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46 The Problem of Thor Bridge from The Case-Book of · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The problem of thor Bridge. Somewhere in the vaults of
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Speaker 1: the Bank of Cox and Co A charing Cross, there
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Speaker 1: is a travel worn and battered tin dispatch box with
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Speaker 1: my name John H. Watson, MD, late Indian Army painted
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Speaker 1: upon the lid. It is crammed with papers, nearly all
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Speaker 1: of which are records of cases to illustrate the curious
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Speaker 1: problems which mister Sherlock Holmes had at various times to examine. Some,
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Speaker 1: and not the least interesting were complete failures, and as
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Speaker 1: such will hardly bear narrating, since no final explanation is forthcoming.
0:41
Speaker 1: A problem without a solution may interest the student, but
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Speaker 1: can hardly fail to annoy the casual reader. Among these
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Speaker 1: unfinished tales is that of mister James Fillmore, who, stepping
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Speaker 1: back into his own house to get his umbrella, was
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Speaker 1: never more seen in this world. No less remarkable is
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Speaker 1: that of the cutter Alicia, which sailed one spring morning
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Speaker 1: into a small patch of mist, from where she never
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Speaker 1: again emerged, nor was anything further ever heard of herself
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Speaker 1: and her crew. A third case worthy of note is
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Speaker 1: that of Isadora Persano, the well known journalist and dualist,
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Speaker 1: who was found stark staring mad, with a match box
1:28
Speaker 1: in front of him, which contained a remarkable worm, said
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Speaker 1: to be unknown to science. Apart from these unfathomed cases,
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Speaker 1: there are some which involved the secrets of private families
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Speaker 1: to an extent which would mean consternation in many exalted
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Speaker 1: quarters if it were thought possible that they might find
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Speaker 1: their way into print. I need not say that such
1:52
Speaker 1: a breach of confidence is unthinkable, and that these records
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Speaker 1: will be separated and destroyed now that my friend has
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Speaker 1: time to turn his energies to the matter. There remain
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Speaker 1: a considerable residue of cases of greater or less interest,
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Speaker 1: which I might have edited before, had I not feared
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Speaker 1: to give the public a surfeit which might react upon
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Speaker 1: the reputation of the man whom, above all others I revere.
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Speaker 1: In some I was myself concerned and can speak as
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Speaker 1: an eyewitness, while in others I was either not present
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Speaker 1: or played so small a part that they could only
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Speaker 1: be told as by a third person. The following narrative
2:34
Speaker 1: is drawn from my own experience. It was a wild
2:39
Speaker 1: morning in October, and I observed, as I was dressing,
2:43
Speaker 1: how the last remaining leaves were being whirled from the
2:46
Speaker 1: solitary plane tree, which graces the yard behind our house.
2:51
Speaker 1: I descended to breakfast, prepared to find my companion in
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Speaker 1: depressed spirits, for like all great artists, he was easily
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Speaker 1: impressed by his surroundings. On the contrary, I found that
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Speaker 1: he had nearly finished his meal, and that his mood
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Speaker 1: was particularly bright and joyous, with that somewhat sinister cheerfulness
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Speaker 1: which was characteristic of his lighter moments. You have a case, Holmes,
3:18
Speaker 1: I remarked. The faculty of deduction is certainly contagious. Watson,
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Speaker 1: he answered, it has enabled you to probe my secret. Yes,
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Speaker 1: I have a case. After a month of trivialitism stagnation,
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Speaker 1: the wheels move once more. Might I share it? There
3:33
Speaker 1: is little to share, but we may discuss it when
3:36
Speaker 1: you have consumed the two hard boiled eggs with which
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Speaker 1: our new cook has favored us. Their condition may not
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Speaker 1: be unconnected with the copy of the family Herald, which
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Speaker 1: I observed yesterday upon the hall table. Even so trivial
3:51
Speaker 1: a matter as cooking an egg demands an attention which
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Speaker 1: is conscious of the passage of time and incompatible with
3:57
Speaker 1: the love romance in that excit periodical. A quarter of
4:02
Speaker 1: an hour later, the table had been cleared and we
4:05
Speaker 1: were face to face. He had drawn a letter from
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Speaker 1: his pocket. You have heard of Neil Gibson, the gold King,
4:12
Speaker 1: he said, You mean the American senator. Well, he was
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Speaker 1: once a senator for some western state, but is better
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Speaker 1: known as the greatest gold mining magnate in the world. Yes,
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Speaker 1: I know of him. He has surely lived in England
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Speaker 1: for some time. His name is very familiar. Yes, he
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Speaker 1: bought a considerable estate in Hampshire some five years ago.
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Speaker 1: Possibly you have already heard of the tragic end of
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Speaker 1: his wife. Of course I remember it now. That is
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Speaker 1: why the name is familiar. But I really know nothing
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Speaker 1: of the details. Holmes waved his hand towards some papers
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Speaker 1: on a chair. I had no idea that the case
4:53
Speaker 1: was coming my way, or I should have had my
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Speaker 1: extracts ready, said he. The fact is that the problem,
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Speaker 1: though exceedingly sensational, appeared to present no difficulty. The interesting
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Speaker 1: personality of the accused does not obscure the clearness of
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Speaker 1: the evidence. That was the view taken by the coroner's
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Speaker 1: jury and also in the police court proceedings. It is
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Speaker 1: now referred to the Assizes at Winchester. I fear it
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Speaker 1: is a thankless business. I can discover facts, Watson, but
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Speaker 1: I cannot change them unless some entirely new and unexpected
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Speaker 1: ones come to light. I do not see what my
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Speaker 1: client can hope for your client. Ah, I forgot I'd
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Speaker 1: not told you. I'm getting into your involved habit, Watson,
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Speaker 1: of telling a story backward, you had best read this first.
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Speaker 1: The letter which he handed to me, written in a bold,
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Speaker 1: masterful hand ran As follows Clarage's hotel October third, Dear
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Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes, I can't see the best woman God
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Speaker 1: ever made go to her death without doing all that
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Speaker 1: is possible to say. I can't explain things, I can't
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Speaker 1: even try to explain them. But I know beyond all
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Speaker 1: doubt that missus Dunbar is innocent. You know the facts.
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Speaker 1: Who doesn't. It has been the gossip of the country
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Speaker 1: and never a voice raised for her. It's the damned
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Speaker 1: injustice of it all that makes me crazy. That woman
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Speaker 1: has a heart that wouldn't let her kill a fly. Well,
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Speaker 1: I'll come at eleven tomorrow and see if you can
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Speaker 1: get some ray of light in the dark. Maybe I
6:30
Speaker 1: have a clue and don't know it anyhow, all I know,
6:33
Speaker 1: and all I have, and all I am for your use,
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Speaker 1: if only you can save her. If ever in your
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Speaker 1: life you showed your powers, put them now into this case,
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Speaker 1: yours faithfully, je Neil Gibson. There you have it, said
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Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes, knocking out the ashes of his after breakfast
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Speaker 1: pipe and slowly refilling it. That is the gentleman, I
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Speaker 1: weight as to the story. You have hardly time to
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Speaker 1: master all these papers, so I must give it to
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Speaker 1: you in a nutshell if you are to take an
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Speaker 1: intelligent interest in the proceedings. This man is the greatest
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Speaker 1: financial power in the world, and a man, as I understand,
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Speaker 1: of most violent and formidable character. He married a wife,
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Speaker 1: the victim of this tragedy, of whom I know nothing
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Speaker 1: save that she was past her prime, which was the
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Speaker 1: more unfortunate, as a very attractive governess superintended the education
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Speaker 1: of two young children. These are the three people concerned,
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Speaker 1: and the scene is a grand old manor house, the
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Speaker 1: center of a historical English estate. Then, as to the tragedy,
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Speaker 1: the wife was found in the grounds nearly half a
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Speaker 1: mile from the house late night, clad in her dinner dress,
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Speaker 1: with a shawl over her shoulders and a revolver bullet
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Speaker 1: through her brain. No weapon was found near her, and
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Speaker 1: there was no local clue as to the murder. No
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Speaker 1: weapon near her. Watson marked that the crime seems to
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Speaker 1: have been committed late in the evening and the body
8:19
Speaker 1: was found by a gamekeeper about eleven o'clock, when it
8:23
Speaker 1: was examined by the police and by a doctor before
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Speaker 1: being carried up to the house. Is this too condensed
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Speaker 1: or can you follow it? Clearly? It is all very clear.
8:33
Speaker 1: But why suspect the governess? Well, in the first place,
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Speaker 1: there is some very direct evidence. A revolver with one
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Speaker 1: discharged chamber and a caliber which corresponded with the bullet,
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Speaker 1: was found on the floor of her wardrobe. His eyes
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Speaker 1: fixed and he repeated in broken words on the floor
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Speaker 1: of her wardrobe. Then he sank into silence, and I
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Speaker 1: saw that some train of thought had been set moving,
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Speaker 1: which I should be foolish to interrupt. Suddenly, with a start,
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Speaker 1: he emerged into brisk life once more. Yes, Watson, it
9:12
Speaker 1: was found pretty damning, eh so the two juries thought.
9:17
Speaker 1: Then the dead woman had a note upon her making
9:20
Speaker 1: an appointment at that very place, and signed by the governess.
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Speaker 1: How's that? Finally there is the motive. Senator Gibson is
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Speaker 1: an attractive person. If his wife dies, who more likely
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Speaker 1: to succeed her than the young lady who had already,
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Speaker 1: by all accounts, received pressing attentions from her employer love, fortune, power,
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Speaker 1: all depending upon one middle aged life. Ugly Watson, very ugly, yes, indeed, Holmes.
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Speaker 1: Nor could she prove an alibi. On the contrary, she
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Speaker 1: had to admit that she was down near Thought Bridge
10:01
Speaker 1: that was the scene of the tragedy about that hour.
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Speaker 1: She couldn't deny it, for some passing villager had seen
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Speaker 1: her there. That really seems final. And yet Watson, And
10:12
Speaker 1: yet this bridge, a single broad span of stone with
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Speaker 1: balustraded sides, carries the drive over the narrowest part of
10:22
Speaker 1: a long, deep reed girt sheet of water. For mere
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Speaker 1: it is called in the mouth of the bridge lay
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Speaker 1: the dead woman. Such are the main facts. But here,
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Speaker 1: if I mistake not, is our client considerably before his time.
10:37
Speaker 1: Billy had opened the door. But the name which he
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Speaker 1: announced was an unexpected one. Mister Marlowe Bates was a
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Speaker 1: stranger to both of us. He was a thin, nervous
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Speaker 1: wisp of a man with frightened eyes and a twitching,
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Speaker 1: hesitating manner, a man whom my own professional eye would
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Speaker 1: judge to be on the brink of an absolute nervous breakdown.
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Speaker 1: You seem agitated, mister Bates, said Holmes, Pray, sit down,
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Speaker 1: I fear I can only give you a short time,
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Speaker 1: for I have an appointment at eleven. I know you
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Speaker 1: have our visitor, gasped, shooting out short sentences like a
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Speaker 1: man who is out of breath. Mister Gibson is coming.
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Speaker 1: Mister Gibson is my employer. I am manager of his estate.
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Speaker 1: Mister Holmes, he is a villain, an infernal villain. Strong language,
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Speaker 1: mister Bates. I have to be emphatic, mister Holmes, for
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Speaker 1: the time is so limited. I would not have him
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Speaker 1: find me here, for the world. He's almost dumed now.
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Speaker 1: But I was so situated that I could not come earlier.
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Speaker 1: His secretary, mister Ferguson, only told me this morning of
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Speaker 1: his appointment with you, and you are his manager. I
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Speaker 1: have given him notice. In a couple of weeks I
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Speaker 1: shall have shaken off his accursed slavery. A hard man,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes, hard to all about him. Those public charities
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Speaker 1: are a screen to cover his private iniquities. But his
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Speaker 1: wife was the chief victim. He was brutal to her, yes, sir, brutal.
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Speaker 1: How she came by her death, I do not know,
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Speaker 1: but I am sure that he made her life a
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Speaker 1: misery to her. She was a creature of the tropics,
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Speaker 1: a Brazilian by birth, as no doubt, you know, no,
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Speaker 1: it had escaped me. Tropical by birth and tropical by nature,
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Speaker 1: a child of the sun and of passion. She had
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Speaker 1: loved him as such women can love. But when her
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Speaker 1: own physical charms had faded, I'm told they were once great,
12:34
Speaker 1: there was nothing to hold him. We all liked her
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Speaker 1: and felt for her, and hated him for the way
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Speaker 1: that he treated her. But he is plausible and cunning.
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Speaker 1: That is all I have to say to you. Don't
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Speaker 1: take him at his face value. There is more behind
12:51
Speaker 1: Now I'll go, no, no, don't detain me. He's almost due.
12:55
Speaker 1: With a frightened look at the clock, our strange visitor
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Speaker 1: literally ran to the door and disappeared. Well well, said
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Speaker 1: Holmes after an interval of silence. Mister Gibson seems to
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Speaker 1: have a nice, loyal household, But the warning is a
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Speaker 1: useful one, and now we can only wait till the
13:14
Speaker 1: man himself appears sharp. At the hour, we heard a
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Speaker 1: heavy step upon the stairs, and the famous millionaire was
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Speaker 1: shown into the room. As I looked upon him, I
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Speaker 1: understood not only the fears and dislike of his manager,
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Speaker 1: but also the execrations which so many business rivals have
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Speaker 1: heaped upon his head. If I were a sculptor and
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Speaker 1: desired to idealize the successful man of affairs, iron of
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Speaker 1: nerve and leathery of conscience, I should choose mister Neil
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Speaker 1: Gibson as my model. His tall, gaunt, craggy figure had
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Speaker 1: a suggestion of hunger and rapacity, and Abraham Lincoln keyed
13:58
Speaker 1: to base uses instead of high wayes, would give some
14:01
Speaker 1: idea of the man. His face might have been chiseled
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Speaker 1: in granite, hard set, craggy, remorseless, with deep lines upon it,
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Speaker 1: the scars of many a crisis. Cold gray eyes, looking
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Speaker 1: shrewdly out from under bristling brows, surveyed us each in turn.
14:20
Speaker 1: He bowed in perfunctory fashion as Holmes mentioned my name,
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Speaker 1: and then, with a masterful air of possession, he drew
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Speaker 1: a chair up to my companion and seated himself with
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Speaker 1: his bony knees almost touching him. Let me say right here,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes, he began, but money is nothing to me
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Speaker 1: in this case. You can burn it if it's any
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Speaker 1: use in lighting you to the truth. This woman is innocent.
14:46
Speaker 1: This woman has to be cleared, and it's up to
14:49
Speaker 1: you to do it. Name your figure. My professional charges
14:54
Speaker 1: are upon a fixed scale, said Holmes coldly. I do
14:58
Speaker 1: not vary them, save when I I remit them altogether. Well,
15:02
Speaker 1: if dollars make no difference to you, think of the reputation.
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Speaker 1: If you pull this off, every paper in England and
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Speaker 1: America will be booming you. You'll be the talk of
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Speaker 1: two continents. Thank you, mister Gibson. I do not think
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Speaker 1: that I am in need of booming. It may surprise
15:20
Speaker 1: you to know that I prefer to work anonymously, and
15:24
Speaker 1: that it is the problem itself which attracts me. But
15:27
Speaker 1: we are wasting time. Let us get down to the facts.
15:30
Speaker 1: I think that you will find all the main ones
15:33
Speaker 1: in the press reports. I don't know that I can
15:35
Speaker 1: add anything which will help you, But if there is
15:38
Speaker 1: anything you would wish more light upon, well I'm here
15:42
Speaker 1: to give it. Well, there is just one point. What
15:46
Speaker 1: is it? What were the exact relations between you and
15:49
Speaker 1: miss Dunbar. The gold king gave a violent start and
15:55
Speaker 1: half rose from his chair. Then his massive calm came
15:59
Speaker 1: back to him. I suppose you are within your rights
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Speaker 1: and may be doing your duty in asking such a question,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes. We will agree to suppose, so, said Holmes.
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Speaker 1: Then I can assure you that our relations were entirely
16:18
Speaker 1: and always those of an employer towards a young lady
16:21
Speaker 1: whom he never conversed with or ever saw, save when
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Speaker 1: she was in the company of his children. Holmes rose
16:28
Speaker 1: from his chair. I am a rather busy man, mister Gibson,
16:33
Speaker 1: said he and I have no time or taste for
16:37
Speaker 1: aimless conversations. I wish you good morning. Our visitor had
16:42
Speaker 1: risen also, and his great loose figure towered above Holmes.
16:47
Speaker 1: There was an angry gleam from under those bristling brows,
16:51
Speaker 1: and a tinge of color in the sallow cheeks. What
16:55
Speaker 1: the devil do you mean by this, mister Holmes? Do
16:58
Speaker 1: you dismiss my case? Well, mister Gibson, at least I
17:02
Speaker 1: dismiss you. I should have thought my words were plain,
17:06
Speaker 1: plain enough. But what's at the back of it raising
17:09
Speaker 1: the price on me? Or afraid to tackle it? Or
17:12
Speaker 1: what I've a right to a plain answer? Well, perhaps
17:17
Speaker 1: you have said, Holmes, I'll give you one. This case
17:20
Speaker 1: is quite sufficiently complicated to start with, without the further
17:24
Speaker 1: difficulty of false information, meaning that I lie well. I
17:29
Speaker 1: was trying to express it as delicately as I could.
17:33
Speaker 1: But if you insist upon the word, I will not
17:35
Speaker 1: contradict you. I sprang to my feet, for the expression
17:40
Speaker 1: upon the millionaire's face was fiendish in its intensity, and
17:44
Speaker 1: he had raised his great knotted fist. Holmes smiled languidly
17:51
Speaker 1: and reached his hand out for his pipe. Don't be noisy,
17:55
Speaker 1: mister Gibson. I find that after breakfast, even the smallest
18:00
Speaker 1: argument is unsettling. I suggest that a stroll in the
18:05
Speaker 1: morning air and a little quiet thought will be greatly
18:09
Speaker 1: to your advantage. With an effort, the gold king mastered
18:14
Speaker 1: his fury. I could not but admire him, for by
18:18
Speaker 1: a supreme self command, he had turned in a minute
18:22
Speaker 1: from a hot flame of anger to a frigid and
18:26
Speaker 1: contemptuous indifference. Well, it's your choice, I guess you know.
18:32
Speaker 1: How to run your own business. I can't make you
18:35
Speaker 1: touch the case against your will. You've done yourself no
18:38
Speaker 1: good this morning, mister Holmes, For I have broken stronger
18:42
Speaker 1: men than you. No man ever crossed me and was
18:46
Speaker 1: the better for it, so many have said, And yet
18:51
Speaker 1: here I am, said Holmes, smiling, Well, good morning, mister Gibson.
18:57
Speaker 1: You have a good deal yet to learn. Our visitor
19:01
Speaker 1: made a noisy exit, but Holmes smoked in imperturbable silence,
19:05
Speaker 1: with dreamy eyes fixed upon the ceiling. Any views, Watson,
19:10
Speaker 1: he asked at last, Well, Holmes, I must confess that
19:14
Speaker 1: when I consider that this is a man who would
19:17
Speaker 1: certainly brush any obstacle from his path, and when I
19:21
Speaker 1: remember that his wife may have been an obstacle and
19:24
Speaker 1: an object of dislike, as that man Bates plainly told us,
19:29
Speaker 1: it seems to me exactly, and to me also, But
19:34
Speaker 1: what were his relations with the governess and how did
19:37
Speaker 1: you discover them? Bluff, Watson, bluff. When I considered the passionate, unconventional,
19:45
Speaker 1: unbusinesslike tone of his letter and contrasted it with his
19:49
Speaker 1: self contained manner and appearance, it was pretty clear that
19:53
Speaker 1: there was some deep emotion which centered upon the accused
19:56
Speaker 1: woman rather than upon the victim. We've got to understand
20:01
Speaker 1: the exact relations of those three people if we are
20:04
Speaker 1: to reach the truth. You saw the frontal attack which
20:08
Speaker 1: I made upon him, and how imperturbably he received it.
20:13
Speaker 1: Then I bluffed him by giving the impression that I
20:16
Speaker 1: was absolutely certain, when in reality I was only extremely suspicious.
20:22
Speaker 1: Perhaps he will come back. He is sure to come back.
20:26
Speaker 1: He must come back. You can't leave it where it is.
20:29
Speaker 1: Ha Isn't that a ring? Yes? There is his footstep. Well,
20:33
Speaker 1: mister Gibson, I was just saying to doctor Watson that
20:36
Speaker 1: you were somewhat overdue. The gold King had re entered
20:41
Speaker 1: the room in a more chastened mood than he had
20:44
Speaker 1: left it. His wounded pride still showed in his resentful eyes,
20:49
Speaker 1: but his common sense had shown him that he must
20:52
Speaker 1: yield if he would attain his end. I've been thinking
20:56
Speaker 1: it over, mister Holmes, and I feel that I have
20:59
Speaker 1: been hasty in taking your remarks, Amiss. You're justified in
21:04
Speaker 1: getting down to the facts, whatever they may be, and
21:07
Speaker 1: I think the more of you for it. I can
21:10
Speaker 1: assure you, however, that the relations between miss Dunbar and me,
21:16
Speaker 1: don't really touch this case. That is for meat. Decide,
21:20
Speaker 1: is it not? Yes? I guess that is so. You're
21:24
Speaker 1: like a surgeon who wants every symptom before he can
21:27
Speaker 1: give his diagnosis exactly. That expresses it. And it is
21:32
Speaker 1: only a patient who has an object in deceiving his surgeon,
21:36
Speaker 1: who would conceal the facts of his case. That may
21:40
Speaker 1: be so. But you will admit, mister Holmes, that most
21:43
Speaker 1: men would shy off a bit when they are asked
21:45
Speaker 1: point blank while they are relations where the woman may
21:48
Speaker 1: be if there is really some serious feeling in the case.
21:53
Speaker 1: I guess most men have a little private reserve of
21:55
Speaker 1: their own in some corner of their souls. They don't
21:59
Speaker 1: welcome ins, and you burst suddenly into it. But the
22:04
Speaker 1: object excuses you, since it was to try and safer. Well,
22:09
Speaker 1: the stakes are down and the reserve open, and you
22:11
Speaker 1: can explore where you will. What is it? You want?
22:15
Speaker 1: The truth? The gold King paused for a moment, as
22:19
Speaker 1: one who marshals his thoughts. His grim, deep lined face
22:23
Speaker 1: had become even sadder and more grave. I can give
22:28
Speaker 1: it to you in a very few words, mister Holmes,
22:31
Speaker 1: He said, at last, there are some things that are
22:34
Speaker 1: painful as well as difficult to say, so I won't
22:39
Speaker 1: go deeper than is needful. I met my wife when
22:43
Speaker 1: I was gold hunting in Brazil. Maria Pintot was the
22:47
Speaker 1: daughter of a government official at Manaos, and she was
22:51
Speaker 1: very beautiful. I was young and ardent in those days,
22:56
Speaker 1: but even now, as I look back with colder blood
22:59
Speaker 1: and more critical eye, I can see that she was
23:03
Speaker 1: rare and wonderful in her beauty. It was a deep,
23:08
Speaker 1: rich nature, too passionate, wholehearted, tropical, ill balanced, very different
23:15
Speaker 1: from the American women whom I had known well. To
23:20
Speaker 1: make a long story short, I loved her and I
23:24
Speaker 1: married her. It was only when the romance had passed,
23:28
Speaker 1: and it lingered for years, that I realized that we
23:31
Speaker 1: had nothing, absolutely nothing in common. My love faded. If
23:37
Speaker 1: hers it faded also, it might have been easier, But
23:42
Speaker 1: you know the wonderful way of women do what I might.
23:46
Speaker 1: Nothing could turn her from me. If I have been
23:49
Speaker 1: harsh to her, even brutal, as some have said, it
23:53
Speaker 1: has been because I knew that if I could kill
23:56
Speaker 1: her love, or if it turned to hate, it would
24:01
Speaker 1: be easier for both of us. But nothing changed her.
24:05
Speaker 1: She adored me in those English woods, as she had
24:09
Speaker 1: adored me twenty years ago on the banks of the Amazon,
24:13
Speaker 1: do what I might. She was as devoted as ever.
24:17
Speaker 1: Then came miss Grace Dunbar. She answered our advertisement and
24:23
Speaker 1: became governess to our two children. Perhaps you have seen
24:26
Speaker 1: her portrait in the papers. The whole world has proclaimed
24:30
Speaker 1: that she is also a very beautiful woman. Now, I
24:34
Speaker 1: make no pretense to be more moral than my neighbors,
24:38
Speaker 1: and I will admit to you that I could not
24:40
Speaker 1: live under the same roof with such a woman, and
24:43
Speaker 1: in daily contact with her, without feeling a passionate regard
24:47
Speaker 1: for her. Do you blame me, mister Holmes. I do
24:52
Speaker 1: not blame you for feeling it. I should blame you
24:56
Speaker 1: if you expressed it, since this young lady, in a
25:00
Speaker 1: sense under your protection. Well maybe, so said the millionaire,
25:05
Speaker 1: though for a moment the reproof had brought the old
25:08
Speaker 1: angry gleam into his eyes. I'm not pretending to be
25:11
Speaker 1: any better than I am. I guess all my life
25:14
Speaker 1: I've been a man that reached out his hand for
25:17
Speaker 1: what he wanted, and I never wanted anything more than
25:21
Speaker 1: the love and possession of that woman. I told her. So,
25:25
Speaker 1: oh you did, did you? Holmes could look very formidable
25:29
Speaker 1: when he was moved. I said to her that if
25:33
Speaker 1: I could marry her, I would, but that it was
25:36
Speaker 1: out of my power. I said that money was no object,
25:40
Speaker 1: and that all I could do to make her happy
25:42
Speaker 1: and comfortable would be done very generous, I'm sure, said
25:47
Speaker 1: Holmes with a sneer. See here, mister Holmes, I came
25:50
Speaker 1: to you on a question of evidence, not on a
25:53
Speaker 1: question of morals. I'm not asking for your criticism. It
25:57
Speaker 1: is only for the young lady's sake that I touched
26:00
Speaker 1: your case at all, said Holmes sternly. I don't know
26:04
Speaker 1: that anything she is accused of is really worse than
26:07
Speaker 1: what you have yourself admitted that you have tried to
26:10
Speaker 1: ruin a defenseless girl who was under your roof. Some
26:13
Speaker 1: of you rich men have to be taught that all
26:16
Speaker 1: the world cannot be bribed into condoning your offenses. To
26:21
Speaker 1: my surprise, the gold King took the reproof with equanimity.
26:25
Speaker 1: That's how I feel myself about it now. I thank
26:28
Speaker 1: god that my plans did not work out as I intended.
26:32
Speaker 1: She would have none of it, and she wanted to
26:34
Speaker 1: leave the house instantly. Why did she not while in
26:38
Speaker 1: the first place others were dependent upon her, and it
26:42
Speaker 1: was no light matter for her to let them all
26:44
Speaker 1: down by sacrificing her living. When I had sworn, as
26:48
Speaker 1: I did, that she should never be molested again, she
26:53
Speaker 1: consented to remain. But there was another reason. She knew
26:57
Speaker 1: the influence she had over me, and that it was
27:00
Speaker 1: stronger than any other influence in the world. She wanted
27:05
Speaker 1: to use it for good. How well she knew something
27:09
Speaker 1: of my affairs. They are large, mister Holmes, large beyond
27:12
Speaker 1: the belief of an ordinary man. I can make or break,
27:17
Speaker 1: and it is usually break. It wasn't the individuals only,
27:23
Speaker 1: it was communities, cities, even nations. Business is a hard game,
27:28
Speaker 1: and the week go to the wall. I played the
27:31
Speaker 1: game for all it was worth. I never squealed myself,
27:35
Speaker 1: and I never cared if the other fellow squealed. But
27:39
Speaker 1: she saw it different. I guess she was right. She
27:43
Speaker 1: believed Dan said that a fortune for one man that
27:47
Speaker 1: was more than he needed should not be built on
27:49
Speaker 1: ten thousand ruined men who were left without the means
27:53
Speaker 1: of life. That was how she saw it, and I
27:56
Speaker 1: guess she could see past the dollars to something that
27:59
Speaker 1: was more or less. She found that I listened to
28:02
Speaker 1: what she said, and she believed she was serving the
28:06
Speaker 1: world by influencing my actions. So she stayed. And then
28:12
Speaker 1: this came along. Can you throw any light upon that?
28:17
Speaker 1: The gold King paused for a minute or more, his
28:21
Speaker 1: head sunk in his hands, lost in deep thought. It's
28:25
Speaker 1: very black against her. I can't deny that. And women
28:31
Speaker 1: leading inward life may do things beyond the judgment of
28:35
Speaker 1: a man. At first, I was so rattled and taken
28:38
Speaker 1: aback that I was ready to think she had been
28:41
Speaker 1: led away in some extraordinary fashion that was clean against
28:45
Speaker 1: her usual nature. One explanation came into my head. I
28:50
Speaker 1: give it to you, mister Holmes, for what it is worth.
28:54
Speaker 1: There is no doubt that my wife was bitterly jealous.
28:58
Speaker 1: There is a soul jealous lacy that can be as
29:01
Speaker 1: frantic as any body jealousy. And though my wife had
29:05
Speaker 1: no cause, and I think she understood this for the latter,
29:09
Speaker 1: she was aware that this English girl exerted an influence
29:12
Speaker 1: upon my mind and my acts that she herself never had.
29:17
Speaker 1: It was an influence for good, But that did not
29:20
Speaker 1: mend the matter. She was crazy with hatred, and the
29:24
Speaker 1: heat of the amazon was always in her blood. She
29:28
Speaker 1: might have planned to murder Miss Dunbar, or, we will say,
29:31
Speaker 1: to threaten her with a gun and so frighten her
29:34
Speaker 1: into leaving us. Then there might have been a scuffle
29:37
Speaker 1: and the gun gone off and shot the woman who
29:40
Speaker 1: held it. That possibility had already occurred to me, said Holmes. Indeed,
29:46
Speaker 1: it is the only obvious alternative to deliberate murder. But
29:50
Speaker 1: she utterly denies it. Well, that is not final, is it.
29:55
Speaker 1: One can understand that a woman placed in so awful
29:58
Speaker 1: a position might hurry home, still in her bewilderment, holding
30:02
Speaker 1: the revolver. She might even throw it down among her clothes,
30:07
Speaker 1: hardly knowing what she was doing, and when it was found,
30:10
Speaker 1: she might try to lie her way out by a
30:13
Speaker 1: total denial, since all explanation was impossible. What is against
30:18
Speaker 1: such a supposition, miss Dunbar herself? Well, perhaps Holmes looked
30:25
Speaker 1: at his watch. I have no doubt we can get
30:28
Speaker 1: the necessary permits this morning and reach Winchester by the
30:32
Speaker 1: evening train. When I have seen this young lady, it
30:35
Speaker 1: is very possible that I may be of more use
30:37
Speaker 1: to you in the matter, though I cannot promise that
30:40
Speaker 1: my conclusions will necessarily be such as you desire. There
30:45
Speaker 1: was some delay in the official pass, and instead of
30:48
Speaker 1: reaching Winchester that day, we went down to Thor Place,
30:52
Speaker 1: the Hampshire estate of mister Neil Gibson. He did not
30:56
Speaker 1: accompany us himself, but we had the address of Sergeant
31:00
Speaker 1: Coventry of the local police, who had first examined into
31:04
Speaker 1: the affair. He was a tall, thin, cadaverous man with
31:09
Speaker 1: a secretive and mysterious manner which conveyed the idea that
31:13
Speaker 1: he knew or suspected a very great deal more than
31:17
Speaker 1: he dared say. He had a trick too, of suddenly
31:20
Speaker 1: sinking his voice to a whisper, as if he had
31:23
Speaker 1: come upon something of vital importance, though the information was
31:28
Speaker 1: usually commonplace enough. Behind these tricks of manner, he soon
31:33
Speaker 1: showed himself to be a decent, honest fellow who was
31:36
Speaker 1: not too proud to admit that he was out of
31:38
Speaker 1: his depth, and would welcome any help anyhow, I'd rather
31:42
Speaker 1: revue than Scotland Yard, Mister Elmes said he if the
31:46
Speaker 1: yard gets called into a case, then the local loses
31:49
Speaker 1: all credit. For success and may be blamed for failure.
31:53
Speaker 1: Now you play straight, So I've heard I need not
31:57
Speaker 1: appear in the matter at all, said Holmes, to the
32:00
Speaker 1: evident relief of our melancholy acquaintance. If I can clear
32:04
Speaker 1: it up, I don't ask to have my name mentioned. Well,
32:08
Speaker 1: it's very handsome of you, I'm sure, and your friend
32:11
Speaker 1: doctor Watson can be trusted. I know now, mister Holmes.
32:15
Speaker 1: As we walk down to the place, there is one
32:17
Speaker 1: question I should like to ask you. I'd breathe it
32:20
Speaker 1: to no soul but you. He looked round as though
32:24
Speaker 1: he hardly dare utter the words. Don't you think there
32:28
Speaker 1: might be a case against mister Neil Gibson himself. I've
32:33
Speaker 1: been considering that you've not seen miss Dunbar. She's a wonderful,
32:39
Speaker 1: fine woman in every way. He may well have wished
32:42
Speaker 1: his wife out of the road. And these Americans are
32:45
Speaker 1: readier with pistols than our folk are. It was his pistol,
32:49
Speaker 1: you know, was that clearly made out? Yes, sir, it
32:53
Speaker 1: was one of a pair that he had. One of
32:55
Speaker 1: a pair. Where is the other? Well, the gentleman has
32:59
Speaker 1: a lot of firearms of one sort and another. We
33:02
Speaker 1: never quite matched that particular pistol, but the box was
33:07
Speaker 1: made for two. If it was one of a pair,
33:09
Speaker 1: you should surely be able to match it. Well. We
33:12
Speaker 1: have them all laid out at the house if you
33:14
Speaker 1: would care to look them over later. Perhaps I think
33:17
Speaker 1: we will walk down together and have a look at
33:20
Speaker 1: the scene of the tragedy. This conversation had taken place
33:24
Speaker 1: in the little front room of Sergeant Coventry's humble cottage,
33:28
Speaker 1: which served as the local police station. A walk of
33:32
Speaker 1: half a mile or so across a wind swept heath,
33:35
Speaker 1: all gold and bronze with the fading ferns, brought us
33:39
Speaker 1: to a side gate opening into the grounds of the
33:41
Speaker 1: thaw Place estate. A path led us through the pheasant preserves,
33:47
Speaker 1: and then from a clearing we saw the widespread half
33:50
Speaker 1: timbered house, half Tudor and half Georgian upon the crest
33:54
Speaker 1: of the hill. Beside us there was a long, reedy
33:58
Speaker 1: pool constricted in the center where the main carriage drive
34:02
Speaker 1: passed over a stone bridge, but swelling into small lakes
34:07
Speaker 1: on either side. Our guide paused at the mouth of
34:10
Speaker 1: this bridge and pointed to the ground that was where
34:14
Speaker 1: Missus Gibson's body lay. I marked it by that stone.
34:19
Speaker 1: I understand that you were there before it was moved. Yes,
34:23
Speaker 1: they sent for me at once. Who did mister Gibson
34:26
Speaker 1: himself the moment the alarm was given and he had
34:29
Speaker 1: rushed down with others from the house, He insisted that
34:32
Speaker 1: nothing should be moved until the police should arrive. That
34:35
Speaker 1: was sensible. I gathered from the newspaper report that the
34:39
Speaker 1: shot was fired from close quarters, Yes, sir, very close
34:43
Speaker 1: near the right temple, just behind it, sir. How did
34:47
Speaker 1: the body lie on the back, sir? No trace of
34:50
Speaker 1: a struggle, no marks, no weapon. The short note from
34:53
Speaker 1: miss Dunbar was clutched in her left hand. Clutched, you say, yes, sir.
34:58
Speaker 1: We could hardly open the finger. That is of great importance.
35:02
Speaker 1: It excludes the idea that anyone could have placed the
35:05
Speaker 1: note there after death in order to furnish a false clue.
35:09
Speaker 1: Dear me. The note, as I remember, was quite short.
35:13
Speaker 1: I will be at Thorbridge at nine o'clock, g Dunbar.
35:18
Speaker 1: Was that not so? Yes, sir? Did Miss Dunbar admit
35:21
Speaker 1: writing it? Yes, sir? What was her explanation? Her defense
35:26
Speaker 1: was reserved for the assizes. She would say nothing. The
35:29
Speaker 1: problem is certainly a very interesting one. The point of
35:32
Speaker 1: the letter is very obscure, is it not, well, sir,
35:36
Speaker 1: said the guide. It seemed, if I may be so
35:39
Speaker 1: bold as to say so, the only really clear point
35:43
Speaker 1: in the whole case. Holmes shook his head, granting that
35:48
Speaker 1: the letter is genuine and was really written. It was
35:52
Speaker 1: certainly received some time before, say, one hour or two.
35:56
Speaker 1: Why then, was this lady still clasping it in her
35:59
Speaker 1: left hand? Why should she carry it so carefully? She
36:03
Speaker 1: did not need to refer to it in the interview.
36:06
Speaker 1: Does it not seem remarkable? While, sir, as you put it,
36:10
Speaker 1: perhaps it does. I think I should like to sit
36:13
Speaker 1: quietly for a few minutes and think it out. He
36:17
Speaker 1: seated himself upon the stone ledge of the bridge, and
36:20
Speaker 1: I could see his quick gray eyes darting their questioning
36:23
Speaker 1: glances in every direction. Suddenly he sprang up again and
36:28
Speaker 1: ran across to the opposite Parapet whipped his lens from
36:31
Speaker 1: his pocket and began to examine the stone work. This
36:35
Speaker 1: is curious, said he, yes, sir, we saw the chip
36:38
Speaker 1: on the ledge. I expect it's been done by some
36:40
Speaker 1: passer by. The stone work was gray, but at this
36:45
Speaker 1: one point it showed white for a space not larger
36:48
Speaker 1: than a sixpence. When examined closely, one could see that
36:52
Speaker 1: the surface was chipped, as by a sharp blow. It
36:56
Speaker 1: took some violence to do that, said Holmes, thoughtfully. With
37:00
Speaker 1: his cane, he struck the ledge several times without leaving
37:04
Speaker 1: a mark. Yes, it was a hard knock in a
37:07
Speaker 1: curious place too. It was not from above but from below.
37:12
Speaker 1: For you see that it is on the lower edge
37:14
Speaker 1: of the parapet. But it is at least fifteen feet
37:17
Speaker 1: from the body. Yes, it is fifteen feet from the body.
37:22
Speaker 1: It may have nothing to do with the matter, but
37:24
Speaker 1: it is a point worth noting. I do not think
37:27
Speaker 1: that we have anything more to learn here. There were
37:31
Speaker 1: no footsteps, you say the ground was iron hard, sir,
37:35
Speaker 1: there were no traces at all. Then we can go.
37:39
Speaker 1: We will go up to the house first and look
37:41
Speaker 1: over these weapons of which you speak. Then we shall
37:44
Speaker 1: get on to Winchester, or I should desire to see
37:47
Speaker 1: Miss Dunbar before we go farther. Mister Neil Gibson had
37:52
Speaker 1: not returned from town. But we saw in the house
37:55
Speaker 1: the neurotic mister Bates, who had called upon us in
37:59
Speaker 1: the morning, he showed us, with a sinister relish, the
38:03
Speaker 1: formidable array of firearms of various shapes and sizes, which
38:07
Speaker 1: his employer had accumulated in the course of an adventurous life.
38:12
Speaker 1: Mister Gibson has his enemies, as any one would expect
38:15
Speaker 1: to knew him and his methods. Said he he sleeps
38:19
Speaker 1: with a loaded revolver in the drawer beside his bed.
38:22
Speaker 1: He is a man of violence, sir, and there are
38:24
Speaker 1: times when all of us are afraid of him. I
38:27
Speaker 1: am sure that the poor lady who was past was
38:31
Speaker 1: often terrified. Did you ever witness physical violence towards her? No,
38:37
Speaker 1: I cannot say that that I have heard words which
38:40
Speaker 1: were nearly as bad, words of cold cutting contempt even
38:45
Speaker 1: before the servants. Our millionaire does not seem to shine
38:50
Speaker 1: in private life, remarked Holmes, as we made our way
38:53
Speaker 1: to the station. Well, Watson, we have come on a
38:56
Speaker 1: good many facts, some of them new ones. And yet
39:00
Speaker 1: I seem some way from my conclusion. In spite of
39:05
Speaker 1: the very evident dislike which mister Bates has to his employer,
39:09
Speaker 1: I gather from him that when the alarm came, he
39:12
Speaker 1: was undoubtedly in his library dinner was over at age thirty,
39:17
Speaker 1: and all was normal up to then. It is true
39:20
Speaker 1: that the alarm was somewhat late in the evening, but
39:24
Speaker 1: the tragedy certainly occurred about the hour named in the note.
39:28
Speaker 1: There is no evidence at all that mister Gibson had
39:31
Speaker 1: been out of doors since his return from town at
39:34
Speaker 1: five o'clock. On the other hand, Miss Dunbar, as I
39:38
Speaker 1: understand it, admits that she had made an appointment to
39:41
Speaker 1: meet missus Gibson at the bridge. Beyond this, she would
39:45
Speaker 1: say nothing, as her lawyer had advised her to reserve
39:48
Speaker 1: her defense. We have several very vital questions to ask
39:53
Speaker 1: that young lady, and my mind will not be easy
39:57
Speaker 1: until we have seen her. I must confess that the
40:00
Speaker 1: case would seem to me to be very black against
40:03
Speaker 1: her if it were not for one thing. And what
40:07
Speaker 1: is that, Holmes, The finding of the pistol in her wardrobe.
40:11
Speaker 1: Dear me, Holmes, I cried, that seemed to me to
40:13
Speaker 1: be the most damning incident of all. Not so, Watson.
40:17
Speaker 1: It had struck me, even at my first perfunctory reading,
40:20
Speaker 1: as very strange, And now that I am in closer
40:24
Speaker 1: touch with the case, it is my only firm ground
40:27
Speaker 1: for hope. We must look for consistency where there is
40:30
Speaker 1: a want of it. We must suspect deception. I hardly
40:34
Speaker 1: follow you well. Now, Watson, suppose for a moment that
40:38
Speaker 1: we visualize you in the character of a woman who,
40:42
Speaker 1: in a cold premeditated fashion, is about to get rid
40:46
Speaker 1: of a rival. You have planned it, a note has
40:51
Speaker 1: been written, the victim has come, you have your weapon.
40:54
Speaker 1: The crime is done. It has been workmen like and complete.
41:00
Speaker 1: Do you tell me that after carrying out so crafty
41:03
Speaker 1: a crime, you would now ruin your reputation as a
41:07
Speaker 1: criminal by forgetting to fling your weapon into those adjacent
41:11
Speaker 1: reed beds, which would forever cover it. But you must
41:15
Speaker 1: needs carry it carefully home and put it in your
41:19
Speaker 1: own wardrobe, the very first place that would be searched.
41:23
Speaker 1: Your best friends would hardly call you a schemer, Watson,
41:28
Speaker 1: And yet I could not picture you doing anything so
41:31
Speaker 1: crude as that in the excitement of the moment. No, no, Watson,
41:35
Speaker 1: I will not admit that it is possible. Where a
41:39
Speaker 1: crime is coolly premeditated, then the means of covering it
41:43
Speaker 1: are coolly premeditated. Also. I hope therefore, that we are
41:47
Speaker 1: in the presence of a serious misconception. But there is
41:50
Speaker 1: so much to explain. Well, we shall set about explaining it.
41:54
Speaker 1: When once your point of view is changed, the very
41:58
Speaker 1: thing which was soda becomes a clue to the truth.
42:03
Speaker 1: For example, there is this revolver. Miss Dunbar disclaims all
42:07
Speaker 1: knowledge of it. On our new theory, she is speaking
42:10
Speaker 1: truth when she says so. Therefore it was placed in
42:14
Speaker 1: her wardrobe. Who placed it there? Someone who wished to
42:19
Speaker 1: incriminate her? Was not that person the actual criminal. You
42:25
Speaker 1: see how we come at once upon a most fruitful
42:28
Speaker 1: line of inquiry. We were compelled to spend the night
42:31
Speaker 1: at Winchester, as the formalities had not yet been completed.
42:36
Speaker 1: But next morning, in the company of mister Joyce Cummings,
42:39
Speaker 1: a rising barrister who was entrusted with the defense, we
42:43
Speaker 1: were allowed to see the young lady in her cell.
42:47
Speaker 1: I had expected, from all that we have heard, to
42:49
Speaker 1: see a beautiful woman, but I can never forget the
42:53
Speaker 1: effect which Miss Dunbar produced upon me. It was no
42:58
Speaker 1: wonder that even the masterful Million had found in her
43:01
Speaker 1: something more powerful than himself, something which could control and
43:06
Speaker 1: guide him. One felt, too, as one looked at the strong,
43:10
Speaker 1: clear cut and yet sensitive face that even should she
43:13
Speaker 1: be capable of some impetuous deed, nonetheless there was an
43:18
Speaker 1: innate nobility of character which would make her influence always
43:22
Speaker 1: for the good. She was a brunette, tall, with a
43:27
Speaker 1: noble figure and commanding presence, but her dark eyes had
43:30
Speaker 1: in them the appealing, helpless expression of the hunted creature
43:35
Speaker 1: who feels the nets around it, but can see no
43:38
Speaker 1: way out from the toils. Now, as she realized the
43:42
Speaker 1: presence and the help of my famous friend, there came
43:46
Speaker 1: a touch of color in her wan cheeks, and a
43:49
Speaker 1: light of hope began to glimmer in the glance which
43:52
Speaker 1: she turned upon us. Perhaps mister Neil Gibson has told
43:56
Speaker 1: you something of what occurred between us, she asked in
43:59
Speaker 1: a low, ataated voice. Yes, Holmes answered, you need not
44:03
Speaker 1: pain yourself by entering into that part of the story.
44:07
Speaker 1: After seeing you, I am prepared to accept mister Gibson's statement,
44:12
Speaker 1: both as to the influence which you had over him
44:16
Speaker 1: and as to the innocence of your relations with him.
44:19
Speaker 1: But why was the whole situation not brought out in court?
44:23
Speaker 1: It seemed to me incredible that such a charge could
44:26
Speaker 1: be sustained. I thought that if we waited, the whole
44:29
Speaker 1: thing must clear itself up without our being compelled to
44:33
Speaker 1: enter into painful details of the inner life of the family.
44:37
Speaker 1: But I understand that far from clearing it has become
44:40
Speaker 1: even more serious. My dear young lady, cried Holmes earnestly.
44:44
Speaker 1: I beg you to have no illusions upon the point.
44:48
Speaker 1: Mister Cummings here would assure you that all the cards
44:51
Speaker 1: are at present against us, and that we must do
44:54
Speaker 1: everything that is possible if we are to win. Clear
44:57
Speaker 1: it would be a cruel deception to pretend that you
45:00
Speaker 1: you are not in very great danger. Give me all
45:02
Speaker 1: the help you can then to get at the truth.
45:05
Speaker 1: I will conceal nothing. Tell us then, of your true
45:08
Speaker 1: relations with mister Gibson's wife. She hated me, mister Holmes.
45:13
Speaker 1: She hated me with all the fervor of her tropical nature.
45:18
Speaker 1: She was a woman who would do nothing by halves,
45:21
Speaker 1: and the measure of her love for her husband was
45:24
Speaker 1: the measure also of her hatred for me. It is
45:27
Speaker 1: probable that she misunderstood our relations. I would not wish
45:31
Speaker 1: to wrong her, but she loved so vividly in a
45:34
Speaker 1: physical sense, that she could hardly understand the mental and
45:38
Speaker 1: even spiritual tie which held her husband to me, or
45:42
Speaker 1: imagined that it was only my desire to influence his
45:45
Speaker 1: power to good ends which kept me under his roof.
45:49
Speaker 1: I can see now that I was wrong. Nothing could
45:52
Speaker 1: justify me in remaining where I was a cause of unhappiness.
45:55
Speaker 1: And yet it is certain that the unhappiness would have
45:58
Speaker 1: remained even if I left the house. Now, Miss Dunbar
46:02
Speaker 1: said Holmes, I beg you to tell us exactly what
46:06
Speaker 1: occurred that evening. I can tell you the truth so
46:09
Speaker 1: far as I know it, Mister Holmes, that I am
46:11
Speaker 1: in a position to prove nothing. And there are points,
46:14
Speaker 1: the most vital points, which I can neither explain, nor
46:17
Speaker 1: can I imagine any explanation. If you will find the facts,
46:21
Speaker 1: perhaps others may find the explanation. With regard then to
46:26
Speaker 1: my presence at Thorbridge that night, I received a note
46:28
Speaker 1: from missus Gibson. In the morning. It lay on the
46:31
Speaker 1: table of the schoolroom, and it may have been left
46:34
Speaker 1: there by her own hand. It implored me to see
46:38
Speaker 1: her there after dinner, said she had something important to
46:41
Speaker 1: say to me, and asked me to leave an answer
46:44
Speaker 1: on the sun dial in the garden, as she desired
46:47
Speaker 1: no one to be in our confidence. I saw no
46:50
Speaker 1: reason for such secrecy, but I did as she asked,
46:53
Speaker 1: accepting the appointment. She asked me to destroy her note,
46:58
Speaker 1: and I burned it in the schoolroom. Great. She was
47:01
Speaker 1: very much afraid of her husband, who treated her with
47:04
Speaker 1: a harshness for which I frequently reproached him. And I
47:08
Speaker 1: could only imagine that she acted in this way because
47:10
Speaker 1: she did not wish him to know of our interview.
47:13
Speaker 1: Yet she kept your reply very carefully. Yes, I was
47:17
Speaker 1: surprised to hear that she had it in her hand
47:19
Speaker 1: when she died. Well, what happened? Then? I went down
47:23
Speaker 1: as I had promised. When I reached the bridge, she
47:27
Speaker 1: was waiting for me. Never did I realize till that
47:31
Speaker 1: moment how this poor creature hated me. She was like
47:34
Speaker 1: a mad woman. Indeed, I think she was a mad woman,
47:38
Speaker 1: subtly mad, the deep power of deception which insane people
47:43
Speaker 1: may have. How else could she have met me with
47:47
Speaker 1: unconcern every day and yet had so raging a hatred
47:52
Speaker 1: of me in her heart. I will not say what
47:55
Speaker 1: she said. She poured her whole wild fury out in
48:00
Speaker 1: burning and horrible words. I did not even answer. I
48:04
Speaker 1: could not. It was dreadful to see her. I put
48:08
Speaker 1: my hands to my ears and rushed away. When I
48:11
Speaker 1: left her, she was standing still, shrieking out her curses
48:14
Speaker 1: at me in the mouth of the bridge, where she
48:18
Speaker 1: was afterwards found within a few yards from the spot.
48:22
Speaker 1: And yet, presuming that she met her death shortly after
48:25
Speaker 1: you left her, you heard no shot. No, I heard nothing.
48:30
Speaker 1: But indeed, mister Holmes, I was so agitated and horrified
48:34
Speaker 1: by this terrible outbreak that I rushed to get back
48:37
Speaker 1: to the peace of my own room, and I was
48:39
Speaker 1: incapable of noticing anything which happened. You say that you
48:43
Speaker 1: returned to your room. Did you leave it again before
48:45
Speaker 1: next morning? Yes, When the alarm came that the poor
48:48
Speaker 1: creature had met her death, I ran out with the others.
48:52
Speaker 1: Did you see mister Gibson. Yes, he had just returned
48:55
Speaker 1: from the bridge when I saw him. He had sent
48:57
Speaker 1: for the doctor and the police. Did he seem to
48:59
Speaker 1: you much perturbed? Mister Gibson is a very strong, self
49:04
Speaker 1: contained man. I do not think that he would ever
49:06
Speaker 1: show his emotions on the surface, But I, who knew
49:09
Speaker 1: him so well, could see that he was deeply concerned.
49:13
Speaker 1: Then we come to the all important point. This pistol
49:17
Speaker 1: that was found in your room. Had you ever seen
49:20
Speaker 1: it before? Never, I swear it. When was it found
49:25
Speaker 1: next morning when the police made their search among your clothes. Yes,
49:30
Speaker 1: on the floor of my wardrobe under my dresses. You
49:33
Speaker 1: could not guess how long it had been there. It
49:36
Speaker 1: had not been there the morning before. How do you know?
49:39
Speaker 1: Because I tied it out the wardrobe. That is final.
49:43
Speaker 1: Then someone came into your room and placed the pistol
49:45
Speaker 1: there in order to inculpate you. It must have been so,
49:50
Speaker 1: and when it could only have been at meal time
49:54
Speaker 1: or else at the hours when I would be in
49:56
Speaker 1: the schoolroom with the children as you were when you
49:59
Speaker 1: got the note. Yes, from that time onward for the
50:02
Speaker 1: whole morning. Thank you, Miss Dunbar. Is there any other
50:07
Speaker 1: point which could help me in the investigation. I can
50:10
Speaker 1: think of none. There was some sign of violence on
50:14
Speaker 1: the stone work of the bridge, a perfectly fresh chip
50:18
Speaker 1: just opposite the body. Could you suggest any possible explanation
50:23
Speaker 1: of that? Surely it must be a mere coincidence. Curious
50:27
Speaker 1: Miss Dunbar very curious. Why should it appear at the
50:32
Speaker 1: very time of the tragedy, and why at the very
50:35
Speaker 1: place that what could have caused it? Only great violence
50:40
Speaker 1: could have such an effect. Holmes did not answer. His pale,
50:45
Speaker 1: eager face had suddenly assumed that tense, far away expression
50:49
Speaker 1: which I had learned to associate with the supreme manifestations
50:53
Speaker 1: of his genius. So evident was the crisis in his
50:57
Speaker 1: mind that none of us dared to speak. And we sat,
51:01
Speaker 1: Barrister Prisoner and myself watching him in a concentrated and
51:06
Speaker 1: absorbed silence. Suddenly he sprang from his chair, vibrating with
51:12
Speaker 1: nervous energy and the pressing need for action. Come, Watson, Come,
51:17
Speaker 1: he cried, What is it, mister Holmes. Never mind, my
51:20
Speaker 1: dear lady, you will hear from me, mister Cummings. With
51:24
Speaker 1: the help of the God of Justice. I will give
51:25
Speaker 1: you a case which will make England ring. You will
51:29
Speaker 1: get news by to morrow, Miss Dunbar. And meanwhile, take
51:32
Speaker 1: my assurance that the clouds are lifting, and that I
51:36
Speaker 1: have every hope that the light of truth is breaking through.
51:41
Speaker 1: It was not a long journey from Winchester to Thorp Place,
51:45
Speaker 1: but it was long to me in my impatience, while
51:48
Speaker 1: for Holmes it was evident that it seemed endless, for
51:52
Speaker 1: in his nervous restlessness, he could not sit still, but
51:55
Speaker 1: paced the carriage or drummed with his long sensitive fingers
51:59
Speaker 1: upon the cushions besise side him. Suddenly, however, as we
52:02
Speaker 1: neared our destination, he seated himself opposite to me. We
52:07
Speaker 1: had a first class carriage to ourselves, and laying a
52:10
Speaker 1: hand upon each of my knees, he looked into my
52:12
Speaker 1: eyes with the peculiarly mischievous gaze which was characteristic of
52:17
Speaker 1: his more imp like moods. Watson said he I have
52:22
Speaker 1: some recollection that you go armed upon these excursions of ours.
52:28
Speaker 1: It was as well for him that I did so,
52:30
Speaker 1: for he took little care for his own safety when
52:34
Speaker 1: his mind was once absorbed by a problem. So that
52:36
Speaker 1: more than once, my revolver has been a good friend
52:39
Speaker 1: in need. I reminded him of the fact. Yes, yes,
52:44
Speaker 1: I am a little absent minded in such matters, But
52:48
Speaker 1: have you your revolver on you? I produced it from
52:52
Speaker 1: my hip pocket, a short, handy but very serviceable little weapon.
52:57
Speaker 1: He undid the catch, shook out the cartridges and exact,
53:00
Speaker 1: and it with care. It's heavy, remarkably heavy, said he. Yes,
53:04
Speaker 1: it's a solid bit of work. He mused over it
53:07
Speaker 1: for a minute. Do you know, Watson said he. I
53:11
Speaker 1: believe your revolver is going to have a very intimate
53:14
Speaker 1: connection with the mystery which we are investigating. My dear Holmes,
53:18
Speaker 1: you are joking, no, Watson, I am very serious. There
53:21
Speaker 1: is a test before us. If the test comes off,
53:25
Speaker 1: all will be clear, and the test will depend upon
53:28
Speaker 1: the conduct of this little weapon. One cartridge out now
53:34
Speaker 1: we will replace the other five and put on the
53:37
Speaker 1: safety catch, so that increases the weight and makes it
53:41
Speaker 1: a better reproduction. I had no glimmer of what was
53:45
Speaker 1: in his mind, nor did he enlighten me, but sat
53:48
Speaker 1: lost in thought until we pulled up in the little
53:51
Speaker 1: Hampshire station. We secured a ramshackle trap, and in a
53:56
Speaker 1: quarter of an hour were at the house of our
53:58
Speaker 1: confidential friend. The sergeant. A clue, mister Olmes, what is it?
54:04
Speaker 1: It all depends upon the behavior of doctor Watson's revolver,
54:07
Speaker 1: said my friend here it is now, officer, can you
54:11
Speaker 1: give me ten yards of string? The village shop provided
54:16
Speaker 1: a ball of stout twine, I think that this is
54:19
Speaker 1: all we will need, said Holmes. Now, if you please,
54:22
Speaker 1: we will get off on what I hope is the
54:24
Speaker 1: last stage of our journey. The sun was setting and
54:28
Speaker 1: turning the rolling Hampshire moor into a wonderful autumnal panorama.
54:34
Speaker 1: The sergeant, with many critical and incredulous glances which showed
54:38
Speaker 1: his deep doubts of the sanity of my companion, lurched
54:42
Speaker 1: along beside us. I could see that my friend, under
54:46
Speaker 1: all his habitual coolness, was in truth deeply agitated. Yes,
54:53
Speaker 1: he said, in answer to my remark, you have seen
54:56
Speaker 1: me miss my mark before, Watson. I have an instinct
54:59
Speaker 1: for such things, and yet it has sometimes played me false.
55:04
Speaker 1: It seemed a certainty when first it flashed across my
55:06
Speaker 1: mind in the cell at Winchester. But one drawback of
55:09
Speaker 1: an active mind is that one can always conceive alternative
55:13
Speaker 1: explanations which would make our scent a false one. And yet,
55:19
Speaker 1: and yet, well, Watson, we can but try. As he walked,
55:25
Speaker 1: he had firmly tied one end of the string to
55:27
Speaker 1: the handle of the revolver. We had now reached the
55:31
Speaker 1: scene of the tragedy. With great care, he marked out
55:35
Speaker 1: under the guidance of the policeman the exact spot where
55:39
Speaker 1: the body had been stretched. He then hunted among the
55:43
Speaker 1: heather and the ferns until he found a considerable stone.
55:48
Speaker 1: This he secured to the other end of his line
55:51
Speaker 1: of string, and he hung it over the parapet of
55:54
Speaker 1: the bridge, so that it swung clear above the water.
55:59
Speaker 1: Then stood on the fatal spot, some distance from the
56:03
Speaker 1: edge of the bridge, with my revolver in his hand,
56:08
Speaker 1: the string being taught between the weapon and the heavy
56:11
Speaker 1: stone on the farther side. Now for it, he cried
56:15
Speaker 1: at the words, He raised the pistol to his head
56:18
Speaker 1: and then let go his grip. In an instant it
56:22
Speaker 1: had been whisked away by the weight of the stone,
56:26
Speaker 1: had struck with a sharp crack against the parapet, and
56:29
Speaker 1: had vanished over the side into the water. It had
56:33
Speaker 1: hardly gone before Holmes was kneeling beside the stone work,
56:37
Speaker 1: and a joyous cry showed that he had found what
56:40
Speaker 1: he expected. Was there ever a more exact demonstration? He cried, See, Watson,
56:47
Speaker 1: your revolver has solved the problem. As he spoke, he
56:52
Speaker 1: pointed to a second chip of the exact size and
56:56
Speaker 1: shape of the first which had appeared on the under
57:00
Speaker 1: edge of the stone balustrade. We'll stay at the Inn
57:04
Speaker 1: to night, he continued as he rose and faced the
57:07
Speaker 1: astonished sergeant. You will, of course get a grappling hook,
57:12
Speaker 1: and you will easily restore my friend's revolver. You will
57:16
Speaker 1: also find beside it the revolver string and weight with
57:20
Speaker 1: which this vindictive woman attempted to disguise her own crime
57:26
Speaker 1: and to fasten a charge of murder upon an innocent victim.
57:30
Speaker 1: You can let mister Gibson know that I will see
57:32
Speaker 1: him in the morning, when steps can be taken for
57:35
Speaker 1: miss Dunbar's vindication. Late that evening, as we sat together
57:41
Speaker 1: smoking our pipes in the village Inn, Holmes gave me
57:45
Speaker 1: a brief review of what had passed. I fear Watson,
57:49
Speaker 1: said he that you will not improve any reputation which
57:53
Speaker 1: I may have acquired by adding the case of the
57:57
Speaker 1: Thawbridge mystery to your annals. I have been sluggish in
58:02
Speaker 1: mind and wanting in that mixture of imagination and reality
58:07
Speaker 1: which is the basis of my art. I confess that
58:11
Speaker 1: the chip in the stone work was a sufficient clue
58:14
Speaker 1: to suggest the true solution, and that I blame myself
58:19
Speaker 1: for not having attained it sooner. It must be admitted
58:24
Speaker 1: that the workings of this unhappy woman's mind were deep
58:27
Speaker 1: and subtle, so that it was no very simple matter
58:31
Speaker 1: to unravel her plot. I do not think that in
58:35
Speaker 1: our adventures we have ever come across a stranger example
58:40
Speaker 1: of what perverted love can bring about. Whether Miss Dunbar
58:46
Speaker 1: was her rival in a physical or in a merely
58:48
Speaker 1: mental sense, seems to have been equally unforgivable in her eyes.
58:53
Speaker 1: No doubt she blamed this innocent lady for all those
58:56
Speaker 1: harsh dealings and unkind words with which her her husband
59:00
Speaker 1: tried to repel her too demonstrative affection. Her first resolution
59:06
Speaker 1: was to end her own life. Her second was to
59:09
Speaker 1: do it in such a way as to involve her
59:11
Speaker 1: victim in a fate which was worse far than any
59:14
Speaker 1: sudden death could be. We can follow the various steps
59:19
Speaker 1: quite clearly, and they show a remarkable subtlety of mind.
59:25
Speaker 1: A note was extracted very cleverly from Miss Dunbar, which
59:29
Speaker 1: would make it appear that she had chosen the scene
59:32
Speaker 1: of the crime. In her anxiety that it should be discovered,
59:36
Speaker 1: She somewhat overdid it by holding it in her hand
59:40
Speaker 1: to the last, For this alone should have excited my
59:44
Speaker 1: suspicions earlier than it did. Then she took one of
59:48
Speaker 1: her husband's revolvers there was, as you saw, an arsenal
59:53
Speaker 1: in the house, and kept it for her own use.
59:56
Speaker 1: A similar one she concealed that morning in Miss d
1:00:00
Speaker 1: Dunbar's wardrobe. After discharging one barrel, which she could easily
1:00:05
Speaker 1: do in the woods without attracting attention, she then went
1:00:09
Speaker 1: down to the bridge where she had contrived this exceedingly
1:00:13
Speaker 1: ingenious method for getting rid of her weapon. When Miss
1:00:17
Speaker 1: Dunbar appeared, she used her last breath in pouring out
1:00:21
Speaker 1: her hatred, and then, when she was out of hearing,
1:00:25
Speaker 1: carried out her terrible purpose. Every link is now in
1:00:30
Speaker 1: its place, and the chain is complete. The papers may
1:00:34
Speaker 1: ask why the mirror was not dragged in the first instance,
1:00:38
Speaker 1: but it is easy to be wise after the event,
1:00:42
Speaker 1: and in any case, the expanse of a read filled
1:00:44
Speaker 1: lake is no easy matter to drag unless you have
1:00:48
Speaker 1: a clear perception of what you are looking for and where. Well, Watson,
1:00:53
Speaker 1: we have helped a remarkable woman and also a formidable man.
1:00:58
Speaker 1: Should they in the future joined their forces, as seems
1:01:02
Speaker 1: not unlikely, the financial world may find that mister Neil
1:01:06
Speaker 1: Gibson has learned something in that school room of sorrow
1:01:11
Speaker 1: where our earthly lessons are taught. That is the end
1:01:20
Speaker 1: of the problem at thor Bridge, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
1:01:27
Speaker 1: read by Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio twenty nineteen.