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16 The Stockbroker's Clerk from The Memoirs of Sherl · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The adventure of the stockbroker's clerk. Shortly after my marriage,
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Speaker 1: I had bought a connection in the Paddington district. Old
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Speaker 1: mister Farker, from whom I purchased it, had at one
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Speaker 1: time an excellent general practice, but his age and an
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Speaker 1: affliction of the nature of Saint Vitus's dance from which
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Speaker 1: he suffered, had very much thinned it. The public not unnaturally,
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Speaker 1: goes on the principle that he who would heal others
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Speaker 1: must himself be whole, and looks askance at the curative
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Speaker 1: powers of the man whose own case is beyond the
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Speaker 1: reach of his drugs. Thus, as my predecessor weakened, his
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Speaker 1: practice declined, until when I purchased it from him, it
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Speaker 1: had sunk from twelve hundred to little more than three
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Speaker 1: hundred a year. I had confidence, however, in my own
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Speaker 1: youth and energy, and was convinced that in a very
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Speaker 1: few years the concern would be as flourishing as ever.
1:00
Speaker 1: For three months after taking over the practice, I was
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Speaker 1: kept very closely at work and saw little of my
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Speaker 1: friend Sherlock Holmes, for I was too busy to visit
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Speaker 1: Baker Street, and he seldom went anywhere himself. Save upon
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Speaker 1: professional business. I was surprised therefore, when one morning in June,
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Speaker 1: as I sat reading the British Medical Journal after breakfast,
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Speaker 1: I heard a ring at the bell, followed by the high,
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Speaker 1: somewhat strident tones of my old companion's voice. Ah, my
1:30
Speaker 1: dear Watson, said he striding into the room. I am
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Speaker 1: very delighted to see you. I trust that missus Watson
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Speaker 1: has entirely recovered from all the little excitements connected with
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Speaker 1: our adventure of the Sign of four. Thank you, we
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Speaker 1: are both very well, said I, shaking him warmly by
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Speaker 1: the hand. And I hope also, he continued, sitting down
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Speaker 1: in the rocking chair, that the cares of medical practice
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Speaker 1: have not entirely obliterated the interest which you used to
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Speaker 1: take in our little deductive proper. On the contrary, I answered,
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Speaker 1: it was only last night that I was looking over
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Speaker 1: my old notes and classifying some of our past results.
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Speaker 1: I trust that you don't consider your collection closed, not
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Speaker 1: at all. I should wish nothing better than to have
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Speaker 1: some more of such experiences to day, for example, yes,
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Speaker 1: to day if you like, and as far off as Birmingham, certainly,
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Speaker 1: if you wish it, and the practice I do my neighbors.
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Speaker 1: When he goes, he's always ready to work off the debt. Ha,
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Speaker 1: nothing could be better, said Holmes, leaning back in his
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Speaker 1: chair and looking keenly at me from under his half
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Speaker 1: closed lids. I perceive that you have been unwell lately.
2:40
Speaker 1: Summer colds are always a little trying. I was confined
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Speaker 1: to the house by a severe chill for three days
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Speaker 1: last week. I thought, however, that I had cast off
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Speaker 1: every trace of it. So you have you look remarkably robust.
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Speaker 1: How then, did you know of it, my dear fellow,
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Speaker 1: You know my methods. You've deduced it, then, certainly? And
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Speaker 1: from what? From your slippers? I glanced down at the
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Speaker 1: new patent leathers which I was wearing. How unearth I began.
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Speaker 1: But Holmes answered my question before it was asked. Your
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Speaker 1: slippers are new, He said, you could not have had
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Speaker 1: them more than a few weeks. The souls which you
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Speaker 1: are at this moment presenting to me are slightly scorched.
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Speaker 1: For a moment I thought they might have got wet
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Speaker 1: and been burned in the drying. But near the instep
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Speaker 1: there is a small circular wafer of paper with the
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Speaker 1: shopman's hieroglyphics upon it. Damp would of course have removed this.
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Speaker 1: You had then been sitting with your feet outstretched to
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Speaker 1: the fire, which a man would hardly do even in
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Speaker 1: so wet a june as this, if he were in
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Speaker 1: his full health. Like all Holmes's reasoning, the thing seemed
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Speaker 1: simplicity itself. When it was once explained. He read the
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Speaker 1: thought upon my features, and his smile had a tinge
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Speaker 1: of bitterness. I am afraid that I rather give myself
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Speaker 1: away when I explain, said he. Results, without causes are
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Speaker 1: much more impressive. You are ready to come to Birmingham, then,
4:06
Speaker 1: certainly what is the case? You shall hear it all
4:09
Speaker 1: in the train. My client is outside in a four wheeler.
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Speaker 1: Can you come at once? In an instant, I scribbled
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Speaker 1: a note to my neighbor, rushed upstairs to explain the
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Speaker 1: matter to my wife, and joined homes upon the doorstep.
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Speaker 1: Your neighbor is a doctor, said he, nodding at the
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Speaker 1: brass plate. Yes, he bought a practice as I did,
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Speaker 1: an old established one, just the same as mine. Both
4:33
Speaker 1: have been ever since the houses were built. Ah, then
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Speaker 1: you got hold of the best of the two. I
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Speaker 1: think I did. But how do you know by the
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Speaker 1: steps my boy, yours are worn three inches deeper than his.
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Speaker 1: But this gentleman in the cab is my client, mister
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Speaker 1: hall pie Craft, allow me to introduce you to him.
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Speaker 1: Whip your horse up, cab if for we have only
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Speaker 1: just time to catch our train. The man whom I
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Speaker 1: found myself facing was a well built, fresh complexioned young
5:02
Speaker 1: fellow with a frank, honest face and a slight, crisp
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Speaker 1: yellow mustache. He wore a very shiny top hat and
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Speaker 1: a neat suit of sober black, which made him look
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Speaker 1: what he was, A smart young city man of the
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Speaker 1: class who have been labeled Cockney's, but who give us
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Speaker 1: our crack volunteer regiments, and who turn out more fine
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Speaker 1: athletes and sportsmen than any body of men in these islands.
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Speaker 1: His round, ruddy face was naturally full of cheeriness, but
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Speaker 1: the corners of his mouth seemed to me to be
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Speaker 1: pulled down in a half comical distress. It was not, however,
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Speaker 1: until we were all in a first class carriage and
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Speaker 1: well started upon our journey to Birmingham, that I was
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Speaker 1: able to learn what the trouble was which had driven
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Speaker 1: him to Sherlock Holmes we have a clear run here
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Speaker 1: of seventy minutes. Holmes remarked, I want you, mister hall Pyecroft,
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Speaker 1: to tell my friend, your very interesting experience, exactly as
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Speaker 1: you have told it to me, or with more detail,
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Speaker 1: if possible. It will be of use to me to
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Speaker 1: hear the succession of events again. It is a case, Watson,
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Speaker 1: which may prove to have something in it, or may
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Speaker 1: prove to have nothing, but which at least presents those
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Speaker 1: unusual and u tree features which are as dear to
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Speaker 1: you as they are to me. Now, mister Pyecraft, I
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Speaker 1: shall not interrupt you again. Our young companion looked at
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Speaker 1: me with a twinkle in his eye. The worst of
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Speaker 1: the story is, said he that I show myself up
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Speaker 1: as such a confounded fool. Of course it may work
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Speaker 1: out all right, and I don't see that I could
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Speaker 1: have done otherwise. But if I have lost my crib
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Speaker 1: and get nothing in exchange, I shall feel what a
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Speaker 1: soft Johnny I have been. I'm not very good at
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Speaker 1: telling a story, Dr Watson, but it is like this
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Speaker 1: with me. I used to have a billet at Cocksin
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Speaker 1: and woodhouses of Draper's gardens that they were let in
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Speaker 1: early in the spring through the Venezuelan loan, as no
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Speaker 1: doubt you remember, and came a nasty cropper. I had
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Speaker 1: been with them five years, and old Coxon gave me
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Speaker 1: a ripping good testimonial when the smash came. But of
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Speaker 1: course we clerks were all turned adrift, the twenty seven
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Speaker 1: of us. I tried here and tried there, but there
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Speaker 1: were lots of other chaps on the same layers myself,
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Speaker 1: and it was a perfect frost. For a long time.
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Speaker 1: I had been taking three pounds a week at Coxon's,
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Speaker 1: and I had saved about seventy of them. But I
7:30
Speaker 1: soon worked my way through that and out at the
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Speaker 1: other end. I was fairly at the end of my
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Speaker 1: tether at last, and could hardly find the stamps to
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Speaker 1: answer the advertisements or the envelopes to stick them to.
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Speaker 1: I had worn out my boots paddling up off his stairs,
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Speaker 1: and I seemed just as far from getting a billet
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Speaker 1: as ever. At last I saw a vacancy at Morson
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Speaker 1: and Williams's, the great stockbroking firm in Lombard Street. I
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Speaker 1: dare say e c is not much in your line,
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Speaker 1: but I can tell you that this is about the
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Speaker 1: richest house in London. The advertisement was to be answered
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Speaker 1: by letter only. I sent in my testimonial and application,
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Speaker 1: but without the least hope of getting it back, came
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Speaker 1: an answer by return saying that if I would appear
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Speaker 1: next Monday, I might take over my new duties at once,
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Speaker 1: provided that my appearance was satisfactory. No one knows how
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Speaker 1: these things are worked. Some people say that the manager
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Speaker 1: just plunges his hand into the heap and takes the
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Speaker 1: first that comes. Anyhow, it was my innings that time,
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Speaker 1: and I don't ever wish to feel better pleased. The
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Speaker 1: screw was a powder week rise, and the duties just
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Speaker 1: about the same as at Coxon's. And now I'll come
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Speaker 1: to the queer part of the business. I was in
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Speaker 1: Diggings out Hampstead Way, seventeen potters Terrace, Well. I was
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Speaker 1: sitting doing a smoke that very evening after I had
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Speaker 1: been promised the appointment, when up came my landlady with
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Speaker 1: a card which had Arthur Pinner, financial Agent printed upon it.
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Speaker 1: I had never heard the name before and could not
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Speaker 1: imagine what he wanted with me, but of course I
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Speaker 1: asked her to show him up in he walked a
9:12
Speaker 1: middle sized, dark haired, dark eyed, black bearded man with
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Speaker 1: a touch of the sheeny about his nose. He had
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Speaker 1: a brisk kind of way with him and spoke sharply,
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Speaker 1: like a man who knew the value of time. Mister
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Speaker 1: hall Pyecraft, I believe, said he. Yes, sir, I answered,
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Speaker 1: pushing a chair towards him. Lately engaged at Coxon and Woodhouses, Yes, sir,
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Speaker 1: and now on the staff of Mawson's. Quite so well,
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Speaker 1: said he. The fact is that I have heard some
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Speaker 1: really extraordinary stories about your financial ability. You remember Parker,
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Speaker 1: who used to be Coxon's manager. He can never say
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Speaker 1: enough about it. Of course, I was pleased to hear this.
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Speaker 1: I'd always been pretty sharp in the office, but I
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Speaker 1: had never dreamed that I was talked about in the
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Speaker 1: city in this fashion. You have a good memory, said he,
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Speaker 1: Pretty fair, I answered modestly. Have you kept in touch
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Speaker 1: with the market while you've been out of work? He asked, yes,
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Speaker 1: I read the stock exchange list every morning. Now that
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Speaker 1: shows real application, he cried. That is the way to prosper.
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Speaker 1: You won't mind my testing, you will you let me
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Speaker 1: see how are heirshes one hundred and six and a
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Speaker 1: quarter to one hundred and five and seven eighths and
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Speaker 1: New Zealand consolidated one hundred and four and British Broken
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Speaker 1: Hills seven to seven and six. Wonderful, he cried, with
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Speaker 1: his hands up. This quite fits in with all that
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Speaker 1: I had heard. My boy, my boy, you are very
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Speaker 1: much too good to be a clerk at Morsons. This
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Speaker 1: outburst rather astonished me. As you can think, well, said I.
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Speaker 1: Other people don't think quite so much of me as
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Speaker 1: you seem to do, mister Pinner. I had a hard
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Speaker 1: enough fight to get this berth, and I am very
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Speaker 1: glad to have it. Pooh man, you should soar above it.
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Speaker 1: You are not in your true sphere. Now, I'll tell
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Speaker 1: you how it stands with me. What I have to
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Speaker 1: offer is little enough when measured by your ability, but
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Speaker 1: when compared with Morsons, it's light to dark. Let me see,
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Speaker 1: when do you go to Mawson's on Monday? Ha ha?
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Speaker 1: I think I would risk a little sporting flutter that
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Speaker 1: you don't go there at all, not go to Morson's. No, sir.
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Speaker 1: By that day you will be the business manager of
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Speaker 1: the Franco Midland Hardware Company Limited, with a hundred and
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Speaker 1: thirty four branches in the towns and villages of France,
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Speaker 1: not counting one in Brussels and one in San Remo.
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Speaker 1: This took my breath away. I've ever heard of it,
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Speaker 1: said I very likely not. It has been kept very quiet,
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Speaker 1: for the capital was all privately subscribed, and it's too
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Speaker 1: good a thing to let the public into. My brother
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Speaker 1: Harry Pinner is promoter and joins the board after allotment
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Speaker 1: as managing director. He knew I was in the swim
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Speaker 1: down here and asked me to pick up a good man, cheap,
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Speaker 1: a young pushing man with plenty of snap about him.
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Speaker 1: Parker spoke of you, and that brought me here tonight.
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Speaker 1: We can only offer you a beggarly five hundred to
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Speaker 1: start with, five hundred a year. I shouted, only that
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Speaker 1: at the beginning that you were to have an overriding
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Speaker 1: commission of one percent on all business done by your agents,
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Speaker 1: and you may take my word for it that this
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Speaker 1: will come to more than your salary. But I know
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Speaker 1: nothing about hardware tart, my boy, you know about figures.
12:39
Speaker 1: My head buzzed and I could hardly sit still in
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Speaker 1: my chair. Suddenly, a little chill of doubt came upon me.
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Speaker 1: I must be frank with you, said I. Mawson only
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Speaker 1: gives me two hundred. But Mawson is safe. Now. Really,
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Speaker 1: I know so little about your company that huh, smart, smart,
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Speaker 1: he cried, in a kind of ecstasy of delight. You
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Speaker 1: are the very man for us. You are not to
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Speaker 1: be talked over. And quite right too. Now here's a
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Speaker 1: note for one hundred pounds, and if you think that
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Speaker 1: we can do business, you may just slip it into
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Speaker 1: your pocket as an advance upon your salary. That is
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Speaker 1: very handsome, said I. When should I take over my
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Speaker 1: new duties? Be in Birmingham tomorrow at one? Said he.
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Speaker 1: I have a note in my pocket here which you
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Speaker 1: will take to my brother. You will find him at
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Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty six B Corporation Street, where the
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Speaker 1: temporary offices of the company are situated. Of course he
13:39
Speaker 1: must confirm your engagement, but between ourselves it will be
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Speaker 1: all right. Really, I hardly know how to express my gratitude,
13:47
Speaker 1: mister Pinner, said I, not at all, my boy. You've
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Speaker 1: only got your desserts. There are one or two small things,
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Speaker 1: mere formalities, which I must arrange with you. You have a
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Speaker 1: bit of paper beside you there, kindly write upon it.
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Speaker 1: I am perfectly willing to act as business manager to
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Speaker 1: the Franco Midland Hardware Company Limited at a minimum salary
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Speaker 1: of five hundred pounds. I did as he asked, and
14:12
Speaker 1: he put the paper in his pocket. There is one
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Speaker 1: other detail, said he, What do you intend to do
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Speaker 1: about Morsons. I had forgotten all about Morsons in my joy.
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Speaker 1: I'll write and resign, said I, precisely what I don't
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Speaker 1: want you to do. I had a row over you
14:30
Speaker 1: with Morson's manager. I had gone up to ask him
14:33
Speaker 1: about you, and he was very offensive, accused me of
14:37
Speaker 1: coaxing you away from the service of the firm, and
14:40
Speaker 1: that sort of thing. At last, I fairly lost my temper.
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Speaker 1: If you want good men, you should pay them a
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Speaker 1: good price, said I. He would rather have our small
14:49
Speaker 1: price than your big one, said he. I'll lay you
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Speaker 1: a fiver, said I that when he has my offer,
14:55
Speaker 1: you'll never so much as hear from him again. Done,
14:58
Speaker 1: said he. We picked him up out of the gutter,
15:01
Speaker 1: and he won't leave us so easily. Those were his
15:04
Speaker 1: very words. The impudent scoundrel, I cried I've never so
15:09
Speaker 1: much has seen him in my life? Why should I
15:11
Speaker 1: consider him in any way? I shall certainly not write
15:15
Speaker 1: if you would rather I didn't. Good that's a promise,
15:18
Speaker 1: said he, rising from his chair. Well, I'm delighted to
15:22
Speaker 1: have got so good a man for my brother. Here's
15:25
Speaker 1: your advance of one hundred pounds, and here is the letter.
15:29
Speaker 1: Make a note of the address one hundred and twenty
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Speaker 1: six B Corporation Street, and remember that one o'clock tomorrow
15:35
Speaker 1: is your appointment. Good night, and may you have all
15:38
Speaker 1: the fortune that you deserve. That's just about all that
15:41
Speaker 1: passed between us, as near as I can remember. You
15:44
Speaker 1: can imagine doctor Watson, how pleased I was at such
15:47
Speaker 1: an extraordinary bit of good fortune. I sat up half
15:50
Speaker 1: the night hugging myself over it. And next day I
15:53
Speaker 1: was off to Birmingham in a train that would take
15:55
Speaker 1: me in plenty of time for my appointment. I took
15:58
Speaker 1: my things to a hotel in New Street, and then
16:00
Speaker 1: I made my way to the address which had been
16:02
Speaker 1: given me. It was a quarter of an hour before
16:05
Speaker 1: my time, but I thought that would make no difference.
16:08
Speaker 1: One hundred and twenty six B was a passage between
16:11
Speaker 1: two large shops which led to a winding stone stair,
16:14
Speaker 1: from which there were many flats letters offices to companies
16:18
Speaker 1: or professional men. The names of the occupants were painted
16:22
Speaker 1: at the bottom on the wall, but there was no
16:24
Speaker 1: such name as the Franco Midland Hardware Company Limited. I
16:28
Speaker 1: stood for a few minutes with my heart in my boots,
16:31
Speaker 1: wondering whether the whole thing was an elaborate hoax or not.
16:35
Speaker 1: When up came a man and addressed me. He was
16:39
Speaker 1: very like the chap I had seen the night before,
16:41
Speaker 1: the same figure and voice, but he was clean shaven
16:45
Speaker 1: and his hair was lighter. Are you mister hall pie Craft,
16:49
Speaker 1: he asked? Yes, said I oh, I was expecting you,
16:53
Speaker 1: for you are a trifle before your time. I had
16:56
Speaker 1: a note from my brother this morning in which he
16:58
Speaker 1: sang your praises very loudly. I was just looking for
17:01
Speaker 1: the offices when you came. We have not got our
17:04
Speaker 1: name up yet, for we only secured these temporary premises
17:08
Speaker 1: last week. Come up with me and we will talk
17:10
Speaker 1: the matter over. I followed him to the top of
17:13
Speaker 1: a very lofty stair, and there, right under the slates
17:17
Speaker 1: were a couple of empty, dusty little rooms, uncarpeted and uncurtained,
17:21
Speaker 1: into which he led me. I had thought of a
17:23
Speaker 1: great office with shining tables and rows of clerks, such
17:27
Speaker 1: as I was used to, and I dare say I
17:29
Speaker 1: stared rather straight at the two deal chairs and one
17:32
Speaker 1: little table, which, with a ledger and a waste paper
17:35
Speaker 1: basket made up the whole furniture. Don't be disheartened, mister Pyecroft,
17:40
Speaker 1: said my new acquaintance, seeing the length of my face.
17:44
Speaker 1: Rome was not built in a day, and we have
17:46
Speaker 1: lots of money at our backs, though we don't cut
17:49
Speaker 1: much dash yet in offices. Praise it down and let
17:53
Speaker 1: me have your letter. I gave it to him, and
17:56
Speaker 1: he read it over very carefully. You seem to have
17:59
Speaker 1: made a vast impro upon my brother, Arthur, said he
18:03
Speaker 1: and I know that he is a pretty shrewd judge.
18:06
Speaker 1: He swears by London, you know, and I by Birmingham.
18:10
Speaker 1: But this time I shall follow his advice. Pray, consider
18:13
Speaker 1: yourself definitely engaged. What are my duties, I asked, you
18:18
Speaker 1: will eventually manage the great depot in Paris, which will
18:22
Speaker 1: pour a flood of English crockery into the shops of
18:24
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty four agents in France. The purchase
18:28
Speaker 1: will be completed in a week, and meanwhile you will
18:31
Speaker 1: remain in Birmingham and make yourself useful. How for answer,
18:36
Speaker 1: he took a big red book out of a draw
18:39
Speaker 1: This is a directory of Paris, said he, with the
18:42
Speaker 1: trades after the names of the people. I want you
18:45
Speaker 1: to take it home with you and to mark off
18:47
Speaker 1: all the hardware sellers with their addresses. It would be
18:50
Speaker 1: of the greatest use to me to have them. Surely
18:53
Speaker 1: there are classified lists, I suggested, not reliable ones. Their
18:58
Speaker 1: system is different from ours. Stick at it and let
19:01
Speaker 1: me have the lists by Monday at twelve. Good day,
19:04
Speaker 1: mister Pyecroft. If you continue to show zeal And intelligence,
19:08
Speaker 1: you will find the company a good master. I went
19:11
Speaker 1: back to the hotel with the big book under my
19:14
Speaker 1: arm and with very conflicting feelings in my breast. On
19:18
Speaker 1: the one hand, I was definitely engaged and had one
19:21
Speaker 1: hundred pounds in my pocket. On the other, the look
19:24
Speaker 1: of the offices, the absence of name on the wall,
19:28
Speaker 1: and other of the points which would strike a businessman
19:30
Speaker 1: had left a bad impression as to the position of
19:33
Speaker 1: my employers. However, come what might I have my money?
19:38
Speaker 1: So I settled down to my task. All Sunday I
19:41
Speaker 1: was kept hard at work, and yet by Monday i'd
19:44
Speaker 1: only got as far as h I went round to
19:48
Speaker 1: my employer, found him in the same dismantled kind of room,
19:53
Speaker 1: and was told to keep at it until Wednesday and
19:55
Speaker 1: then come again. On Wednesday. It was still unfinished, so
19:59
Speaker 1: I hammered away until Friday, that is yesterday. Then I
20:04
Speaker 1: brought it round to mister Harry Pinner. Thank you very much,
20:07
Speaker 1: said he. I fear that I underrated the difficulty of
20:11
Speaker 1: the task. This list will be of very material assistance
20:15
Speaker 1: to me. It took some time, said I, and now
20:18
Speaker 1: said he, I want you to make a list of
20:20
Speaker 1: the furniture shops, for they all sell crockery very good.
20:25
Speaker 1: And you can come up tomorrow evening at seven and
20:28
Speaker 1: let me know how you were getting on. Don't overwork yourself.
20:32
Speaker 1: A couple of hours at Day's music hall in the
20:34
Speaker 1: evening would do you no harm after your labors. He
20:38
Speaker 1: laughed as he spoke, and I saw with a thrill
20:40
Speaker 1: that his second tooth upon the left hand side, had
20:44
Speaker 1: been very badly stuffed with gold. Sherlock Holmes rubbed his
20:48
Speaker 1: hands with delight, and I stared with astonishment at our client.
20:53
Speaker 1: You may well look surprised, doctor Watson. But it is
20:56
Speaker 1: this way, said he when I was speaking to the
20:59
Speaker 1: other in London. But at the time that he laughed
21:02
Speaker 1: at my not going to Morson's, I happened to notice
21:05
Speaker 1: that his tooth was stuffed in this very identical fashion.
21:10
Speaker 1: The glint of the gold in each case caught my eye.
21:12
Speaker 1: You see, when I put that, with the voice and
21:16
Speaker 1: figure being the same, and only those things altered which
21:19
Speaker 1: might be changed by a razor or a wig, I
21:22
Speaker 1: could not doubt that it was the same man. Of course,
21:26
Speaker 1: you expect two brothers to be alike, but not that
21:29
Speaker 1: they should have the same tooth stuffed in the same way.
21:33
Speaker 1: He bowed me out, and I found myself in the street,
21:37
Speaker 1: hardly knowing whether I was on my head or my
21:39
Speaker 1: heels back I went to my hotel, put my head
21:43
Speaker 1: in a basin of cold water, and tried to think
21:45
Speaker 1: it out. Why had he sent me from London to Birmingham,
21:49
Speaker 1: Why had he got there before me, and why had
21:52
Speaker 1: he written a letter from himself to himself? It was
21:57
Speaker 1: altogether too much for me, and I could make no
21:59
Speaker 1: sense it. And then suddenly it struck me that what
22:03
Speaker 1: was dark to me might be very light to mister
22:06
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. I had just time to get up to
22:10
Speaker 1: town by the night train, to see him this morning,
22:12
Speaker 1: and to bring you both back with me to Birmingham.
22:16
Speaker 1: There was a pause after the stockbroker's clerk had concluded
22:19
Speaker 1: his surprising experience. Then Sherlock Holmes cocked his eye at me,
22:24
Speaker 1: leaning back on the cushions with a pleased and yet
22:27
Speaker 1: critical face, like a connoisseur who has just taken his
22:30
Speaker 1: first sip of a Comet vintage. Rather fine Watson, is
22:35
Speaker 1: it not, said he? There are points in it which
22:38
Speaker 1: please me. I think that you will agree with me
22:41
Speaker 1: that an interview with mister Arthur Harry Pinner in the
22:44
Speaker 1: temporary offices of the Franco Midland Hardware Company Limited would
22:49
Speaker 1: be a rather interesting experience for both of us. But
22:52
Speaker 1: how can we do it? I asked Ah? Easily enough,
22:55
Speaker 1: said hal Pyecroft, cheerily. You are two friends of mine
22:59
Speaker 1: who were in want of a billet, and what could
23:02
Speaker 1: be more natural than that I should bring you both
23:04
Speaker 1: round to the managing director quite so, of course, said Holmes.
23:08
Speaker 1: I should like to have a look at the gentleman
23:10
Speaker 1: and see if I can make anything of his little game.
23:14
Speaker 1: What qualities have you, my friend, which would make your
23:17
Speaker 1: services so valuable? Or is it possible that he began
23:22
Speaker 1: biting his nails and staring blankly out of the window,
23:27
Speaker 1: and we hardly drew another word from him until we
23:29
Speaker 1: were in New Street at seven o'clock that evening. We
23:33
Speaker 1: were walking the three of us down Corporation Street to
23:36
Speaker 1: the company's offices. It is no use our being at
23:39
Speaker 1: all before our time, said our client. He only comes
23:43
Speaker 1: there to see me, apparently, for the place is deserted
23:46
Speaker 1: up to the very hour he names. That is suggestive,
23:50
Speaker 1: remarked Holmes. By jove, I told you so, cried the clerk.
23:54
Speaker 1: That's he walking ahead of us. There. He pointed to
23:57
Speaker 1: a smallish, dark, well dressed man who was bustling along
24:01
Speaker 1: the other side of the road. As we watched him,
24:04
Speaker 1: he looked across at a boy who was bawling out
24:06
Speaker 1: the latest edition of the evening paper and running over
24:10
Speaker 1: among the cabs and buses. He brought one from him, then,
24:14
Speaker 1: clutching it in his hand, he vanished through a doorway.
24:18
Speaker 1: There he goes, cried hall pie Croft. These are the
24:21
Speaker 1: company's offices into which he is gone. Come with me
24:25
Speaker 1: and I'll fix it up as easily as possible. Following
24:29
Speaker 1: his lead, we ascended five stories until we found ourselves
24:32
Speaker 1: outside a half opened door, at which our client tapped
24:37
Speaker 1: a voice within bad as enter, And we entered a bare,
24:40
Speaker 1: unfurnished room, such as hall pie Croft had described. At
24:44
Speaker 1: the single table sat the man whom we had seen
24:47
Speaker 1: in the street, with his evening paper spread out in
24:50
Speaker 1: front of him. And as he looked up at us,
24:53
Speaker 1: it seemed to me that I had never looked upon
24:56
Speaker 1: a face which bore such marks of grief, and of
24:59
Speaker 1: something beyond grief, of a horror such as comes to
25:03
Speaker 1: few men in a lifetime. His brow glistened with perspiration,
25:09
Speaker 1: his cheeks were of the dull, dead white of a
25:12
Speaker 1: fish's belly, and his eyes were wild and staring. He
25:17
Speaker 1: looked at his clerk as though he failed to recognize him.
25:21
Speaker 1: And I could see, by the astonishment depicted upon our
25:24
Speaker 1: conductor's face that this was, by no means the usual
25:27
Speaker 1: appearance of his employer. You look ill, mister Pinner, he exclaimed, yes,
25:33
Speaker 1: I am not very well, answered the other, making obvious
25:37
Speaker 1: efforts to pull himself together and licking his dry lips,
25:41
Speaker 1: before he spoke. Who are these gentlemen whom you have
25:44
Speaker 1: brought with you? One is mister Harris of Bermondsey, and
25:49
Speaker 1: the other is mister Price of this town? Said our
25:52
Speaker 1: clerk glibly. They are friends of mine and gentlemen of experience.
25:57
Speaker 1: That they have been out of a place for some
25:59
Speaker 1: little time, and I hoped that perhaps you might find
26:02
Speaker 1: an opening for them in the company's employment. Very possibly,
26:06
Speaker 1: very possibly, cried mister Pinner, with a ghastly smile. Yes,
26:10
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that we shall be able to
26:13
Speaker 1: do something for you. What is your particular line, mister Harris,
26:17
Speaker 1: I am an accountant, said Holmes. Ah, yes, we shall
26:20
Speaker 1: want something of the sort. And you, mister Price, a clerk,
26:25
Speaker 1: said I, I have every hope that the company may
26:29
Speaker 1: accommodate you. I will let you know about it as
26:31
Speaker 1: soon as we come to any conclusion. And now I
26:34
Speaker 1: beg that you will go, for God's sake, leave me
26:37
Speaker 1: to myself. These last words were shot out of him,
26:41
Speaker 1: as though the constraint which he was evidently setting upon
26:44
Speaker 1: himself had suddenly and utterly burst asunder. Holmes and I
26:48
Speaker 1: glanced at each other, and hall Pyecraft took a step
26:52
Speaker 1: towards the table. You forget, mister Pinner, that I am
26:55
Speaker 1: here by appointment to receive some directions from you, said he. Certainly,
27:00
Speaker 1: mister Pyecraft, certainly, the other resumed in a calmer tone.
27:05
Speaker 1: You may wait here a moment, and there is no
27:08
Speaker 1: reason why your friends should not wait with you. I
27:10
Speaker 1: will be entirely at your service in three minutes if
27:14
Speaker 1: I might trespass upon your patients. So far, he rose
27:18
Speaker 1: with a very courteous air, and bowing to us. He
27:20
Speaker 1: passed out through a door at the farther end of
27:23
Speaker 1: the room, which he closed behind him. What now, whispered Holmes,
27:28
Speaker 1: Is he giving us the slip? Impossible? Answered Pyecroft. Why
27:33
Speaker 1: so that door leads into an inner room. There's no
27:36
Speaker 1: exit none, is it furnished, It was empty yesterday? Then
27:41
Speaker 1: what on earth can he be doing? There is something
27:43
Speaker 1: which I don't understand in this manner. If ever a
27:46
Speaker 1: man was three parts mad with terror, that man's name
27:49
Speaker 1: is Pinner? What can have put the shivers on him?
27:54
Speaker 1: He suspects that we are detectives. I suggested that's it,
27:58
Speaker 1: cried Pyecraft Home shook his head. He did not turn pale.
28:03
Speaker 1: He was pale when we entered the room, said he.
28:05
Speaker 1: It is just possible that his words were interrupted by
28:09
Speaker 1: a sharp rat tat from the direction of the inner door.
28:13
Speaker 1: What the deuce is he knocking at his own door? For,
28:16
Speaker 1: cried the clerk again, and much louder came the rat
28:19
Speaker 1: tat tat. We all gazed expectantly at the closed door.
28:24
Speaker 1: Glancing at Holmes, I saw his face turn rigid, and
28:27
Speaker 1: he leaned forward in intense excitement. Then suddenly came a low, guggling,
28:32
Speaker 1: gargling sound, and a brisk drumming upon woodwork. Holmes sprang
28:38
Speaker 1: frantically across the room and pushed at the door. It
28:41
Speaker 1: was fastened on the inner side. Following his example, we
28:45
Speaker 1: threw ourselves upon it with all our weight. One hinge snapped,
28:49
Speaker 1: then the other, and down came the door, with a crash,
28:52
Speaker 1: rushing over it. We found ourselves in the inner room.
28:56
Speaker 1: It was empty, but it was only for a moment
29:00
Speaker 1: that we were at fault. At one corner, the corner
29:04
Speaker 1: nearest the room which we had left, there was a
29:06
Speaker 1: second door, Homes sprang to it and pulled it open.
29:11
Speaker 1: A coat and waistcoat were lying on the floor, and
29:14
Speaker 1: from a hook behind the door, with his own braces
29:17
Speaker 1: round his neck, was hanging the managing director of the
29:20
Speaker 1: Franco Midland Hardware Company. His knees were drawn up, his
29:25
Speaker 1: head hung at a dreadful angle to his body, and
29:28
Speaker 1: the clatter of his heels against the door made the
29:31
Speaker 1: noise which had broken in upon our conversation. In an
29:35
Speaker 1: instant I had caught him round the waist and held
29:38
Speaker 1: him up, while Holmes and Piecraft untied the elastic bands
29:42
Speaker 1: which had disappeared between the livid creases of skin. Then
29:47
Speaker 1: we carried him into the other room, where he lay
29:49
Speaker 1: with a clay colored face, puffing his purple lips in
29:52
Speaker 1: and out with every breath, A dreadful wreck of all
29:56
Speaker 1: that he had been but five minutes before. What you
30:00
Speaker 1: think of him? Watson asked Holmes. I stooped over him
30:03
Speaker 1: and examined him. His pulse was feeble and intermittent, but
30:08
Speaker 1: his breathing grew longer, and there was a little shivering
30:12
Speaker 1: of his eyelids, which showed a thin white slit of
30:15
Speaker 1: ball beneath. It has been touch and go with him,
30:19
Speaker 1: said I. But he'll live now. Just open that window
30:24
Speaker 1: and hand me the water caraff I undid his collar,
30:29
Speaker 1: poured the cold water over his face, and raised and
30:32
Speaker 1: sank his arms until he drew a long, natural breath.
30:36
Speaker 1: It's only a question of time now, said I, as
30:39
Speaker 1: I turned away from him. Holmes stood by the table
30:42
Speaker 1: with his hands deep in his trousers pocket and his
30:45
Speaker 1: chin upon his breast. I suppose we ought to call
30:48
Speaker 1: the police in now, said he. And yet I confess
30:51
Speaker 1: that I'd like to give them a complete case when
30:53
Speaker 1: they come. It's a blessed mystery to me, cried Pyecroft,
30:58
Speaker 1: scratching his head. Whatever they wanted to bring me all
31:01
Speaker 1: the way up here for? And then pooh, All that
31:04
Speaker 1: is clear enough, said Holmes, impatiently. It is this last
31:08
Speaker 1: sudden move. You understand the rest? Then? I think that
31:12
Speaker 1: it is fairly obvious. What do you say, Watson, I
31:16
Speaker 1: shrugged my shoulders. I must confess that I am out
31:19
Speaker 1: of my depths, said I. Oh, surely, if you consider
31:22
Speaker 1: the events at first, they can only point to one conclusion.
31:26
Speaker 1: What do you make of them? Well, the whole thing
31:29
Speaker 1: hinges upon two points. The first is the making of
31:33
Speaker 1: Pyecraft write a declaration by which he entered the service
31:36
Speaker 1: of this preposterous company. Do you not see how very
31:40
Speaker 1: suggestive that is? I am afraid I missed the point. Well,
31:44
Speaker 1: why did they want him to do it? Not as
31:46
Speaker 1: a business matter? For these arrangements are usually verbal, and
31:50
Speaker 1: there was no earthly business reason why this should be
31:53
Speaker 1: an exception. Don't you see, my young friend, that they
31:57
Speaker 1: were very anxious to obtain a specimen of your handwriting
32:01
Speaker 1: and had no other way of doing it. And why?
32:04
Speaker 1: Quite so? Why when we answer that we have made
32:08
Speaker 1: some progress with our little problem, why there can be
32:12
Speaker 1: only one adequate reason. Someone wanted to learn to imitate
32:17
Speaker 1: your writing and had to procure a specimen of it first.
32:21
Speaker 1: And now if we pass on to the second point,
32:24
Speaker 1: we find that each throws light upon the other. That
32:27
Speaker 1: point is the request made by Pinner that you should
32:31
Speaker 1: not resign your place, but should leave the manager of
32:34
Speaker 1: this important business in the full expectation that a mister
32:37
Speaker 1: Hall Pyecraft, whom he had never seen, was about to
32:41
Speaker 1: enter the office upon the Monday morning. My God cried
32:45
Speaker 1: our client, What a blind beat live bean. Now you
32:49
Speaker 1: see the point about the handwriting. Suppose that someone turned
32:53
Speaker 1: up in your place who wrote a completely different hand
32:56
Speaker 1: from that in which you had applied for the vacancy.
32:58
Speaker 1: Of course the game would have been up. But in
33:01
Speaker 1: the interval the rogue had learned to imitate you, and
33:04
Speaker 1: his position was therefore secure, as I presumed that nobody
33:08
Speaker 1: in the office had ever set eyes upon you, not
33:10
Speaker 1: a soul, groaned hall Piecraft. Very good. Of course, it
33:15
Speaker 1: was of the utmost importance to prevent you from thinking
33:17
Speaker 1: better of it, and also to keep you from coming
33:20
Speaker 1: into contact with anyone who might tell you that your
33:23
Speaker 1: double was at work in Mawson's office. Therefore they gave
33:27
Speaker 1: you a handsome advance on your salary and ran you
33:30
Speaker 1: off to the Midlands, where they gave you enough work
33:32
Speaker 1: to do to prevent your going to London, where you
33:35
Speaker 1: might have burst their little game up. That is all
33:38
Speaker 1: plain enough. But why should this man pretend to be
33:41
Speaker 1: his own brother? Well, that is pretty clear. Also. There
33:45
Speaker 1: are evidently only two of them in it. The other
33:48
Speaker 1: is impersonating you at the office. This one acted as
33:52
Speaker 1: your engager and then found that he could not find
33:55
Speaker 1: you an employer without admitting a third person into his
33:58
Speaker 1: plot he was most unwilling to do. He changed his
34:02
Speaker 1: appearance as far as he could, and trusted that the
34:06
Speaker 1: likeness which you could not fail to observe would be
34:09
Speaker 1: put down to a family resemblance. But for the happy
34:12
Speaker 1: chance of the gold stuffing, your suspicions would probably never
34:16
Speaker 1: have been aroused. All Piecraft shook his clinched hands in
34:20
Speaker 1: the air. Good lord, he cried, while I have been
34:24
Speaker 1: fooled in this way? What has this other hall Piecraft
34:27
Speaker 1: been doing at Morson's. What shall we do? Mister Holmes,
34:31
Speaker 1: tell me what to do. We must wire to Morson's.
34:35
Speaker 1: They shut at twelve on Saturdays. Never mind, there may
34:39
Speaker 1: be some doorkeeper or attendant. Ah, yes, if they keep
34:42
Speaker 1: a permanent guard there on account of the value of
34:45
Speaker 1: the securities that they hold. I remember hearing it talked
34:48
Speaker 1: of in the city. Very good. We shall wire to
34:51
Speaker 1: him and see if all is well, And if a
34:53
Speaker 1: clerk of your name is working there. That is clear enough.
34:57
Speaker 1: But what is not so clear is why, at sight
35:00
Speaker 1: of us one of the rogues should instantly walk out
35:03
Speaker 1: of the room and hang himself. The paper croaked. A
35:08
Speaker 1: voice behind us, the man was sitting up, blanched and ghastly,
35:13
Speaker 1: with returning reason in his eyes and hands, which rubbed
35:17
Speaker 1: nervously at the broad red band which still encircled his throat.
35:21
Speaker 1: The paper, of course, yelled Holmes, in a paroxysm of excitement.
35:26
Speaker 1: Idiot that I was. I thought so much of our
35:29
Speaker 1: visit that the paper never entered my head for an instant.
35:33
Speaker 1: To be sure the secret must be there, he flattened
35:36
Speaker 1: it out upon the table, and a cry of triumph
35:39
Speaker 1: burst from his lips. Look at this, Watson, he cried.
35:43
Speaker 1: It is a London paper, an early edition of the
35:46
Speaker 1: Evening Standard. Here is what we want. Look at the
35:49
Speaker 1: headlines crime in the city, murder at Mawson and Williams's
35:54
Speaker 1: gigantic attempted robbery, capture of the criminal. Here, Watson, we
36:00
Speaker 1: are all equally anxious to hear it, so kindly read
36:03
Speaker 1: it aloud to us. It appeared, from its position in
36:06
Speaker 1: the paper to have been the one event of importance
36:09
Speaker 1: in town, and the account of it ran in this way.
36:14
Speaker 1: A desperate attempt at robbery culminating in the death of
36:17
Speaker 1: one man and the capture of the criminal occurred this
36:21
Speaker 1: afternoon in the city. For some time back, Mawson and Williams,
36:25
Speaker 1: the famous financial house, have been the guardians of securities
36:29
Speaker 1: which amount in the aggregate to a sum of considerably
36:32
Speaker 1: over a million sterling. So conscious was the manager of
36:36
Speaker 1: the responsibility which devolved upon him in consequence of the
36:40
Speaker 1: great interest at stake, that safes of the very latest
36:43
Speaker 1: construction have been employed, and an armed watchman has been
36:47
Speaker 1: left day and night in the building. It appears that
36:51
Speaker 1: last week a new clerk named hall Pyecraft was engaged
36:55
Speaker 1: by the firm. This person appears to have been none
36:59
Speaker 1: other than Bettyington, the famous forger and cracksman, who, with
37:04
Speaker 1: his brother had only recently emerged from a five years
37:07
Speaker 1: spell of penal servitude. By some means which are not
37:11
Speaker 1: yet clear, he succeeded in winning, under a false name,
37:15
Speaker 1: this official position in the office, which he utilized in
37:19
Speaker 1: order to obtain molding of various locks and a thorough
37:23
Speaker 1: knowledge of the position of the strong room and the safes.
37:27
Speaker 1: It is customary at Morson's for the clerks to leave
37:29
Speaker 1: at midday on Saturday. Sergeant Tewson of the City Police
37:35
Speaker 1: was somewhat surprised, therefore, to see a gentleman with a
37:38
Speaker 1: carpet bag come down the steps at twenty minutes past one.
37:42
Speaker 1: His suspicions being aroused, the sergeant followed the man, and
37:46
Speaker 1: with the aid of Constable Pollock, succeeded after a most
37:49
Speaker 1: desperate resistance, in arresting him. It was at once clear
37:54
Speaker 1: that a daring and gigantic robbery had been committed. Nearly
37:58
Speaker 1: one hundred thousand pounds worth of a merrit And Railway
38:00
Speaker 1: bonds with a large amount of scrip in mines and
38:03
Speaker 1: other companies, was discovered in the bag. On examining the premises,
38:08
Speaker 1: the body of the unfortunate watchman was found doubled up
38:12
Speaker 1: and thrust into the largest of the safes, where it
38:15
Speaker 1: would not have been discovered until Monday morning had it
38:18
Speaker 1: not been for the prompt action of Sergeant Tewson. The
38:22
Speaker 1: man's skull had been shattered by a blow from a
38:25
Speaker 1: poker delivered from behind. There could be no doubt that
38:29
Speaker 1: Beddington had obtained entrance by pretending that he had left
38:32
Speaker 1: something behind him, and having murdered the watchman, rapidly rifled
38:37
Speaker 1: the large safe and then made off with his booty.
38:41
Speaker 1: His brother, who usually works with him, has not appeared
38:44
Speaker 1: in this job, as far as can at present be ascertained,
38:48
Speaker 1: although the police are making energetic inquiries as to his whereabouts. Well,
38:54
Speaker 1: we may save the police some little trouble in that direction,
38:58
Speaker 1: said Holmes, glancing at the haggard figure huddled up by
39:02
Speaker 1: the window. Human nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You
39:07
Speaker 1: see that even a villain and murderer can inspire such
39:10
Speaker 1: affection that his brother turns to suicide when he learns
39:14
Speaker 1: that his neck is forfeited. However, we have no choice
39:18
Speaker 1: as to our action. The doctor and I will remain
39:21
Speaker 1: on guard, mister Pyecraft, if you will have the kindness
39:25
Speaker 1: to step out for the police. That is the end
39:30
Speaker 1: of the Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk, from the Memoirs
39:36
Speaker 1: of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, read by
39:41
Speaker 1: Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio twenty sixteen.