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25 The Empty House from The Return of Sherlock Holme · Sherlock Holmes

0:00
Speaker 1: The adventure of the Empty House. It was in the
0:05
Speaker 1: spring of the year eighteen ninety four that all London
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Speaker 1: was interested, and the fashionable world dismayed by the murder
0:14
Speaker 1: of the Honorable Ronald Adare under most unusual and inexplicable circumstances.
0:22
Speaker 1: The public has already learned those particulars of the crime
0:26
Speaker 1: which came out in the police investigation, But a good
0:29
Speaker 1: deal was suppressed upon that occasion, since the case for
0:33
Speaker 1: the prosecution was so overwhelmingly strong that it was not
0:36
Speaker 1: necessary to bring forward all the facts. Only now, at
0:40
Speaker 1: the end of nearly ten years, am I allowed to
0:43
Speaker 1: supply those missing links which make up the whole of
0:46
Speaker 1: that remarkable chain. The crime was of interest in itself,
0:51
Speaker 1: but that interest was as nothing to me compared to
0:54
Speaker 1: the inconceivable sequel, which afforded me the greatest shock and
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Speaker 1: surprise of any event in my adventurous life. Even now,
1:03
Speaker 1: after this long interval, I find myself thrilling as I
1:06
Speaker 1: think of it, and feeling once more that sudden flood
1:09
Speaker 1: of joy, amazement, and incredulity which utterly submerged my mind.
1:16
Speaker 1: Let me say to that public which has shown some
1:19
Speaker 1: interest in those glimpses which I have occasionally given them
1:22
Speaker 1: of the thoughts and actions of a very remarkable man.
1:25
Speaker 1: That they are not to blame me if I have
1:27
Speaker 1: not shared my knowledge with them, for I should have
1:30
Speaker 1: considered it my first duty to do so, had I
1:33
Speaker 1: not been barred by a positive prohibition from his own lips,
1:37
Speaker 1: which was only withdrawn upon the third of last month.
1:41
Speaker 1: It can be imagined that my close intimacy with Sherlock
1:44
Speaker 1: Holmes had interested me deeply in crime, and that after
1:49
Speaker 1: his disappearance I never failed to read with care the
1:52
Speaker 1: various problems which came before the public, and I even
1:56
Speaker 1: attempted more than once, for my own private satisfaction, to
2:00
Speaker 1: employ his methods in their solution, though with indifferent success.
2:06
Speaker 1: There was none, however, which appealed to me like this
2:09
Speaker 1: tragedy of Ronald Adare. As I read the evidence at
2:13
Speaker 1: the inquest which led up to a verdict of wilful
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Speaker 1: murder against some person or persons unknown, I realized more
2:22
Speaker 1: clearly than I had ever done, the loss which the
2:25
Speaker 1: community had sustained by the death of Sherlock Holmes. There
2:30
Speaker 1: were points about this strange business which would, I was sure,
2:34
Speaker 1: have specially appealed to him, and the efforts of the
2:37
Speaker 1: police would have been supplemented, or more probably anticipated by
2:42
Speaker 1: the trained observation and the alert mind of the first
2:45
Speaker 1: criminal agent in Europe. All day, as I drove upon
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Speaker 1: my round, I turned over the case in my mind
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Speaker 1: and found no explanation which appeared to me to be adequate.
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Speaker 1: But the risk of telling are twice told tale, I
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Speaker 1: will recapitulate the facts as they were known to the
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Speaker 1: public at the conclusion of the inquest. The Honorable Ronald
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Speaker 1: Adare was the second son of the Earl of Maynooth,
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Speaker 1: at that time governor of one of the Australian colonies.
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Speaker 1: Adair's mother had returned from Australia to undergo the operation
3:20
Speaker 1: for cataract, and she, her son Ronald, and her daughter
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Speaker 1: Hilda were living together at four hundred and twenty seven
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Speaker 1: part Lane. The youth moved in the best society had
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Speaker 1: so far as was known, no enemies and no particular vices.
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Speaker 1: He had been engaged to Miss Edith Woodley of Carstairs,
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Speaker 1: but the engagement had been broken off by mutual consent
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Speaker 1: some months before, and there was no sign that it
3:47
Speaker 1: had left any very profound feeling behind it. For the
3:52
Speaker 1: rest the man's life moved in a narrow and conventional circle,
3:57
Speaker 1: for his habits were quiet and his nature unemotional. Yet
4:03
Speaker 1: it was upon this easy going young aristocrat that death
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Speaker 1: came in most strange and unexpected form between the hours
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Speaker 1: of ten and eleven thirty on the night of March thirtieth,
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Speaker 1: eighteen ninety four. Ronald Adare was fond of cards, playing continually,
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Speaker 1: but never for such stakes as would hurt him. He
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Speaker 1: was a member of the Baldwin, the Cavendish, and the
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Speaker 1: Bagatelle card clubs. It was shown that after dinner on
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Speaker 1: the day of his death he had played a rubber
4:34
Speaker 1: of whist at the latter club. He had also played
4:38
Speaker 1: there in the afternoon. The evidence of those who had
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Speaker 1: played with him, Mister Murray, Sir John Hardy and Colonel Moran,
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Speaker 1: showed that the game was whist, and that there was
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Speaker 1: a fairly equal fall of the cards. A Dare might
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Speaker 1: have lost five pounds, but not more. His fortune was
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Speaker 1: a considerable one, and such a loss could not in
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Speaker 1: any way effect him. He had played nearly every day
5:03
Speaker 1: at one club or other, but he was a cautious
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Speaker 1: player and usually rose a winner. It came out in
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Speaker 1: evidence that in partnership with Colonel Moran, he had actually
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Speaker 1: won as much as four hundred and twenty pounds in
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Speaker 1: a sitting some weeks before from Godfrey Milner and Lord Balmoral.
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Speaker 1: So much for his recent history, as it came out
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Speaker 1: of the inquest. On the evening of the crime, he
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Speaker 1: returned from the club exactly at ten. His mother and
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Speaker 1: sister were out spending the evening with a relation. The
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Speaker 1: servant deposed that she heard him enter the front room
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Speaker 1: on the second floor, generally used as his sitting room.
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Speaker 1: She had lit a fire there, and as it smoked,
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Speaker 1: she had opened the window. No sound was heard from
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Speaker 1: the room until eleven twenty, the hour of the return
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Speaker 1: of Lady Maynooth and her daughter. Desiring to say good night,
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Speaker 1: she attempted to enter her son's room. The door was
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Speaker 1: locked on the inside and no answer could be got
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Speaker 1: to their cries and knocking, help was obtained and the
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Speaker 1: door forced. The unfortunate young man was found lying near
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Speaker 1: the table. His head had been horribly mutilated by an
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Speaker 1: expanding revolver bullet, but no weapon of any sort was
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Speaker 1: to be found in the room. On the table lay
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Speaker 1: two bank notes for ten pounds each, and seventeen pounds
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Speaker 1: ten in silver and gold, the money arranged in little
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Speaker 1: piles of varying amount. There were some figures also upon
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Speaker 1: a sheet of paper, with the names of some club
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Speaker 1: friends opposite to them, from which it was conjectured that
6:40
Speaker 1: before his death he was endeavoring to make out his
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Speaker 1: losses or winnings at cards. A minute examination of the
6:48
Speaker 1: circumstances served only to make the case more complex. In
6:53
Speaker 1: the first place, no reason could be given why the
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Speaker 1: young man should have fastened the door upon the inside.
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Speaker 1: There was the possibility that the murderer had done this
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Speaker 1: and had afterwards escaped by the window. The drop was
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Speaker 1: at least twenty feet, however, and a bed of crocuses
7:09
Speaker 1: in full bloom lay beneath. Neither the flowers nor the
7:13
Speaker 1: earth showed any signs of having been disturbed, nor were
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Speaker 1: there any marks upon the narrow strip of grass which
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Speaker 1: separated the house from the road. Apparently, therefore it was
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Speaker 1: the young man himself who had fastened the door. But
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Speaker 1: how did he come by his death? No one could
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Speaker 1: have climbed up to the window without leaving traces. Suppose
7:36
Speaker 1: a man had fired through the window. He would indeed
7:39
Speaker 1: be a remarkable shot, who could with a revolver inflict
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Speaker 1: so deadly a wound. Again, Park Lane is a frequented thoroughfare.
7:48
Speaker 1: There is a cab stand within a hundred yards of
7:50
Speaker 1: the house. No one had heard a shot, and yet
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Speaker 1: there was the dead man. And there the revolver bullet
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Speaker 1: which had mushroomed out as soft nosed bullets will, and
8:03
Speaker 1: so inflicted a wound which must have caused instantaneous death.
8:08
Speaker 1: Such were the circumstances of the Park Lane mystery, which
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Speaker 1: were further complicated by entire absence of motive, since, as
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Speaker 1: I have said, young Adare was not known to have
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Speaker 1: any enemy, and no attempt had been made to remove
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Speaker 1: the money.
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Speaker 2: Or valuables in the room.
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Speaker 1: All day I turned these facts over in my mind,
8:31
Speaker 1: endeavoring to hit upon some theory which could reconcile them all,
8:35
Speaker 1: and to find that line of least resistance which my
8:38
Speaker 1: poor friend had declared to be the starting point of
8:40
Speaker 1: every investigation. I confess that I made little progress. In
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Speaker 1: the evening, I strolled across the park and found myself
8:49
Speaker 1: about six o'clock at the Oxford Street end of Park Lane,
8:54
Speaker 1: a group of loafers upon the pavements, all staring up
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Speaker 1: at a particular window. Directed me to the house which
9:00
Speaker 1: I had come to see. A tall, thin man with
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Speaker 1: colored glasses, whom I strongly suspected of being a plain
9:08
Speaker 1: clothes detective, was pointing out some theory of his own,
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Speaker 1: while the others crowded round to listen to what he said.
9:16
Speaker 1: I got as near him as I could, but his
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Speaker 1: observation seemed to me to be absurd, so I withdrew
9:23
Speaker 1: again in some disgust. As I did so, I struck
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Speaker 1: against an elderly deformed man who had been behind me,
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Speaker 1: and I knocked down several books which he was carrying.
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Speaker 1: I remembered that as I picked them up, I observed
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Speaker 1: the title of one of them, the Origin of tree Worship,
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Speaker 1: and it struck me that the fellow must be some
9:44
Speaker 1: poor bibliophile who, either as a trade or as a hobby,
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Speaker 1: was a collector of obscure volumes. I endeavored to apologize
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Speaker 1: for the accident, but it was evident that these books,
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Speaker 1: which I had so unfortunately maltreated, were very pre vicious
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Speaker 1: objects in the eyes of their owner. With a snarl
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Speaker 1: of contempt, he turned upon his heel, and I saw
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Speaker 1: his curved back and white side whiskers disappear among the throng.
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Speaker 1: My observations of number four hundred and twenty seven Park
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Speaker 1: Lane did little to clear up the problem in which
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Speaker 1: I was interested. The house was separated from the street
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Speaker 1: by a low wall and railing, the hole not more
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Speaker 1: than five feet high. It was perfectly easy, therefore, for
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Speaker 1: anyone to get into the garden, but the window was
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Speaker 1: entirely inaccessible, since there was no water pipe or anything
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Speaker 1: which could help the most active man to climb it.
10:40
Speaker 1: More puzzled than ever, I retraced my steps to Kensington.
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Speaker 1: I had not been in my study five minutes when
10:47
Speaker 1: the maid entered to say that a person desired to
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Speaker 1: see me. To my astonishment, it was none other than
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Speaker 1: my strange old book collector, his sharp, wizened face peering
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Speaker 1: out from a frame of white hair, and his precious volumes,
11:02
Speaker 1: a dozen of them at least wedged under his right arm.
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Speaker 1: You're surprised to see me, sir, said he in a
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Speaker 1: strange croaking voice. I acknowledge that I was.
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Speaker 2: Well.
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Speaker 1: I've a conscience, sir, and when I chanced to see
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Speaker 1: you go into this house as I came hobbling after you.
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Speaker 1: I thought to myself, I'll just step in and see
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Speaker 1: that kind gentleman and tell him that if I was
11:27
Speaker 1: a bit gruff in my manner, that there was not
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Speaker 1: any harm meant, and that I'm much obliged to him
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Speaker 1: for picking up my books. You make too much of
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Speaker 1: a trifle, said I. May I ask how you knew
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Speaker 1: who I was. Well, sir, if it isn't too great
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Speaker 1: a liberty, I am a neighbor of yours, for you'll
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Speaker 1: find my little bookshop at the corner of Church Street,
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Speaker 1: and very happy.
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Speaker 2: To see you.
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Speaker 1: I am sure maybe you collect yourself, sir. Here's British
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Speaker 1: Birds and Catullus and the Holy War A bargain, every
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Speaker 1: one of them with five volumes. You could just fill
12:03
Speaker 1: that gap on that second shelf. It looks untidy as
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Speaker 1: it not. So I moved my head to look at
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Speaker 1: the cabinet behind me. When I turned again, Sherlock Holmes,
12:15
Speaker 1: whilst standing smiling at me across my studied table. I
12:20
Speaker 1: rose to my feet, stared at him for some seconds
12:24
Speaker 1: in utter amazement. And then it appears that I must
12:28
Speaker 1: have fainted for the first and the last time in
12:31
Speaker 1: my life certainly. A gray mist swirled before my eyes,
12:37
Speaker 1: and when it cleared, I found my collar ends undone
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Speaker 1: and the tingling after taste of brandy upon my lips.
12:46
Speaker 1: Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in his hand.
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Speaker 1: My dear Watson, said the well remembered voice, I owe
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Speaker 1: you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you
12:56
Speaker 1: would be so affected.
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Speaker 2: I gripped him by the arms.
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Speaker 1: Holmes, I cried, is it really you? Can it indeed
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Speaker 1: be that you are alive? Is it possible that you've
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Speaker 1: succeeded in climbing out of that awful abyss? Wait a moment,
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Speaker 1: said he Are you sure that you are really fit
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Speaker 1: to discuss things? I have given you a serious shock
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Speaker 1: by my unnecessarily dramatic reappearance. I'm all right, But indeed, Holmes,
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Speaker 1: I can hardly believe my eyes. Good Heavens to think
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Speaker 1: that you, you, of all men, should be standing in
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Speaker 1: my study again. I gripped him by the sleeve and
13:33
Speaker 1: felt the thin, sinewy arm beneath it. Well, you're not
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Speaker 1: a spirit, anyhow, said I, my dear chap. I'm overjoyed
13:41
Speaker 1: to see you sit down and tell me how you
13:45
Speaker 1: came alive.
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Speaker 2: Out of that dreadful chasm.
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Speaker 1: He sat opposite to me and lit a cigarette in
13:51
Speaker 1: his old, nonchalant manner. He was dressed in the seedy
13:56
Speaker 1: frock coat of the book merchant, but the rest of
13:59
Speaker 1: that individ jewell lay in a pile of white hair
14:02
Speaker 1: and old books upon the table. Holmes looked even thinner
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Speaker 1: and keener than of old. But there was a dead
14:10
Speaker 1: white tinge in his aquiline face which told me that
14:14
Speaker 1: his life recently had not been a healthy one. I
14:18
Speaker 1: am glad to stretch myself, Watson said he. It is
14:23
Speaker 1: no joke when a tall man has to take a
14:25
Speaker 1: foot off his stature for several hours on end. Now,
14:29
Speaker 1: my dear fellow, in the matter of these explanations we have,
14:33
Speaker 1: if I may ask for your co operation a hard
14:36
Speaker 1: and dangerous night's work in front of us, Perhaps it
14:39
Speaker 1: would be better if I gave you an account of
14:41
Speaker 1: the whole situation when that work is finished. I am
14:45
Speaker 1: full of curiosity. I should much prefer to hear it.
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Speaker 2: Now.
14:50
Speaker 1: You'll come with me to night when you like, and
14:53
Speaker 1: where you like. This is indeed like the old days.
14:57
Speaker 1: We shall have time for a mouthful of dinner before
14:59
Speaker 1: we need well then about that chasm, I had no
15:05
Speaker 1: serious difficulty in getting out fit for the very simple
15:09
Speaker 1: reason that I was never in it. You will never
15:12
Speaker 1: in it, no, Watson, I never was in it. My
15:16
Speaker 1: note to you was absolutely genuine. I had little doubt
15:19
Speaker 1: that I had come to the end of my career
15:22
Speaker 1: when I perceived the somewhat sinister figure of the late
15:25
Speaker 1: Professor Moriarti standing upon the narrow pathway which led to safety.
15:30
Speaker 1: I read an inexorable purpose in his gray eyes. I
15:35
Speaker 1: exchanged some remarks with him therefore, and obtained his courteous
15:39
Speaker 1: permission to write the short note, which you afterwards received.
15:43
Speaker 1: I left it with my cigarette box and my stick,
15:46
Speaker 1: and I walked along the pathway Moriarti still at my heels.
15:51
Speaker 1: When I reached the end, I stood at bay. He
15:55
Speaker 1: drew no weapon, but he rushed at me and threw
15:57
Speaker 1: his long arms around me. He knew that his own
16:01
Speaker 1: game was up, and was only anxious to revenge himself
16:04
Speaker 1: upon me. We tottered together upon the brink of the fall.
16:10
Speaker 1: I have some knowledge, however, of bartsu, or the Japanese
16:14
Speaker 1: system of wrestling, which has more than once been very
16:17
Speaker 1: useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he,
16:20
Speaker 1: with a horrible scream, kicked madly for a few seconds
16:23
Speaker 1: and clawed the air with both his hands. But for
16:27
Speaker 1: all his efforts he could not get his balance, and
16:30
Speaker 1: over he went, with my face over the brink. I
16:33
Speaker 1: saw him fall for a long way. Then he struck
16:37
Speaker 1: a rock, bounded off, and splashed into the water. I
16:42
Speaker 1: listened with amazement to this explanation, which Holmes delivered between
16:46
Speaker 1: the puffs of his cigarette. But the tracks, I cried,
16:50
Speaker 1: I saw with my own eyes the two went down
16:53
Speaker 1: the path, and none returned. It came about in this
16:57
Speaker 1: way the instant that the pfessor had disappeared. It struck
17:02
Speaker 1: me what a really extraordinarily lucky chance fate had placed
17:06
Speaker 1: in my way. I knew that Moriarty was not the
17:09
Speaker 1: only man who had sworn my death. There were at
17:13
Speaker 1: least three others whose desire for vengeance upon me would
17:16
Speaker 1: only be increased by the death of their leader. They
17:19
Speaker 1: were all most dangerous men. One or other would certainly
17:24
Speaker 1: get me. On the other hand, if all the world
17:27
Speaker 1: was convinced that I was dead, they would take liberties.
17:30
Speaker 1: These men, they would soon lay themselves open, and sooner
17:34
Speaker 1: or later I could destroy them. Then it would be
17:37
Speaker 1: time for me to announce that I was still in
17:39
Speaker 1: the land of the living. So rapidly does the brain
17:42
Speaker 1: act that I believe I had thought this all out
17:44
Speaker 1: before Professor Moriarty had reached the bottom of the reichenbarqu fall.
17:49
Speaker 1: I stood up and examined the rocky wall behind me.
17:53
Speaker 1: In your picturesque account of the matter, which I read
17:56
Speaker 1: with great interest some months later, you assert that the
18:00
Speaker 1: wall was sheer. That was not literally true. A few
18:05
Speaker 1: small footholds presented themselves, and there was some indication of
18:09
Speaker 1: a ledge. The cliff is so high that to climb
18:12
Speaker 1: it all was an obvious impossibility, and it was equally
18:17
Speaker 1: impossible to make my way along the wet path without
18:20
Speaker 1: leaving some tracks. I might, it is true, have reversed
18:23
Speaker 1: my boots, as I have done on similar occasions, but
18:28
Speaker 1: the sight of three sets of tracks in one direction
18:31
Speaker 1: would certainly have suggested a deception on the whole. Then
18:35
Speaker 1: it was best that I should risk the climb. It
18:39
Speaker 1: was not a pleasant business, Watson, the fall roared beneath me.
18:43
Speaker 1: I'm not a fanciful person, but I give you my
18:46
Speaker 1: word that I seemed to hear Mariarty's voice screaming at
18:49
Speaker 1: me out of the abyss. A mistake would have been fatal.
18:54
Speaker 1: More than once, as tufts of grass came out in
18:57
Speaker 1: my hand or my foot slipped in the wet notches
18:59
Speaker 1: of the rock, I thought that I was gone, but
19:03
Speaker 1: I struggled upward, and at last I reached a ledge
19:06
Speaker 1: several feet deep and covered with soft green mass, where
19:10
Speaker 1: I could lie unseen in the most perfect comfort. There
19:14
Speaker 1: I was stretched when you, my dear Watson, and all
19:17
Speaker 1: your following were investigating in the most sympathetic and inefficient manner,
19:22
Speaker 1: the circumstances of my death. At last, when you had
19:27
Speaker 1: all formed your inevitable and totally erroneous conclusions, you departed
19:31
Speaker 1: for the hotel, and I was left alone. I had
19:35
Speaker 1: imagined that I had reached the end of my adventures,
19:38
Speaker 1: but a very unexpected occurrence showed me that there were
19:41
Speaker 1: surprises still in store for me. A huge rock falling
19:46
Speaker 1: from above, boomed past me, struck the path, and bounded
19:49
Speaker 1: over into the chasm. For an instant I thought that
19:53
Speaker 1: it was an accident, but a moment later, looking up,
19:57
Speaker 1: I saw a man's head against the darkening sky, and
20:01
Speaker 1: another stone struck the very ledge upon which I was stretched,
20:04
Speaker 1: within a foot of my head. Of course, the meaning
20:08
Speaker 1: of this was obvious. Moriarty had not been alone a confederate,
20:13
Speaker 1: and even that one glance had told me how dangerous
20:16
Speaker 1: a man that confederate was. Had kept guard while the
20:19
Speaker 1: Professor had attacked me from a distance unseen by me.
20:23
Speaker 1: He had been a witness of his friend's death and
20:25
Speaker 1: of my escape. He had waited, and then, making his
20:29
Speaker 1: way round to the top of the cliff, he had
20:31
Speaker 1: endeavored to succeed where his comrade had failed. I did
20:36
Speaker 1: not take long to think about it.
20:37
Speaker 2: Watson again.
20:38
Speaker 1: I saw that grim face look over the cliff, and
20:41
Speaker 1: I knew that it was the precursor of another stone.
20:44
Speaker 1: I scrambled down on to the path. I don't think
20:48
Speaker 1: I could have done it in cold blood. It was
20:50
Speaker 1: a hundred times more difficult than getting up. But I
20:54
Speaker 1: had no time to think of the danger, for another
20:56
Speaker 1: stone sang past me as I hung by my hands
20:59
Speaker 1: from the edge of the ledge. Half way down, I slipped,
21:02
Speaker 1: but by the blessing of God, I landed, torn and
21:05
Speaker 1: bleeding upon the path. I took to my heels, did
21:09
Speaker 1: ten miles over the mountains in the darkness, and a
21:12
Speaker 1: week later I found myself in Florence, with a certainty
21:16
Speaker 1: that no one in the world knew what had become
21:18
Speaker 1: of me. I had only one confident, my brother, my Craft.
21:25
Speaker 1: I owe you many apologies, my dear Watson, but it
21:28
Speaker 1: was all important that it should be thought I was dead,
21:32
Speaker 1: And it is quite certain that you would not have
21:34
Speaker 1: written so convincing an account of my unhappy end had
21:37
Speaker 1: you not yourself thought that it was true. Several times
21:42
Speaker 1: during the last three years I have taken up my
21:44
Speaker 1: pen to write to you, but always I feared lest
21:46
Speaker 1: your affectionate regard for me should tempt you to some
21:49
Speaker 1: indiscretion which would betray my secret. For that reason, I
21:54
Speaker 1: turned away from you this evening when you upset my books,
21:57
Speaker 1: for I was in danger at the time, and any
21:59
Speaker 1: show of surprise and emotion upon your part might have
22:02
Speaker 1: drawn attention to my identity and led to the most
22:05
Speaker 1: deplorable and irreparable results. As to my Craft, I had
22:10
Speaker 1: to confide in him in order to obtain the money
22:12
Speaker 1: which I needed. The course of events in London did
22:16
Speaker 1: not run so well as I had hoped for the
22:18
Speaker 1: trial of the Moriati gang, left two of its most
22:21
Speaker 1: dangerous members my own most vindictive enemies at liberty. I
22:27
Speaker 1: traveled for two years in Tibet therefore, and amused myself
22:31
Speaker 1: by visiting Lasar and spending some days with the head Lama.
22:37
Speaker 1: You may have read the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian
22:40
Speaker 1: named Sigosum, but I am sure that it never occurred
22:44
Speaker 1: to you that you were receiving news of your friend.
22:47
Speaker 1: I then passed through Persia, looked in at Mecca, and
22:50
Speaker 1: paid a short but interesting visit to the calipher at Khartoumb,
22:56
Speaker 1: the results of which I have communicated to the Foreign Office.
23:00
Speaker 1: Returning to France, I spent some months in a research
23:03
Speaker 1: into the cold tar derivatives, which I conducted in a
23:07
Speaker 1: laboratory at Montpellier in the south of France. Having concluded
23:11
Speaker 1: this to my satisfaction, and learning that only one of
23:14
Speaker 1: my enemies was now left in London, I was about
23:17
Speaker 1: to return when my movements were hastened by the news
23:20
Speaker 1: of this very remarkable Park Lane mystery, which not only
23:25
Speaker 1: appealed to me by its own merits, but which seemed
23:28
Speaker 1: to offer some most peculiar personal opportunities. I came over
23:33
Speaker 1: at once to London, called in my own person at
23:36
Speaker 1: Baker Street, through Missus Hudson, into violent hysterics, and found
23:40
Speaker 1: that my craft had preserved my rooms and my papers
23:43
Speaker 1: exactly as they had always been. So it was my
23:46
Speaker 1: dear Watson, that at two o'clock the day, I found
23:49
Speaker 1: myself in my old arm chair in my old room,
23:52
Speaker 1: and only wishing that I could have seen my old
23:55
Speaker 1: friend Watson in the other chair which here so often adorned.
24:02
Speaker 1: Such was the remarkable narrative to which I listened on
24:05
Speaker 1: that April evening, the narrative which would have been utterly
24:08
Speaker 1: incredible to me had it not been confirmed by the
24:11
Speaker 1: actual sight of the tall, spare figure and the keen,
24:14
Speaker 1: eager face which I had never thought to see again.
24:19
Speaker 1: In some manner, he had learned of my own sad bereavement,
24:24
Speaker 1: and his sympathy was shown in his manner rather than
24:27
Speaker 1: in his words. Work is the best antidote to sorrow,
24:31
Speaker 1: my dear Watson said, he and I have a piece
24:34
Speaker 1: of work for us both to night, which, if we
24:37
Speaker 1: can bring it to a successful conclusion, will in itself
24:40
Speaker 1: justify a man's life. On this planet in vain. I
24:44
Speaker 1: begged him to tell me more. You will hear and
24:47
Speaker 1: see enough before morning. He answered, we have three years
24:51
Speaker 1: of the past to discuss. Let that suffice until half
24:55
Speaker 1: past nine, when we start upon the notable adventure of
24:59
Speaker 1: the Empty House. It was indeed like old times when
25:05
Speaker 1: at that hour I found myself seated beside him in
25:08
Speaker 1: a hansom, my revolver in my pocket, and the thrill
25:12
Speaker 1: of adventure in my heart. Holmes was cold and stern
25:17
Speaker 1: and silent. As the gleam of the street lamps flashed
25:21
Speaker 1: upon his austere features. I saw that his brows were
25:24
Speaker 1: drawn down in thought, and his thin lips compressed. I
25:29
Speaker 1: knew not what wild beast we were about to hunt
25:31
Speaker 1: down in the dark jungle of criminal London, but I
25:35
Speaker 1: was well assured from the bearing of this master huntsman
25:38
Speaker 1: that the adventure was a most grave one. While the
25:42
Speaker 1: sardonic smile which occasionally broke through his ascetic gloom boded
25:46
Speaker 1: little good for the object of our quest. I had
25:51
Speaker 1: imagined that we were bound for Baker Street, but Holmes
25:55
Speaker 1: stopped the cab at the corner of Cavendish Square. I
25:59
Speaker 1: observed as he stepped out. He gave a most searching
26:02
Speaker 1: glance to right and left, and at every subsequent street
26:06
Speaker 1: corner he took the utmost panes to assure that he
26:08
Speaker 1: was not followed. Our route was certainly a singular one.
26:13
Speaker 1: Holmes's knowledge of the byways of London was extraordinary, and
26:18
Speaker 1: on this occasion he passed rapidly and with an assured step,
26:21
Speaker 1: through a network of mews and stables, the very existence
26:24
Speaker 1: of which I had never known. We emerged at last
26:29
Speaker 1: into a small road lined with old, gloomy houses, which
26:32
Speaker 1: led us into Manchester Street, and so to Blandford Street.
26:37
Speaker 1: He turned swiftly down a narrow passage, passed through a
26:40
Speaker 1: wooden gate into a deserted yard, and then opened with
26:43
Speaker 1: a key the back door of a house. We entered together,
26:47
Speaker 1: and he closed it behind us. The place was pitch dark,
26:52
Speaker 1: but it was evident to me that it was an
26:54
Speaker 1: empty house. Our feet creaked and crackled over the bare planking,
27:00
Speaker 1: and my outstretched hand touched a wall from which the
27:02
Speaker 1: paper was hanging in ribbons. Holmes's cold, thin fingers closed
27:07
Speaker 1: round my wrist and led me forward down a long
27:10
Speaker 1: hall until I dimly saw the murky fan light over
27:14
Speaker 1: the door. Here Holmes turned suddenly to the right, and
27:18
Speaker 1: we found ourselves in a large, square, empty room, heavily
27:21
Speaker 1: shadowed in the corners, but faintly lit in the center
27:25
Speaker 1: from the lights of the street beyond. There was no
27:29
Speaker 1: lamp near, and the window was thick with dust, so
27:33
Speaker 1: that we could only just discern each other's figures within.
27:36
Speaker 1: My companion put his hand upon my shoulder and his
27:39
Speaker 1: lips close to my ear. Do you know where we are?
27:44
Speaker 1: He whispered, Surely that is Baker Street, I answered, staring
27:49
Speaker 1: through the dim window. Exactly, we are in Camden House,
27:53
Speaker 1: which stands opposite to our own quarters. But why are
27:57
Speaker 1: we here? Because it commands so eco excellent view of
28:00
Speaker 1: that picturesque pile. Might I trouble you, my dear Watson,
28:04
Speaker 1: to draw a little nearer to the window, taking every
28:07
Speaker 1: precaution not to show yourself, and then to look up
28:10
Speaker 1: at our old rooms, the starting point of so many
28:14
Speaker 1: of your little fairy tales. We will see if my
28:17
Speaker 1: three years of absence have entirely taken away my power
28:20
Speaker 1: to surprise you. I crept forward and looked across at
28:25
Speaker 1: the familiar window. As my eyes fell upon it, I
28:29
Speaker 1: gave a gasp and a cry of amazement. The blind
28:33
Speaker 1: was down, and a strong light was burning in the room.
28:37
Speaker 1: The shadow of a man, who was seated in a
28:39
Speaker 1: chair within was thrown in hard black outline upon the
28:42
Speaker 1: luminous screen of the window. There was no mistaking the
28:46
Speaker 1: poise of the head, the squareness of the shoulders, the
28:49
Speaker 1: sharpness of the features. The face was turned half round,
28:53
Speaker 1: and the effect was that of one of those black
28:56
Speaker 1: silhouettes which our grandparents loved to frame. It was a
29:01
Speaker 1: perfect reproduction of Holmes. So amazed was I that I
29:05
Speaker 1: threw out my hands to make sure that the man
29:07
Speaker 1: himself was standing beside me. He was quivering with silent laughter.
29:13
Speaker 1: Well said he, Good heavens, I cried, it is marvelous.
29:19
Speaker 1: I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale
29:22
Speaker 1: My infinite variety, said he, And I recognized in his
29:27
Speaker 1: voice the joy and pride which the artist takes in
29:30
Speaker 1: his own creation. It really is rather like me, is
29:33
Speaker 1: it not? I should be prepared to swear that it
29:37
Speaker 1: was you. The credit of the execution is due to
29:40
Speaker 1: Monsieur oscar Mernier of Grenoble, who spent some days in
29:44
Speaker 1: doing the molding. It is a bust in wax. The
29:48
Speaker 1: rest I arranged myself during my visit to Baker Street
29:51
Speaker 1: this afternoon. But why because, my dear Watson, I had
29:56
Speaker 1: the strongest possible reason for wishing certain people to think
30:00
Speaker 1: that I was there when I was really elsewhere. And
30:04
Speaker 1: you thought the rooms were watched, I knew that they
30:07
Speaker 1: were watched by whom, by my old enemy's Watson, by
30:12
Speaker 1: the charming society whose leader lies in the Rich and
30:15
Speaker 1: Bach Fall. You must remember that they knew, and only
30:20
Speaker 1: they knew, that I was still alive. Sooner or later
30:24
Speaker 1: they believed that I should come back to my rooms.
30:26
Speaker 1: They watched them continuously, and this morning they saw me arrive.
30:31
Speaker 2: How do you know?
30:33
Speaker 1: Because I recognized their sentinel when I glanced out of
30:36
Speaker 1: my window. He is a harmless enough fellow Parker by name,
30:39
Speaker 1: a Garrotta by trade, and a remarkable performer upon the
30:43
Speaker 1: Jew's harp. I cared nothing for him, But I cared
30:47
Speaker 1: a great deal for the much more formidable person who
30:50
Speaker 1: was behind him, the bosom friend of Mariati, the man
30:54
Speaker 1: who dropped the rocks over the cliff, the most cunning
30:57
Speaker 1: and dangerous criminal in London that is the man who
31:01
Speaker 1: is after me, to night Watson, and that is the
31:04
Speaker 1: man who is quite unaware that we are after him.
31:09
Speaker 1: My friend's plans were gradually revealing themselves from this convenient retreat.
31:15
Speaker 1: The watchers were being watched, and the trackers tracked. That
31:20
Speaker 1: angular shadow up yonder was the bait, and we were
31:23
Speaker 1: the hunters. In silence, we stood together in the darkness
31:28
Speaker 1: and watched the hurrying figures who passed and repassed in
31:31
Speaker 1: front of us. Holmes was silent and motionless, but I
31:36
Speaker 1: could tell that he was keenly alert, and that his
31:39
Speaker 1: eyes were fixed intently upon the stream of passers by.
31:43
Speaker 1: It was a bleak and boisterous night, and the wind
31:45
Speaker 1: whistled shrilly down the long street. Many people were moving
31:49
Speaker 1: to and fro, most of them muffled in their coats
31:52
Speaker 1: and cravats. Once or twice, it seemed to me that
31:56
Speaker 1: I had seen the same figure before, and I especially
32:00
Speaker 1: noticed two men who appeared to be sheltering themselves from
32:03
Speaker 1: the wind in the doorway of a house some distance
32:05
Speaker 1: up the street. I tried to draw my companion's attention
32:09
Speaker 1: to them, but he gave a little ejaculation of impatience
32:14
Speaker 1: and continued to stare into the street. More than once
32:18
Speaker 1: he fidgeted with his feet and tapped rapidly with his
32:21
Speaker 1: fingers upon the wall. It was evident to me that
32:24
Speaker 1: he was becoming uneasy, and that his plans were not
32:28
Speaker 1: working out altogether as he had hoped. At last. As
32:32
Speaker 1: midnight approached and the street gradually cleared, he paced up
32:36
Speaker 1: and down the room in uncontrollable agitation. I was about
32:40
Speaker 1: to make some remark to him when I raised my
32:43
Speaker 1: eyes to the lighted window, and again experienced almost as
32:47
Speaker 1: great a surprise as before. I clutched Holmes's arm and
32:51
Speaker 1: pointed upward. The shadow has moved, I cried. It was
32:56
Speaker 1: indeed no longer the profile, but the back which was
33:00
Speaker 1: turned towards it three years had certainly not smoothed the
33:04
Speaker 1: asperities of his temper or his impatience with a less
33:08
Speaker 1: active intelligence than his own. Of course, it has moved,
33:12
Speaker 1: said he am I such a fascical bungler Watson, that
33:15
Speaker 1: I should erect an obvious dummy and expect that some
33:19
Speaker 1: of the sharpest men in Europe would be deceived by it.
33:23
Speaker 1: We have been in this room two hours, and missus
33:26
Speaker 1: Hudson has made some change in that figure eight times,
33:30
Speaker 1: or once in every quarter of an hour. She works
33:33
Speaker 1: it from the front, so that her shadow may never
33:35
Speaker 1: be seen.
33:37
Speaker 2: Ah.
33:38
Speaker 1: He drew in his breath with a shrill, excited intake.
33:41
Speaker 1: In the dim light, I saw his head thrown forward,
33:44
Speaker 1: his whole attitude rigid with attention. Outside the street was
33:48
Speaker 1: absolutely deserted. Those two men might still be crouching in
33:52
Speaker 1: the doorway, but I could no longer see them. All
33:56
Speaker 1: was still and dark, save only that brilliant yellow screen
34:00
Speaker 1: in front of us, with the black figure outlined upon
34:03
Speaker 1: its center. Again, in the utter silence, I heard that thin,
34:08
Speaker 1: sibilant note which spoke of intense suppressed excitement. An instant
34:13
Speaker 1: later he pulled me back into the blackest corner of
34:15
Speaker 1: the room, and I felt his warning hand upon my lips.
34:20
Speaker 1: The fingers which clutched me were quivering. Never had I
34:24
Speaker 1: known my friend more moved. And yet the dark street
34:27
Speaker 1: still stretched lonely and motionless before us. But suddenly I
34:32
Speaker 1: was aware of that which his keener senses had already distinguished.
34:36
Speaker 1: A low, stealthy sound came to my ears, not from
34:39
Speaker 1: the direction of Baker Street, but from the back of
34:41
Speaker 1: the very house in which we lay concealed. A door
34:45
Speaker 1: opened and shut, and instant later steps crept down the passage,
34:50
Speaker 1: steps which were meant to be silent, but which reverberated
34:53
Speaker 1: harshly through the empty house. Holmes crouched back against the wall,
34:59
Speaker 1: and I did the same, my hand closing upon the
35:02
Speaker 1: handle of my revolver. Peering through the gloom, I saw
35:06
Speaker 1: the vague outline of a man, a shade blacker than
35:09
Speaker 1: the blackness of the open door. He stood for an instant,
35:13
Speaker 1: and then he crept forward, crouching menacing into the room.
35:17
Speaker 1: He was within three yards of us, this sinister figure,
35:21
Speaker 1: and I had braced myself to meet his spring before
35:24
Speaker 1: I realized that he had no idea of our presence.
35:28
Speaker 1: He passed close beside us, stole over to the window,
35:31
Speaker 1: and very softly and noiselessly raised it for half a foot.
35:36
Speaker 1: As he sank to the level of this opening, the
35:39
Speaker 1: light of the street, no longer dimmed by the dusty glass,
35:42
Speaker 1: fell full upon his face. The man seemed to be
35:45
Speaker 1: beside himself with excitement. His two eyes shone like stars,
35:50
Speaker 1: and his features were working convulsively. He was an elderly
35:54
Speaker 1: man with a thin projecting nose, a high bald forehead,
35:57
Speaker 1: and a huge.
35:57
Speaker 2: Grizzled mustache.
36:00
Speaker 1: An opera hat was pushed to the back of his head,
36:03
Speaker 1: and an evening dress shirt front gleamed out through his
36:06
Speaker 1: open overcoat. His face was gaunt and swarthy, scored with
36:10
Speaker 1: deep savage lines. In his hand he carried what appeared
36:14
Speaker 1: to be a stick, but as he laid it down
36:17
Speaker 1: upon the floor, it gave a metallic clang. Then from
36:21
Speaker 1: the pocket of his overcoat he drew a bulky object,
36:24
Speaker 1: and he busied himself in some task, which ended with
36:27
Speaker 1: a loud, sharp click, as if a spring or bolt
36:30
Speaker 1: had fallen into its place. Still kneeling upon the floor,
36:34
Speaker 1: he bent forward and threw all his weight and strength
36:37
Speaker 1: upon some lever, with the result that there came a long, whirling,
36:41
Speaker 1: grinding noise, ending once more in a powerful click. He
36:45
Speaker 1: straightened himself then, and I saw that what he held
36:49
Speaker 1: in his hand was a sort of gun with a
36:51
Speaker 1: curiously misshapen butt. He opened it at the breech, put
36:56
Speaker 1: something in, and snapped the breech lock. Then, crouching down,
36:59
Speaker 1: he rested the end of the barrel upon the ledge
37:02
Speaker 1: of the open window, and I saw his long mustache
37:04
Speaker 1: droop over the stark, and his eye gleam as it
37:08
Speaker 1: peered along the sides. I heard a little sigh of
37:11
Speaker 1: satisfaction as he cuddled the butt into his shoulder and
37:16
Speaker 1: saw that amazing target, the black man on the yellow ground,
37:20
Speaker 1: standing clear at the end of his foresight. For an
37:24
Speaker 1: instant he was rigid and motionless. Then his finger tightened
37:28
Speaker 1: on the trigger. There was a strange loud whiz and
37:32
Speaker 1: a long, silvery tinkle of broken glass. At that instant,
37:37
Speaker 1: Homes sprang like a tiger onto the marksman's back and
37:40
Speaker 1: hurled him flat upon his face. He was up again
37:43
Speaker 1: in a moment, and with convulsive strength he seized Holmes
37:46
Speaker 1: by the throat. But I struck him on the head
37:49
Speaker 1: with the butt of my revolver, and he dropped again
37:51
Speaker 1: upon the floor. I fell upon him, and as I
37:54
Speaker 1: held him, my comrade blew a shrill call upon a whistle.
37:58
Speaker 1: There was a clatter of running feet upon the pavement,
38:01
Speaker 1: and two policemen in uniform, with one plain clothes detective,
38:05
Speaker 1: rushed through the front entrance and into the room that you, lestrade,
38:10
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Yes, mister Holmes, I took the job myself.
38:14
Speaker 1: It's good to see you back in London, sir. I
38:17
Speaker 1: think you want a little unofficial help. Three undetected murders
38:21
Speaker 1: in one year won't do, Lestrade. But you handled the
38:24
Speaker 1: Molesy mystery with less than your usual that's to say
38:28
Speaker 1: you handled it fairly well. We had all risen to
38:32
Speaker 1: our feet, our prisoner breathing hard, with a stalwart constable
38:36
Speaker 1: on each side of him. Already a few loiterers had
38:38
Speaker 1: begun to collect in the street. Holmes stepped up to
38:42
Speaker 1: the window, closed it and dropped the blinds. Lestrade had
38:46
Speaker 1: produced two candles, and the policemen had uncovered their lanterns.
38:51
Speaker 1: I was able at last to have a good look
38:53
Speaker 1: at our prisoner. It was a tremendously virile and yet
38:57
Speaker 1: sinister face which was turned towards us, with the brow
39:02
Speaker 1: of a philosopher above and the draw of a sensualist below.
39:06
Speaker 1: The man must have started with great capacities for good
39:10
Speaker 1: or for evil. But one could not look upon his
39:13
Speaker 1: cruel blue eyes with their drooping cynical lids, or upon
39:17
Speaker 1: the fierce, aggressive nose and the threatening, deep lined brow
39:21
Speaker 1: without reading nature's plainest danger signals. He took no heed
39:26
Speaker 1: of any of us, But his eyes were fixed upon
39:29
Speaker 1: Holmes's face with an expression in which hatred and amazement
39:33
Speaker 1: were equally blended. You fiend, he kept on muttering. You clever,
39:38
Speaker 1: clever fiend, Ah Colonel, said Holmes, arranging his rumpled collar.
39:46
Speaker 1: Journey's end in Lovers Meetings, as the old play says,
39:50
Speaker 1: I don't think I have had the pleasure of seeing
39:52
Speaker 1: you since you favored me with those attentions. As I
39:55
Speaker 1: lay on the ledge above the Reichenbach Fall, the Colonel
39:59
Speaker 1: still stared my friend like a man in a trance.
40:02
Speaker 1: You cunning, cunning fiend, was all that he could say.
40:08
Speaker 1: I have not introduced you yet, said Holmes. This gentleman
40:12
Speaker 1: is Colonel Sebastian Moran, once of Her Majesty's Indian Army,
40:16
Speaker 1: and the best heavy game shot that our Eastern Empire
40:20
Speaker 1: has ever produced. I believe I am correct, Colonel, in
40:23
Speaker 1: saying that your bag of tigers still remains unrivaled. The
40:27
Speaker 1: fierce old man said nothing, but still glared at my companion.
40:32
Speaker 1: With his savage eyes and bristling mustache. He was wonderfully
40:36
Speaker 1: like a tiger himself. I wonder that my very simple
40:40
Speaker 1: stratagem could deceive so old a shikhare, said Holmes. It
40:44
Speaker 1: must be very familiar to you. Have you not tethered
40:47
Speaker 1: a young kid under a tree lain above it with
40:50
Speaker 1: your rifle and waited for the bait to bring up
40:52
Speaker 1: your tiger. This empty house is my tree, and you.
40:56
Speaker 2: Are my tiger.
40:58
Speaker 1: You have possibly had other in reserve, in case there
41:01
Speaker 1: should be several tigers, or in the unlikely supposition of
41:05
Speaker 1: your own aim failing you, these, he pointed around, are
41:10
Speaker 1: my other guns. The parallel is exact. Colonel Moran sprang
41:17
Speaker 1: forward with a snarl of rage, but the constables dragged
41:20
Speaker 1: him back. The fury upon his face was terrible to
41:24
Speaker 1: look at. I confess that you had one small surprise
41:28
Speaker 1: for me, said Holmes. I did not anticipate that you
41:31
Speaker 1: would yourself make use of this empty house and this
41:35
Speaker 1: convenient front window. I had imagined you as operating from
41:39
Speaker 1: the street where my friend Lestrade and his merry men
41:42
Speaker 1: were awaiting you. With that exception, all has gone as
41:46
Speaker 1: I expected. Colonel Moran turned to the official detective. You
41:52
Speaker 1: may or may not have just cause for arresting me,
41:56
Speaker 1: said he, But at least there can be no reason
41:59
Speaker 1: why I should submit to the gibes of this person.
42:02
Speaker 1: If I am in the hands of the law, let
42:04
Speaker 1: things be done in a legal way. Well that's reasonable enough,
42:09
Speaker 1: said Lestrade. Nothing further you have to say, mister Holmes.
42:12
Speaker 1: Before we go, Holmes had picked up the powerful air
42:15
Speaker 1: gun from the floor and was examining its mechanism. An
42:20
Speaker 1: admirable and unique weapon, said he, noiseless and of tremendous power.
42:26
Speaker 1: I knew von Herder, the blind German mechanic who constructed
42:30
Speaker 1: it to the order of the late Professor Moriarty.
42:34
Speaker 2: For years.
42:34
Speaker 1: I have been aware of its existence, though I have
42:37
Speaker 1: never before had the opportunity of handling it. I commend
42:40
Speaker 1: it very specially to your attention, Lestrade, and.
42:43
Speaker 2: Also the bullets which fit it.
42:46
Speaker 1: You can trust us to look after that, mister Holmes,
42:49
Speaker 1: said Lestrade, as the whole party moved.
42:51
Speaker 2: Towards the door.
42:53
Speaker 1: Anything further to say, only to ask what charge you
42:56
Speaker 1: intend to prefer? What charge, sir, why, of course, the
43:00
Speaker 1: attempted murder of mister Sherlock Holmes.
43:03
Speaker 2: Not so, Lestrade.
43:05
Speaker 1: I do not propose to appear in the matter at all.
43:08
Speaker 1: To you, and to you only belongs the credit of
43:11
Speaker 1: the remarkable arrest which you have effected the is Lestrade,
43:15
Speaker 1: I congratulate you with your usual happy mixture of cunning
43:19
Speaker 1: and audacity. You have got him, got him, got home,
43:23
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, the man that the whole force has been
43:26
Speaker 1: seeking in vain. Colonel Sebastian Moran, who shot the Honorable
43:31
Speaker 1: Ronald Adare with an expanding bullet from an air gun
43:35
Speaker 1: through the open window of the second floor front of
43:38
Speaker 1: number four hundred and twenty seven Park Lane, upon the
43:41
Speaker 1: thirtieth of last month. That's the charge, Lestrade. And now Watson,
43:47
Speaker 1: if you can endure the draft from a broken window,
43:50
Speaker 1: I think that half an hour in my study over
43:52
Speaker 1: a cigar may afford you some profitable amusement. Our old
43:58
Speaker 1: chambers have been left unsched changed through the supervision of
44:02
Speaker 1: Mycroft Homes and the immediate care of missus Hudson. As
44:06
Speaker 1: I entered, I saw it is true and unwonted tidiness.
44:10
Speaker 1: But the old landmarks were all in their place. There
44:13
Speaker 1: were the chemical corner and the acid stained deal top table.
44:18
Speaker 1: There Upon a shelf was the row of formidable scrap
44:21
Speaker 1: books and books of reference, which many of our fellow
44:24
Speaker 1: citizens would have been so glad to burn. The diagrams,
44:28
Speaker 1: the violin case, and the pipe rack, even the Persian
44:31
Speaker 1: slipper which contained the tobacco, all met my eyes as
44:35
Speaker 1: I glanced round me. There were two occupants of the room,
44:39
Speaker 1: one Missus Hudson, who beamed upon us both as we entered.
44:43
Speaker 1: The other the strange dummy which had played so important
44:46
Speaker 1: a part in the evening's adventures. It was a wax
44:50
Speaker 1: colored model of my friend, so admirably done that it
44:53
Speaker 1: was a perfect facsimile. It stood on a small pedestal table,
44:59
Speaker 1: with an old dress gown of Holmes's, so draped round
45:02
Speaker 1: it that the illusion from the street was absolutely perfect.
45:07
Speaker 1: I hope you observed all precautions, Missus Hudson, said Holmes.
45:11
Speaker 1: I went to it on my knee, sir, just as
45:13
Speaker 1: you told me.
45:15
Speaker 2: Excellent.
45:16
Speaker 1: You carried the thing out very well. Did you observe
45:19
Speaker 1: where the bullet went? Yes, sir, I'm afraid it has
45:22
Speaker 1: spoilt your beautiful bust, for it passed right through the
45:25
Speaker 1: head and flattened itself on the wall.
45:28
Speaker 2: I picked it up from the carpet. Here it is.
45:31
Speaker 1: Holmes held it out to me, a soft revolver bullet.
45:35
Speaker 2: As you perceive, Watson.
45:36
Speaker 1: There's genius in that, for who would expect to find
45:39
Speaker 1: such a thing fired from an air gun? All right,
45:42
Speaker 1: missus Hudson, I'm much obliged for your assistance. And now, Watson,
45:46
Speaker 1: let me see you in your old seat once more,
45:49
Speaker 1: for there are several points which I should like to
45:51
Speaker 1: discuss with you. He had thrown off the seedy frock coat,
45:55
Speaker 1: and now he was the homes of old in the
45:57
Speaker 1: mouse colored dressing gown, which he took from me his effigy.
46:01
Speaker 1: The old Shikhari's nerves have not lost their steadiness, nor
46:05
Speaker 1: his eyes their keenness, said he with a laugh, as
46:08
Speaker 1: he inspected the shattered forehead of his bust. Plumb in
46:12
Speaker 1: the middle of the back of the head and smack
46:14
Speaker 1: through the brain. He was the best shot in India,
46:18
Speaker 1: and I expect that there are few better in London.
46:21
Speaker 1: Have you heard the name?
46:23
Speaker 2: No, I've not.
46:25
Speaker 1: Well, well, such is fame. But then, if I remember right,
46:28
Speaker 1: you had not heard the name of Professor James Moriati,
46:32
Speaker 1: who had one of the great brains of the Sentry.
46:35
Speaker 1: Just give me down my index of biographies from the shelf.
46:39
Speaker 1: He turned over the pages lazily, leaning back in his
46:42
Speaker 1: chair and blowing great clouds from his cigar. My collection
46:47
Speaker 1: of ems is a fine one, said he. Moriati himself
46:52
Speaker 1: is enough to make any letter illustrious. And here is Morgan,
46:55
Speaker 1: the poisoner, and Merridew of abominable memory, and Matthews who
47:01
Speaker 1: knocked out my left canine in the waiting room at
47:04
Speaker 1: Charing Cross. And finally here is our friend. After night,
47:09
Speaker 1: he handed over the book and I read Moran Sebastian
47:14
Speaker 1: colonel unemployed, formerly first Bangalore Pioneers, born London eighteen forty,
47:22
Speaker 1: son of Sir Augustus Moran c B. Once British Minister
47:26
Speaker 1: to Persia, Educated Eton and Oxford, served in Jowacki Campaign,
47:33
Speaker 1: Afghan Campaign, Chiassiab Dispatches Sherpur and Cabul. Author of Heavy
47:41
Speaker 1: Game of the Western Himalayas eighteen eighty one, three Months
47:45
Speaker 1: in the Jungle eighteen eighty four. Address Conduit Street Clubs,
47:52
Speaker 1: the Anglo Indian, the Tankerville, the Bagatel Card Club. On
47:58
Speaker 1: the margin was written in homes precise hand, the second
48:02
Speaker 1: most dangerous man in London. This is astonishing, said I
48:07
Speaker 1: as I handed back the volume. The man's career is
48:11
Speaker 1: that of an honorable soldier. It is true Holmes answered.
48:15
Speaker 1: Up to a certain point he did well. He was
48:18
Speaker 1: always a man of iron nerve, and the story is
48:21
Speaker 1: still told in India how he crawled down a drain
48:24
Speaker 1: after a wounded man eating tiger. There are some trees, Watson,
48:28
Speaker 1: which grow to a certain height and then suddenly develop
48:32
Speaker 1: some unsightly eccentricity. You will see it often in humans.
48:37
Speaker 1: I have a theory that the individual represents in his
48:40
Speaker 1: development the whole procession of his ancestors, and that such
48:44
Speaker 1: a sudden turn to good or evil stands for some
48:47
Speaker 1: strong influence which came into the line of his pedigree.
48:51
Speaker 1: The person becomes, as it were, the epitome of the
48:55
Speaker 1: history of his own family. It is surely rather fanciful. Well,
49:00
Speaker 1: I don't insist upon it, whatever the cause. Colonel Moran
49:04
Speaker 1: began to go wrong without any open scandal. He still
49:09
Speaker 1: made India too hot to hold him. He retired, came
49:13
Speaker 1: to London, and again acquired an evil name. It was
49:17
Speaker 1: at this time that he was sought out by Professor Moriarty,
49:21
Speaker 1: to whom for a time he was chief of the staff.
49:24
Speaker 1: Moriarti supplied him liberally with money and used him only
49:28
Speaker 1: in one or two very high class jobs which no
49:32
Speaker 1: ordinary criminal could have undertaken. You may have some recollection
49:36
Speaker 1: of the death of Missus Stewart of Lauder in eighteen
49:39
Speaker 1: eighty seven.
49:41
Speaker 2: Not well.
49:43
Speaker 1: I am sure Moran was at the bottom of it,
49:45
Speaker 1: but nothing could be proved. So cleverly was the Colonel
49:49
Speaker 1: concealed that even when the Moriarty gang was broken up,
49:52
Speaker 1: we could not incriminate him. You remember at that date,
49:56
Speaker 1: when I called upon you in your rooms, how I
49:58
Speaker 1: put up the shutters for fear of air guns. No
50:01
Speaker 1: doubt you thought me fanciful. I knew exactly what I
50:04
Speaker 1: was doing, for I knew of the existence of this
50:07
Speaker 1: remarkable gun, and I also knew that one of the
50:10
Speaker 1: best shots in the world would be behind it. When
50:13
Speaker 1: we were in Switzerland, he followed us with Mariati, and
50:17
Speaker 1: it was undoubtedly he who gave me that evil five
50:20
Speaker 1: minutes on the Reichenbach Ledge. You may think that I
50:25
Speaker 1: read the papers with some attention during my sojourn in France,
50:29
Speaker 1: on the lookout for any chance of laying him by
50:31
Speaker 1: the heels. So long as he was free in London,
50:34
Speaker 1: my life would really not have been worth living night
50:38
Speaker 1: and day. The shadow would have been over me, and
50:40
Speaker 1: sooner or later his chance must have come. What could
50:44
Speaker 1: I do? I could not shoot him at sight, or
50:47
Speaker 1: I should myself be in the dark. There was no
50:50
Speaker 1: use appealing to a magistrate. They cannot interfere on the
50:54
Speaker 1: strength of what would appear to them to be a
50:56
Speaker 1: wild suspicion. So I could do nothing. But I watched
51:00
Speaker 1: the criminal news, knowing that sooner or later I should
51:03
Speaker 1: get him. Then came the death of this Ronald Adare.
51:08
Speaker 1: My chance had come at last. Knowing what I did,
51:12
Speaker 1: was it not certain that Colonel Moran had done it?
51:15
Speaker 1: He had played cards with the lad he had followed
51:18
Speaker 1: him home from the club. He had shot him through
51:21
Speaker 1: the open window.
51:23
Speaker 2: There was not a doubt of it.
51:25
Speaker 1: The bullets alone are enough to put his head in
51:27
Speaker 1: a noose. I came over at once. I was seen
51:31
Speaker 1: by the sentinel. Who would I knew, direct the Colonel's
51:34
Speaker 1: attention to my presence. He could not fail to connect
51:38
Speaker 1: my sudden return with his crime, and to be terribly alarmed.
51:42
Speaker 1: I was sure that he would make an attempt to
51:44
Speaker 1: get me out of the way at once, and would
51:47
Speaker 1: bring round his murderous weapon for that purpose. I left
51:51
Speaker 1: him an excellent mark in the window, and, having worn
51:55
Speaker 1: the police that they might be needed by the way, Watson,
51:58
Speaker 1: who spotted their presence in that door with unerring accuracy,
52:02
Speaker 1: I took up what seemed to me to be a
52:04
Speaker 1: judicious post for observation, never dreaming that he would choose
52:08
Speaker 1: the same spot for his attack. Now, my dear Watson,
52:12
Speaker 1: does anything remain for me to explain? Yes, said I,
52:17
Speaker 1: You have not made it clear what was Colonel Moran's
52:19
Speaker 1: motive in murdering the honorable Ronald adare Ah, My dear Watson.
52:25
Speaker 1: There we come into those realms of conjecture where the
52:28
Speaker 1: most logical mind may be at fault. Each may form
52:32
Speaker 1: his own hypothesis upon the present evidence, and yours is
52:35
Speaker 1: as likely to be correct as mine. You have formed one, then,
52:40
Speaker 1: I think that it is not difficult to explain the facts.
52:44
Speaker 1: It came out in evidence that Colonel Moran and young
52:47
Speaker 1: Adair had between them won a considerable amount of money.
52:51
Speaker 1: Now Moran undoubtedly played foul of that. I have long
52:55
Speaker 1: been aware. I believe that on the day of the murder,
52:59
Speaker 1: A dare To discovered that Miran was cheating. Very likely
53:03
Speaker 1: he had spoken to him privately, and had threatened to
53:07
Speaker 1: expose him unless he voluntarily resigned his membership of the
53:11
Speaker 1: club and promised not to play cards again. It is
53:15
Speaker 1: unlikely that a youngster like a Dare would at once
53:17
Speaker 1: make a hideous scandal by exposing a well known man
53:21
Speaker 1: so much older than himself. Probably he acted as I suggest.
53:26
Speaker 1: The exclusion from his clubs would mean ruined to Moran,
53:29
Speaker 1: who lived by his ill gotten card games. He therefore
53:33
Speaker 1: murdered a Dare, who at the time was endeavoring to
53:36
Speaker 1: work out how much money he should himself return, since
53:40
Speaker 1: he could not profit by his partner's foul play. He
53:44
Speaker 1: locked the door lest the ladies should surprise him and
53:47
Speaker 1: insist upon knowing what he was doing with these names
53:49
Speaker 1: and coins.
53:52
Speaker 2: Will it pass?
53:55
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that you have hit upon the truth.
53:58
Speaker 1: It will be verified or disp proved at the trial. Meanwhile,
54:02
Speaker 1: come what may, Colonel Moran will trouble us no more.
54:06
Speaker 1: The famous air gun of von Herder will embellish the
54:09
Speaker 1: Scotland Yard Museum, and once again mister Sherlock Holmes is
54:15
Speaker 1: free to devote his life to examining those interesting little
54:18
Speaker 1: problems which the complex life of London so plentifully presents