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The Adventure of The Engineers Thumb - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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Speaker 1: The adventure of the Engineer's Thumb. Of all the problems
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Speaker 1: which have been submitted to my friend mister Sherlock Holmes
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Speaker 1: for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were
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Speaker 1: only two which I was the means of introducing to
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Speaker 1: his notice, that of mister Hatherley's Thumb and that of
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Speaker 1: Colonel Warburton's Madness. Of these, the latter may have afforded
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Speaker 1: a finer view for an acute and original observer, but
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Speaker 1: the other was so strange in its inception and so
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Speaker 1: dramatic in its details, that it may be the more
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Speaker 1: worthy of being placed upon record, even if it gave
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Speaker 1: my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of reasoning
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Speaker 1: by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story has,
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Speaker 1: I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers,
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Speaker 1: but like all such narratives, its effect is much less
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Speaker 1: striking when set forth on block in a single half
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Speaker 1: column of print, than when the facts slowly evolve before
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Speaker 1: your own eyes, and the mystery clears gradually away as
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Speaker 1: each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to
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Speaker 1: the complete truth. At the time, the circumstances made a
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Speaker 1: deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years
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Speaker 1: has hardly served to weaken the effect. It was in
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Speaker 1: the summer of eighty nine, not long after my marriage,
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Speaker 1: that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize.
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Speaker 1: I had returned to civil practice, and had finally abandoned
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Speaker 1: homes in his Baker's street rooms, although I continually visited him,
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Speaker 1: and occasionally even persuaded him to forego his bohemian habits
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Speaker 1: so far as to come and visit us. My practice
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Speaker 1: had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at
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Speaker 1: no very great distance from Paddington's station, I got a
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Speaker 1: few patients from among the officials. One of these whom
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Speaker 1: I had cured of a painful and lingering disease. Was
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Speaker 1: never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavoring to
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Speaker 1: send me on every sufferer over whom he might have
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Speaker 1: any influence. One morning, at a little before seven o'clock,
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Speaker 1: I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door
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Speaker 1: to announce that two men had come from Paddington and
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Speaker 1: were waiting in the consulting room. I dressed hurriedly, for
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Speaker 1: I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial
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Speaker 1: and hastened downstairs. As I descended my old ally, the
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Speaker 1: guard came out of the room and closed the door
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Speaker 1: tightly behind him. I've got him in here, he whispered,
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Speaker 1: jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He's all right. What
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Speaker 1: is it? Then? I asked for his manner suggested that
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Speaker 1: it was some strange creature which he had caged up
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Speaker 1: in my room. It's a new patient, he whispered. I
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Speaker 1: thought i'd bring him round myself. Then he couldn't slip
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Speaker 1: away there he is all safe and sound. I must
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Speaker 1: go now, doctor, I have my duties just the same
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Speaker 1: as you. And off he went, this trusty toute, without
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Speaker 1: even giving me time to thank him. I entered my
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Speaker 1: consulting room and found a gentleman seated by the table.
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Speaker 1: He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed,
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Speaker 1: with a soft cloth cap which he had laid down
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Speaker 1: upon my books. Round one of his hands. He had
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Speaker 1: a handkerchief wrapped which was mottled all over with blood stains.
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Speaker 1: He was young, not more than five and twenty, i
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Speaker 1: should say, with a strong masculine face, but he was
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Speaker 1: exceedingly pale, and gave me the impression of a man
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Speaker 1: who was suffering from some strong agitation which it took
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Speaker 1: all his strength of mind to control. I am sorry
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Speaker 1: to knock you up so early, doctor, he said, but
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Speaker 1: I have had a very serious accident during the night.
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Speaker 1: I came in by train this morning, and on inquiring
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Speaker 1: at Paddington as to where I might find a doctor,
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Speaker 1: a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here. I gave
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Speaker 1: the maid a card, but I see that she has
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Speaker 1: left it upon the side table. I took it up
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Speaker 1: and glanced at it. Mister Victor Heatherley, hydraulic engineer, sixteen
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Speaker 1: a Victoria's Street, third floor. That was the name, style
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Speaker 1: and abode of my morning visitor. I regret that I
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Speaker 1: have kept you waiting, said I, sitting down in my
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Speaker 1: library chair. You are fresh from a night journey, I understand,
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Speaker 1: which is in itself a monotonous occupation. Oh my night
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Speaker 1: could not be called monotonous, said he, and laughed. He
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Speaker 1: laughed very heartily, with a high ringing note, leaning back
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Speaker 1: in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical
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Speaker 1: instincts rose up against that laugh. Stop it, I cried,
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Speaker 1: pull yourself together, and I poured out some water from
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Speaker 1: a caraffe. It was useless. However, he was off in
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Speaker 1: one of those hysterical outbursts which come upon a strong
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Speaker 1: nature when some great crisis is over and gone. Presently,
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Speaker 1: he came to himself once more, very weary and pale looking.
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Speaker 1: I have been making a fool of myself, he gasped,
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Speaker 1: Not at all, drink this. I dashed some brandy into
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Speaker 1: the water, and the color began to come back to
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Speaker 1: his bloodless cheeks. That's better, said he. And now, doctor,
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Speaker 1: perhaps you would kindly attend to my thumb, or rather
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Speaker 1: to the place where my thumb used to be. He
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Speaker 1: unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave
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Speaker 1: even my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it.
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Speaker 1: There were four protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy
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Speaker 1: surface where the thumb should have been. It had been
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Speaker 1: hacked or torn right out from the roots. Good Heavens,
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Speaker 1: I cried, this is a terrible injury. It must have
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Speaker 1: bled considerably, Yes it did. I fainted when it was done,
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Speaker 1: and I think that I must have been senseless for
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Speaker 1: a long time. When I came to, I found that
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Speaker 1: it was still bleeding. So I tied one end of
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Speaker 1: my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist, and braced it
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Speaker 1: up with a twig. Excellent. You should have been a surgeon.
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Speaker 1: It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came
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Speaker 1: within my own province. This has been done, said I,
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Speaker 1: examining the wound by a very heavy and sharp instrument,
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Speaker 1: a thing like a cleaver, said he, an accident, I
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Speaker 1: presume by no means what a murderous attack. Very murderous. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: you horrify me. I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it,
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Speaker 1: and finally covered it over with cotton wadding and carbalized bandages.
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Speaker 1: He lay back without wincing, though he bit his lip
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Speaker 1: from time to time. How is that? I asked? When
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Speaker 1: I had finished capital between your brand and your bandage,
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Speaker 1: I feel a new man. I was very weak, but
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Speaker 1: I've had a good deal to go through. Perhaps you
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Speaker 1: had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently
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Speaker 1: trying to your nerves. Oh no, not now. Now I
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Speaker 1: shall have to tell my tale to the police, but
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Speaker 1: between ourselves. If it were not for the convincing evidence
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Speaker 1: of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if
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Speaker 1: they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one,
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Speaker 1: and I have not much in the way of proof
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Speaker 1: with which to back it up. And even if they
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Speaker 1: believe me, the clues which I can give them are
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Speaker 1: so vague that it is a question whether justice will
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Speaker 1: be done. Hah, cried I. If it is anything in
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Speaker 1: the nature of a problem which you desired to see solved,
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Speaker 1: I should strongly recommend you come to my friend, mister
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Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes before you go to the official police. Oh,
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Speaker 1: I have heard of that fellow, answered my visitor, and
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Speaker 1: I should be very glad if he would take the
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Speaker 1: matter up, though of course I must use the official
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Speaker 1: police as well. Would you give me an introduction to him?
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Speaker 1: I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself.
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Speaker 1: I should be immensely obliged to you. We'll call a
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Speaker 1: cab and go together. We shall just be in time
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Speaker 1: to have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel
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Speaker 1: equal to it? Yes? I shall not feel easy until
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Speaker 1: I have told my story. Then my servant will call
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Speaker 1: a cab and I shall be with you in an instant.
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Speaker 1: I rushed upstairs, explain the matter shortly to my wife,
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Speaker 1: and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with
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Speaker 1: my new acquaintance to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes was as
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Speaker 1: I expected, lounging about his sitting room in his dressing gown,
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Speaker 1: reading the agony column of the Times, and smoking his
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Speaker 1: before breakfast pipe, which was composed of all the plugs
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Speaker 1: and dattles left from his smokes of the day before,
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Speaker 1: all carefully dried and collected in the corner of the
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Speaker 1: mantel piece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion,
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Speaker 1: ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a
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Speaker 1: hearty meal. When it was concluded, he settled our new
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Speaker 1: acquaintance upon the sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head,
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Speaker 1: and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach.
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Speaker 1: It is easy to see that your experience has been
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Speaker 1: no common one, mister Hatherley, said. He pray, lie down
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Speaker 1: there and make yourself absolutely at home. Tell us what
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Speaker 1: you can, but stop when you are tired, and keep
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Speaker 1: up your strength with a little stimulant. Thank you, said
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Speaker 1: my patient. But I have felt another man since the
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Speaker 1: doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has
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Speaker 1: completed the cure. I shall take up as little of
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Speaker 1: your valuable time as possible, so I shall start at
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Speaker 1: once upon my peculiar experiences. Holmes sat in his big
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Speaker 1: arm chair with the weary, heavy lidded expression which failed
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Speaker 1: his keen and eager nature, while I sat opposite to him,
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Speaker 1: and we listened in silence to the strange story which
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Speaker 1: our visitor detailed to us. You must know, said he
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Speaker 1: that I am an orphan and a bachelor, residing alone
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Speaker 1: in lodgings in London. By profession, I'm a hydraulic engineer,
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Speaker 1: and I've had considerable experience of my work during the
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Speaker 1: seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner and Matheson,
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Speaker 1: the well known firm of Greenwich. Two years ago, having
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Speaker 1: served my time, and having also come into a fair
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Speaker 1: sum of money through my poor father's death, I determined
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Speaker 1: to start in business for myself and took professional chambers
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Speaker 1: in Victorious Street. I suppose that every one finds his
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Speaker 1: first independent start in business a dreary experience. To me,
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Speaker 1: it has been exceptionally so. During two years, I've had
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Speaker 1: three consultations in one small job, and that is absolutely
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Speaker 1: all that my profession has brought me. My gross takings
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Speaker 1: amount to twenty seven pounds ten shillings every day from
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Speaker 1: nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. I
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Speaker 1: waited in my little den, until at last my heart
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Speaker 1: began to sink, and I came to believe that I
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Speaker 1: should never have any practice at all. Yesterday, however, just
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Speaker 1: as I was thinking of leaving the office, my clerk
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Speaker 1: entered to say, there was a gentleman waiting who wished
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Speaker 1: to see me upon business. He brought up a card too,
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Speaker 1: with the name of Colonel Lysander Stark engraved upon it.
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Speaker 1: Close at his heels came the Colonel himself, a man
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Speaker 1: rather over the middle size, but of an exceeding thinness.
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Speaker 1: I do not think that I have ever seen so
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Speaker 1: thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose
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Speaker 1: and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn
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Speaker 1: quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed
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Speaker 1: to be his natural habit, and due to no disease,
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Speaker 1: for his eye was bright, his step brisk and bearing
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Speaker 1: assured he was plainly but neatly dressed. And his age,
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Speaker 1: I should judge, would be nearer forty than thirty. Mister
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Speaker 1: Hatherley said he, with something of a German accent, You've
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Speaker 1: been recommended to me, mister Hatherley, as being a man
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Speaker 1: who is not only proficient in his profession, but is
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Speaker 1: also discreet and capable of preserving a secret. I bowed,
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Speaker 1: feeling as flattered as any young man would at such
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Speaker 1: an address. May ask who it was who gave me
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Speaker 1: so good a character. Well, perhaps it is better that
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Speaker 1: I should not tell you that just at this moment
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Speaker 1: I have it from the same source that you are
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Speaker 1: both an orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone
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Speaker 1: in London. That is quite correct, I answered, But you
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Speaker 1: will excuse me if I say that I cannot see
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Speaker 1: how all this bears upon my professional qualifications. I understand
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Speaker 1: that it was on a professional matter that you wish to
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Speaker 1: speak to me, undoubtedly so, but you will find that
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Speaker 1: all I say is really to the point I have
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Speaker 1: a professional commission for you. But absolute secrecy is quite essential.
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Speaker 1: Absolute secrecy, you understand, and of course we may expect
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Speaker 1: that more from a man who is alone than from
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Speaker 1: one who lives in the bosom of his family. If
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Speaker 1: I promise to keep a secret, said I, you may
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Speaker 1: absolutely depend upon my doing so. He looked very hard
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Speaker 1: at me as I spoke and it seemed to me
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Speaker 1: that I had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye.
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Speaker 1: Do you promise, then, he said, at last, yes, I
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Speaker 1: promise absolute and complete silence, before, during, and after no
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Speaker 1: reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing.
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Speaker 1: I have already given you my word. Very good. He
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Speaker 1: suddenly sprang up and, darting like lightning across the room,
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Speaker 1: he flung open the door. The passage outside was empty.
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Speaker 1: That's all right, said he, coming back. I know that
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Speaker 1: clerks are sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now
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Speaker 1: we can talk in safety. He drew up his chair
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Speaker 1: very close to mine and began to stare at me
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Speaker 1: again with the same questioning and thoughtful look. A feeling
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Speaker 1: of repulsion and of something akin to fear had begun
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Speaker 1: to writes within me at the strange antics of this
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Speaker 1: fleshless man. Even my dread of losing a client could
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Speaker 1: not restrain me from showing my impatience. I beg that
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Speaker 1: you will state your business, sir, said I. My time
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Speaker 1: is of value. Heaven forgive me for that last sentence.
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Speaker 1: But the words came to my lips. How would fifty
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Speaker 1: guineas for a knight's work suit you, he asked, most admirably.
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Speaker 1: I say a night's work, but an hour's would be
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Speaker 1: nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion about a
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Speaker 1: hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If
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Speaker 1: you show us what is wrong, we shall soon set
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Speaker 1: it right ourselves. What do you think of such a
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Speaker 1: commission as that? The work appears to be light and
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Speaker 1: the pay munificent. Precisely so, we shall want you to
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Speaker 1: come to night by the last train where too, to
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Speaker 1: Ayford in Berkshire. It is a little place near the
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Speaker 1: borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of reading. There
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Speaker 1: is a train from Paddington which would bring you there
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Speaker 1: at about eleven fifteen. Very good. I shall come down
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Speaker 1: in a carriage to meet you. There is a drive then, Yes,
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Speaker 1: our little place is quite out in the country. It
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Speaker 1: is a good seven miles from Ayford station. Then we
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Speaker 1: can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there be
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Speaker 1: no chance of a train back. I should be compelled
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Speaker 1: to stop the night. Yes, we could easily give you
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Speaker 1: a shakedown. That is very awkward. Could I not come
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Speaker 1: at some more convenient hour? We have judged it best
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Speaker 1: that you should come late. It is to recompense you
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Speaker 1: for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a
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Speaker 1: young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an
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Speaker 1: opinion from the very heads of your profession. Still, of course,
13:31
Speaker 1: if you would like to draw out of the business,
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Speaker 1: there is plenty of time to do so. I thought
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Speaker 1: of the fifty guineas of how very useful they would
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Speaker 1: be to me. Not at all said I, I shall
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Speaker 1: be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes. I
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Speaker 1: should like, however, to understand a little more clearly what
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Speaker 1: it is that you wish me to do. Quite so,
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Speaker 1: it is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which
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Speaker 1: we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity.
13:55
Speaker 1: I have no wish to commit you to anything without
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Speaker 1: your having it all laid before you. I suppose that
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Speaker 1: we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers entirely, then the matter stands.
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Speaker 1: Thus you are probably aware that Fuller's Earth is a
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Speaker 1: valuable product, and that it is only found in one
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Speaker 1: or two places in England. I have heard so. Some
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Speaker 1: little time ago I bought a small place, a very
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Speaker 1: small place within ten miles of reading. I was fortunate
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Speaker 1: enough to discover that there was a deposit of Fuller's
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Speaker 1: earth in one of my fields. On examining it, however,
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Speaker 1: I found that this deposit was a comparatively small one,
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Speaker 1: and that it formed a link between two very much
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Speaker 1: larger ones upon the right and left both of them. However,
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Speaker 1: in the grounds of my neighbors. These good people were
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Speaker 1: absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite
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Speaker 1: as valuable as a gold mine. Naturally, it was to
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Speaker 1: my interest to buy their land before they discovered its
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Speaker 1: true value, but unfortunately I had no capital by which
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Speaker 1: I could do this. I took a few of my
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Speaker 1: friends into the secret, however, and they suggested that we
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Speaker 1: should quietly and secretly work our own little deposit, and
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Speaker 1: then in this way we should earn the money which
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Speaker 1: would enable us to buy the neighboring fields. This we
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Speaker 1: have now been doing for some time, and in order
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Speaker 1: to help us in the operations, we erected a hydraulic press.
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Speaker 1: This press, as I've already explained, has got out of order,
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Speaker 1: and we wish your advice upon the subject. We guard
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Speaker 1: our secret very jealously, however, and if it once became
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Speaker 1: known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house,
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Speaker 1: it would soon rouse inquiry, and then if the facts
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Speaker 1: came out, it would be good bye to any chance
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Speaker 1: of getting these fields and carrying out our plans. That
15:32
Speaker 1: is why I have made you promise me that you
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Speaker 1: will not tell a human being that you are going
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Speaker 1: to Aford tonight. I hope that I make it all plain.
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Speaker 1: I quite follow you, said I. The only point which
15:43
Speaker 1: I could not quite understand was what use you could
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Speaker 1: make of a hydraulic press in excavating full as earth, which,
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Speaker 1: as I understand, is dug out like gravel from a pit.
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Speaker 1: Ah said he carelessly. We have our own process. We
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Speaker 1: compressed the earth into bricks so as to remove them
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Speaker 1: without revealing what they are. But that is a mere detail.
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Speaker 1: I have taken you fully into my confidence now, mister Hatherley,
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Speaker 1: and I have shown you how I trust you. He
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Speaker 1: rose as he spoke. I shall expect you then at
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Speaker 1: aefort at eleven fifteen. I shall certainly be there, and
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Speaker 1: not a word to a soul. He looked at me
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Speaker 1: with the last long, questioning gaze, and then pressing my
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Speaker 1: hand in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room. Well,
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Speaker 1: when I came to think it all over in cool Blood.
16:28
Speaker 1: I was very much astonished, as you may both think,
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Speaker 1: at this sudden commission which had been entrusted to me.
16:34
Speaker 1: On the one hand, of course, I was glad, for
16:36
Speaker 1: the fee was at least tenfold what I should have
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Speaker 1: asked had I set a price upon my own services,
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Speaker 1: and it was possible that this order might lead to
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Speaker 1: other ones. On the other hand, the face and manner
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Speaker 1: of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me,
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Speaker 1: and I could not think that his explanation of the
16:52
Speaker 1: Fuller's earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my
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Speaker 1: coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should
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Speaker 1: tell any one of my errand And however, I threw
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Speaker 1: all fears to the winds ate a hearty supper, drove
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Speaker 1: to Paddington and started off, Having obeyed to the letter
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Speaker 1: the injunction as to holding my tongue at reading, I
17:11
Speaker 1: had to change not only my carriage but my station. However,
17:14
Speaker 1: I was in time for the last trained ayfort and
17:16
Speaker 1: I reached the little dim lit station after eleven o'clock.
17:21
Speaker 1: I was the only passenger who got out there, and
17:23
Speaker 1: there was no one upon the platform save a single
17:26
Speaker 1: sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed out through
17:29
Speaker 1: the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of the
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Speaker 1: morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without
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Speaker 1: a word, he grasped my arm and hurried me into
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Speaker 1: a carriage, the door of which was standing open. He
17:41
Speaker 1: drew up the windows on either side, tapped on the woodwork,
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Speaker 1: and away we went, as fast as the horse could go.
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Speaker 1: One horse, interjected Holmes, yes, only one. Did you observe
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Speaker 1: the color? Yes, I saw it by the side lights
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Speaker 1: when I was stepping into the carriage. It was a chestnut,
17:57
Speaker 1: tired looking or fresh? Oh, fresh and glow. Thank you.
18:01
Speaker 1: I'm sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most
18:04
Speaker 1: interesting statement. Away we went, then, and we drove for
18:08
Speaker 1: at least an hour. Colonel Lysander Stark had said that
18:11
Speaker 1: it was only seven miles, but I should think from
18:13
Speaker 1: the rate that we seemed to go, and from the
18:15
Speaker 1: time that we took that it must have been nearer twelve.
18:19
Speaker 1: He sat at my side in silence all the time,
18:21
Speaker 1: and I was aware more than once when I glanced
18:24
Speaker 1: at his direction, that he was looking at me with
18:26
Speaker 1: great intensity. The country road seemed to not be very
18:29
Speaker 1: good in that part of the world, for we lurched
18:32
Speaker 1: and jolted terribly. I tried to look out of the
18:34
Speaker 1: windows to see something of where we were, but they
18:37
Speaker 1: were made of frosted glass, and I could make out
18:39
Speaker 1: nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light.
18:43
Speaker 1: Now and then I hazarded some remark to break the
18:45
Speaker 1: monotony of the journey, but the Colonel answered only in monosyllables,
18:49
Speaker 1: and the conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping
18:53
Speaker 1: of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of
18:56
Speaker 1: a gravel drive, and the carriage came to a stand.
19:00
Speaker 1: Colonel Lysander Stark sprang out, and as I followed after him,
19:03
Speaker 1: pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front
19:06
Speaker 1: of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of
19:08
Speaker 1: the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed
19:11
Speaker 1: to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of
19:13
Speaker 1: the house. The instant that I had crossed the threshold,
19:16
Speaker 1: the door slammed heavily behind us, and I heard faintly
19:19
Speaker 1: the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away.
19:23
Speaker 1: It was pitch dark inside the house, and the Colonel
19:26
Speaker 1: fumbled about looking for matches and muttering under his breath.
19:30
Speaker 1: Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage,
19:32
Speaker 1: and a long golden bar of light shot out in
19:35
Speaker 1: our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with
19:38
Speaker 1: a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head,
19:41
Speaker 1: pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could
19:45
Speaker 1: see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with
19:47
Speaker 1: which the light shone upon her dark dress, I knew
19:50
Speaker 1: that it was a rich material. She spoke a few
19:53
Speaker 1: words in a foreign tongue, in a tone as though
19:55
Speaker 1: asking a question, and when my companion answered in a
19:58
Speaker 1: gruff monosyllable, she gave such a start that the lamp
20:01
Speaker 1: nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her,
20:05
Speaker 1: whispered something in her ear, and then pushing her back
20:08
Speaker 1: into the room from whence she had come, He walked
20:10
Speaker 1: towards me again, with the lamp in his hand. Perhaps
20:14
Speaker 1: you will have the kindness to wait in this room
20:16
Speaker 1: for a few minutes, said he, throwing open another door.
20:19
Speaker 1: It was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a
20:22
Speaker 1: round table in the center, on which several German books
20:25
Speaker 1: were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the
20:28
Speaker 1: top of a harmonium beside the door. I shall not
20:31
Speaker 1: keep you waiting an instant, said he, and vanished into
20:34
Speaker 1: the darkness. I glanced at the books upon the table,
20:37
Speaker 1: and in spite of my ignorance of German, I could
20:40
Speaker 1: see that the two of them were treatises on science,
20:42
Speaker 1: the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across
20:45
Speaker 1: to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse
20:48
Speaker 1: of the countryside. But an oak shutter, heavily barred, was
20:51
Speaker 1: folded across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There
20:56
Speaker 1: was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage,
20:58
Speaker 1: but otherwise ever was deadly still. A vague feeling of
21:02
Speaker 1: uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these German people,
21:06
Speaker 1: and what were they doing living in this strange out
21:09
Speaker 1: of the way place? And where was this place? I
21:12
Speaker 1: was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all
21:14
Speaker 1: I knew, but whether north, southeast or west, I had
21:18
Speaker 1: no idea. For that matter. Reading and possibly other large
21:22
Speaker 1: towns were within that radius, so the place might not
21:25
Speaker 1: be so secluded after all. Yet it was quite certain
21:28
Speaker 1: from the absolute stillness that we were in the country.
21:31
Speaker 1: I paced up and down the room, humming a tune
21:33
Speaker 1: under my breath to keep up my spirits, and feeling
21:36
Speaker 1: that I was thoroughly earning my fifty guinea fee. Suddenly,
21:40
Speaker 1: without any preliminary sound, in the midst of the utter stillness,
21:43
Speaker 1: the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman
21:47
Speaker 1: was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall
21:49
Speaker 1: behind her, the yellow light for my lamp beating upon
21:53
Speaker 1: her eager and beautiful face. I could see at a
21:56
Speaker 1: glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight
21:58
Speaker 1: sent a chill to my own heart. Art She held
22:01
Speaker 1: up one shaking finger to warn me to be silent,
22:04
Speaker 1: and she shot a few whispered words of broken English
22:06
Speaker 1: at me, her eyes glancing back like those of a
22:09
Speaker 1: frightened horse, into the gloom behind her. I would go,
22:13
Speaker 1: said she, trying hard as it seemed to me to
22:16
Speaker 1: speak calmly. I would go. I should not stay here.
22:20
Speaker 1: There is no good for you to do. But madam,
22:23
Speaker 1: I said, I have not yet done what I came for.
22:26
Speaker 1: I cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.
22:30
Speaker 1: It is not worth your while to wait. She went on,
22:33
Speaker 1: you can pass through the door. No one hinders. And then,
22:36
Speaker 1: seeing that I smiled and shook my head, she suddenly
22:39
Speaker 1: threw aside her constraint and made a step forward with
22:42
Speaker 1: her hands rung together. For the love of Heaven, she whispered,
22:46
Speaker 1: get away from here before it is too late. But
22:51
Speaker 1: I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready
22:53
Speaker 1: to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle
22:56
Speaker 1: in the way. I thought of my fifty guinea fee,
22:59
Speaker 1: of my wearisome jeary ernie, and of the unpleasant night
23:01
Speaker 1: which seemed to be before me. Was it all to
23:04
Speaker 1: go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having
23:07
Speaker 1: carried out my commission and without the payment which was
23:09
Speaker 1: my due. This woman might, for all I knew, be
23:12
Speaker 1: a monomaniac with a stout bearing. Therefore, though her manner
23:17
Speaker 1: had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I
23:19
Speaker 1: still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining
23:22
Speaker 1: where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties
23:25
Speaker 1: when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several
23:28
Speaker 1: footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an
23:31
Speaker 1: instant threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and
23:34
Speaker 1: vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come.
23:38
Speaker 1: The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short, thick
23:42
Speaker 1: man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases
23:45
Speaker 1: of his double chin, who was introduced to me as
23:47
Speaker 1: mister Ferguson. This is my secretary and manager, said the Colonel.
23:52
Speaker 1: By the way, I was under the impression that I
23:54
Speaker 1: left this door shut just now. I feared that you
23:57
Speaker 1: have felt the draft. On the contrary, said I. I
24:00
Speaker 1: opened the door myself because I felt the room to
24:02
Speaker 1: be a little close. He shot one of his suspicious
24:05
Speaker 1: looks at me. Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,
24:08
Speaker 1: said he, mister Ferguson, and I will take you up
24:11
Speaker 1: to see the machine. I had better put my hat on,
24:14
Speaker 1: I suppose. Oh, no, it is in the house what
24:17
Speaker 1: you dig Fuller's earth in the house. No, no, this
24:20
Speaker 1: is only where we can press it. But never mind that.
24:23
Speaker 1: All we wish you to do is to examine the
24:24
Speaker 1: machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.
24:27
Speaker 1: We went upstairs together, the Colonel first with the lamp,
24:30
Speaker 1: the fat manager and I behind him. It was a
24:33
Speaker 1: labyrinth of an old house with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases,
24:38
Speaker 1: and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed
24:42
Speaker 1: out by the generations who had crossed them. There were
24:45
Speaker 1: no carpets and no sign of any furniture above the
24:47
Speaker 1: ground floor. While the plaster was peeling off the walls
24:50
Speaker 1: and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches.
24:54
Speaker 1: I tried to put on as an unconcerned air as possible,
24:58
Speaker 1: But I had not forgotten the warnings of the lake,
25:00
Speaker 1: even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen
25:03
Speaker 1: eye upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a
25:06
Speaker 1: morose and silent man, but I could see from the
25:09
Speaker 1: little that he had said that he was at least
25:11
Speaker 1: a fellow countryman. Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before
25:15
Speaker 1: a low door, which he unlocked. Within was a small
25:18
Speaker 1: square room in which the three of us could hardly
25:20
Speaker 1: get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the Colonel
25:24
Speaker 1: ushered me in. We are now said he actually within
25:28
Speaker 1: the hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly unpleasant
25:31
Speaker 1: thing for us if any one were to turn it
25:33
Speaker 1: on the ceiling of This small chamber is really the
25:37
Speaker 1: end of the descending piston, and it comes down with
25:39
Speaker 1: the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There
25:42
Speaker 1: are small lateral columns of water outside which received the force,
25:46
Speaker 1: and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which
25:48
Speaker 1: is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but
25:52
Speaker 1: there is some stiffness in the working of it, and
25:54
Speaker 1: it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you
25:56
Speaker 1: will have the goodness to look it over and to
25:58
Speaker 1: show us how we can set it right. I took
26:01
Speaker 1: the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly.
26:04
Speaker 1: It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising
26:08
Speaker 1: enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and pressed down
26:11
Speaker 1: the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by
26:14
Speaker 1: the wishing sound that there was a slight leakage which
26:17
Speaker 1: allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders.
26:21
Speaker 1: An examination showed that one of the indie rubber bands,
26:24
Speaker 1: which was round the head of a driving rod, had
26:26
Speaker 1: shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along
26:29
Speaker 1: which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the
26:31
Speaker 1: loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions,
26:34
Speaker 1: who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical
26:38
Speaker 1: questions as to how they should proceed to set it right.
26:41
Speaker 1: When I had made it clear to them, I returned
26:43
Speaker 1: to the main chamber of the machine and took a
26:45
Speaker 1: good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It
26:49
Speaker 1: was obvious at a glance that the story of the
26:51
Speaker 1: Fuller's Earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be
26:54
Speaker 1: absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be
26:57
Speaker 1: designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood,
27:01
Speaker 1: but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and
27:04
Speaker 1: when I came to examine it, I could see a
27:06
Speaker 1: crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped
27:09
Speaker 1: and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was,
27:12
Speaker 1: when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw
27:15
Speaker 1: the cadaverous face of the Colonel looking down at me.
27:18
Speaker 1: What are you doing there, he asked. I felt angry
27:21
Speaker 1: at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as
27:23
Speaker 1: that which he had told me. I was admiring your
27:26
Speaker 1: Fuller's Earth, said I. I think that I should be
27:29
Speaker 1: better able to advise you as to your machine, if
27:32
Speaker 1: I knew what the exact purpose was for which it
27:35
Speaker 1: was used. The instant that I uttered the words, I
27:38
Speaker 1: regretted the rashness of my speech. His face sat hard,
27:42
Speaker 1: and a baleful light sprang up in his gray eyes.
27:46
Speaker 1: Very well, said he, you shall know all about the machine.
27:49
Speaker 1: He took a step backward, slammed the little door, and
27:52
Speaker 1: turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards it
27:54
Speaker 1: and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure
27:57
Speaker 1: and did not given the least to my kicks and shoves. Hullo,
28:00
Speaker 1: I held, hullo. Colonel let me out. And then suddenly,
28:04
Speaker 1: in the silence, I heard a sound which sent my
28:07
Speaker 1: heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the
28:10
Speaker 1: levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had
28:13
Speaker 1: set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon
28:16
Speaker 1: the floor where I had placed it. When examining the
28:18
Speaker 1: trough by its light, I saw that the black ceiling
28:22
Speaker 1: was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily. But as none
28:26
Speaker 1: knew better than myself, with a force which must, within
28:29
Speaker 1: a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp, I threw
28:33
Speaker 1: myself screaming against the door, and dragged with my nails
28:36
Speaker 1: at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out,
28:39
Speaker 1: but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries.
28:42
Speaker 1: The ceiling was only foot or two above my head,
28:45
Speaker 1: and with my hand upraised, I could feel its hard,
28:48
Speaker 1: rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the
28:51
Speaker 1: pain of my death would depend very much upon the
28:53
Speaker 1: position in which I met it. If I lay on
28:56
Speaker 1: my face, the weight would come upon my spine, and
28:59
Speaker 1: I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the
29:03
Speaker 1: other way, perhaps, And yet had I the nerve to
29:05
Speaker 1: lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering
29:08
Speaker 1: down upon me, already I was unable to stand erect
29:12
Speaker 1: when my eye caught something which brought a gush of
29:14
Speaker 1: hope back to my heart. I have said that though
29:18
Speaker 1: the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls were
29:21
Speaker 1: of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around,
29:24
Speaker 1: I saw a thin line of yellow light between two
29:27
Speaker 1: of the boards, which broadened and broadened as a small
29:30
Speaker 1: panel was pushed backward. For an instant I could hardly
29:33
Speaker 1: believe that here was indeed a door which led away
29:35
Speaker 1: from death. The next instant, I threw myself through and
29:39
Speaker 1: lay half fainting upon the other side. The panel had
29:42
Speaker 1: closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp,
29:45
Speaker 1: and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two
29:47
Speaker 1: slabs of metal told me how narrow had been my escape.
29:51
Speaker 1: I was recalled to myself by frantic plucking at my wrist,
29:54
Speaker 1: and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of
29:57
Speaker 1: a narrow corridor, while a woman bent over me and
30:00
Speaker 1: tugged at me with her left hand, while she held
30:02
Speaker 1: a candle in her right. It was the same good
30:04
Speaker 1: friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. Come, Come,
30:08
Speaker 1: she cried breathlessly. They will be here in a moment.
30:11
Speaker 1: They will see that you are not there. Oh, do
30:13
Speaker 1: not waste the so precious time. But come this time.
30:16
Speaker 1: At least I did not scorn her advice. I staggered
30:19
Speaker 1: to my feet and ran with her along the corridor
30:22
Speaker 1: and down a winding stair. The latter led to another
30:25
Speaker 1: broad passage, and just as we reached it, we heard
30:28
Speaker 1: the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices,
30:31
Speaker 1: one answering the other from the floor in which we were,
30:33
Speaker 1: and from the one beneath my guide stopped and looked
30:36
Speaker 1: about her like one who was at her WIT's end.
30:39
Speaker 1: Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom,
30:42
Speaker 1: through the window of which the moon was shining brightly.
30:45
Speaker 1: It is your only chance, said she. It is high,
30:48
Speaker 1: but it may be that you can jump it. As
30:50
Speaker 1: she spoke, a light sprang into view at the further
30:52
Speaker 1: end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure
30:55
Speaker 1: of Colonel Lysander Stark, rushing forward, with the lantern in
30:58
Speaker 1: one hand and a weapon like a butcher's cleaver in
31:01
Speaker 1: the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the window,
31:04
Speaker 1: and looked out how quiet and sweet and wholesome the
31:07
Speaker 1: garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be
31:10
Speaker 1: more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill,
31:13
Speaker 1: but I hesitated to jump until I should have heard
31:16
Speaker 1: what passed between my savior and the ruffian who pursued me.
31:19
Speaker 1: If she were ill used, then at any risks, I
31:22
Speaker 1: was determined to go back to her assistance. The thought
31:25
Speaker 1: had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at
31:27
Speaker 1: the door, pushing his way past her. But she threw
31:30
Speaker 1: her arms round him and tried to hold him back. Fritz, Fritz,
31:34
Speaker 1: she cried in English. Remember your promise, after the last
31:36
Speaker 1: time you said it should not be again. He will
31:39
Speaker 1: be silent. Oh, he'll be silent. You are mad, Alise,
31:43
Speaker 1: he shouted, struggling to break away from her. You will
31:45
Speaker 1: be the ruin of us. He has seen too much.
31:48
Speaker 1: Let me pass, I say. He dashed her to one side, and,
31:51
Speaker 1: rushing to the window, cut at me with his heavy weapon.
31:54
Speaker 1: I had let myself go and was hanging by the
31:56
Speaker 1: hands to the sill when his blow fell. I was
32:00
Speaker 1: conscious of a dull pain. My grip loosened, and I
32:03
Speaker 1: fell into the garden below. I was shaken, but not
32:06
Speaker 1: hurt by the fall, so I picked myself up and
32:09
Speaker 1: rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run,
32:11
Speaker 1: for I understood that I was far from being out
32:14
Speaker 1: of danger. Yet Suddenly, however, as I ran, a deadly
32:17
Speaker 1: dizziness and sickness came over me. I glanced down at
32:21
Speaker 1: my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and then for the
32:24
Speaker 1: first time saw that my thumb had been cut off,
32:27
Speaker 1: and that the blood was pouring from my wound. I
32:30
Speaker 1: endeavored to tie my handkerchief round it, but there came
32:33
Speaker 1: a sudden buzzing in my ears, and next moment I
32:36
Speaker 1: fell into a dead faint among the rose bushes. How
32:40
Speaker 1: long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have
32:42
Speaker 1: been a very long time, for the moon had sunk
32:45
Speaker 1: and a bright morning was breaking. When I came to myself,
32:48
Speaker 1: my clothes were all sodden with dew, and my coat
32:51
Speaker 1: sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb. The
32:54
Speaker 1: smarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars
32:56
Speaker 1: of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet
32:59
Speaker 1: with the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe
33:01
Speaker 1: from my pursuers. But to my astonishment, when I came
33:05
Speaker 1: to look round me, neither house nor garden were to
33:07
Speaker 1: be seen. I had been lying in an angle of
33:10
Speaker 1: the hedge, close by the high road, and just a
33:12
Speaker 1: little lower down was a long building, which proved, upon
33:15
Speaker 1: my approaching it, to be the very station at which
33:18
Speaker 1: I had arrived upon the previous night. Were it not
33:21
Speaker 1: for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had
33:23
Speaker 1: passed during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.
33:28
Speaker 1: Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about
33:30
Speaker 1: the morning train, there'd be one to reading in less
33:33
Speaker 1: than an hour. The same porter was on duty. I
33:36
Speaker 1: found as had been there when I arrived. I inquired
33:39
Speaker 1: of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel Lysander's Stark.
33:42
Speaker 1: The name was strange to him. Had he observed a
33:45
Speaker 1: carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not.
33:49
Speaker 1: Was there a police station anywhere near? There was one
33:51
Speaker 1: about three miles off. It was too far for me
33:54
Speaker 1: to go. Weak and ill as I was, I determined
33:57
Speaker 1: to wait until I got back to town before telling
33:59
Speaker 1: my storyry to the police. It was a little past
34:02
Speaker 1: six when I arrived, so I went first to have
34:04
Speaker 1: my wound a dressed, and then the doctor was kind
34:06
Speaker 1: enough to bring me along Here. I put the case
34:09
Speaker 1: into your hands, and shall do exactly what you advise.
34:13
Speaker 1: We both sat in silence for some little time after
34:15
Speaker 1: listening to this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down
34:19
Speaker 1: from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in
34:22
Speaker 1: which he placed his cuttings. Here is an advertisement which
34:26
Speaker 1: will interest you, said he. It appeared in all the
34:28
Speaker 1: papers about a year ago. Listen to this lost on
34:31
Speaker 1: the ninth mister Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty six, a hydraulic engineer,
34:37
Speaker 1: left his lodgings at ten o'clock at night and has
34:39
Speaker 1: not been heard of since. Was dressed in et cetera,
34:42
Speaker 1: et cetera. Ha, that represents the last time that the
34:45
Speaker 1: colonel needed to have his machine overhauled. I fancy good, heavens,
34:49
Speaker 1: cried my patient. Then that explains what the girl said.
34:53
Speaker 1: Undoubtedly it is quite clear that the colonel was a
34:55
Speaker 1: cool and desperate man who has absolutely determined that nothing
34:59
Speaker 1: should stand in the way of his little game, like
35:01
Speaker 1: those out and out pirates who will leave no survivor
35:03
Speaker 1: from a captured ship. Well, every moment now is precious,
35:07
Speaker 1: so if you feel equal to it, we shall go
35:09
Speaker 1: down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to
35:11
Speaker 1: starting for Ayford. Some three hours or so afterwards, we
35:15
Speaker 1: were all in the train together, bound from Reading to
35:17
Speaker 1: the Little Berkshire village. There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer,
35:21
Speaker 1: Inspector Brad Street of Scotland Yard, a plain's clothesman, and myself.
35:26
Speaker 1: Brad Street had spread an ordnance map of the county
35:29
Speaker 1: out upon the seat and was busy with this compass,
35:31
Speaker 1: drawing a circle with Ayford for its center. There you are,
35:34
Speaker 1: said he. That circle is drawn at a radius of
35:37
Speaker 1: ten miles from the village. The place we want must
35:39
Speaker 1: be somewhere near that line. You said, ten miles. I think, sir,
35:43
Speaker 1: it was an hour's good drive. And you think that
35:46
Speaker 1: they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious.
35:49
Speaker 1: They must have done so. I have a confused memory too,
35:52
Speaker 1: of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere. What I cannot understand,
35:56
Speaker 1: said I, is why they should have spared you when
35:58
Speaker 1: they found you lying fainting in the garden. Perhaps the
36:01
Speaker 1: villain was softened by the woman's entreaties. I hardly think
36:05
Speaker 1: that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in
36:08
Speaker 1: my life. Oh we shall soon clear up all that,
36:11
Speaker 1: said Bradstreet. Well, I have drawn my circle, and I
36:14
Speaker 1: only wish I knew at what point upon it the
36:16
Speaker 1: folk that we are in search of are to be found.
36:19
Speaker 1: I think I could lay my finger on it, said
36:21
Speaker 1: Holmes quietly. Really, now, cried the inspector. You've formed your opinion.
36:25
Speaker 1: Come now we shall see who agrees with you. I
36:28
Speaker 1: say it is south, for the country is more deserted there,
36:31
Speaker 1: and I say east, said my patient. I am for west,
36:34
Speaker 1: remarked the plains clothesman. There are several quiet little villages
36:37
Speaker 1: up there, and I am for north, said I, because
36:40
Speaker 1: there are no hills there. And our friend says they.
36:42
Speaker 1: He did not notice the carriage go up any come,
36:45
Speaker 1: cried the inspector, laughing. It's a very pretty diversity of opinion.
36:49
Speaker 1: We have boxed the compass among us. Who do you
36:51
Speaker 1: give your casting vote to? You are all wrong, But
36:56
Speaker 1: we can't all be Oh, yes you can. This is
36:59
Speaker 1: my He placed his finger in the center of the circle.
37:03
Speaker 1: This is where we shall find them. But the twelve
37:06
Speaker 1: mile drive, gasp, Patherley, six out and six back? Nothing simpler.
37:11
Speaker 1: You say yourself that the horse was fresh and glossy
37:13
Speaker 1: when you get in. How could it be that if
37:16
Speaker 1: it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads. Indeed, it
37:19
Speaker 1: is a likely ruse enough, observed Bradstreet thoughtfully. Of course,
37:23
Speaker 1: there can be no doubt as to the nature of
37:25
Speaker 1: this gang, none at all, said Holmes. They are coiners
37:29
Speaker 1: on a large scale, and have used the machine to
37:31
Speaker 1: form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.
37:34
Speaker 1: We have known for some time that a clever gang
37:36
Speaker 1: was at work, said the inspector. They've been turning out
37:39
Speaker 1: half crowns by the thousand. We even traced them as
37:41
Speaker 1: far as Redding, but could get no farther, for they'd
37:44
Speaker 1: covered their traces in a way that showed that they
37:46
Speaker 1: were very old hands. But now, thanks to this lucky chance,
37:50
Speaker 1: I think that we have got them right enough. But
37:53
Speaker 1: the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined
37:56
Speaker 1: to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled
37:59
Speaker 1: into Ayford's State, we saw a gigantic column of smoke
38:02
Speaker 1: which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees
38:04
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood and hung like an immense Ostrich feather
38:08
Speaker 1: over the landscape. A house on fire, asked brad Street,
38:11
Speaker 1: as the train steamed off again on its way, Yes, sir,
38:14
Speaker 1: said the station master. When did it break out? I
38:17
Speaker 1: hear that it was during the night, sir, But has
38:19
Speaker 1: got worse, and the whole place is in a blaze.
38:22
Speaker 1: Whose house is it? Doctor Becker's? Tell me broke in?
38:25
Speaker 1: The engineer is doctor Becker? A German, very thin with
38:28
Speaker 1: a long, sharp nose. The station master laughed heartily. No, sir,
38:33
Speaker 1: doctor Becker is an Englishman, and there isn't a man
38:35
Speaker 1: in the parish who has a better lined waistcoat. But
38:38
Speaker 1: he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as
38:40
Speaker 1: I understand, who is a foreigner, and he looks as
38:43
Speaker 1: if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm.
38:47
Speaker 1: The station master had not finished his speech before we
38:49
Speaker 1: were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The
38:51
Speaker 1: road topped a low hill, and there was a great, widespread,
38:54
Speaker 1: whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every
38:57
Speaker 1: chink and window, while in the garden in front three
39:00
Speaker 1: fire engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under
39:04
Speaker 1: That's it, cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. There is the
39:07
Speaker 1: gravel drive, and there are the rose bushes where I lay.
39:10
Speaker 1: That second window was the one that I jumped from. Well,
39:13
Speaker 1: at least, said Holmes, you have had your revenge upon them.
39:16
Speaker 1: There could be no question that it was your oil lamp, which,
39:19
Speaker 1: when it was crushed in the press, set fire to
39:21
Speaker 1: the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited
39:24
Speaker 1: in the chase after you to observe it at the time.
39:26
Speaker 1: Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for your
39:28
Speaker 1: friends of last night, though I very much fear that
39:31
Speaker 1: they are a good hundred miles off by now, and
39:35
Speaker 1: Holmes's fears came to be realized, for from that day
39:38
Speaker 1: to this no word has ever been heard either of
39:40
Speaker 1: the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman.
39:45
Speaker 1: Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing
39:47
Speaker 1: several people and some very bulky boxes, driving rapidly in
39:51
Speaker 1: the direction of Reading. But there all traces of the
39:54
Speaker 1: fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes's ingenuity failed ever to discover
39:58
Speaker 1: the least clue as to their whereabo. The firemen had
40:01
Speaker 1: been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had
40:04
Speaker 1: found within, and still more so by discovering a newly
40:07
Speaker 1: severed human thumb upon a window sill of the second floor.
40:11
Speaker 1: About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and
40:15
Speaker 1: they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had
40:17
Speaker 1: fallen in, and the whole place had been reduced to
40:20
Speaker 1: such an absolute ruin that, save some twisted cylinders and
40:23
Speaker 1: iron piping, not a trace remained of the machinery which
40:26
Speaker 1: had cost our unfortunate acquaintance. So dearly large masses of
40:31
Speaker 1: nickel out of tin were discovered stored in an outhouse,
40:34
Speaker 1: but no coins were to be found, which may have
40:36
Speaker 1: explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been
40:39
Speaker 1: already referred to. How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed
40:43
Speaker 1: from the garden to the spot where he recovered his
40:45
Speaker 1: senses might have remained forever a mystery, were it not
40:48
Speaker 1: for the soft mold, which told us a very plain tale.
40:52
Speaker 1: He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one
40:55
Speaker 1: of whom had remarkably small feet, and the other unusually
40:59
Speaker 1: large ones. On the whole it was most probable that
41:02
Speaker 1: the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than
41:05
Speaker 1: his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious
41:08
Speaker 1: man out of the way of danger. Well, said our
41:11
Speaker 1: engineer ruefully, as we took our seats to return once
41:14
Speaker 1: more to London. It has been a pretty business for me.
41:17
Speaker 1: I have lost my thumb, and I have lost a
41:19
Speaker 1: fifty guinea fee, and what have I gained? Experience, said Holmes,
41:23
Speaker 1: laughing indirectly. It may be of value, you know, you
41:26
Speaker 1: have only to put it into words to gain the
41:28
Speaker 1: reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence,