Latest / Four Noncanonical Sherlock Holmes Short Stories / 002 - Story 2 The Lost Special

Transcript

002 - Story 2 The Lost Special · Four Noncanonical Sherlock Holmes Short Stories

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter two of four non canonical Sherlock Holmes short stories
0:05
Speaker 1: by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a LibriVox recording. All
0:10
Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
0:14
Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Chapter two,
0:20
Speaker 1: the Lost Special, the confession of Herbert de Lernac, now
0:25
Speaker 1: lying under sentence of death at Marseilles, has thrown a
0:28
Speaker 1: light upon one of the most inexplicable crimes of the century,
0:32
Speaker 1: an incident which is I believe absolutely unprecedented in the
0:37
Speaker 1: criminal anals of any country. Although there is a reluctance
0:41
Speaker 1: to discuss the matter in official circles, and little information
0:45
Speaker 1: has been given to the press, there are still indications
0:48
Speaker 1: that the statement of this arch criminal is corroborated by
0:52
Speaker 1: the facts, and that we have at last found a
0:55
Speaker 1: solution for a most outstanding business. As the matter is
0:59
Speaker 1: eight years old, and as its importance was somewhat obscured
1:03
Speaker 1: by a political crisis which was engaging the public attention
1:06
Speaker 1: at the time, it may be as well to state
1:09
Speaker 1: the facts as far as we have been able to
1:11
Speaker 1: ascertain them. They are collated from the Liverpool papers of
1:15
Speaker 1: that date, from the proceedings at the inquest upon John Slater,
1:20
Speaker 1: the engine driver, and from the records of the London
1:23
Speaker 1: and West Coast Railway Company, which had been courteously put
1:27
Speaker 1: at my disposal. Briefly, they are as follows. On the
1:32
Speaker 1: third of June eighteen ninety, a gentleman who gave his
1:36
Speaker 1: name as Monsieur Louis Caratal, desired an interview with mister
1:40
Speaker 1: James Bland, the superintendent of the London and West Coast
1:44
Speaker 1: Central Station in Liverpool.
1:47
Speaker 2: He was a.
1:47
Speaker 1: Small man, middle aged and dark, with a stoop which
1:51
Speaker 1: was so marked that it suggested some deformity of the spine.
1:55
Speaker 1: He was accompanied by a friend, a man of imposing physique,
2:00
Speaker 1: whose deferential manner and constant attention showed that his position
2:04
Speaker 1: was one of dependence. This friend or companion, whose name
2:09
Speaker 1: did not transpire, was certainly a foreigner, and probably, from
2:13
Speaker 1: his swarthy complexion, either a Spaniard or a South American.
2:18
Speaker 1: One peculiarity was observed in him. He carried in his
2:21
Speaker 1: left hand a small black leather dispatch box, and it
2:25
Speaker 1: was noticed by a sharp eyed clerk in the central
2:28
Speaker 1: office that this box was fastened to his wrist by
2:31
Speaker 1: a strap No importance was attached to the fact at
2:35
Speaker 1: the time, but subsequent events endowed it with some significance.
2:40
Speaker 1: Monsieur Caratal was shown up to mister Bland's office while
2:44
Speaker 1: his companion remained outside. Monsieur Carotel's business was quickly dispatched.
2:51
Speaker 1: He had arrived that afternoon from Central America. Affairs of
2:54
Speaker 1: the utmost importance demanded that he should be in Paris
2:58
Speaker 1: without the loss of an unnecessary He had missed the
3:01
Speaker 1: London Express. A special must be provided. Money was of
3:06
Speaker 1: no importance. Time was everything. If the company would speed
3:10
Speaker 1: him on his way, they might make their own terms.
3:13
Speaker 1: Mister Bland struck the electric bell, summoned mister potter Hood,
3:17
Speaker 1: the traffic manager, and had the matter arranged in five minutes.
3:22
Speaker 1: The train would start in three quarters of an hour.
3:25
Speaker 1: It would take that time to ensure that the line
3:27
Speaker 1: should be clear. The powerful engine, called Rochdale number two
3:31
Speaker 1: hundred and forty seven on the company's register, was attached
3:35
Speaker 1: to two carriages, with a guards van behind. The first
3:39
Speaker 1: carriage was solely for the purpose of decreasing the inconvenience
3:43
Speaker 1: arising from the oscillation. The second was divided as usual
3:48
Speaker 1: into four compartments a first class, a first class smoking,
3:53
Speaker 1: a second class and a second class smoking. The first compartment,
3:58
Speaker 1: which was nearest to the engine, as the one allotted
4:01
Speaker 1: to the travelers. The other three were empty. The guard
4:04
Speaker 1: of the special train was James Macpherson, who had been
4:08
Speaker 1: some years in the service of the company. The stoker,
4:11
Speaker 1: William Smith, was a new hand. Monsieur Carrotel, upon leaving
4:16
Speaker 1: the superintendent's office, rejoined his companion, and both of them
4:21
Speaker 1: manifested extreme impatience to be off. Having paid the money asked,
4:25
Speaker 1: which amounted to fifty pounds five shillings at the usual
4:29
Speaker 1: special rate of five shillings a mile, they demanded to
4:32
Speaker 1: be shown the carriage, and at once took their seats
4:35
Speaker 1: in it, although they were assured that the better part
4:38
Speaker 1: of an hour must elapse before the line could be cleared.
4:42
Speaker 1: In the meantime, a singular coincidence had occurred in the
4:45
Speaker 1: office which Monsieur Carotal had just quitted. A request for
4:50
Speaker 1: a special is not a very uncommon circumstance in a
4:53
Speaker 1: rich commercial center, but that two should be required upon
4:57
Speaker 1: the same afternoon was most unusual. It so happened, however,
5:01
Speaker 1: that mister Bland had hardly dismissed the first traveler before
5:05
Speaker 1: a second entered with a similar request. This was a
5:08
Speaker 1: mister Horace Moore, a gentlemanly man of military appearance, who
5:13
Speaker 1: alleged that the sudden serious illness of his wife in
5:16
Speaker 1: London made it absolutely imperative that he should not lose
5:19
Speaker 1: an instant in starting upon the journey. His distress and
5:23
Speaker 1: anxiety were so evident that mister Bland did all that
5:26
Speaker 1: was possible to meet his wishes. A second special was
5:30
Speaker 1: out of the question, as the ordinary local service was
5:33
Speaker 1: already somewhat deranged by the first. There was the alternative, however,
5:38
Speaker 1: that mister Moore should share the expense of Monsieur Caratal's
5:42
Speaker 1: train and should travel in the other empty first class compartment,
5:46
Speaker 1: if Monsieur Caratal objected to having him in the one
5:49
Speaker 1: which he occupied. It was difficult to see any objection
5:53
Speaker 1: to such an arrangement. And yet Monsieur Caratal, upon the
5:56
Speaker 1: suggestion being made to him by mister potterhoodsolutely refused to
6:01
Speaker 1: consider it for an instant. The train was his, he said,
6:04
Speaker 1: and he would insist upon the exclusive use of it.
6:08
Speaker 1: All argument failed to overcome his ungracious objections, and finally
6:13
Speaker 1: the plan had to be abandoned. Mister Horace Moore left
6:16
Speaker 1: the station in great distress after learning that his only
6:19
Speaker 1: cause was to take the ordinary slow train which leaves
6:22
Speaker 1: Liverpool at six o'clock. At four point thirty one, exactly
6:26
Speaker 1: by the station clock, the special train containing the crippled
6:30
Speaker 1: Monsieur Caratal and his gigantic companion, steamed out of the
6:35
Speaker 1: Liverpool station. The line was at that time clear and
6:39
Speaker 1: there should have been no stoppage before Manchester. The trains
6:43
Speaker 1: of the London and West Coast Railway run over the
6:46
Speaker 1: lines of another company as far as this town, which
6:49
Speaker 1: should have been reached by the special rather before six o'clock.
6:53
Speaker 1: At a quarter after six, considerable surprise and some consternation
6:58
Speaker 1: were caused amongst the official at Liverpool by the receipt
7:01
Speaker 1: of a telegram from Manchester to say that it had
7:04
Speaker 1: not yet arrived. An inquiry directed to Saint Helen's, which
7:09
Speaker 1: is a third of the way between the two cities,
7:11
Speaker 1: elicited the following reply to.
7:14
Speaker 3: James Bland, Superintendent Central London and West Coast Liverpool Special
7:19
Speaker 3: past here at four point fifty two, well up to
7:22
Speaker 3: time Dowster Saint Helen's.
7:25
Speaker 1: This telegram was received at six forty. At six point
7:28
Speaker 1: fifty a second message was received from Manchester.
7:33
Speaker 4: No sign of special as advised by you.
7:36
Speaker 1: And then ten minutes later a third, more bewildering.
7:40
Speaker 4: Presumed, some mistake is to propose running of special local
7:44
Speaker 4: train from Saint Helen's. Time to follow. It has just
7:47
Speaker 4: arrived and has seen nothing of it. Kindly wire advices Manchester.
7:53
Speaker 1: The matter was assuming a most amazing aspect, although in
7:57
Speaker 1: some respects the last telegram was a relief to the authority.
8:00
Speaker 1: It is at Liverpool. If an accident had occurred to
8:02
Speaker 1: the special it seemed hardly possible that the local train
8:06
Speaker 1: could have passed down the same line without observing it.
8:10
Speaker 1: And yet what was the alternative? Where could the train
8:13
Speaker 1: be had it possibly been sidetracked for some reason in
8:16
Speaker 1: order to allow the slower train to go past. Such
8:19
Speaker 1: an explanation was possible if some small repair had to
8:22
Speaker 1: be effected. A telegram was dispatched to each of the
8:26
Speaker 1: stations between Saint Helens and Manchester, and the superintendent and
8:30
Speaker 1: traffic manager waited, in the utmost suspense at the instrument
8:34
Speaker 1: for the series of replies which would enable them to
8:37
Speaker 1: say for certain what had become of the missing train.
8:41
Speaker 1: The answers came back in the order of questions, which
8:44
Speaker 1: was the order of the station's beginning at the Saint
8:47
Speaker 1: Helen's End.
8:48
Speaker 5: Special past here five o'clock, Collins Green.
8:53
Speaker 3: Special past dear six past five Earlston.
8:57
Speaker 5: Special Party of five ten, Newton Special past here five
9:01
Speaker 5: twenty Kenyon Junction.
9:04
Speaker 6: No special train has passed here Barton Moss.
9:07
Speaker 1: The two official stared at each other in amazement.
9:11
Speaker 6: This is unique in my thirty years of experience.
9:14
Speaker 1: Said mister Blande.
9:16
Speaker 7: Absolutely unprecedented and inexplicable, Sir. The special has gone wrong
9:21
Speaker 7: between Kenyon Junction and Martin Moss.
9:24
Speaker 6: And yet there is no sighting so far as my
9:26
Speaker 6: memory serves me, between the two stations. The special must
9:30
Speaker 6: have run off the medals.
9:32
Speaker 7: But how could the four fifty Parliamentary pass over the
9:35
Speaker 7: same line without observing it.
9:38
Speaker 6: There's no alternative, mister hood. It must be so. Possibly
9:42
Speaker 6: the local train may have observed something which may throw
9:45
Speaker 6: some light upon the matter. We will wire to Manchester
9:49
Speaker 6: for more information and a Kenyan Junction with instructions that
9:52
Speaker 6: the line be examined instantly as far as Barton Moss.
9:57
Speaker 1: The answer from Manchester came within a few minutes.
10:00
Speaker 4: No news of missing Special. Driver and guard of slow
10:04
Speaker 4: train positive, no accident between Kenyon Junction and Barton Moss.
10:09
Speaker 4: Line quite clear and no sign of anything unusual. Manchester.
10:14
Speaker 6: That driver and guard will have.
10:15
Speaker 1: To go, said mister Bland grimly.
10:18
Speaker 6: There has been a wreck and they have missed it.
10:20
Speaker 6: The Special is obviously run off the metals without disturbing
10:24
Speaker 6: the line. How it could have done so passes my comprehension,
10:28
Speaker 6: but so it must be. And we shall have a
10:30
Speaker 6: wire from Kenyon or Barton Moss presently to say that
10:33
Speaker 6: they have found her at the bottom of an embankment.
10:37
Speaker 1: But mister Bland's prophecy was not destined to be fulfilled.
10:41
Speaker 1: Half an hour past and then there arrived the following
10:44
Speaker 1: message from the station master of Kenyon Junction.
10:48
Speaker 8: There are no traces of the missing Special. She is
10:50
Speaker 8: quite certain that she passed here and that she did
10:53
Speaker 8: not arrive at Barton Moss. We have detached engine from
10:57
Speaker 8: goods train and I have myself written down the line
11:01
Speaker 8: that all is clear and there is no sign of
11:03
Speaker 8: any accident.
11:05
Speaker 1: Mister Blunt tore his hair in his perplexity.
11:08
Speaker 6: This is rank lunacy hood, he cried, Does a train
11:12
Speaker 6: vanish into thin air in England in broad daylight? The
11:16
Speaker 6: thing is preposterous. An engine, a tender, two carriages, a van,
11:21
Speaker 6: five human beings and all lost on a straight line
11:24
Speaker 6: of railway. Unless we get something positive within the next hour,
11:29
Speaker 6: all take inspector Collins and go down myself.
11:33
Speaker 1: And then at last something positive did occur. It took
11:36
Speaker 1: the shape of another telegram from Kenyon Junction.
11:39
Speaker 8: Regret to report that the dead body of John Slater,
11:43
Speaker 8: driver of the special train, has just been found among
11:46
Speaker 8: the Gorse bushes at a point two and a quarter
11:48
Speaker 8: miles from the junction, had fallen from his engine, pitched
11:52
Speaker 8: down the embankment and rolled among the bushes. Injuries to
11:56
Speaker 8: his head from the fall appear to because of death.
12:00
Speaker 8: Ground has now been carefully examined, and there is no
12:03
Speaker 8: trace of the missing train.
12:05
Speaker 1: The country was, as had already been stated, in the
12:09
Speaker 1: throes of a political crisis, and the attention of the
12:12
Speaker 1: public was further distracted by the important and sensational developments
12:17
Speaker 1: in Paris, where a huge scandal threatened to destroy the
12:20
Speaker 1: government and to wreck the reputations of many of the
12:23
Speaker 1: leading men in France. The papers were full of these events,
12:27
Speaker 1: and the singular disappearance of the special train attracted less
12:31
Speaker 1: attention than would have been the case in more peaceful times.
12:35
Speaker 1: The grotesque nature of the event helped to detract from
12:39
Speaker 1: its importance, for the papers were disinclined to believe the
12:43
Speaker 1: facts as reported to them. More than one of the
12:46
Speaker 1: London journals treated the matter as an ingenious hoax until
12:50
Speaker 1: the coroner's inquest upon the unfortunate driver, an inquest which
12:54
Speaker 1: elicited nothing of importance, convinced them of the tragedy of
12:58
Speaker 1: the incident. Mister Bland, accompanied by Inspector Collins, the senior
13:04
Speaker 1: detective officer in the service of the company, went down
13:07
Speaker 1: to Kenyon Junction the same evening, and their research lasted
13:11
Speaker 1: throughout the following day, but was attended with purely negative results.
13:16
Speaker 1: Not only was no trace found of the missing train,
13:19
Speaker 1: but no conjecture could be put forward which could possibly
13:22
Speaker 1: explain the facts. At the same time, Inspector collins official report,
13:28
Speaker 1: which lies before me as I write, served to show
13:31
Speaker 1: that the possibilities were more numerous than might have been expected.
13:36
Speaker 5: In the Stretcher Railway between these two points, said he.
13:41
Speaker 5: The country is dotted with ironworks and collieries. Of these,
13:46
Speaker 5: some are being worked and some have been abandoned. There
13:51
Speaker 5: are no fewer than twelve which have small gage lines
13:54
Speaker 5: which run trolley cars down to the main line. These
13:58
Speaker 5: can of course be disregarded. Besides these, however, there are
14:03
Speaker 5: seven which have or have had proper lines running down
14:08
Speaker 5: and connecting with points to the main line, so as
14:12
Speaker 5: to convey their produce from the mouth of the mine
14:15
Speaker 5: to the great centers of distribution. In every case these
14:19
Speaker 5: lines are only a few miles in length. Out of
14:22
Speaker 5: the seven, four belong to colleries which are worked out,
14:26
Speaker 5: or at least the shafts which are no longer used.
14:30
Speaker 5: These are the Red Gauntlet, Hero, Slough of Despond and
14:35
Speaker 5: Heart's Ease mines, the latter having ten years ago been
14:39
Speaker 5: one of the principal mines in Lancashire. These four side
14:43
Speaker 5: lines may be eliminated from our inquiry, for to prevent
14:48
Speaker 5: possible accidents, the rails nearest to the main line have
14:51
Speaker 5: been taken up and there is no longer any connection.
14:56
Speaker 5: There remain three other side lines, leading a to the
15:00
Speaker 5: Carnstock Ironworks, b to the big Ben Colliery c to
15:06
Speaker 5: the Perseverance Collery. Of these, the big Ben line is
15:10
Speaker 5: not more than a quarter of a mile long and
15:13
Speaker 5: ends at a dead wall of coal waiting removal from
15:17
Speaker 5: the mouth of the mine. Nothing had been seen or
15:20
Speaker 5: heard there of any special. The Camstock Ironworks line was
15:24
Speaker 5: blocked all day upon the third of June by sixteen
15:27
Speaker 5: truckloads of hematites. It is a single line and nothing
15:32
Speaker 5: could have passed. As to the Perseverance line, it is
15:37
Speaker 5: a large double line which does a considerable traffic, for
15:41
Speaker 5: the output of the mine is very large. On the
15:44
Speaker 5: third of June, this traffic proceeded as usual. Hundreds of men,
15:48
Speaker 5: including a gang of railway plate layers, were working along
15:52
Speaker 5: the two miles and a quarter which constitute the total
15:56
Speaker 5: length of the line, and it is inconceivable that an
15:59
Speaker 5: unexpect acted train could have come down there without attracting
16:03
Speaker 5: universal attention. It may be remarked in conclusion that this
16:08
Speaker 5: branch line is nearer to Saint Helen's than the point
16:11
Speaker 5: at which the engine driver was discovered, so that we
16:14
Speaker 5: have every reason to believe that the train was past
16:17
Speaker 5: that point before misfortune overtook her. As to John slater.
16:23
Speaker 5: There is no clue to be gathered from his appearance
16:26
Speaker 5: or injuries. We can only say that, so far as
16:30
Speaker 5: we can see, he met his end by falling off
16:33
Speaker 5: his engine. Though why he fell or what became of
16:36
Speaker 5: the engine after his fall, is a question upon which
16:39
Speaker 5: I do not feel qualified to offer an opinion.
16:43
Speaker 1: In conclusion, the inspector offered his resignation to the board,
16:48
Speaker 1: being much nettled by an accusation of incompetence in the
16:51
Speaker 1: London papers. A month elapsed during which both the police
16:56
Speaker 1: and the company prosecuted their inquiries without the slightest success.
17:01
Speaker 1: A reward was offered and a pardon promised in case
17:04
Speaker 1: of crime, but they were both unclaimed. Every day the
17:07
Speaker 1: public opened their papers with the conviction that so grotesque
17:12
Speaker 1: a mystery would at last be solved. But week after
17:15
Speaker 1: week passed by, and a solution remained as far off
17:18
Speaker 1: as ever. In broad daylight upon a June afternoon, in
17:22
Speaker 1: the most thickly inhabited portion of England, a train with
17:26
Speaker 1: its occupants had disappeared, as completely as if some master
17:29
Speaker 1: of subtle chemistry had volatilized it into gas. Indeed, among
17:35
Speaker 1: the various conjectures which were put forward in the public press.
17:39
Speaker 1: There were some which seriously asserted that supernatural or at
17:44
Speaker 1: least preternatural agencies had been at work, and that the
17:48
Speaker 1: deformed Monsieur Caratal was probably a person who was better
17:52
Speaker 1: known under a less polite name. Others fixed upon his
17:56
Speaker 1: swarthy companion as being the author of the mischief, but
18:00
Speaker 1: what it was exactly which he had done could never
18:03
Speaker 1: be clearly formulated in words. Amongst the many suggestions put
18:07
Speaker 1: forward by various newspapers or private individuals, there were one
18:13
Speaker 1: or two which were feasible enough to attract the attention
18:16
Speaker 1: of the public. One, which appeared in the Times over
18:19
Speaker 1: the signature of an amateur reasoner of some celebrity at
18:22
Speaker 1: that date, attempted to deal with the matter in a
18:25
Speaker 1: critical and semi scientific manner. An extract must suffice, although
18:31
Speaker 1: the curious can see the whole letter in the issue
18:33
Speaker 1: of the third of July.
18:36
Speaker 9: It is one of the elementary principles of practical reasoning.
18:39
Speaker 9: He remarked that when the impossible has been eliminated, the residuum,
18:45
Speaker 9: however improbable, must contain the truth. It is certain that
18:50
Speaker 9: the train left Kenyan Junction. It is certain that it
18:55
Speaker 9: did not reach Barton Moss. It is in the highest
18:59
Speaker 9: degree and n likely, but still possible, that it may
19:03
Speaker 9: have taken one of the seven available sidelines. It is
19:07
Speaker 9: obviously impossible for a train to run whe there are
19:09
Speaker 9: no rails, and therefore we may reduce our improbables to
19:14
Speaker 9: the three open lines, namely the Carnstock iron Works, the
19:19
Speaker 9: Big Ben and the Perseverance. Is there a secret society
19:24
Speaker 9: of colliers an English camorer which is capable of destroying
19:28
Speaker 9: both train and passengers. It is improbable, but it is
19:33
Speaker 9: not impossible. I confess that I am unable to suggest
19:36
Speaker 9: any other solution. I should certainly advise the company to
19:40
Speaker 9: direct all their energies towards the observation of those three
19:44
Speaker 9: lines and of the workmen at the end of them.
19:48
Speaker 9: A careful supervision of the pawnbroker's shops of the district
19:51
Speaker 9: might possibly bring some suggestive facts to light.
19:56
Speaker 1: The suggestion, coming from a recognized authority upon such matters,
20:00
Speaker 1: has created considerable interest and a fierce opposition from those
20:04
Speaker 1: who considered such a statement to be a preposterous libel
20:08
Speaker 1: upon an honest and deserving set of men. The only
20:12
Speaker 1: answer to this criticism was a challenge to the objectors
20:16
Speaker 1: to lay any more feasible explanations before the public. In
20:21
Speaker 1: reply to this, two others were forthcoming times July seventh
20:26
Speaker 1: and ninth. The first suggested that the train might have
20:29
Speaker 1: run off the metals and be lying submerged in the
20:33
Speaker 1: Lancashire and Staffordshire Canal, which runs parallel to the railway
20:37
Speaker 1: for some hundred of yards. This suggestion was thrown out
20:41
Speaker 1: of court by the published depth of the canal, which
20:44
Speaker 1: was entirely insufficient to conceal so large an object. The
20:48
Speaker 1: second correspondent wrote, calling attention to the bag, which appeared
20:53
Speaker 1: to be the sole luggage which the travelers had brought
20:56
Speaker 1: with them, and suggesting that some novel explosive of mens
21:00
Speaker 1: and pulverizing power might have been concealed in it. The
21:04
Speaker 1: obvious absurdity, however, of supposing that the whole train might
21:08
Speaker 1: be blown to dust while the metals remained uninjured, reduced
21:12
Speaker 1: any such explanation to a farce. The investigation had drifted
21:18
Speaker 1: into this hopeless position when a new and most unexpected
21:22
Speaker 1: incident occurred. This was nothing less than the receipt by
21:26
Speaker 1: Missus Macpherson of a letter from her husband James Macpherson,
21:31
Speaker 1: who had been the guard on the missing train. The letter,
21:35
Speaker 1: which was dated July fifth, eighteen ninety, was posted from
21:39
Speaker 1: New York and came to hand upon July the fourteenth.
21:43
Speaker 1: Some doubts were expressed as to its genuine character, but
21:47
Speaker 1: missus Macpherson was positive as to the writing, and the
21:51
Speaker 1: fact that it contained a remittance of one hundred dollars
21:54
Speaker 1: in five dollar notes was enough in itself to discount
21:57
Speaker 1: the idea of a hoax. Your address was given in
22:01
Speaker 1: the letter, which ran in this way.
22:04
Speaker 10: My dear wife, I have been thinking a great deal,
22:09
Speaker 10: and I find it very hard to give you up.
22:12
Speaker 10: The same with Lizzie. I try to fight against it,
22:15
Speaker 10: but it will always come back to me. I send
22:18
Speaker 10: you some money which will change into twenty English pounds.
22:23
Speaker 10: This should be enough to bring both Lizzie and you
22:26
Speaker 10: across the Atlantic, and you will find the Hamburg boats
22:30
Speaker 10: which stop at Southampton, very good boats and cheaper than Liverpool.
22:36
Speaker 10: If you could come here and stop at the Johnston House,
22:40
Speaker 10: I would try and send you word how to meet.
22:43
Speaker 10: But things are very difficult with me at present, and
22:47
Speaker 10: I am not very happy, finding it hard to give
22:51
Speaker 10: you both up. So no more at present from your
22:54
Speaker 10: loving husband, James McPherson.
22:58
Speaker 1: For a time it was confidently anticipated that this letter
23:01
Speaker 1: would lead to the clearing up of the whole matter.
23:04
Speaker 1: The more so as it was ascertained that a passenger
23:07
Speaker 1: who bore a close resemblance to the missing guard had
23:10
Speaker 1: traveled from Southampton under the name of Somers in the
23:14
Speaker 1: Hamburg and New York liner Vistula, which started upon the
23:18
Speaker 1: seventh of June. Missus Macpherson and her sister lizid Olton
23:23
Speaker 1: went across to New York as directed, and stayed for
23:27
Speaker 1: three weeks at the Johnston House without hearing anything from
23:31
Speaker 1: the missing man. It is probable that some injudicious comments
23:35
Speaker 1: in the press may have warned him that the police
23:37
Speaker 1: were using them as a bait. However this may be,
23:41
Speaker 1: it is certain that he neither wrote nor came, and
23:45
Speaker 1: the women were eventually compelled to return to Liverpool. And
23:49
Speaker 1: so the matters stood and has continued to stand up
23:52
Speaker 1: to the present year of eighteen ninety eight. Incredible as
23:56
Speaker 1: it may seem, nothing has transpired during these eight years
24:01
Speaker 1: which has shed the least light upon the extraordinary disappearance
24:04
Speaker 1: of the special train which contained Monsieur Caratal and his companion.
24:10
Speaker 1: Careful inquiries into the antecedence of the two travelers have
24:14
Speaker 1: only established the fact that Monsieur Caratal was well known
24:18
Speaker 1: as a financier and political agent in Central America, and
24:22
Speaker 1: that during his voyage to Europe he had betrayed extraordinary
24:26
Speaker 1: anxiety to reach Paris. His companion, whose name was entered
24:31
Speaker 1: upon the passenger lists as Edouardo Gomez, was a man
24:35
Speaker 1: whose record was a violent one and whose reputation was
24:39
Speaker 1: that of a bravo and a bully. There was evidence
24:43
Speaker 1: to show, however, that he was honestly devoted to the
24:46
Speaker 1: interests of Monsieur Caratal, and that the latter, being a
24:50
Speaker 1: man of puny physique, employed the other as a guard
24:54
Speaker 1: and protector. It may be added that no information came
24:58
Speaker 1: from Paris as to what the objects of Monsieur Caratal's
25:02
Speaker 1: horrid journey may have been. This comprises all the facts
25:06
Speaker 1: of the case up to the publication in the Marseille
25:09
Speaker 1: papers of the recent confession of Herbert de Lernac, now
25:14
Speaker 1: under sentence of death for the murder of a merchant
25:17
Speaker 1: named Bonvelot. This statement may be literally translated as follows.
25:23
Speaker 2: It is no doubt of me a pride or boasting
25:26
Speaker 2: that I give this information. For is that where my object?
25:31
Speaker 2: That I could tell a dozen actions of mine which
25:34
Speaker 2: are quite as splendid. But I do it in order
25:38
Speaker 2: that sir dain gentlemen whom Pardi may understand that I
25:43
Speaker 2: am able here to tell about the fate of Monsieur Carretale,
25:48
Speaker 2: can also tell in whose interest and in whose a
25:52
Speaker 2: request as the deed was done, Unless oipri which I
25:56
Speaker 2: am awaiting, comes to me very quickly, take warning, messrs
26:02
Speaker 2: before it is too late. You know Ralbert de Lernach,
26:07
Speaker 2: and you are aware that his deeds are as ready
26:11
Speaker 2: as his words esen then or you are lost at present.
26:16
Speaker 2: I shall mention no names. If you only heard the names,
26:22
Speaker 2: what would you not think? But I shall merely tell
26:25
Speaker 2: you how cleverly I did it. I was true to
26:29
Speaker 2: my employees then, and no doubt they will be true
26:32
Speaker 2: to me now, I hope so. And until I am
26:36
Speaker 2: convinced that they have betrayed me, these names, which would
26:42
Speaker 2: convulse Europe, shall not be divulged. But on that day, well,
26:50
Speaker 2: I say no more in a word. Then there was
26:54
Speaker 2: a famous trial in party in the year eighteen ninety
26:59
Speaker 2: in gone with a monstrous scandal in politics and finance.
27:05
Speaker 2: How monstrous that scandal was can never be known save
27:10
Speaker 2: by such confidential agents as myself. The honor and careers
27:16
Speaker 2: of many of the chief men in France were at stake.
27:21
Speaker 2: You have seen a group of nine pins standing also
27:25
Speaker 2: rigid and prim and unbending. Then there comes a bull
27:29
Speaker 2: from far away, and pop, pop pop. There are your
27:34
Speaker 2: nine pins on the floor. Well, imagine some of the
27:39
Speaker 2: greatest men in France as these nine pins. And then
27:42
Speaker 2: this Monsieur Caratal was the ball which could be seen
27:47
Speaker 2: coming from far away. If he arrived, then it was
27:52
Speaker 2: pop pop pop. For all of them, it was determined
27:57
Speaker 2: that he should not arrive. I do not accuse them
28:02
Speaker 2: all of being conscious of what was to happen. There were,
28:07
Speaker 2: as I have said, whoat financial as well as political
28:11
Speaker 2: interests at stake, and a syndicate was formed to manage
28:15
Speaker 2: the business. Some subscribed to the syndicate, who hardly understood
28:21
Speaker 2: what were its objects. But others understood very well, and
28:26
Speaker 2: they can rely upon it that I have not forgotten
28:29
Speaker 2: their names. They had ample warning that Monsieur Caretale was
28:35
Speaker 2: coming long before he left South America, and they knew
28:39
Speaker 2: that the evidence which he held was certainly in ruined
28:44
Speaker 2: to all of them. The syndicate had the command of
28:48
Speaker 2: an unlimited amount of money, absolutely unlimited, you understand. They
28:55
Speaker 2: looked round for a eugent who was capable of wielding
28:59
Speaker 2: this gigant power. The man chosen must be inventive, resolute, adaptive,
29:08
Speaker 2: a man in a million. They chose Albert de Lernac,
29:13
Speaker 2: and I admit that they were right. My duties were
29:18
Speaker 2: to choose my subordinates, to use freely the power which
29:22
Speaker 2: money gives, and to make certain that Monsieur Caratal should
29:28
Speaker 2: never arrive in Pardis. With characteristic energy, I set about
29:33
Speaker 2: my commission within an hour of receiving my instructions, and
29:39
Speaker 2: the steps which I took were the very best for
29:42
Speaker 2: the purpose which could possibly be devised. A man whom
29:47
Speaker 2: I could trust was dispatched instantly to South America to
29:52
Speaker 2: travel home with Monsieur Caratal. Had he arrived in time,
29:58
Speaker 2: the ship would never have reached Little But alas it
30:03
Speaker 2: had already started before Mayor Gent could reach it, I
30:08
Speaker 2: fitted out a small armed brig to intercept it. But
30:12
Speaker 2: again I was unfortunate, like all great organizers. I was, however,
30:19
Speaker 2: prepared for failure, and had a series of alternatives prepared,
30:25
Speaker 2: one or the other of which must succeed. You must
30:31
Speaker 2: not under rate the difficulties of by undertaking, or imagine
30:36
Speaker 2: that a mere commonplace assassination would meet the case. We
30:41
Speaker 2: must destroy not only Monsieur Carletal, but Monsieur Carretel's documents
30:48
Speaker 2: and Monsieur Carretal's companions also if we had reason to
30:53
Speaker 2: believe that he had communicated his secrets to them, and
30:57
Speaker 2: you must remember that they were on the alert and
31:01
Speaker 2: keenly suspicious of any such attempt. He was a task
31:06
Speaker 2: which was in every way worthy of me, for I
31:10
Speaker 2: am always most masterful where another would be uphold. I
31:16
Speaker 2: was already for Monsieur Caratal's reception in Liverpool, and I
31:22
Speaker 2: was the more eager because I had reason to believe
31:25
Speaker 2: that he had made arrangements by which he would have
31:28
Speaker 2: a considerable guard from the moment that he arrived in London.
31:34
Speaker 2: Anything which was to be done must be done between
31:37
Speaker 2: the moment of his setting foot upon the Liverpool Quay
31:41
Speaker 2: and that of his arrival at the London and West
31:45
Speaker 2: Coast Terminus. In London, we prepared six plans, each more
31:50
Speaker 2: elaborate than the last. Which Bland would be used would
31:55
Speaker 2: depend on his own movements. Do what he would. We
32:00
Speaker 2: were ready for him. If he had stayed in Liverpool,
32:04
Speaker 2: we were ready. If he took an ordinary train, an
32:08
Speaker 2: express or especial. All was ready. Everything had been foreseen
32:16
Speaker 2: and provided for. You may imagine that I could not
32:20
Speaker 2: do all this myself. What would I know of the
32:25
Speaker 2: English railway lines. But money can procure willing h ence
32:30
Speaker 2: all the world over, and I soon have one of
32:33
Speaker 2: the acutest brains in England to assist me. I will
32:37
Speaker 2: mention no names, but it would be unjust to claim
32:41
Speaker 2: all the credit for myself. My English ally was worthy
32:46
Speaker 2: of such an alliance. He knew the London and West
32:50
Speaker 2: Coast line thoroughly, and heard the command of a band
32:54
Speaker 2: of workers who are trustworthy and intelligent. The idea was his,
33:00
Speaker 2: and my own judgment was only required in the details.
33:04
Speaker 2: We bought over several officials, amongst whom the most important
33:09
Speaker 2: was James Macpherson, whom we had ascertained to be the
33:14
Speaker 2: guard most likely to be employed upon a special train.
33:18
Speaker 2: Smith the Stoker was also in our employ John Slater,
33:25
Speaker 2: the engine driver had been approached, but had been found
33:29
Speaker 2: to be obstinate and dangerous, so we desisted. We had
33:34
Speaker 2: no certainty that Monsieur Caratal would take a special but
33:39
Speaker 2: we thought it very probable, for it was of the
33:42
Speaker 2: utmost importance to him that he should reach Paris without delay.
33:47
Speaker 2: It was for this contingency, therefore, that we made special preparations,
33:54
Speaker 2: preparations which were complete down to the last detail, long
33:59
Speaker 2: before his steamer had sighted the shores of England. You
34:04
Speaker 2: will be amused to learn that there was one of
34:07
Speaker 2: my agents in the pilot boat which brought that steamer
34:10
Speaker 2: to its mornings. The moment that Caratal arrived in Liverpool,
34:16
Speaker 2: we knew that he suspected danger and was on his guard.
34:21
Speaker 2: He had brought with him as an escort a dangerous
34:25
Speaker 2: fellow named Gomez, a man who carried weapons and was
34:30
Speaker 2: prepared to use them. This fellow carried Caratal's confidential papers
34:35
Speaker 2: for him, and was ready to protect either them or
34:39
Speaker 2: his master. The probability was that Caratal had taken him
34:44
Speaker 2: into his council, and that to remove Caratal without removing
34:49
Speaker 2: Gomez would be a mere waste of energy. It was
34:54
Speaker 2: necessary that they should be involved in a common fate,
34:58
Speaker 2: and our plans to that end were much facilitated by
35:01
Speaker 2: their request for a special train. On that special train,
35:06
Speaker 2: you will understand that two out of the free servants
35:10
Speaker 2: of the company were rarely in our employ at a
35:14
Speaker 2: price which would make them independent for a lifetime. I
35:19
Speaker 2: do not go so far as to say that the
35:22
Speaker 2: English are more honest than any other nation, but I
35:26
Speaker 2: have found them more expensive to buy. I have already
35:31
Speaker 2: spoken of my English agent, who is a man with
35:36
Speaker 2: the considerable future before him, unless some complaint of the
35:40
Speaker 2: throat carries him off before his time. He had charge
35:44
Speaker 2: of all arrangements at Liverpool, whilst I was stationed at
35:49
Speaker 2: the Inn at Kenyon, where I awaited a cipher signal
35:53
Speaker 2: to act. When the special was arranged for, my agent
35:58
Speaker 2: instantly telegraphed to me and warned me how soon I
36:02
Speaker 2: should have everything ready. He himself, under the name of
36:07
Speaker 2: Horace Moore, applied immediately for a special also in the
36:12
Speaker 2: hope that he would be sent down with Monsieur carretale,
36:16
Speaker 2: which might, under certain circumstances, have been helpful to us, if,
36:22
Speaker 2: for example, our great whup had failed. He would then
36:27
Speaker 2: have become the duty of may Agent to have shot
36:30
Speaker 2: them both and destroyed their papers. Caratal was on his guard, however,
36:37
Speaker 2: and refused to admit any other traveler. May Agent then
36:41
Speaker 2: left the station, returned by another entrance, entered the guard's
36:46
Speaker 2: van on the side farthest from the platform, and traveled
36:50
Speaker 2: down with Macpherson the Guard. In the meantime, you will
36:56
Speaker 2: be interested to know what my movements were. Everything been
37:00
Speaker 2: prepared for days before, and only the finishing touches were needed.
37:06
Speaker 2: The side line which we had chosen had once joined
37:10
Speaker 2: the main line, but it had been disconnected. We had
37:14
Speaker 2: only to replace a few rails to connect it once more.
37:18
Speaker 2: These rails had been laid down as far as could
37:21
Speaker 2: be done without danger of attracting attention, and now it
37:25
Speaker 2: was merely a case of completing a juncture with the
37:29
Speaker 2: line and arranging the points as they had been before.
37:34
Speaker 2: The sleepers had never been removed, and the rails, fish
37:38
Speaker 2: plates and rivets were already for. We had taken them
37:42
Speaker 2: from a siding on the abandoned portion of the line.
37:46
Speaker 2: With my small but competent band of workers. We had
37:50
Speaker 2: everything ready long before the special arrived. When it did arrive,
37:56
Speaker 2: it ran off upon the small side lines so easily
38:00
Speaker 2: that the joty of the points appears to have been
38:03
Speaker 2: entirely unnoticed by the two travelers. Our plan had been
38:08
Speaker 2: that Smith the stoker should cloriform John Slater, the driver,
38:14
Speaker 2: so that he should vanish with the others in this respect.
38:18
Speaker 2: And in this respect only our plans miscarried. I accept
38:24
Speaker 2: the criminal folly of mac Pherson, in writing home to
38:27
Speaker 2: his wife. Our stoker did his business so clumsily that Slater,
38:32
Speaker 2: in his struggles, fell off the engine, And though fortune
38:36
Speaker 2: was with us so far that he broke his neck
38:39
Speaker 2: in the fall, till he remained as a blot upon
38:42
Speaker 2: that which would otherwise have been one of those complete
38:46
Speaker 2: masterpieces which are only to be contemplated in silent admiration.
38:53
Speaker 2: The criminal expert will find in John Slatter the one
38:57
Speaker 2: floor in all her admirable combination, a man who has
39:01
Speaker 2: had as many triumphs as I can afford to be frank.
39:06
Speaker 2: And I therefore lay my finger upon John Slater, and
39:10
Speaker 2: I proclaim him to be a floor. But now I
39:15
Speaker 2: have got our special train upon the small line two
39:18
Speaker 2: kilometers or rather more than one mile in length, which leads,
39:24
Speaker 2: or rather used to lead to the abandoned Hartsea's Mine,
39:30
Speaker 2: once one of the largest coal mines in England. You
39:33
Speaker 2: will ask how it is that no one saw the
39:36
Speaker 2: train upon this unused line. I answer that along its
39:41
Speaker 2: entire length it runs through a deep cutting, and that
39:44
Speaker 2: unless someone had been on the edge of that cutting,
39:47
Speaker 2: he could not have seen it. There was some one
39:51
Speaker 2: on the edge of that cutting. I was there, and
39:55
Speaker 2: now I will tell you what I saw. My assistant
40:00
Speaker 2: remained at the points in order that he might superintend
40:03
Speaker 2: the switching off of the train. He had four armed
40:06
Speaker 2: men with him, so that if the train ran off
40:09
Speaker 2: the line, we thought it probable because the points were
40:13
Speaker 2: very rusty, we might still have his horses to fall
40:17
Speaker 2: back upon. Having once seen it safely on the side line,
40:22
Speaker 2: he handed over the responsibility to me. I was waiting
40:26
Speaker 2: at a point which overlooks the mouth of the mine,
40:29
Speaker 2: and I was also armed, as were my two companions.
40:34
Speaker 2: Come what might you see? I was always ready. The
40:39
Speaker 2: moment that the train was fairly on the side line,
40:43
Speaker 2: Smith the Stoker slowed down the engine, and then, having
40:47
Speaker 2: turned it on to the fullest speed again, he and
40:51
Speaker 2: mac Pherson with my English lieutenant sprang off before it
40:55
Speaker 2: was too late. It may be that it was this
40:59
Speaker 2: slowing which first attracted the attention of the travelers, But
41:03
Speaker 2: the train is running at full speed again before their
41:06
Speaker 2: heads appeared at the open window. It makes me smile
41:10
Speaker 2: to think how bewildered they must have been. Picture to yourself,
41:15
Speaker 2: your own feelings, if, on looking out of your luxurious carriage,
41:20
Speaker 2: you suddenly perceived that the lines upon which you ran
41:23
Speaker 2: were rusted and corroded, red and yellow with disuse and decay.
41:29
Speaker 2: What a catch must have come in their breath, as
41:32
Speaker 2: in a second it flashed upon them that it was
41:35
Speaker 2: not Manchester but death which was waiting for them at
41:39
Speaker 2: the end of that sinister line. For the train was
41:44
Speaker 2: running with frantic speed, rolling and rocking over the rotten line,
41:49
Speaker 2: while the wheels made a frightful screaming sound upon the
41:52
Speaker 2: rusted surface. I was close to them and could see
41:56
Speaker 2: their faces. Caratal was praying. There was something like a
42:02
Speaker 2: rosary dangling out of his hand. The other roared like
42:06
Speaker 2: a bull, as well as the blood of the slaughterhouse.
42:09
Speaker 2: He saw us standing on the bank, and he beckoned
42:12
Speaker 2: to us like a madman. Then he tore at his
42:15
Speaker 2: wrist and threw his dispatch box out of the window
42:18
Speaker 2: in our direction. Of course, his meaning was obvious. Here
42:23
Speaker 2: was the evidence, and they would promised to be silent
42:27
Speaker 2: if their lives were spared. It would have been very
42:30
Speaker 2: agreeable if we could have done so, but business is business. Besides,
42:37
Speaker 2: the train was now as much beyond our controls as theirs.
42:42
Speaker 2: He ceased owling when the train rattled round the curb,
42:46
Speaker 2: and he saw the black mouth of the mine yawning
42:48
Speaker 2: before them. We had removed the boards which had covered it,
42:52
Speaker 2: and we had cleared the square entrance. The rails had
42:56
Speaker 2: formerly run very close to the shaft for the convenience
43:00
Speaker 2: of loading the coal, and we had only to add
43:03
Speaker 2: two or three lengths of rail in order to lead
43:06
Speaker 2: to the very brink of the shaft. In fact, as
43:09
Speaker 2: a length would not quite fit our line projected about
43:13
Speaker 2: three feet over the edge. We saw the two heads
43:17
Speaker 2: at the window Caratal below Gomez above, for they had
43:22
Speaker 2: both been struck silent by what they saw, and yet
43:26
Speaker 2: they could not withdraw their heads. The sight seemed to
43:30
Speaker 2: have paralyzed them. I wondered how the train, running at
43:34
Speaker 2: a great speed, would take the pit into which I
43:37
Speaker 2: had guided it, And I was much interested in watching it.
43:42
Speaker 2: One of my colleagues thought that it would actually jump it,
43:46
Speaker 2: and indeed it was not very far from doing so. Fortunately, however,
43:51
Speaker 2: it fell short and the buffers of the engine struck
43:55
Speaker 2: the other lip of the shaft with a tremendous crash.
43:59
Speaker 2: The funnel flew into the air. The tender carriages and
44:03
Speaker 2: van were all smashed into one jumble, which, with the
44:07
Speaker 2: remains of the engine, choked for a minute or so
44:11
Speaker 2: the mouth of the pit. Then something gave way in
44:15
Speaker 2: the middle, and the whole mass of green iron, smoking holes, brass, fittings, wheels,
44:22
Speaker 2: woodwork and cushions all crumbled together and crashed down into
44:27
Speaker 2: the mine. We heard the rattle, rattle, rattle as a
44:33
Speaker 2: debris struck against the walls, and then quite a long
44:37
Speaker 2: time afterwards there came a deep roar as the remains
44:40
Speaker 2: of the train struck the bottom. The boiler may have burst,
44:45
Speaker 2: for a sharp crash came after the roar, and then
44:48
Speaker 2: a dense cloud of steam and smoke swelled up out
44:51
Speaker 2: of the black depths, falling in a spray as thick
44:55
Speaker 2: as rain all around us. Then the vapor shredded off
44:59
Speaker 2: into in wisps which floated away in the summer sunshine,
45:04
Speaker 2: and all was quiet again in Heart's Ease mine. And
45:09
Speaker 2: now having carried out our plans so successfully, it only
45:14
Speaker 2: remained to leave no trace behind us. Our little band
45:18
Speaker 2: of workers at the other end had already ripped up
45:22
Speaker 2: the rails and disconnected the side line, replacing everything as
45:27
Speaker 2: it had been before. We were equally busy at the mine.
45:31
Speaker 2: The funnel and other fragments were thrown in, the shaft
45:35
Speaker 2: was blanked over as it used to be, and the
45:38
Speaker 2: lines which led to it were torn up and taken away. Then,
45:43
Speaker 2: without floody, but without delay, we all made their way
45:48
Speaker 2: out of the country, most of us to Paddy by
45:51
Speaker 2: English colleague to Manchester, and Macpherson to Southampton, whence he
45:56
Speaker 2: emigrated to America. Let the these papers of that date
46:02
Speaker 2: tell how thoroughly we had done our work, and how
46:06
Speaker 2: completely we had thrown the cleverest of their detectives of
46:09
Speaker 2: our track. You will remember that Gomez threw his bag
46:15
Speaker 2: of papers out of the window, and I need not
46:18
Speaker 2: say that I secured that bag and brought them to
46:22
Speaker 2: my employers. It may interest my employers now, however, to
46:28
Speaker 2: learn that out of that bag I took one or
46:31
Speaker 2: two little papers as a souvenir of the occasion. I
46:36
Speaker 2: have no wish to publish these papers, but still it
46:41
Speaker 2: is every man for himself in this world. And what
46:45
Speaker 2: else can I do if my friends do not come
46:47
Speaker 2: to my aid when I want them. Messieurs, you may
46:51
Speaker 2: believe that Albert de la al Nach is quite as
46:54
Speaker 2: formidable when he is against you as when he is
46:58
Speaker 2: with you, and that he is not a man to
47:01
Speaker 2: go to the guillotine until he has seen that every
47:04
Speaker 2: one of you is en route for New Caledonia. For
47:09
Speaker 2: your own sake, if not for mine, make east, Monsieur
47:14
Speaker 2: de and a general and a baron. You can feel
47:19
Speaker 2: the blanks for yourselves as you read this. I promise
47:23
Speaker 2: you that in the next edition there will be no
47:26
Speaker 2: blanks to fill. P. S. As I look over my statement,
47:33
Speaker 2: there is only one omission which I can see. It
47:36
Speaker 2: concerns the unfortunate man mac Pherson, who was foolish enough
47:41
Speaker 2: to write to his wife and to make an appointment
47:45
Speaker 2: with her in New York. It can be imagined that
47:48
Speaker 2: when interests like ours were at stake, we could not
47:52
Speaker 2: lead them to the chance of whether a man in
47:54
Speaker 2: that class of life would or would not give away
47:58
Speaker 2: his secrets to a woman. Having once broken his oath
48:02
Speaker 2: by writing to his wife, we could not trust him
48:06
Speaker 2: any more. We took steps, therefore, to ensure that he
48:10
Speaker 2: should not see his wife. I have sometimes thought that
48:14
Speaker 2: it would be a kindness to write to her, and
48:17
Speaker 2: to assure her that there is no impediment to her
48:20
Speaker 2: marrying again.
48:24
Speaker 1: End of Chapter two.