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The_Musgrave_Ritual · Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: The CBS Radio Mystery Theater presents.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: Come in.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Welcome.
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: I'm E.G. Marshall.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Once again, we meet everyone's favorite sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: And today, we find him deeply involved in.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Solving the riddle of the Musgrave Ritual, an ancient catechism
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: handed down for centuries. A seemingly innocent passage into the
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: rites of manhood. But its dark secret led to murder
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: of the most horrible kind.
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: When the bats fly low and the night's in the sky.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Good Lord, Holmes, what is this, Satanism?
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: I believe, Watson, it's part of one of the spells
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: that was supposed to have been recited to bring Lucifer
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: on the scene.
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: Then this other ritual you gave me must also refer
• 1:12
  Speaker 4: to the devil.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: What leads you to that conclusion?
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Well, look at the questions. Whose was it?
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: His who is gone.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Who shall have it?
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: He who will come.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: If not the devil, then who?
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: That you'll find out, Watson, when you solve the riddle
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: of the Musgrave Ritual.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, The Musgrave Ritual, was adapted from the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Arthur Conan Doyle classic, especially for the Mystery Theater.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: By Murray Burnett, and stars Gordon Gould. I'll be back
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: shortly with.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: We tend to think of Sherlock Holmes as always having
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: been famous. We also tend to think of the police
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: he came in contact with as being skeptical but respectful
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: of his prowess. Indulgent of his idiosyncrasies because they realized
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: that he had hit in some lucky or miraculous fashion
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: upon clues they'd overlooked. But of course, it wasn't always so.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: When he first started on his career, it was quite different.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: And today we embark with him and Watson upon the
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: third case of his fabulous career, the Musgrave Ritual.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: In chronicling the cases of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: found the most difficulty in setting down the events in
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: those dramas in which I.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Played no part.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: The Musgrave ritual is one affair that happened before Holmes
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: and I met. He told me that it started when
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: his old university friend, Reginald Musgrave, visited him in his
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: room in Montague Street, hired by the museum.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Come in, come in, Musgrave. I pray to heaven, Holmes,
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: that you can make a proper deduction in my trouble.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: Although I must confess, the police were against my coming
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: to you at all. Perhaps you'd better start at the beginning.
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: Your problem may be one that lends itself to a
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: simple solution. I wish it were so. I doubt it
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: very much. You see, it's one that concerns my servants.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: Two of them have disappeared without a trace.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: And I'm afraid I may be somewhat to blame.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: Time enough to place the blame and we've solved the problem.
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: Who are the missing people? The butler, Brunton, and the
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: second housemaid, Rachel Howells. You have a large staff, then?
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. I'm a bachelor.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: Halston is a large, rambling old place. Takes a good
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: deal of looking after. How long have the two been
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: with you? Oh, Brunton's been with us for 20 years.
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: My father, who passed away some years ago, hired him.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: He was a schoolteacher with no job. He became invaluable.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: He's a great linguist and an accomplished musician.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: And extremely handsome.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: He sounds like a paragon among butlers. But he did
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: have one fault. He was a bit of a Dunhorn.
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: A few months ago, I thought all our problems were
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: solved because you became engaged to Rachel Howells.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: But the more I think of it, the more I
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: believe that.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: This is where all the trouble started. Rachel had come
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: in to dust the study. I looked up for my newspaper.
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not disturbing you.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: No, no, no, not at all, Rachel. Tell me, have
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: you and Brunton set.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: A date yet?
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: I'm... I'm sorry, sir. There is some... I shouldn't burden
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: you with my troubles.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: My dear child, I don't understand. It's all off between
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: me and Brunton. He's found someone else.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: What?
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: When did this happen? Yesterday, sir.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Mr.
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: Brunton came to me and apologized and said he'd found
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: someone else. Someone he'd fallen deeply in love with.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: It wouldn't be fair for us to go ahead with
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: our plans.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: My dear girl, I really don't know what to say.
• 5:38
  Speaker 6: Nothing to say, sir.
• 5:40
  Speaker 5: Thank you for your kindness.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Excuse me.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I really don't feel very well. The girl had a breakdown.
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: We sent for the doctor, and I must say I
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: was shocked when I heard that Brunton's new love was
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: the daughter of the head gamekeeper. Hmm. I take it
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: she's not missing?
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, no, no.
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: She's upset and baffled like the rest of us, but
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: there's more to the story. A really shocking incident which
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: happened regarding Brunton. Last Thursday night, I couldn't sleep, so
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: I decided to continue with a novel I had been reading.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: However, it was in the billiard room.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: As I was passing the library, I saw light. My
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: first thought was burglars. But after picking a weapon off
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: the wall and stealing silently into the library, I was
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: astonished to find Brunton fully dressed and unlocking one of
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: the bureaus.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: So, Brunton... This.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: Is how you repay the trust my family has.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Reposed in you. Sir, this is not what you think. No?
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: I find you rifling a bureau drawer in the dead
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: of night, looking through my family's papers, and you tell
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: me it's not what I think.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Nothing is missing, sir. I am not a thief, Mr. Musgrave.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Whatever you are, you're no longer in my employ. Please,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: let me explain.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: I think 20 years of service entitles me at.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: Least to that. Very well.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: But as you know, sir, when your father first hired me,
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: I was a schoolteacher. I've never lost interest in scholarship.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: History holds a fascination for me.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: I'm consumed by it.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: The Musgraves are one of the oldest families in England
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: and are an important part of our history. All I've
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: been doing is looking through the old papers you have here.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: In the dead of night, secretly, and behind my back.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: That's a bad mistake on my part, sir, but I
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: was afraid you might deny me permission.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: There's no excuse for what you've been doing. You leave tomorrow. Mr.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: Musgrave, please, I'd ask you to consider the years I've.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Spent with the family.
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: Holmes, I turned a deaf ear to his pleas, and
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: he walked off. The taper was still on the table,
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: and by its light I could see the paper that
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: Brunton had taken from the bureau. And to my surprise,
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: it wasn't anything important, simply a copy of the questions
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: and answers in the singular old observance called.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: The Musgrave Ritual.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: And that is? A ceremony peculiar to our family, which
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: each Musgrave for centuries past has gone through on coming
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: of age. At any rate, I relocked the bureau and
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: I turned to go when I was surprised to see
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: Brunton standing before me.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: Mr. Musgrave?
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: I've always been a proud man. I can't bear disgrace, sir.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: Disgrace will kill me. Believe me, my blood will be
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: upon your head if you drive me to despair. If
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: you cannot keep me after what has passed, then let
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: me give notice and leave in a month.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: A month is too long.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: Take yourself off in a week and give whatever reason
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: you like.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: Only a week, sir. A fortnight, sir. At least a fortnight.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: A week? And consider yourself fortunate that I have been
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: this lenient.
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: The trouble with presenting an accurate picture of Holmes' cases
• 9:38
  Speaker 4: in which I wasn't involved lay in working from.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: Holmes' notes, which were sketchy at best.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: And in a particular, peculiar shorthand, which I sometimes found baffling.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: In this case of the Musgrave Ritual, I found it
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: necessary to ask him what part the police had played.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: The police? My dear Watson, remember, they weren't Scott and Yard,
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: and I dealt with the Sergeant Davies of the county constabulary.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: He was somewhat less than enthusiastic.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: Well, no, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: Mr.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Musgrave thinks the world of you.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: And he's asked me to give you every assistance. And
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: I appreciate that, Sergeant. Would you mind telling me if
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: you've reached any conclusions?
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: We most certainly have, Mr.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: Holmes. And I know that a simple professional solution doesn't
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: please you amateurs. And your conclusions, Sergeant?
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Brendan was quite a slippery character. And once Mr.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: Musgrave caught him red-handed, so to speak, he knew the
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: jig was up and he took off. And we've got
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: bulletins out all over England and the continent for him.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: He'll turn up.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: I see. And the girl, Rachel? Well, no.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: That was a pretty piece of acting. Brunton must have
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: been serious about.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: Her all along and just used the engagement to the
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: gamekeeper's daughter to cover his traces.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: Meanwhile, she acted heart-sick. and then ran off after him
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: to meet him somewhere. Well, Mr. Holmes, that ties everything
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: up nice and neatly.
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: There are a few questions. You described Brunton as a
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: slippery character, meaning that he had been engaged in acts
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: of thievery before.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, of course.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: Then how do you account for the fact... that Mr.
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: Musgrave says that in 20 years, he'd never once missed
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: anything of value, neither cash nor jewels.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: Hearst is a very large place, Mr. Holmes. I suspect
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: that if Mr.
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: Musgrave were to take inventory, he might change his tune.
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: So you have it marked as a case of theft
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: and flight?
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: That's what our experience tells us. Now, don't you agree?
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: I think it may be a little more complicated than that.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: On the train up here, Mr. Musgrave told me you
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: were very thorough in checking Rachel Howell's footprints.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, oh, yes.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: We traced them right across the lawn to the edge
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: of the pond, then on to the gravel, which leads out.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: Of the grounds.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: That was good work.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you, sir.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: And this leads you to believe that Rachel Howell left
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: the grounds? Of course, sir.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: Don't you?
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: Yes, Sergeant, I do. Only, Musgrave also told me you
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: had the pond dragged and fished up a linen bag
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: containing a mass of old, rusted and discolored metal and
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: several pebbles.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: That's so.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: Now, at first we thought the poor girl might have
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: done away with herself, and that... Surely she wouldn't have
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: thought of killing herself if she were going to join
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: her lover. That was before we hit upon our solution.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: You see, before we knew she went off.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: I see. But then, what about this linen bag?
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: Oh, probably some junk that had been there for years.
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: But then, wouldn't the linen have been eroded? As I
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: understand it, the bag looked as if it had been
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: only recently immersed.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: There's that, sir.
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: I give you that. Thank you, Sergeant. Now, did you
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: consider the possibility that the girl threw that bag into
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: the pond before she left the property?
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: Why would she do a thing like that?
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: Why indeed, Sergeant. If we had the answer, we'd know
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: a lot more about the case. But why else would
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: she go out of her way to stop by the
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: pond if she were leaving the property? I've been told
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: you'd had some success at amateur detecting, but you amateurs
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: are apt to carry things too far. Next thing you know,
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: you'll be coming up with those old wives' tales about
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: the old Musgraves dabbing in witchcraft. You're the first one
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: to mention that, Sergeant. But it does hold some interest.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: For the amateurs, not the professionals.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: If we listen to half the tales the widow's psych spins,
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: we'll be.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: Chasing shadows every full moon. The widows?
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: If you don't want to waste your time, Mr.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: Holmes, steer clear of the widow.
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: Holmes, I'd like very much to know more about this
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: thing called the Musgrave Ritual.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: But surely the whole ritual is outlined in my notes.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, yes, I do have it here.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Read it to me, please. I'd like to refresh my memory.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: It seems to be in question and answer form.
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: That's so. Let me see if I can recall the answers,
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: if you will read the questions.
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: I will.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: First question, whose was it? His who is gone. That's right. Well, now,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: second question, who shall have it?
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: He who will come.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Where was the sun? Over the.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: Oh, let me recall. Over the oak. Ah.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Where was the shadow?
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: Under the elm.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Remarkable. Remarkable memory.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Watson.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: Go on. How was it stepped off?
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Oh, your compliment came a question too soon, Watson. I've
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: completely forgotten the numbers. Give them to me.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: North by ten and by ten. East by five and
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: by five. South by two and by two. West by
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: one and by one. And so under. It's just gibberish, Holmes.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Go on. What shall we give for it?
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: All that is ours.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Why should we give it?
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: For the sake of the trust.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Well, that seems to be all.
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: It's amazing how you record most of it.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: Now that you've heard the Musgrave Ritual, what do you think? Well,
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: for the life of me, Holmes, I can't make head
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: nor tails of that rigmarole. But you realize its importance, Watson.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: Perhaps it would help you if I told you that
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: the spelling of the original catechism was definitely middle of
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: the 17th century.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: The secret of Sherlock Holmes' unparalleled fascination for readers was
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: that he not only amazed Watson, but also his readers.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Once you embark upon an adventure with a famous.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: Sleuth, you eagerly join in the chase, whether it be
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: to hunt down a criminal or solve a riddle, and
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: in some.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Cases, both. We'll find out which this was in Act Two.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: A classic Gershwin tune goes, A foggy day in London town.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: It had me low, it had me down.
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Whenever I hear it, I can't help thinking that fog
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: and London and Sherlock Holmes make for one of the
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: most exciting combinations in all of literature. We return to
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: 221B Baker Street, where Watson is patiently trying to unravel
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Holmes' notes in the case of the Musgrave Ritual.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: Holmes, I know you're trying to help me, but from
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: your notes it appears we have three separate mysteries to solve.
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: The disappearance of the butler, Bronto, Rachel Howell's vanishing, and
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: this ancient Musgrave ritual.
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: That's just it, Watson. Suppose there was only one mystery,
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: one problem to solve, and by solving it, all three
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: questions would be answered. What then?
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: I don't see how that could be possible.
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: I was convinced that the roots of all these happenings
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: lay in the past. And so I disregarded the advice
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: of Sergeant Davies and went to visit the widow Sykes
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: in her small cottage in the village.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: Come right in. Come right in, Mr.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: Holmes.
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: Don't mind the geese. They're better than dogs for guarding
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: the house.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: Sergeant Davies said you might be able to help me.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Oh, Mr.
• 18:12
  Speaker 6: Holmes, I can see you're not one to stick too
• 18:15
  Speaker 6: close to the truth.
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: If that windbag said anything at all about me, it
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: was to tell you to pay me no mind. Would
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: you like a cup of tea?
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: No, thank you.
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: You mind if I have a cup? Now, Ilston is.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: A dark place.
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: There were dark deeds done in the old days.
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: Did you know, Brunton... Since he was a lad.
• 18:38
  Speaker 5: He was smart, I'll grant him that, but not as
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: smart as he thought he was. A lot of people
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: knew what he was up to at Earlston.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: Oh, what was that?
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: Oh, looking for things that were best left lost.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: Can you give me some idea of the nature of
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: those things?
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: I'm old, Mr.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: Holmes.
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: And I'm old to the old ideas about good and evil.
• 18:59
  Speaker 6: And there were people at Earlston long ago who knew
• 19:01
  Speaker 6: too much.
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: About the nature of evil. They did evil deeds. I'm
• 19:08
  Speaker 5: talking about the Muspreys.
• 19:10
  Speaker 6: Back more than 100 years, they dabbled in witchcraft.
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: And you think Brunton was.
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: Trying to find out how they worked their spells.
• 19:21
  Speaker 6: Trying to find out how they got their powers.
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: And?
• 19:27
  Speaker 5: And either he found out or he made a mistake.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Either way, Mr.
• 19:33
  Speaker 5: Holmes, he's gone.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: I see.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: And what about Rachel Howells? She's Welsh, Mr.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: Holmes.
• 19:41
  Speaker 5: And they're a fine people. But there's darkness in some
• 19:47
  Speaker 5: of them. And there was a lot of it in her.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: Mark my words, sir.
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: If you want to find.
• 19:54
  Speaker 6: The answer, you'll find it in the old days. And
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: the dark days.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Mrs.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: Sykes.
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: You've been most helpful.
• 20:04
  Speaker 5: You really mean that? I do.
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 20:07
  Speaker 5: Then you believe in witchcraft?
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: No, but I share your belief that the answer to
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: the mystery lies in the past. I know this must
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: seem a nuisance to you, Holmes, but really, your notes
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: leave a good deal to be desired. No need to apologize, Watson.
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: As my biographer, you have every right to ask questions.
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: Go back to the ritual, Watson. You were on the
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: right track there. Ask yourself why Brunton should be so
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: anxious to master this old formula.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: I cannot imagine.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: That's because there's no guile in you, my dear friend. Obviously,
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: Brunton expected some personal advantage from it. What was it then?
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: And how has it affected his fate?
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: Holmes, I haven't the focus.
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: If you continue reading, you'll find that I went back
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: to Hurlstone and sought out Reginald Musgrave.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: Here you've been looking for me, Holmes.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: You'll forgive me, Musgrave, if I say that this butler
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: of yours appears to me to have been a very
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: clever man. And we've had a clearer insight than ten
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: generations of his masters.
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: I hardly follow you.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: His avid interest in the Musgrave ritual. But the ritual
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: has no practical importance. On the contrary. It seems immensely practical.
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: And I shall need your help in proving it. First,
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: that magnificent old oak tree on the left-hand side of
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: the drive. Was it standing when your ritual was drawn?
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: In all probability, it was there at the Norman conquest.
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: It has a girth of 23 feet. Have you any
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: old elms on the property? Well, now, there used to
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: be a very old one, some yards from the oak.
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: But it was struck down by a bolt of lightning
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: ten years ago, and we.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: Cut down the stump.
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: You can still see where it used to be?
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: I should like to see where it grew.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: All we have to do is step outside.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: There you are, Holmes. You can see the scar in
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: the lawn. I don't suppose it's possible to find out
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: how high the elm was. I can give it to
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: you exactly. It was 64 feet.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: How did you come to know it?
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: My old tutor gave me exercises in trigonometry. They invariably
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: took the shape of measuring heights. When I was a lad,
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: I worked out every tree and building on the estate.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: Tell me.
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: Did your butler, Brunton, ever ask you such a question?
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: On my word, Holmes, I don't know how you ferreted
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: that out. But he did ask me some months ago
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: in connection with an argument he said he had with
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: a groom.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: But I still fail to understand.
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: Holmes, I must confess that I sympathize with Musgrave's boolement.
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: Look at my notes. Go back to the ritual and read.
• 23:14
  Speaker 5: Where?
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: What? Where was the sun?
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: Oh, over the oak. Ah, I see, Holmes, and the
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: shadow was under the elm.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: Precisely. It was obvious from the first that the trees
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: and the measurements were used as guides to some location.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: And if we could find that exact location... We should
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: be well along towards finding the secret the Musgrave family
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: thought necessary to cloak in so curious a fashion.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: Hold on.
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: The ritual mentions shadow under the elm. Now, that must
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: mean the far end of the shadow. Otherwise, they would
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: have chosen the trunk as a guide.
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: Excellent, Watson.
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: But how in the world would you measure the shadow
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: when the elm is no longer there?
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: Come, Watson.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: I know if Brunton could do it, I could also.
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: I went with Musgrave to his study and found two
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: lengths of a fishing rod which measured exactly six feet.
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: Then I whittled myself a peg to which I tied
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: a long string with a knot at each yard. And
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: then we went back to the elm. I see the
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: sun is just grazing the top of the oak, which
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: is fortunate for us. Now, this is the spot where
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: the elm stood, must be?
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: Right there, Holmes.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: We put the fishing rod in place, so, and lay
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: out the peg along the lines of the shadow. And
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: we see that it comes to exactly nine feet. And
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: my mathematical training tells me that if a rod of
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: six feet throws a shadow of nine feet, then a
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: tree of 64.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: Feet will throw one of 96. Correct.
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: Let's get back to the oak and trace out the
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: measurements step by step.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: Three, four, five.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: That's five to the east.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: I see now, Holmes.
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: I believe we're really onto something. The next is two
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: to the south. One, two. We're right at the very
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: threshold of the door to the old house.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: West by one. We have to go in.
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: One by one. Two steps in and.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: Here we are. Just a passageway.
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: My deductions were correct. And yet there's obviously nothing here.
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: We've left out the and under.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: Remember?
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: One by one and so under. There's a cellar under
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: this thing? Yes.
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: And as old as the house.
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: Ah, there's a lantern down here.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: I will strike a match.
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: People have been here, Musgrave. See, the wood has all
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: been piled carefully along the walls, leaving a clear space
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: in the middle here.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: That's Brunton's muffler. I swear to it. What's he been
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: doing here?
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: On the same crest as we, I'm afraid.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: There's a stone with a rusted iron ring in the center. Holmes,
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: let's have it up.
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: By all means, Musgrave. But I think we should first
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: send for Sergeant Davies.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: Well now, Mr.
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: Holmes.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: Think we've found something, have we?
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Did you bring anyone with you, Sergeant?
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: I think I can handle this by myself. I hope
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: you're right. All right, then. What do you want me
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: to do? Help us lift this flagstone. Right, sir. Let's
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: get a grip on the ring.
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: And here... It's too dark to see anything down there.
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: Now stand back and let me flash the lantern down.
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: Good Lord in heaven. Is that thing Brunton?
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: I'm afraid so, Musgrave. But his hands. What happened to them?
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: I imagine he wore them away, scratching at the slab
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: to move it.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: Hardly room enough for a man to stand upright in
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: that hole.
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: I should hazard a guess that there wasn't enough air
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: for more than an hour.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: What made him do it, Holmes? What made him do it?
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: Greed, Musgrave.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: Greed and love.
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: Love. surely that wasn't all Holmes far from it I
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: was as disappointed as you when we uncovered the body
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: of Brunton and were still faced with several unanswered questions
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: when the police took Brunton's body.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: Out of that hole under the cellar they.
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: Also found a chest with buried treasure empty I knew
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: it was empty when Sergeant Davies with a great many
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: flourishes brought it to Musgrave's study to open it.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: It had to be I don't follow.
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: Because you don't use my methods. Think back to what
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: you already read. What happened in the cellar?
• 28:51
  Speaker 4: Well, I remember exactly what you wrote. You sent for
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: Sergeant Davies and waited until he got there, and then
• 28:58
  Speaker 4: you and Davies wrenched open the stone?
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: Both of us, Watson, with some difficulty. Ah, I see.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: Brunton must have had an accomplice.
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: Exactly, and therefore Brunton opened the chest and handed the
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: contents over to his accomplice.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: What about the accomplice?
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: That required some logical thinking and deduction. I asked myself
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: what we knew. First, that Brunton had solved the riddle
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: of the ritual. Secondly, he'd located the place and found
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: that flagstone was too heavy for him to lift. Where
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: could he find help? From outside?
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: Too risky.
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: Even if he could find someone he could trust, he
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: had to... to have someone inside the house.
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: But who? Rachel House.
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: Of course. But remember, he had jilted the girl. How
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: would he then proceed to enlist her help?
• 29:52
  Speaker 4: From the picture you've given me as to the kind
• 29:55
  Speaker 4: of rogue he was, I imagine he would have attempted
• 29:58
  Speaker 4: to convince her that he still loved her.
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: You hit it, Watson. I tell you, I could see
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: the action as if I myself were a witness. Branton,
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: slipping upstairs to her room late at night and tapping softly.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: On the door.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: There are times in everyone's life when one feels like
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: murdering his best friend. And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tells
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: us that this was one of the times that Watson
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: could cheerfully have killed his friend Holmes because Holmes broke
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: off his narrative to fill a pipe. But he did continue,
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: and so will we, right after these messages. Sir Arthur
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Conan Doyle isn't noted as an author who writes cliffhangers,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: but we must remember he penned the longest cliffhanger of
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: all time when he left Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty dangling
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: over the Reichenbach Falls for three years before resurrecting him.
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: And now, in explaining and filling out his.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: Notes on the Musgrave Ritual, he'd left Watson waiting while
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: he filled his pipe before picking up the narrative where
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: he'd left off, with a soft tapping on Rachel Howell's
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: door in the dead of night.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: Who is it? It's Richard. Richard?
• 31:36
  Speaker 5: What do you want?
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: To talk to you.
• 31:42
  Speaker 5: Go away.
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: Rachel, please. It's important.
• 31:45
  Speaker 5: To you or to me?
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: To both of us. To our life together. Please, open
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: the door. All right.
• 31:56
  Speaker 5: Just for a moment.
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Rachel.
• 32:00
  Speaker 5: Why'd you close the door? If you think you.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: Rachel, I'm here to ask you to forgive me. I...
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: I treated you shamefully.
• 32:08
  Speaker 5: Oh, it took you until tonight to realize that.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: No, no, I knew it all along. But I'm a
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: weak man, you know that.
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: And she.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: she tempted me.
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: This isn't a church.
• 32:19
  Speaker 5: My room is no place to bare your soul.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: What do you want? Why are you here?
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: I want you to promise to come away with me,
• 32:27
  Speaker 3: to start a new life together as my wife.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: What? I mean it, Rachel. It took these weeks away
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: from you to realize you were my true love.
• 32:37
  Speaker 5: And what about your engagement to Jane?
• 32:42
  Speaker 3: Well, it's only justice that she'll be treated as I
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: treated you.
• 32:47
  Speaker 5: And where'd we go?
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: Anywhere you want. Anywhere in the world.
• 32:53
  Speaker 5: Oh, well, I know you've got a glib tongue.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: This isn't just talk. I've discovered the secret.
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: Are you still talking about that old piece of paper?
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: That old piece of paper is going to make us rich.
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: Rich beyond anything you ever dreamed.
• 33:08
  Speaker 5: So you told me when you first said you loved me.
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: But then I didn't know where to look. I found it, Rachel.
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: I found the place.
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: And what is it? Gold?
• 33:19
  Speaker 3: Diamonds?
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: What?
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: I don't know yet. We'll find out together.
• 33:23
  Speaker 5: I thought you said you'd found it.
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: I found where it's buried. I need your help.
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: To get it up.
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: Rachel, do you hear me?
• 33:33
  Speaker 5: Get out.
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: What?
• 33:36
  Speaker 5: Sir Jane Warden there, when you asked her.
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: course you have every right to think that, but I
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: swear to you, it's not true. I've not even whispered
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: a word of this to Jane.
• 33:50
  Speaker 5: I don't believe you.
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: How can I convince you?
• 33:53
  Speaker 5: You come to my room in the middle of the night.
• 33:56
  Speaker 5: You tell me you've had yet another change of heart.
• 33:58
  Speaker 5: You don't love Jane.
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: You love me. I've always loved you.
• 34:01
  Speaker 4: And then you.
• 34:02
  Speaker 5: Ask my help.
• 34:03
  Speaker 6: Well, you can have it when you announce our engagement.
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: But I Because of the repercussions.
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: I'd look like a fool in everyone's eyes. Think of
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: what the other servants would say.
• 34:19
  Speaker 5: But I didn't bother you before. Do just what you
• 34:22
  Speaker 5: did with me.
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: Impossible.
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: That's what I thought. Well, now, you can leave. There's
• 34:28
  Speaker 5: nothing to keep you here.
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: Rachel, I've been sacked.
• 34:33
  Speaker 5: Is there no end to your lies?
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: It's true. Mr. Musgrave caught me in the library studying
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: the ritual.
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: I found the treasure, but I've only got three days
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: to get it. The treasure?
• 34:45
  Speaker 5: That's what's important to you, isn't it?
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: It's important to us.
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: With the treasure, we can do as we please, live
• 34:52
  Speaker 3: the life we want.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: Think of it, Rachel.
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: You and I together, master and mistress, we'll hire servants
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: and You can test me. Go to Mr.
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: Musgrave.
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: Tell him I told you I was leaving. He'll admit
• 35:11
  Speaker 3: that it's so.
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: Now, do you believe me?
• 35:14
  Speaker 5: If only I could. I want to. My heart wants me.
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: Trust me. Just let yourself trust me.
• 35:26
  Speaker 3: Listen to your heart, Rachel. Come here into me arms.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: Don't think any more.
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: My word, Holmes. You made me actually see it. It's
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: just as if you were there.
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: The science of deduction, Watson. Now, we have Rachel enlisted
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: firmly on Brunton's side. They don't have much time, so
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: I suspect that the very next night, Brunton and Rachel
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: crept down to the cellar, very cautiously and quietly, and.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: All right. Here we are, Rachel.
• 36:08
  Speaker 5: But there's nothing in this old cellar except logs and wood.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: That's what everyone thinks. But if we lift these pieces,
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: Of the floor. Put them over there. Here. What do
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: we find?
• 36:31
  Speaker 5: A stone with a ring in the center.
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: Right, my girl. And now, please give me your hands
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: to do this.
• 36:40
  Speaker 5: But there isn't enough room on the ring for me
• 36:42
  Speaker 5: to get a grip.
• 36:44
  Speaker 3: Is there better? Yeah.
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: All right, now. When I say Eve.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: All right. All right.
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: Again.
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: It's no good.
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: See if you can squeeze your fingers closer together.
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: So I can get my whole hand underneath the ring.
• 37:06
  Speaker 5: All right, but then I can't use all my strength.
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: Well, let's try it.
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: All right, Maddie.
• 37:13
  Speaker 3: That's it.
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: It's in bullet, Rachel.
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: Got it.
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: Got it. Hang on.
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: Hang on.
• 37:18
  Speaker 5: I can't follow.
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: He's too heavy. Take that piece of wood over to me.
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: Hang on. Hang on.
• 37:28
  Speaker 3: Just let's get this wood under.
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: It's done.
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: You can let go.
• 37:38
  Speaker 3: One minute more.
• 37:39
  Speaker 6: I'll let it drop.
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: All right. I'll climb down. You flash the lantern so
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: I can see you.
• 37:50
  Speaker 5: I hope this isn't a wild goose chase.
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: Never fear. It's all in the ritual. There.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: The light.
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: Ah, the chest. See the chest?
• 38:07
  Speaker 5: Chest.
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: Chest.
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: See it. Hey, it's locked. But the wood is rotted.
• 38:16
  Speaker 4: Here, I have it.
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: Here. Hold it for me. I'll pass it up to you.
• 38:22
  Speaker 5: What is it?
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: I didn't look.
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: I'm glad I was right about you, Rachel, my darling.
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: I knew I needed a big, beautiful girl like you.
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: A slight whisper of a thing like Jane would never
• 38:36
  Speaker 3: have been able to.
• 38:37
  Speaker 5: Poor child.
• 38:39
  Speaker 3: The wood.
• 38:39
  Speaker 5: The wood wedge.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: It's slipping.
• 38:41
  Speaker 3: Rachel.
• 38:42
  Speaker 5: Push it back under the edge.
• 38:45
  Speaker 3: Rachel. Help me.
• 38:48
  Speaker 5: Please. Rachel.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: Good heavens, Holmes. Horrible, certainly.
• 39:11
  Speaker 3: But that must have been the way it happened, Watson.
• 39:14
  Speaker 3: That explains her behavior with Musgrave when he questioned her
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: the next day about Brunton's whereabouts. You recall she became
• 39:20
  Speaker 3: hysterical and was almost incoherent.
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: No wonder.
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: That's a picture I can never quite get out of
• 39:25
  Speaker 3: my mind. I still sometimes see that woman's figure dashed.
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: out of the cellar and up the stairs clutching the treasure.
• 39:35
  Speaker 3: Was it chance that the wood wedge slipped or some
• 39:39
  Speaker 3: smoldering fires of vengeance awoke in Rachel when he said
• 39:44
  Speaker 3: what he did about her rival Jane? Or perhaps he
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: didn't have to say anything. Perhaps she saw she had
• 39:51
  Speaker 3: him in her power and kicked the wood support away herself.
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: What do you think, Watson?
• 39:58
  Speaker 4: I really don't know.
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: But does it matter?
• 40:02
  Speaker 3: Unanswered questions nag at me.
• 40:05
  Speaker 4: Holmes, aside from the fact that I know what happened
• 40:08
  Speaker 4: to Brunton and why, I'm still at a loss about
• 40:12
  Speaker 4: the treasure.
• 40:13
  Speaker 3: Come, Watson. You know exactly what happened to it. Look
• 40:16
  Speaker 3: at the facts. I assume from your notes and what
• 40:20
  Speaker 3: you've told me that Rachel discovered it was worthless and
• 40:23
  Speaker 3: threw it in the pond before she ran away.
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: That's half right. Half?
• 40:29
  Speaker 3: But didn't you tell me that all that was found
• 40:32
  Speaker 3: when they dragged the pond was a linen bag with
• 40:34
  Speaker 3: some old worthless metal in it? Rachel did indeed throw
• 40:37
  Speaker 3: the bag in the pond. But the contents were far
• 40:40
  Speaker 3: from worthless.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: Oh, dear. I'll never get this straight.
• 40:43
  Speaker 3: You will if you hang on to your original hunch.
• 40:46
  Speaker 3: The answer lay in the ritual and the coins that
• 40:51
  Speaker 3: were found in the chest.
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: Are you playing quite fair with me, Holmes?
• 40:55
  Speaker 3: That's a shrewd question, Watson. I should have added that
• 40:59
  Speaker 3: part of the answer lies in the history of the
• 41:01
  Speaker 3: Musgrave family. They were staunch cavaliers opposed to the Roundheads.
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: That doesn't help much.
• 41:09
  Speaker 3: What was the first question in the ritual?
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: Whose was it?
• 41:13
  Speaker 3: And the answer was, his who is gone. That can
• 41:17
  Speaker 3: only refer to one person, Charles I. Remember the coins?
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: Well, I see that now, but still.
• 41:24
  Speaker 3: And the ritual continues, who shall have it? Watson, you
• 41:27
  Speaker 3: can give me the answer.
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: Yes, he who will come. But there could be anybody.
• 41:33
  Speaker 3: No, Watson, it could be only one person, Charles II,
• 41:39
  Speaker 3: whose advent was already foreseen. Watson, the treasure was the
• 41:45
  Speaker 3: crown of the Stuarts.
• 41:47
  Speaker 4: But how was it that Charles did not get his
• 41:50
  Speaker 4: crown when he returned?
• 41:51
  Speaker 3: The only explanation is that the Musgrave who held the
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: secret died suddenly, and by some oversight left the ritual
• 41:58
  Speaker 3: to his descendant without explaining the meaning of it. From
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: that day to this, it had been handed down from
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: father to son, and that at last it came within
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: reach of a man who deciphered its secret... and lost
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: his life in the venture.
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: And the girl, Rachel?
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: No trace of her has been found to this day.
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: Is it possible she did away with herself?
• 42:21
  Speaker 3: I have considered that, Watson. And I knew, whether she
• 42:24
  Speaker 3: had or not, I'd have the answer to the question
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: that bothers me.
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: How so?
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: It stands to reason that if Rachel Howells committed suicide,
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: then the wood wedge must have slipped. and she couldn't
• 42:37
  Speaker 3: stand the guilt and remorse she felt because she did
• 42:40
  Speaker 3: nothing to help Brunton. If, on the other hand, she
• 42:45
  Speaker 3: didn't kill herself, then she must have felt justified in
• 42:49
  Speaker 3: taking her terrible revenge and making a successful escape.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: To my knowledge, this is the only story Sir Arthur
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: Conan Doyle wrote that ended with any sort of conundrum.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: And this one, about whether Rachel Howells deliberately entombed her
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: former lover or was unable to prevent a horrible tragedy,
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: can surely take its place alongside the justly famous The Lady.
• 43:20
  Speaker 2: Or the Tiger. I'll be back shortly.
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: The question about Rachel Howells and did she or didn't
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: she commit suicide is most intriguing and each of you
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: undoubtedly has.
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: His or her own answer. I lean to.
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: The theory that it was deliberate because Conan Doyle and
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: Holmes make much of her dark Celtic passionate background and
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: I'm a firm believer in the old adage, hell has
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: no fury like a woman scorned. Our cast included Gordon Gould,
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: Court Benson, Marion Seldes and Bernard Grant.
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: The entire.