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The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Adventure Books Library

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The adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes
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upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments
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of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing gown,
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a pipe rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of
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crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied near at hand. Beside the couch was
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a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy
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and disreputable, hard felt hat, much the worse for wear and cracked in
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several places. A linbs and afore SIPs lying upon the seat of the chair
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suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination.
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You are engaged, said I, perhaps I interrupt you not at all.
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I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss my results.
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The matter is a perfectly trivial one. He jerked his thumb in the
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direction of the old hat, But there are points in connection with it which
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are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction. I seated myself in
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his arm chair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp
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frost had set in, and the windows were thick with the ice crystals.
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I suppose, I remarked that homely as it looks, this thing has some
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deadly story linked on to it. That it is the clue which will guide
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you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime. No,
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no, no crime, said Sherlock Holmes, laughing, Only one of
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those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all
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jostling each other within the space of a few square miles. Amid the action
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and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events
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may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be presented,
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which may be striking and bizarre without being criminal. We have already had
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experience of such. So much so I remarked that of the last six cases
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which I have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any
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illegal crime. Precisely allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler papers,
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to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the adventure of the
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man with a twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt that this small
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matter will fall into the same innocent category. You know Peterson the Commissionaire.
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Yes, it is to him that this trophy belongs. It is his hat.
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No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I
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beg that you will look upon it not as a battered billy cock, but
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as an intellectual problem. And first, as to how it came here.
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It arrived upon Christmas morning in company with a good fat goose, which is
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I have no doubt roasting at this moment in front of Peterson's fire. The
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facts of these About four o'clock on Christmas morning, Peterson, who as you
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know, is a very honest fellow, was returning from some small jollification,
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and was making his way homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him
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he saw in the gas light a tallish man walking with a slight stagger and
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carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the corner of
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Good Street, a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of
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ruffs. One of the latter knocked off the man's hat, on which he
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raised his stick to defend himself, and swinging it over his head smashed the
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shop window behind him. Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his
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assailants. But the man, shocked at having broken the window and seeing an
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official looking person in uniform rushing towards him, dropped his goose, took to
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his heels, and vanished amid the labyrinth of small streets which lie at the
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back of Tottenham Court Road. The Roffs had also fled at the appearance of
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Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of battle,
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and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this battered hat and
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a most unimpeachable Christmas goose, which surely he restored to their owner, My
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dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that for missus Henry
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Baker was printed upon a small card which had been tied to the bird's left
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leg, and it is also true that the initial h B are legible upon
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the lining of this hat. But as there are some thousands of Bakers and
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some hundreds of Henry Bakers in this city of ours, it's not easy to
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restore lost property to any one of them. What then did Peterson do?
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He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, knowing that
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even the smallest problems are of interest to me. The goose re retained until
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this morning, when there were signs that in spite of the slight frost,
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it would be well that it should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder
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has carried it off there for to fulfill the ultimate destiny of a goose,
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while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who lost his Christmas
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dinner? Did he not advertise? No? Then? What clue could you
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have as to his identity? Only as much as we can deduce from his
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hat precisely? But you are joking? What can you gather from this old,
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battered felt Here is my lens, you know my methods. What can
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you gain rather yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this
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article? I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather
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ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat, of the usual round shape,
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hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of red
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silk, but was a good deal discolored. There was no maker's name,
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but as Holmes had remarked, the initials H B were scrawled upon one side.
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It was pierced in the brim for a hat secure, but the elastic
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was missing. For the rest. It was cracked, exceedingly dusty, and
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spotted in several places, although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide
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the discolored patches by smearing them with ink. I can see nothing, said
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I handing it back to my friend. On the contrary, Watson, you
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can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see.
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You are too timid in drawing your inferences. Then, pray, tell
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me what it is that you can infer from this hat. He picked it
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up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him.
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It is perhaps less suggestive than it might have been, he remarked.
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And yet there are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few
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others which represent at least a small balance of probability. That the man was
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highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the face of it, and also that
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he was fairly well to do within the last three years, although he has
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now fallen upon evil days. He had foresight, but has less now than
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formerly. Pointing to a moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline
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of his fortune, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, at
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work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that his wife
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has ceased to love him, My dear Holmes, He has, however,
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retained some degree of self respect, he continued, disregarding my remonstrance. He
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is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out
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of training, entirely, is middle aged, has grizzled hair, which he
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has had cut within the last few days, and which he annoints with lime
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cream. These are the more patent facts which may be deduced from his hat.
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Also by the way that it is extremely improbable that he has had gas
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laid on in his house. You are certainly joking homes. On the least,
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is it possible that, even now, when I gave you these results,
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you are unable to see how they are attained. I have no doubt
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that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I am unable to
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follow you. For example, how did you deduce that this man was intellectual?
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For answer, Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right
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over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. It is a
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question of cubic capacity, said he. A man with so large a brain
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must have something in it the decline in his fortunes. Then this hat is
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three years old. These flat brims, curled at the edge, came in.
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Then it is a hat of the very best quality. Look at the
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band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could afford to
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buy so expensive a hat three years ago and has had no hat since then,
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he has assuredly gone down in the world. Well, that is clear
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enough, certainly, But how about the foresight and the moral retrogression? Sherlock
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Holmes laughed. Here is the foresight, said he, putting his finger upon
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the little disk and loop of the hat. Secure they are never sold upon
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hats. If this man ordered one, it is a sign of a certain
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amount of foresight, since he went out of his way to take this precaution
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against the wind. But since we see that he has broken the elastic and
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is not troubled to replace it, it is obvious that he has less foresight
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now than formerly, which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On
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the other hand, he has endeavored to conceal some of these stains upon the
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felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not
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entirely lost his self respect. Your reasoning is certainly plausible. The further points
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that he is middle aged, that his hair is grizzled, that it has
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has been recently cut, and that he uses lime cream are all to be
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gathered From a close examination of the lower part of the lining. The lens
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discloses a large number of hair ends, clean cut by the scissors of the
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barber. They all appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odor
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of lime cream. This dust, as you will observe, is not the
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gritty gray dust of the street, but the fluffy brown dust of the house,
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showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while
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the marks of moisture upon the inside are proved positive that the wearer perspired very
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freely, and could therefore hardly be in the best of training. But his
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wife, you said that she had ceased to love him. This hat has
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not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear Watson,
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with a week's accumulation of dust upon your hat, and when your wife allows
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you to go out in such a state, I shall fear that you also
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have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife's affection. But he might be a
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bachelor. Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace offering to
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his wife. Remember the card upon the bird's leg. You have an answer
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for everything. But how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not
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laid on in his house? One tallow stain or even two might come by
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chance, But when I see no less than five, I think that there
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can be little doubt that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with burning
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tallow walks upstairs at night, probably with his hat in one hand and a
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guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never got tallow stains from a
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gas jet. Are you satisfied? Well, it is very ingenious, said
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I, laughing. But since, as you said just now, there has
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been no crime committed and no harm done save the loss of a goose,
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all this seems to be rather a waste of energy. Sherlock Holmes had opened
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his mouth to reply when the door flew open, and Peterson, the Commissionaire
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rushed into the apartment with flushed cheeks, and the face of a man who
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is dazed with astonishment. The goose, mister Holmes, the goose, sir,
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He gasped, Eh, what of it? Then, as it returned
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to life and flapped off through the kitchen window, Holmes twisted himself round upon
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the sofa to get a fairer view of the man's excited face. See here,
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sir, see what my wife found in its crop. He held out
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his hand and displayed upon the center of the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone,
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rather smaller than a bean in size, but of such purity and radiance
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that it twinkled like an electric point in the dark hollow of his hand.
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Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle by jove. Peterson said he this is
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a treasure trove. Indeed, I suppose you know what you've got? A
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diamond, sir, A precious stone. It cuts into glasses though it were
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putty. It's more than a precious stone. It's the precious stone, not
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the Countess of more Car's blue carbuncle. I ejaculated precisely, so I ought
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to know its size and shape, seeing that I have read the advertisement about
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it in the Times. Every day lately. It is absolutely unique, and
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its value can only be conjectured. But the reward offered of a thousand pounds
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is certainly not within a twentieth part of the market price. A thousand pounds,
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Great Lord a Mercy, the Commissionaire plumped down into a chair and stared
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from one to the other of us. That is the reward. And I
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have reason to know that there are sentimental considerations in the background which could induce
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the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could just recover the gem
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it was lost. If I remember arride at the Hotel Cosmopolitan, I remarked
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precisely so. On the twenty second of December, just five days ago,
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John Horner, a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady's
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jewel case. The evidence against him was so strong that the case has been
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referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the matter here. I
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believe he rummaged amid his newspapers, glancing over the dates, until at last
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he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read the following paragraph.
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Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel robbery. John On Horner, twenty six, plumber was brought
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up upon the charge of having, upon the twenty second instant, abstracted from
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the jewel case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable gem known as the blue
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Carbuncle. James Ryder, upper attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to
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the effect that he had shown Horner up to the dressing room of the Countess
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of Morcar upon the day of the robbery, in order that he might solder
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the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had remained with
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Horner some little time, but had finally been called away. On returning,
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he found that Horner had disappeared, that the bureau had been forced open,
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and that the small Morocco casket, in which, as it afterwards transpired,
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the Countess was accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the dressing
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table. Rider instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was arrested the same evening,
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but the stone could not be found either upon his person or in his
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rooms. Catherine Cusack made of the Countess deposed to having heard writer's cry of
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dismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room where she
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found matters as described by the last witness, Inspector Bradstreet, b Division,
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gave evidence as to the arrest of Horner, who struggled frantically and protested his
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innocence in the strongest terms, evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been
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given against the prisoner. The magistrate refused to deal summarily with the offense,
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but referred it to the assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense
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emotion during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was carried out of
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court. Hmm, so much for the police court, said Holmes, thoughtfully,
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tossing aside the paper. The question for us now to solve is the
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sequence of events leading from a rifle jewel case at one end to the crop
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of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You see, Watson,
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our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much more important and less innocent aspect.
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Here is the stone. The stone came from the goose, and the
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goose came from mister Henry Baker, the gentleman with a bad hat, and
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all the other characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must
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set ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman, and ascertaining what part he has
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played in this little mystery. To do this, we must try the simplest
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means first, and these lie undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers.
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If this fail, I have recourse to other methods. What will you
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say, give me a pencil in that slip of paper now then found at
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the corner of Good Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mister
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Henry Baker can have the same by applying at six thirty this evening at two
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twenty one B Baker Street. That's clear and concise. Very, but will
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he see it well? He is sure to keep an eye on the papers,
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since to a poor man the loss was a heavy one. He was
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clearly so scared by his mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of
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Peterson, that he thought of nothing but flight. But since then he must
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have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his bird. And then
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again the introduction of his name will cause him to see it for or everyone
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who knows him will direct his attention to it. Here you are, Peterson,
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run down to the advertising agency and have this put in the evening papers.
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In which sir, oh in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall,
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Saint James, Evening News, Standard Echo, and any others that occur.
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To you very well, sir, and this stone. Ah, yes,
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I shall keep the stone, thank you. And I say, Peterson,
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just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me,
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for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one
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which your family is now devouring. When the Commissionaire had gone, Holmes took
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up the stone and held it against the light. It's a bonny thing,
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said he. Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course, it
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is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are
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the devil's pet baits. In the larger and older jewels, every facet may
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stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old.
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It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China, and
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is remarkd argable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is
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blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it
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is already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitrial throwing
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a suicide and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty grain weight
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of crystallized charcoal. Who would ever think that so pretty a toy could be
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a purveyor of the gallows in the prison. I'll lock it up in my
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strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have
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it. Do you think that this man Horner is innocent? I cannot tell.
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Well, then do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker,
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had anything to do with the matter. It is I think much more likely
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that Henry Baker is an absolutely innocent man who had no idea that the bird
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which he was carrying was of considerable more value than if it were made of
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solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple test.
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If we have an answer to our advertisement, and you can do nothing
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till, then nothing. In that case I shall continue my professional round.
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But I shall come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned,
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for I would like to see the solution of so tangled a business. Very
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glad to have you, I dine at seven. There is a woodcock,
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I believe, by the way, in view of recent occurrences. Perhaps I
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ought to ask missus Hudson to examine its crop. I had been delayed a
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case, and it was a little after half past six when I found myself
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in Baker Street once more. As I approached the house, I saw a
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tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his
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chin, waiting outside in the bright semicircle which was thrown from the fan light.
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Just as I arrived, the door was opened and we were shown up
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together to Holmes's room. Mister Henry Baker, I believe, said he rising
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from his arm chair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which
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he could so readily assume. Pray, take this chair by the fire,
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mister Baker. It's a cold night, and I observed that your circulation is
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more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah Watson, you have just come
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at the right time. Is that your hat, mister Baker, Yes,
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sir, that is undoubtedly my hat. He was a large man with rounded
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shoulders, a massive head, and a broad, intelligent face sloping down to
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a pointed beard of grizzled brown, a touch of red in nose, and
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cheeks with a slight trimmer in his extended hand, recalled Holmes's surmise as to
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his habits. His rusty brown frock coat was buttoned right up in front,
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with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without
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a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a slow, staccato fashion,
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choosing his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man
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of learning and letters who had had ill usage at the hands of fortune.
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We have retained these things for some days, said Holmes, because we expected
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to see an advertisement from you giving your address. I am at a loss
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to know now why you did not advertise. Our visitor gave a rather shame
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faced laugh. Shillings have not been so plentiful with me as they once were,
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he remarked. I had no doubt that the gang of ruffs who assaulted
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me had carried off both my hat and the bird. I did not care
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to spend more money in a hopeless attempt to recover them. Very naturally,
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by the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat it.
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To eat it, our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement.
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Yes, it would have been no use to anyone had we not done so.
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But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is about
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the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally. Well.
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Oh, certainly certainly, answered mister Baker, with a sigh of relief.
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Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop and so on
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of your own bird. So if you wish, the man burst into a
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hearty laugh, they might be useful to me as relics of my adventure,
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said he. But beyond that, I can hardly see what use the dejective
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member of my late acquaintance are going to be to me. No, sir,
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I think that, with your permission, I will confine my attentions to
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the excellent bird which I perceive upon the sideboard. Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across
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at me with a slight shrug of his shoulders. There is your hat,
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then, and there your bird, said he. By the way, what
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it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from? I
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am somewhat of a foul fancier, and I have seldom seen a better grown
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goose. Certainly, sir, said Baker, who had risen and tucked his
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newly gained property under his arm. There are a few of us who frequently
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alpha nne near the museum. We are to be found in the museum itself
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during the day. You understand. This year, our good host, Windygate
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by name, instituted a goose club, by which, on consideration of some
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few pence every week, we were each to receive a bird at Christmas.
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My pence were duly paid, and the rest is familiar to you. I
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am much indebted to you, sir, for a Scotch bonnet is fitted neither
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to my years nor my gravity. With a comical pomposity of manner, he
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bowed solemnly to both of us, and strode off upon his way. So
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much for mister Henry Baker, said Holmes, when he had closed the door
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behind him. It is quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter.
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Are you hungry, Watson, not particularly? Then? I suggest that
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we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is
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still hot. Yes, by all means. It was a bitter night,
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so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats around our throats. Outside,
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the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the
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passers by blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang
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out crisply and loudly as we swung through the Doctor's Quarter, Wimpole Street,
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Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into Oxford Street. In a quarter
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of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the Alpha Inn, which is a
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small public house at the corner of one of the streets that runs down into
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Holborn. Holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses
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of beer from the ruddy faced, white aproned landlord. Your beer should be
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excellent if it is as good as your geese, said he my geese.
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The man seems surprised. Yes, I was speaking only half an hour ago
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to mister Henry Baker, who was a member of your goose club. Ah,
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yes, I see, But you see, sir, them's not our
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geese. Indeed, who's then? Well, I got the two dozen from
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a salesman in Covent Garden. Indeed I know some of them. Which one
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was it? Breckinridge is his name? Ah? I don't know him.
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Well, here's your good health, Landlord, and prosperity to your house.
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Good night now for mister Breckinridge. He continued buttoning up his coat as we
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came into the frosty air. Remember Watson, that though we have so homely
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a thing as a goose, at one end of this chain, we have
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at the other a man who will certainly get seven years penal servitude unless we
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can establish his innocence. It is possible that our inquiry may but confirm his
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guilt. But in any case we have a line of investigation which has been
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missed by the police, and which a singular chance has placed into our hands.
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Let us follow it out to the bitter end faces to the south.
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Then, and quick march we passed across Holborn down Dull Street, and so
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threw a zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest stalls
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bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor, a horsey looking
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man with a sharp face and trim side whiskers, was helping a boy to
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put up the shutters. Good evening, it's a cold night, said Holmes.
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The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion sold out of
24:25
geese. I see, continued Holmes, pointing at the bare slabs of marble,
24:30
that you have five hundred tomorrow morning. That's no good. Well,
24:34
there are some on the stall with the gas flare. Ah. But I
24:37
was recommended to you Huby, the landlord of the Alpha. Oh, yes,
24:42
I sent him a couple of dozen fine birds. They were too Now
24:48
where did you get them from? To my surprise, the question provoked a
24:51
burst of anger from the salesman. Now, then, mister said he,
24:55
with his head cocked in his arms. Akimbo, what are you driving at?
24:59
Let's have it straight now out, it's straight enough. I should like
25:02
to know who sold you the geese which you supplied to the Alpha. Well,
25:06
then I shan't tell you so now, Oh, it's a matter of
25:10
no importance. But I don't know why you should be so warm over such
25:14
a trifle. Warm. You'd be as warm maybe if you were pestered as
25:18
I am. When I pay good money for a good article, there should
25:22
be an end of the business. But it's where the geese? And who
25:23
did you sell the geese to? And what will you take for the geese?
25:26
One would think they're the only geese in the world to hear the fuss
25:30
that's made over them. Well, I have no connection with any other people
25:33
who have been making inquiries, said Holmes carelessly. If you won't tell us,
25:38
the BET's off, that's all. But I'm always ready to back my
25:41
opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiber on it that
25:45
the bird I ate is country bread. Well, then you've lost your fiber,
25:48
for it's town bread, snapped the salesman. It's nothing of the kind
25:52
I say it is. I don't believe it. Do you think you know
25:56
more about fowls than I, who have handled them every since I was a
26:00
nipper. I tell you all those birds that went to the Alpha were town
26:03
bred. You'll never persuade me to believe that, will you. Bet,
26:07
then it's merely taking your money, for I know that I am right.
26:11
But I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to
26:15
be obstinate. The salesman chuckled grimly. Bring me the books, bill,
26:19
said he. The small boy brought round a small, thin volume and a
26:23
great greasy backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging light. Now
26:29
then, mister cocksure, said the salesman. I thought that I was out
26:33
of geese, but before I finish, you'll find that there's still one left
26:37
in my shop. You see this little book, Well, that's the list
26:41
of the folk from whom I buy. You see, well, then here
26:45
on this page of the country folk, and the numbers after the names are
26:48
where their accounts are in the big ledger. Now then you see this other
26:52
page in read ink. Well that's a list of my town suppliers. Now
26:56
look at that third name. Just read it out to me, Missus Oakshot
27:00
one seventeen Brixton Road, two forty nine, read Holmes. Quite so,
27:07
now turn that up in the ledger. Holmes turned to the page indicated There
27:11
you are, missus Oakshot one seventeen Brixton Road, Egg and poultry supplier.
27:18
Now then, what's the last entry? December twenty second, twenty four geese
27:22
at seven shillings sixpence. Quite so, there you are, and underneath sold
27:27
to mister Windygate of the Alpha at twelve shillings. What do you have to
27:33
say now, Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from his
27:38
pocket, and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the air
27:41
of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off
27:45
he stopped under a lamp post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless fashion which
27:49
was peculiar to him. When you see a man with whiskers of that cut
27:53
and the pink un protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him
27:57
by a bet, said he. I dare say that if I had put
28:02
a hundred pounds down in front of him, that man would not have given
28:04
me such complete information as was drawn from him by the idea that he was
28:07
doing me on a wager. Well, Watson, we are I fancy nearing
28:12
the end of our quest, and the only point which remains to be determined
28:15
is whether we should go on to this missus oakshot to night, or whether
28:18
we should reserve it for tomorrow. It is clear from what that surly fellow
28:22
said that there are others besides ourselves who are anxious about this matter, and
28:26
I should His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out
28:32
from the stall which we had just left. Turning round, we saw a
28:34
little rat faced fellow standing in the center of the circle of yellow light which
28:38
was thrown by the swinging lamp, while Breckinridge, the salesman framed in the
28:42
door of his stall, was shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure.
28:47
I've got enough of you and your geese, he shouted. I wish you
28:51
were all at the Devil together. If you come pestering me any more with
28:53
your silly talk, I'll set the dog at you. You bring Missus Oakshot
28:57
here and I'll answer to her. But what do you have to do with
29:00
it? Did I buy the geese off you? No, but one of
29:03
them was mine all the same, whined the little man. Well, then
29:07
ask Missus Oakshott for it. She told me to ask you where you can
29:11
ask the King of Prussia for all I care. I've had enough of it.
29:15
Get out o this, he rushed fiercely forward, and the inquirer flitted
29:18
away into the darkness. Huh, this may save us a visit to Brixton
29:22
Road, whispered Holmes. Come with me and we will see what is to
29:26
be made of this fellow striding through the scattered knots of people who lounged round
29:30
the flaring stalls. My companion speedily overtook the little man and touched him upon
29:34
the shoulder. He sprang round, and I could see in the gas light
29:38
that every vestige of color had been driven from his face. Who are you
29:42
then? What do you want? He asked in a quavering voice. You
29:47
will excuse me, said Sherlock Holmes blandly, But I could not help overhearing
29:52
the questions which you put to the salesman. Just now, I think that
29:55
I could be of assistance to you. You Who are you? How could
29:59
you know any of the matter? My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is
30:03
my business to know what other people don't know. But you can know nothing
30:07
of this. Excuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavoring
30:11
to trace some geese which were sold by missus Oakshot of Brixton Road to a
30:15
salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to mister Windegate of the Alpha,
30:19
and by him to his club of which mister Henry Baker is a member.
30:25
Oh sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet,
30:26
cried the little fellow, with outstretched arms and quivering fingers. I can hardly
30:32
explain to you how interested I am in this matter. Sherlock Holmes hailed a
30:36
four wheeler which was passing. In that case, we had better discuss it
30:40
in a cozy room rather than in this wind swept market place, said he.
30:44
But pray tell me before we go further. Who is it that I
30:47
have the pleasure of assisting? The man hesitated for an instant. My name
30:52
is John Robinson, he answered, with a sidelong glance. No, No,
30:56
the real name, said Holmes sweetly. It is always awkward doing business
31:02
with an alias. A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger.
31:07
Well, then said he, My real name is James Rider. Precisely so,
31:11
head attendant of the hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray step into the cab, and
31:15
I shall soon be able to tell you everything which you would wish to know.
31:21
The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with half
31:23
frightened, half hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure whether he is
31:27
on the verge of a windfall or a catastrophe. Then he stepped into the
31:32
cab, and in half an hour we were back in the sitting room at
31:33
Baker Street. Nothing had been said during our drive. But the high,
31:37
thin breathing of our new companion in the claspings and unclaspings of his hands spoke
31:42
of the nervous tension within him. Here we are, said Holmes cheerily,
31:48
as we filed into the room. The fire looks very seasonable in this weather.
31:52
You look cold, mister Rider. Pray take the basket chair. I
31:56
will just put on my slippers before we settle this little matter of yours.
32:00
Now, then you want to know what became of those geese, yes,
32:04
sir, Or rather I fancy of that goose. It was one bird I
32:07
imagine in which you were interested, white with a black bar across the tail.
32:13
Rider quivered with emotion. Oh, sir, he cried, Can you
32:16
tell me where it went to? It came here here? Yes, and
32:22
a most remarkable bird, it proved. I don't wonder that you should take
32:27
an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was dead, the
32:30
bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. I have it here
32:34
in my museum, our visitors. Staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece
32:39
with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong box and held up the blue
32:45
carbuncle, which shone out like a star with a cold, brilliant, many
32:47
pointed radiance. Rider stood glaring with a drawn face, uncertain whether to claim
32:53
or to disown it. The game's up, Rider, said Holmes quietly.
32:58
Hold up, man, or you'll be into the fire. Give him an
33:00
arm back into his chair, Watson, he's not got blood enough to go
33:04
in for felony with impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So now
33:08
he looks a little more human. What a shrimp it is, to be
33:12
sure. For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen. But the brandy
33:16
brought a tinge of color into his cheeks, and he sat staring with frightened
33:20
eyes at his accuser. I have almost every link in my hands, and
33:24
all the proofs which I could possibly need, So there is little which you
33:28
need. Tell me still, that little may as well be cleared up to
33:31
make your case complete. You had heard Rider of this blue stone, of
33:35
the Countess of more Cars. It was Katherine Cousac who told me of it,
33:39
said he, in a crackling voice. I see her Ladyship's waiting maid.
33:45
Well, the temptation of sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for
33:49
you, as it has been for better men before you. But you were
33:52
not very scrupulous, and the means you used it seems to me writer that
33:55
there is the making of a very pretty villain in you. You knew that
34:00
this man Horner the plumber, had been concerned in some such matter before,
34:04
and that suspicion would rest more readily upon him. What did you do?
34:07
Then? You made some small job in my lady's room, you and your
34:10
confederate Cusack, and you managed that he should be the man sent for.
34:15
And then when he had left, you rifled the jewel case, raised the
34:19
alarm, and had this unfortunate man arrested. You. Then Rider threw himself
34:23
down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companion's knees. For God's sake,
34:28
have mercy, he shrieked. Think of my father, of my mother.
34:31
It would break their hearts. I never went wrong before, I never
34:36
will again. I swear it. I swear it on a bible. Oh
34:38
don't bring it into court. For Christ's sake, don't get back into your
34:44
chair, said Holmes sternly. It is very well to cringe and crawl now,
34:47
But you thought little enough of this poor Horner in the dock for a
34:51
crime of which he knew nothing. I I will fly, mister Holmes,
34:54
I will leave the country, sir. Then the charge against him will break
34:58
down. HM. We will talk about that. And now let us hear
35:02
a true account of the next act. How came the stone into the goose,
35:07
and how came the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth,
35:10
for there lies your only hope and safety. Rider passed his tongue over
35:15
his parched lips. I will tell you it just as it happened, sir,
35:20
said he. When Horner had been arrested, it seemed to me that
35:23
it would be best for me to get away with the stone at once,
35:27
for I did not know at what moment the police might not take it into
35:30
their heads to search me and my room. There was no place about the
35:32
hotel where it would be safe. I made out, as if on some
35:37
commission, and I made for my sister's house. She had married a man
35:39
named Oakshot and lived in Brixton Road, where she fattened fowls for the market.
35:45
All the way there, every man I met seemed to me to be
35:47
a policeman or a detective, and for all that it was a cold night,
35:52
the sweat was pouring down my face. Before I came to the Brixton
35:54
Road. My sister asked me what was the matter and why I was so
35:59
pale, But I told her that I had been upset by the jewel robbery
36:01
at the hotel. Then I went back into the backyard and smoked a pipe
36:06
and wondered what would be the best to do. I had a friend once
36:09
called Maudsley, who went to the bad and had just been serving his time
36:15
in Pentonville. One day he had met me and fallen to talk about the
36:19
way of thieves and how they could get rid of what they stole. I
36:22
knew that he would be true to me, for I knew one or two
36:24
things about him. So I made up my mind to go right on to
36:28
Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my confidence. He would
36:31
show me how to turn the stone into money, but how to get to
36:35
him in safety. I thought of the agonies I had gone through, and
36:37
coming from the hotel, I might at any moment be seized and searched,
36:42
and there would be the stone in my waistcoat pocket. I was leaning against
36:45
the wall at the time and looking at the geese which were waddling about round
36:49
my feet, and suddenly an idea came into my head which showed me how
36:52
I could beat the best detective that ever lived. My sister had told me
36:57
some weeks before that I might have the pick of her geese for a Christmas
37:00
present, and I knew that she was always as good as her word.
37:04
I could take my goose now, and in it I would carry my stone
37:07
to Kilburn. There was a little shed in the yard, and behind this
37:10
I drove one of the birds, a fine, big one, white with
37:14
a barred tail. I caught it, and prising its bill opened, I
37:17
thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger could reach. The
37:21
bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass along its gullet and
37:24
down into its crop. But the creature flapped and struggled, and out came
37:29
my sister to know what was the matter. As I turned to speak to
37:31
her, the brute broke loose and fluttered off among the others. Whatever were
37:37
you doing with that bird, Jim, says, she well said, I
37:40
you said you'd give me one for Christmas. And I was feeling which was
37:44
the fattest Oh says she. We've set yours aside for you, Jem's bird,
37:49
we call it. It's the big white one over yonder. There's twenty
37:52
six of them, which makes one for you and one for us, and
37:54
two dozen for the market. Thank you, Maggie, says I. But
37:58
if it's all the same to you, I'd rather have that one I was
38:00
handling just now. The other is a good three pounds heavier, said she,
38:05
and we fattened it expressly for you. Never mind, I'll have the
38:08
other, and I'll take it now, said I. Oh, just as
38:13
you like, said she a little huffed. Which is it you want,
38:15
then, that white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of
38:19
the flock, Oh, very well, kill it and take it with you.
38:23
Well. I did what she had, said, mister Holmes, and
38:25
I carried the bird all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what
38:29
I had done, for he was a man that it was easy to tell
38:31
a thing like that too. He laughed until he choked, and we got
38:36
a knife and opened the goose. My heart turned to water, for there
38:38
was no sign of the stone, and I knew that some terrible mistake had
38:42
occurred. I left the bird rushed back to my sisters and hurried into the
38:45
back yard. There was not a bird to be seen there. Where are
38:51
they all, Maggie, I cried, gone to the dealer's Jim, which
38:54
dealers Breckinridge of Covent Garden. But was there another with a barred taale?
39:00
I asked, the same as the one I chose. Yes, Jim,
39:04
there were two barred tailed ones, and I could never tell them apart.
39:07
Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off
39:09
as hard as my feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge. But he
39:14
had sold the lot at once, and not one word would he tell me
39:15
as to where they had gone. You hurt him yourselves tonight. Well,
39:20
he has always answered me like that. My sister thinks that I'm going mad.
39:24
Sometimes I think that I am myself and now and now I am myself
39:30
a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which I sold my
39:34
character. God help me, God help me. He burst into convulsive sobbing,
39:40
with his face buried in his hands. There was a long silence,
39:45
broken only by his heavy breathing and by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes's finger
39:50
tips upon the edge of the table. Then my friend rose and threw open
39:53
the door. Get out, said he, what sir, Oh, Heaven
40:00
bless you. No more words? Get out, And no more words were
40:02
needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon the stairs, the bang
40:07
of a door, and the crisp rattle of running footfalls from the street.
40:12
After all, Watson said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his clay pipe.
40:15
I am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies. If Horner
40:20
were in danger, it would be another thing. But this fellow will not
40:22
appear against him, and the case must collapse. I suppose that I am
40:25
commuting a felony, but it is just possible that I am saving a soul.
40:30
This fellow will not go wrong again. He is too terribly frightened.
40:35
Send him to Gale now, and you make him a Gale bird for life.
40:37
Besides, it's the season of forgiveness. Chance has put in our way
40:43
a most singular and whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward.
40:47
If you will have the goodness to touch the bell, doctor, we will
40:50
begin another investigation, in which also a bird will be the chief feature.
40:57
End of the Adventure of the Blue carbuncle,