
36:20
with a flush upon his sallow cheeks, and a nervous clasping and unclasping
36:23
of his long, thin hands. They must be cunning devils, he exclaimed
36:29
at last. How could they have decoyed him down there? The embankment is
36:34
not on the direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt,
36:37
was too crowded even on such a night for their purposes. Well, Watson,
36:40
we shall see who will win in the long run. I am going
36:44
out now to the police. No, I shall be my own police.
36:49
When I have spun the web, they may take the flies, but not
36:52
before. All day I was engaged in my professional work, and it was
36:57
late in the evening before I returned to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes had not
37:00
come back yet. It was nearly ten o'clock before he entered. Looking pale
37:05
and worn, he walked up to the sideboard, and, tearing a piece
37:08
from the loaf, he devoured it voraciously, washing it down with a long
37:13
draft of water. You are hungry, I remarked, starving it had escaped
37:19
my memory. I have had nothing since breakfast, nothing, not a bite.
37:23
I had no time to think about it. And how have you succeeded?
37:29
Well, you have a clue. I have them in the hollow of
37:32
my hand, Young Openshaw shall not long remain unavenged. Why Watson let us
37:38
put their own devilish trade mark upon them? It is well thought of.
37:43
What do you mean? He took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing
37:47
it to pieces, he squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these
37:51
he took five and thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the
37:54
flap, he wrote s H for j O. Then he sealed it and
38:00
addressed it to Captain James Calhoun bark lone Star Savannah, Georgia. That will
38:06
await him when he enters port, said he, chuckling. It may give
38:09
him a sleepless night. He will find it as sure a precursor of his
38:14
fate as Openshaw did before him. And who is this, Captain Calhoun,
38:19
the leader of the gang? I shall have the others? But he first?
38:23
How did you trace it? Then he took a large sheet of paper
38:27
from his pocket or covered with dates and names. I have spent the whole
38:31
day said, he over Lloyd's registers and files of the old papers following the
38:37
future career of every vessel which touched at Pondicherry in January and February in eighty
38:42
three, there were thirty six ships of fair tonnage which reported there during those
38:46
months. Of these, one, the Lone Star, instantly attracted my attention,
38:52
since although it was reported as having cleared from London, the name is
38:55
that which is given to one of the states of the Union, Texas.
39:00
I think I was not and am not sure of which, but I know
39:04
that the ship must have an American origin. What then I searched the Dundee
39:08
records, and when I found that the Bark Lone Star was there in January
39:13
of eighty five, my suspicion became a certainty. I then inquired as to
39:17
the vessels which lay at present in the Port of London. Yes, the
39:22
Lone Star had arrived here last week. I went down to the Albert Dock
39:27
and found that she had been taken down the river by the early tide.
39:30
This morning, homeward bound to Savannah, I wired to Gravesend and learned that
39:34
she had passed some time ago, and as the wind is easterly. I
39:37
have no doubt that she has now passed the good winds, and not very
39:40
far from the Isle of Wight. What will you do, then, oh,
39:45
I have my hand upon him. He and the two mates are,
39:49
as I learn, the only native born Americans in the ship. The others
39:52
are Finns and Germans. I know also that they were all three away from
39:57
the ship last night. I had it from the stevedor who has been loading
40:00
their cargo. By the time that their sailing ship reaches Savannah, the mail
40:05
boat will have carried this letter, and the cable will have informed the police
40:08
of Savannah that these three gentlemen are badly wanted here upon a charge of murder.
40:15
There is a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans,
40:17
and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive the orange pips which
40:22
would show them that another as cunning and as resolute as themselves was upon their
40:27
track. Very long and very severe were the Equinoctial gales that year. We
40:31
waited long for news of the lone Star of Savannah, but none ever reached
40:36
us. We did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic,
40:39
a shattered stern post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough of a
40:44
wave, with the letters L S carved upon it. And that is all
40:47
we shall ever know of the fate of the lone star, end of the
40:52
five Orange pips.