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13 Silver Blaze from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes · Sherlock Holmes

0:01
Speaker 1: The adventure of silver Blaze. I am afraid, Watson, that
0:06
Speaker 1: I shall have to go, said Holmes, as we sat
0:09
Speaker 1: down together to our breakfast one morning, go where too,
0:14
Speaker 1: to Dartmoor, to King's Piland. I was not surprised. Indeed,
0:20
Speaker 1: my only wonder was that he had not already been
0:23
Speaker 1: mixed up in this extraordinary case, which was the one
0:26
Speaker 1: topic of conversation through the length and breadth of England
0:30
Speaker 1: for a whole day. My companion had rambled about the
0:33
Speaker 1: room with his chin upon his chest and his brows knitted,
0:37
Speaker 1: charging and recharging his pipe with the strongest black tobacco,
0:43
Speaker 1: and absolutely deaf to any of my questions or remarks.
0:47
Speaker 1: Fresh editions of every paper had been sent up by
0:49
Speaker 1: our newsagent, only to be glanced over and tossed down
0:53
Speaker 1: into a corner. Yet, silent as he was, I knew
0:57
Speaker 1: perfectly well what it was over which he was brooding.
1:01
Speaker 1: There was but one problem before the public which could
1:04
Speaker 1: challenge his powers of analysis, and that was the singular
1:08
Speaker 1: disappearance of the favorite for the Wessex Cup and the
1:12
Speaker 1: tragic murder of its trainer. When therefore he suddenly announced
1:17
Speaker 1: his intention of setting out for the scene of the drama.
1:20
Speaker 1: It was only what I had both expected and hoped for.
1:25
Speaker 1: I should be most happy to go down with you
1:27
Speaker 1: if I should not be in the way, said I,
1:30
Speaker 1: my dear Watson. You would confer a great favor upon
1:33
Speaker 1: me by coming, and I think that your time will
1:36
Speaker 1: not be misspent, for there are points about the case
1:39
Speaker 1: which promised to make it an absolutely unique one we have.
1:43
Speaker 1: I think just time to catch our train at Paddington,
1:46
Speaker 1: and I will go further into the matter upon our journey.
1:50
Speaker 1: You would oblige me by bringing with you your very
1:53
Speaker 1: excellent field glass. And so it happened that an hour
1:57
Speaker 1: or so later I found myself in the corner of
1:59
Speaker 1: a first class carriage flying along en route for Exeter,
2:04
Speaker 1: while Sherlock Holmes, with his sharp, eager face framed in
2:07
Speaker 1: his ear flapped traveling cap, dipped rapidly into the bundle
2:11
Speaker 1: of fresh papers which he had procured at Paddington. We
2:15
Speaker 1: had left reading far behind us before he thrust the
2:18
Speaker 1: last one of them under the seat and offered me
2:21
Speaker 1: his cigar case. We are going well, said he, looking
2:26
Speaker 1: out of the window and glancing at his watch. Our
2:29
Speaker 1: rate at present is fifty three and a half miles
2:31
Speaker 1: an hour. I have not observed the quarter mile posts,
2:35
Speaker 1: said I. Nor have I. But the telegraph posts upon
2:39
Speaker 1: this line are sixty yards apart, and the calculation is
2:42
Speaker 1: a simple one. I presume that you have looked into
2:45
Speaker 1: this matter of the murder of John Straker and the
2:48
Speaker 1: disappearance of silver Blaze. I have seen what the telegraph
2:52
Speaker 1: and the chronicle have to say. It is one of
2:55
Speaker 1: those cases where the art of the reasoner should be
2:58
Speaker 1: used rather for the sifting of detailils than for the
3:01
Speaker 1: acquiring of fresh evidence. The tragedy has been so uncommon,
3:06
Speaker 1: so complete, and of such personal importance to so many people,
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Speaker 1: that we are suffering from a plethora of surmise, conjecture
3:14
Speaker 1: and hypothesis. The difficulty is to detach the framework of fact,
3:19
Speaker 1: of absolute undeniable fact, from the embellishments of theorists and reporters. Then,
3:26
Speaker 1: having established ourselves upon this sound basis, it is our
3:30
Speaker 1: duty to see what inferences may be drawn, and what
3:33
Speaker 1: are the special points upon which the whole mystery turns.
3:37
Speaker 1: On Tuesday evening I received telegrams from both Colonel Rass,
3:41
Speaker 1: the owner of the horse, and from Inspector Gregory, who
3:45
Speaker 1: is looking after the case, inviting my cooperation. Tuesday evening,
3:49
Speaker 1: I exclaimed, and this is Thursday morning. Why didn't you
3:53
Speaker 1: go down yesterday? Because I made a blunder, my dear Watson,
3:57
Speaker 1: which is, I am afraid, a more occurrence than anyone
4:01
Speaker 1: would think who only knew me through your memoirs. The
4:04
Speaker 1: fact is that I could not believe it possible that
4:07
Speaker 1: the most remarkable horse in England could long remain concealed,
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Speaker 1: especially in so sparsely inhabited a place as the north
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Speaker 1: of Dartmoor. From hour to hour yesterday I expected to
4:21
Speaker 1: hear that he had been found and that his abductor
4:24
Speaker 1: was the murderer of John Straker. When, however, another morning
4:29
Speaker 1: had come and I found that, beyond the arrest of
4:32
Speaker 1: young Fitzroy Simpson, nothing had been done. I felt that
4:36
Speaker 1: it was time for me to take action. Yet in
4:39
Speaker 1: some ways I feel that yesterday has not been wasted.
4:42
Speaker 1: You have formed a theory, then at least I have
4:45
Speaker 1: got a grip of the essential facts of the case.
4:49
Speaker 1: I shall enumerate them to you, for nothing clear's upper
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Speaker 1: case so much as stating it to another person. And
4:55
Speaker 1: I can hardly expect your cooperation if I do not
4:57
Speaker 1: show you the position from which we start. I lay
5:01
Speaker 1: back against the cushions, puffing at my cigar, while Holmes,
5:05
Speaker 1: leaning forward with his long, thin forefinger checking off the
5:09
Speaker 1: points upon the palm of his left hand, gave me
5:12
Speaker 1: a sketch of the events which had led to our journey.
5:15
Speaker 1: Silver Blaze said, he is from the somome stock and
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Speaker 1: holds as brilliant a record as his famous ancestor. He
5:25
Speaker 1: is now in his fifth year and has brought in
5:28
Speaker 1: turn each of the prizes of the turf to Colonel Ross,
5:31
Speaker 1: his fortunate owner. Up to the time of the catastrophe,
5:35
Speaker 1: he was the first favorite for the Wessex Cup, the
5:38
Speaker 1: betting being three to one on him. He has always, however,
5:42
Speaker 1: been a prime favorite with the racing public, and has
5:45
Speaker 1: never yet disappointed them, so even at those arts, enormous
5:49
Speaker 1: sums of money have been laid upon him. It is obvious, therefore,
5:53
Speaker 1: that there were many people who had the strongest interest
5:56
Speaker 1: in preventing Silver Blaze from being there at the fall
5:59
Speaker 1: of the flag next Tuesday. The fact was of course
6:03
Speaker 1: appreciated at King's Pyland, where the Colonel's training stable is situated.
6:08
Speaker 1: Every precaution was taken to guard the favorite. The trainer,
6:11
Speaker 1: John Straker is a retired jockey who rode in Colonel
6:15
Speaker 1: Ross's colours before he became too heavy for the weighing chair.
6:20
Speaker 1: He has served the Colonel for five years as jockey
6:22
Speaker 1: and for seven as trainer, and has always shown himself
6:25
Speaker 1: to be a zealous and honest servant. Under him were
6:28
Speaker 1: three lads, for the establishment was a small one, containing
6:32
Speaker 1: only four horses in all. One of these lads sat
6:36
Speaker 1: up each night in the stable, while the others slept
6:39
Speaker 1: in the loft. All three bore excellent characters. John Straker,
6:44
Speaker 1: who is a married man, lived in a small villa
6:47
Speaker 1: about two hundred yards from the stables. He has no children,
6:51
Speaker 1: keeps one mate servant, and is comfortably off The country
6:55
Speaker 1: round is very lonely, but about half a mile to
6:58
Speaker 1: the north there is a small cluster of villas which
7:01
Speaker 1: have been built by a Tavistock contractor for the use
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Speaker 1: of invalids and others who may wish to enjoy the
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Speaker 1: pure Dartmoor air. Tavistock itself lies two miles to the west,
7:13
Speaker 1: while across the moor, also about two miles distant, is
7:16
Speaker 1: the larger training establishment of Mapleton, which belongs to Lord
7:20
Speaker 1: Backwater and is managed by Silas Brown. In every other direction,
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Speaker 1: the moor is a complete wilderness, inhabited only by a
7:30
Speaker 1: few roaming gypsies. Such was the general situation last Monday
7:34
Speaker 1: night when the catastrophe occurred. On that evening, the horses
7:39
Speaker 1: had been exercised and watered as usual, and the stables
7:43
Speaker 1: were locked up. At nine o'clock, two of the lads
7:46
Speaker 1: walked up to the trainer's house, where they had supper
7:48
Speaker 1: in the kitchen, while the third ned hunter remained on guard.
7:53
Speaker 1: At a few minutes after nine, the maid, Edith Baxter,
7:56
Speaker 1: carried down to the stables his supper, which consisted of
7:59
Speaker 1: a dish of curried mutton. She took no liquid, as
8:04
Speaker 1: there was a water tap in the stables and it
8:07
Speaker 1: was the rule that the lad on duty should drink
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Speaker 1: nothing else. The maid carried a lantern with her, as
8:13
Speaker 1: it was very dark and the path ran across the
8:15
Speaker 1: open moor. Edith Baxter was in thirty yards of the
8:19
Speaker 1: stables when a man appeared out of the darkness and
8:22
Speaker 1: called to her to stop as he stepped into the
8:25
Speaker 1: circle of yellow light thrown by the lantern. She saw
8:28
Speaker 1: that he was a person of gentlemanly bearing, dressed in
8:31
Speaker 1: a gray suit of tweeds with a cloth cap. He
8:34
Speaker 1: wore gaiters and carried a heavy stick with a knob
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Speaker 1: to it. She was most impressed, however, by the extreme
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Speaker 1: pallor of his face, and by the nervousness of his manner.
8:45
Speaker 1: His age, she thought, would be rather over thirty than
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Speaker 1: under it. Can you tell me where I am, he asked.
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Speaker 1: I had almost made up my mind to sleep on
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Speaker 1: the moor when I saw the light of your lantern.
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Speaker 1: You are close to the King's pyland training state bulls,
9:00
Speaker 1: said she. Oh, indeed, what a stroke of luck, he cried,
9:04
Speaker 1: I understand that a stable boy sleeps there alone every night.
9:09
Speaker 1: Perhaps that is his supper which you are carrying to him. Now.
9:12
Speaker 1: I am sure that you would not be too proud
9:14
Speaker 1: to earn the price of a new dress, would you.
9:17
Speaker 1: He took a piece of white paper folded up out
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Speaker 1: of his waistcoat pocket. See that the boy has this
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Speaker 1: to night, and you shall have the prettiest frock that
9:26
Speaker 1: money can buy. She was frightened by the earnestness of
9:30
Speaker 1: his manner, and ran past him to the window. Through
9:33
Speaker 1: which she was accustomed to hand the meals. It was
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Speaker 1: already opened, and Hunter was seated at the small table inside.
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Speaker 1: She had begun to tell him of what had happened
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Speaker 1: when the stranger came up again. Good evening, said he,
9:47
Speaker 1: looking through the window. I wanted to have a word
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Speaker 1: with you. The girl has sworn that. As he spoke,
9:53
Speaker 1: she noticed the corner of the little paper packet protruding
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Speaker 1: from his closed hand. What business have you so here,
10:00
Speaker 1: asked the lad. It's business that may put something into
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Speaker 1: your pocket, said the other. You've two horses in for
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Speaker 1: the Wessex Cup, silver Blaze and Bayard. Let me have
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Speaker 1: the straight tip and you won't be a loser. Is
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Speaker 1: it a fact that at the weights Bayard could give
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Speaker 1: the other one hundred yards in five furlongs, and that
10:20
Speaker 1: the stable have put their money on him. So you're
10:23
Speaker 1: one of those damned touts, cried the lad. I'll show
10:27
Speaker 1: you how we serve them in King's Piland. He sprang
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Speaker 1: up and rushed across the stable to unloose the dog.
10:33
Speaker 1: The girl fled away to the house, but as she ran,
10:36
Speaker 1: she looked back and saw that the stranger was leaning
10:39
Speaker 1: through the window. A minute later, however, when Hunter rushed
10:43
Speaker 1: out with the hound, he was gone, and though he
10:47
Speaker 1: ran all round the buildings, he failed to find any
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Speaker 1: trace of him. One moment, I asked, did the stable boy,
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Speaker 1: when he ran out with the dog leave the door
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Speaker 1: unlocked behind him? Excellent, Watson, excellent, murmured my companion. The
11:03
Speaker 1: importance of the point struck me so forcibly that I
11:06
Speaker 1: sent a special wire to Dartmoor yesterday to clear the
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Speaker 1: matter up. The boy locked the door before he left it.
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Speaker 1: The window, i may add, was not large enough for
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Speaker 1: a man to get through. Hunter waited until his fellow
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Speaker 1: grooms had returned, when he sent a message to the
11:21
Speaker 1: trainer and told him what had occurred. Straker was excited
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Speaker 1: at hearing the account, although he does not seem to
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Speaker 1: have quite realized its true significance. It left him, however,
11:33
Speaker 1: vaguely uneasy, and Missus Straker, waking at one in the morning,
11:37
Speaker 1: found that he was dressing. In reply to her inquiries,
11:42
Speaker 1: he said that he could not sleep on account of
11:44
Speaker 1: his anxiety about the horses, and that he intended to
11:47
Speaker 1: walk down to the stables to see that all was well.
11:50
Speaker 1: She begged him to remain at home as she could
11:53
Speaker 1: hear the rain pattering against the window. But in spite
11:56
Speaker 1: of her entreaties, he pulled on his large macintosh and
11:59
Speaker 1: left the house. Missus Straker awoke at seven in the
12:03
Speaker 1: morning to find that her husband had not yet returned.
12:06
Speaker 1: She dressed herself hastily, called the maid and set off
12:09
Speaker 1: for the stables. The door was open. Inside, huddled together
12:14
Speaker 1: upon a chair, Hunter was sunk in a state of
12:17
Speaker 1: absolute stupor. The favorite stall was empty, and there were
12:21
Speaker 1: no signs of his trainer. The two lads who slept
12:25
Speaker 1: in the chaff cutting loft above the harness room were
12:27
Speaker 1: quickly aroused. They had heard nothing during the night, for
12:31
Speaker 1: they are both sound sleepers. Hunter was obviously under the
12:35
Speaker 1: influence of some powerful drug, and as no sense could
12:38
Speaker 1: be got out of him, he was left to sleep
12:40
Speaker 1: it off while the two lads and the two women
12:43
Speaker 1: ran out in search of the absent tees. They still
12:46
Speaker 1: had hopes that the trainer had for some reason taken
12:49
Speaker 1: out the horse for early exercise, But on ascending the
12:53
Speaker 1: knoll near the house from which all the neighboring moors
12:56
Speaker 1: were visible, they not only could see no signs of
12:59
Speaker 1: the missing favourite, but they perceived something which warned them
13:02
Speaker 1: that they were in the presence of a tragedy. About
13:05
Speaker 1: a quarter of a mile from the stables, John Straker's
13:09
Speaker 1: overcoat was flapping from a furze bush. Immediately beyond there
13:13
Speaker 1: was a bowl shaped depression in the moor, and at
13:16
Speaker 1: the bottom of this was found the dead body of
13:18
Speaker 1: the unfortunate trainer. His head had been shattered by a
13:23
Speaker 1: savage blow from some heavy weapon, and he was wounded
13:26
Speaker 1: on the thigh, where there was a long, clean cut,
13:30
Speaker 1: inflicted evidently by some very sharp instrument. It was clear, however,
13:35
Speaker 1: that Straker had defended himself vigorously against his assailants, for
13:40
Speaker 1: in his right hand he held a small knife which
13:43
Speaker 1: was clotted with blood up to the handle, while in
13:46
Speaker 1: his left he clasped a red and black silk cravat,
13:49
Speaker 1: which was recognized by the maid as having been worn
13:52
Speaker 1: on the preceding evening by the stranger who had visited
13:56
Speaker 1: the stables. Hunter, on recovering from his stupor, was also
14:00
Speaker 1: quite positive as to the ownership of the cravat. He
14:04
Speaker 1: was equally certain that the same stranger had, while standing
14:07
Speaker 1: at the window, drugged his curried Mutton, and so deprived
14:11
Speaker 1: the stables of their watchmen. As to the missing horse,
14:15
Speaker 1: there were abundant proofs in the mud which lay at
14:18
Speaker 1: the bottom of the fatal hollow, that he had been
14:21
Speaker 1: there at the time of the struggle. But from that
14:24
Speaker 1: morning he has disappeared, and although a large reward has
14:28
Speaker 1: been offered and all the gypsies of Dartmoor are on
14:31
Speaker 1: the alert, no news has come of him. Finally, an
14:35
Speaker 1: analysis has shown that the remains of his supper left
14:38
Speaker 1: by the stable lad contain an appreciable quantity of powdered opium,
14:43
Speaker 1: while the people at the house partook of the same
14:46
Speaker 1: dish on the same night without any ill effect. Those
14:49
Speaker 1: are the main facts of the case, stripped of all surmise,
14:52
Speaker 1: and stated as baldly as possible, I shall now recapitulate
14:57
Speaker 1: what the police have done in the matter. Inspector Gregory,
15:00
Speaker 1: to whom the case has been committed, is an extremely
15:03
Speaker 1: competent officer, where he but gifted with imagination, he might
15:07
Speaker 1: rise to great heights in his profession. On his arrival,
15:11
Speaker 1: he promptly found and arrested the man upon whom suspicion
15:14
Speaker 1: naturally rested. There was little difficulty in finding him, for
15:18
Speaker 1: he inhabited one of those villas which I have mentioned.
15:21
Speaker 1: His name, it appears, was Fitzroy Simpson. He was a
15:25
Speaker 1: man of excellent birth and education, who had squandered a
15:29
Speaker 1: fortune upon the turf, and who lived now by doing
15:32
Speaker 1: a little quiet and genteel bookmaking in the sporting clubs
15:35
Speaker 1: of London. An examination of his betting book shows that
15:39
Speaker 1: betts to the amount of five thousand pounds had been
15:42
Speaker 1: registered by him against the favourite. On being arrested, he
15:47
Speaker 1: volunteered the statement that he had come down to doubt
15:49
Speaker 1: More in the hope of getting some information about the
15:51
Speaker 1: King's piland horses, and also about Desborough, the second favourite,
15:56
Speaker 1: which was in charge of Silas Brown at the Mapleton Stable.
16:01
Speaker 1: He did not attempt to deny that he had acted
16:03
Speaker 1: as described upon the evening before, but declared that he
16:07
Speaker 1: had no sinister designs and had simply wished to obtain
16:11
Speaker 1: first hand information. When confronted with his cravat, he turned
16:16
Speaker 1: very pale and was utterly unable to account for its
16:19
Speaker 1: presence in the hand of the murdered man. His wet
16:23
Speaker 1: clothing showed that he had been out in the storm
16:25
Speaker 1: of the night before, and his stick, which was a
16:28
Speaker 1: penang lawyer weighted with lead, was just such a weapon
16:32
Speaker 1: as might, by repeated blows, have inflicted the terrible injuries
16:36
Speaker 1: to which the trainer had succumbed. On the other hand,
16:40
Speaker 1: there was no wound upon his person, while the state
16:42
Speaker 1: of Straker's knife would show that one at least of
16:45
Speaker 1: his assailants must bear his mark upon him. There you
16:49
Speaker 1: have it all in a nutshell, Watson, and if you
16:52
Speaker 1: can give me any light, I shall be infinitely obliged
16:55
Speaker 1: to you. I had listened with the greatest interest to
16:58
Speaker 1: the statement which Holmes, with characteristic clearness, had laid before me.
17:03
Speaker 1: Though most of the facts were familiar to me, I
17:05
Speaker 1: had not sufficiently appreciated their relative importance, nor their connection
17:10
Speaker 1: to each other. Is it not possible, I suggested that
17:14
Speaker 1: the incised wound upon Straker may have been caused by
17:18
Speaker 1: his own knife in the convulsive struggles which follow any
17:22
Speaker 1: brain injury. It is more than possible, it is probable,
17:26
Speaker 1: said Holmes. In that case, one of the main points
17:29
Speaker 1: in favor of the accused disappears. And yet said I,
17:34
Speaker 1: even now I fail to understand what the theory of
17:36
Speaker 1: the police can be. I am afraid that whatever theory
17:40
Speaker 1: we state, has very grave objections to it. Returned my companion.
17:44
Speaker 1: The police imagine. I take it that this Fitzroy Simpson,
17:48
Speaker 1: having drugged the lad and having in some way obtained
17:50
Speaker 1: a duplicate key, opened the stable door and took out
17:54
Speaker 1: the horse with the intention apparently of kidnapping him altogether.
17:58
Speaker 1: His bridle is missing, so that Simpson must have put
18:01
Speaker 1: this on. Then, having left the door open behind him,
18:05
Speaker 1: he was leading the horse away over the moor when
18:08
Speaker 1: he was either met or overtaken by the trainer. A
18:11
Speaker 1: row naturally ensued. Simpson beat out the trainer's brains with
18:15
Speaker 1: his heavy stick, without receiving any injury from the small
18:19
Speaker 1: knife which Straker used in self defense, and then the
18:22
Speaker 1: thief either led the horse on to some secret hiding place,
18:25
Speaker 1: or else it may have bolted during the struggle and
18:29
Speaker 1: be now wandering out on the moors. That is the
18:32
Speaker 1: case as it appears to the police, and improbable as
18:35
Speaker 1: it is. All other explanations are more improbable still. However,
18:40
Speaker 1: I shall very quickly test the matter when I am
18:42
Speaker 1: once more upon the spot, and until then I cannot
18:46
Speaker 1: really see how we can get much further than our
18:48
Speaker 1: present position. It was evening before we reached the little
18:52
Speaker 1: town of Tavistock, which lies like the boss of a
18:55
Speaker 1: shield in the middle of the huge circle of Dartmoor.
19:00
Speaker 1: Two gentlemen were awaiting us in the station, the one
19:04
Speaker 1: a tall fair man with lion like hair and beard
19:07
Speaker 1: and curiously penetrating light blue eyes. The other a small,
19:13
Speaker 1: alert person, very neat and dapper, in a frock coat
19:16
Speaker 1: and gaiters with trim little side whiskers and an eye glass.
19:21
Speaker 1: The latter was Colonel Ross, the well known sportsman. The
19:25
Speaker 1: other Inspector Gregory, a man who was rapidly making his
19:29
Speaker 1: name in the English detective service. I am delighted that
19:33
Speaker 1: you have come down, mister Holmes, said the colonel. The
19:36
Speaker 1: inspector here has done all that could possibly be suggested,
19:39
Speaker 1: but I wish to leave no stone unturned in trying
19:41
Speaker 1: to avenge poor Straker and in recovering my horse. Have
19:46
Speaker 1: there been any fresh developments, asked Holmes. I am sorry
19:50
Speaker 1: to say that we have made very little progress, said
19:53
Speaker 1: the inspector. We have an open carriage outside, and as
19:57
Speaker 1: you would no doubt like to see the place before
19:59
Speaker 1: the light failed, we might talk it over as we drive.
20:03
Speaker 1: A minute later, we were all seated in a comfortable
20:06
Speaker 1: landout and were rattling through the quaint old Devonshire City
20:11
Speaker 1: Inspector Gregory was full of his case and poured out
20:14
Speaker 1: a stream of remarks while Holmes threw in an occasional
20:18
Speaker 1: question or interjection. Colonel Ross leaned back with his arms
20:23
Speaker 1: folded and his hat tilted over his eyes. While I
20:26
Speaker 1: listened with interest to the dialogue of the two detectives.
20:30
Speaker 1: Gregory was formulating his theory, which was almost exactly what
20:34
Speaker 1: Holmes had foretold in the train. The net is drawn
20:38
Speaker 1: pretty close round Fitzroy Simpson, he remarked, and I believe
20:41
Speaker 1: myself that he is our man. At the same time
20:44
Speaker 1: I recognized that the evidence is purely circumstantial, and that
20:48
Speaker 1: some new development may upset it. How about Straker's knife,
20:53
Speaker 1: we have quite come to the conclusion that he wounded
20:55
Speaker 1: himself in his fall. My friend doctor Watson made that
20:59
Speaker 1: suggestion to me as he came down. If so, it
21:02
Speaker 1: would tell against this man Simpson. Undoubtedly he has neither
21:07
Speaker 1: a knife nor any sign of a wound. The evidence
21:10
Speaker 1: against him is certainly very strong. He had a great
21:13
Speaker 1: interest in the disappearance of the favorite. He lies under
21:17
Speaker 1: suspicion of having poisoned the stable boy. He was undoubtedly
21:21
Speaker 1: out in the storm. He was armed with a heavy stick,
21:24
Speaker 1: and his cravat was found in the dead man's hand.
21:27
Speaker 1: I really think we have enough to go before a jury,
21:30
Speaker 1: Holmes shook his head. A clever council would tear it
21:34
Speaker 1: all to rags, said he. Why should he take the
21:37
Speaker 1: horse out of the stable if he wished to injure it?
21:40
Speaker 1: Why could he not do it? There has a duplicate
21:43
Speaker 1: Keeben found in his possession. What chemist sold him the
21:47
Speaker 1: powdered opium? Above all, where could he, a stranger to
21:51
Speaker 1: the district, hide a horse, and such a horse as this?
21:56
Speaker 1: What is his own explanation as to the paper which
21:59
Speaker 1: he wished the maid to give to the stable boy.
22:02
Speaker 1: He says that it was a ten pound note one
22:05
Speaker 1: was found in his purse. But your other difficulties are
22:08
Speaker 1: not so formidable as they seem. He is not a
22:12
Speaker 1: stranger to the district. He is twice lodged at Tavistock
22:15
Speaker 1: in the summer. The opium was probably brought from London.
22:19
Speaker 1: The key having served its purpose, would be hurled away.
22:24
Speaker 1: The horse may be at the bottom of one of
22:25
Speaker 1: the pits or old mines upon the moor. What does
22:29
Speaker 1: he say about the cravat? He acknowledges that it is
22:33
Speaker 1: his and declares that he had lost it. But a
22:37
Speaker 1: new element has been introduced into the case which may
22:39
Speaker 1: account for his leading the horse from the stable. Holmes
22:43
Speaker 1: pricked up his ears. We have found traces which show
22:46
Speaker 1: that a party of gypsies encamped on Monday night within
22:50
Speaker 1: a mile of the spot where the murder took place.
22:53
Speaker 1: On Tuesday they were gone. Now, presuming that there was
22:57
Speaker 1: some understanding between Simpson and these gyps might he not
23:01
Speaker 1: have been leading the horse to them when he was overtaken?
23:04
Speaker 1: And may they not have him? Now? It is certainly
23:07
Speaker 1: possible the moor is being scoured for these gypsies. I've
23:11
Speaker 1: also examined every stable and outhouse in Tavistock, and for
23:15
Speaker 1: a radius of ten miles there is another training stable
23:18
Speaker 1: quite close. I understand, yes, and that is a factor
23:22
Speaker 1: which we must certainly not neglect. As Desbra their horse
23:26
Speaker 1: was second in the betting, they had an interest in
23:29
Speaker 1: the disappearance of the favorite silas Brown, the trainer is
23:34
Speaker 1: known to have had large bets upon the event, and
23:37
Speaker 1: he was no friend to poor Straker. We have, however,
23:40
Speaker 1: examined the stables, and there is nothing to connect him
23:44
Speaker 1: with the affair, and nothing to connect this man Simpson
23:47
Speaker 1: with the interests of the Mapleton Stables, nothing at all.
23:52
Speaker 1: Holmes leaned back into carriage and the conversation ceased. A
23:57
Speaker 1: few minutes later, our driver pulled up at a neat
24:00
Speaker 1: red brick villa with overhanging eaves, which stood by the road.
24:05
Speaker 1: Some distance off across a paddock lay a long, gray
24:08
Speaker 1: tiled outbuilding. In every other direction, the low curves of
24:13
Speaker 1: the moor bronze colored from the fading ferns, stretched away
24:17
Speaker 1: to the sky line, broken only by the steeples of Tavistock,
24:21
Speaker 1: and by a cluster of houses away to the westward,
24:24
Speaker 1: which marked the Mapleton Stables. We all sprang out, with
24:28
Speaker 1: the exception of Holmes, who continued to lean back with
24:31
Speaker 1: his eyes fixed upon the sky in front of him,
24:34
Speaker 1: entirely absorbed in his own thoughts. It was only when
24:37
Speaker 1: I touched his arm that he roused himself with a
24:40
Speaker 1: violent start and stepped out of the carriage. Excuse me,
24:44
Speaker 1: said he, turning to Colonel Ross, who had looked at
24:47
Speaker 1: him in some surprise. I was day dreaming. There was
24:51
Speaker 1: a gleam in his eyes, and a suppressed excitement in
24:54
Speaker 1: his manner, which convinced me, used as I was to
24:57
Speaker 1: his ways, that his hand was upon a clewe, though
25:00
Speaker 1: I could not imagine where he had found it. Perhaps
25:04
Speaker 1: you would prefer at once to go on to the
25:05
Speaker 1: scene of the crime, mister Holmes, said Gregory. I think
25:09
Speaker 1: that I should prefer to stay here a little and
25:12
Speaker 1: go into one or two questions of detail. Straker was
25:16
Speaker 1: brought back here. I presume yes, he lies upstairs. The
25:20
Speaker 1: inquest is tomorrow. Has he been in your service some years,
25:25
Speaker 1: Colonel Ross, I have always found him an excellent servant.
25:28
Speaker 1: I presume that you made an inventory of what he
25:31
Speaker 1: had in his pockets at the time of his death. Inspector,
25:35
Speaker 1: I have the things themselves in the sitting room. If
25:37
Speaker 1: you would care to see them, I should be very glad.
25:41
Speaker 1: We all filed into the front room and sat round
25:44
Speaker 1: the central table while the inspector unlocked a square tin
25:48
Speaker 1: box and laid a small heap of things before us.
25:52
Speaker 1: There was a box of vestas, two inches of tallow candle,
25:56
Speaker 1: an a d p briar root pipe, a pouch of
25:59
Speaker 1: sea skin with half an ounce of long cut cavendish,
26:03
Speaker 1: a silver watch with a gold chain, five sovereigns in gold,
26:07
Speaker 1: an aluminium pencil case, a few papers, and an ivory
26:11
Speaker 1: handled knife with a very delicate inflexible blade, marked Vice
26:15
Speaker 1: and Co. London. This is a very singular knife, said Holmes,
26:21
Speaker 1: lifting it up and examining it minutely. I presume, as
26:25
Speaker 1: I see blood stains upon it, that it is the
26:28
Speaker 1: one which was found in the dead man's grasp. Watson,
26:32
Speaker 1: this knife is surely in your line. It's what we
26:36
Speaker 1: call a cataract knife, said I. I thought so. A
26:40
Speaker 1: very delicate blade devised for very delicate work. A strange
26:46
Speaker 1: thing for a man to carry with him upon a
26:48
Speaker 1: rough expedition, especially as it would not shut in his pocket.
26:53
Speaker 1: The tip was guarded by a disc of cork, which
26:55
Speaker 1: we found beside his body, said the inspector. His wife
26:59
Speaker 1: tells us that the knife had laid upon the dressing table,
27:02
Speaker 1: and that he had picked it up as he left
27:04
Speaker 1: the room. It was a poor weapon, but perhaps the
27:08
Speaker 1: best that he could lay his hands on. At the
27:10
Speaker 1: moment very possible. How about these papers? Three of them
27:14
Speaker 1: are receipated hay dealer's accounts. One of them is a
27:18
Speaker 1: letter of instruction from Colonel Ross. This other is a
27:21
Speaker 1: milliner's account for thirty seven pounds fifteen made out by
27:25
Speaker 1: Madame Lazurier of Bond Street to William Derbyshire. Missus Stalker
27:30
Speaker 1: tells us that Derbyshire was a friend of her husband's,
27:33
Speaker 1: and that occasionally his letters were addressed here. Madame Derbyshire
27:38
Speaker 1: had somewhat expensive tastes, remarked Holmes, glancing down the account.
27:43
Speaker 1: Twenty two guineas is rather heavy for a single costume. However,
27:48
Speaker 1: there appears to be nothing more to learn, and we
27:51
Speaker 1: men now go down to the scene of the crime.
27:54
Speaker 1: As we emerged from the sitting room, a woman who
27:57
Speaker 1: had been waiting in the passage took a step foward
28:00
Speaker 1: and laid her hand upon the inspector's sleeve. Her face
28:04
Speaker 1: was haggard and thin and eager, stamped with the print
28:08
Speaker 1: of a recent horror. Have you got them? Have you
28:12
Speaker 1: found them? She panted? No, Missus Straker, But mister Holmes
28:16
Speaker 1: here has come from London to help us, and we
28:19
Speaker 1: shall do all that is possible. Surely I met you
28:22
Speaker 1: in Plymouth at a garden party some little time ago,
28:25
Speaker 1: missus Straker said Holmes. No, sir, you are mistaken. Dear me,
28:30
Speaker 1: why I could have sworn to it. You wore a
28:32
Speaker 1: costume of dove colored silk with ostrich feather trimming. I
28:37
Speaker 1: have never had such a dress, sir, answered the lady. Ah,
28:41
Speaker 1: that quite settles it, said Holmes, and with an apology,
28:45
Speaker 1: he followed the inspector outside. A short walk across the
28:49
Speaker 1: moor took us to the hollow in which the body
28:52
Speaker 1: had been found. At the brink of it was the
28:55
Speaker 1: furze bush upon which the coat had been hung. There
28:58
Speaker 1: was no wind that night, I understand, said Holmes, none,
29:02
Speaker 1: but very heavy rain. In that case, the overcoat was
29:06
Speaker 1: not blown against the furze bush, but placed there. Yes,
29:10
Speaker 1: it was laid across the bush. You fill me with interest.
29:13
Speaker 1: I perceive that the ground has been trampled up a
29:16
Speaker 1: good deal, no doubt. Many feet have been here since
29:19
Speaker 1: Monday night. A piece of matting has been laid here
29:23
Speaker 1: at the side, and we have all stood upon that
29:26
Speaker 1: excellent In this bag, I have one of the boots
29:29
Speaker 1: which Straker wore one of Fitzroy Simpson's shoes and a
29:33
Speaker 1: cast horseshoe of silver. Blaze, My dear inspector, you surpass yourself.
29:39
Speaker 1: Holmes took the bag, and, descending into the hollow, he
29:42
Speaker 1: pushed the matting into a more central position. Then, stretching
29:47
Speaker 1: himself upon his face and leaning his chin upon his hands,
29:51
Speaker 1: he made a careful study of the trampled mud in
29:54
Speaker 1: front of him. Hello, said he suddenly, what's this? It
29:58
Speaker 1: was a wax vesta half burned, which was so coated
30:02
Speaker 1: with mud that it looked at first like a little
30:05
Speaker 1: chip of wood. I cannot think how I came to
30:08
Speaker 1: overlook it, said the inspector, with an expression of annoyance.
30:11
Speaker 1: It was invisible, buried in the mud. I only saw
30:15
Speaker 1: it because I was looking for it. What you expected
30:18
Speaker 1: to find it? I thought it not unlikely. He took
30:22
Speaker 1: the boots from the bag and compared the impressions of
30:25
Speaker 1: each of them with marks upon the ground. Then he
30:28
Speaker 1: clambered up to the rim of the hollow and crawled
30:31
Speaker 1: about among the ferns and bushes. I'm afraid that there
30:34
Speaker 1: are no more tracks, said the inspector. I have examined
30:38
Speaker 1: the ground very carefully for a hundred yards in each direction. Indeed,
30:42
Speaker 1: said Holmes, rising, I should not have the impertinence to
30:46
Speaker 1: do it again after what you say, but I should
30:49
Speaker 1: like to take a little walk over the moor before
30:51
Speaker 1: it grows dark, that I may know my ground tomorrow.
30:54
Speaker 1: And I think that I shall put this horseshoe into
30:57
Speaker 1: my pocket for luck. Colonel Ross, who had shown some
31:01
Speaker 1: signs of impatience at my companion's quiet and systematic method
31:05
Speaker 1: of work, glanced at his watch. I wish you would
31:08
Speaker 1: come back with me, inspector, said he. There are several
31:12
Speaker 1: points on which I should like your advice, and especially
31:14
Speaker 1: as to whether we do not owe it to the
31:16
Speaker 1: public to remove our horse's name from the entries for
31:19
Speaker 1: the cup. Suddenly not, cried Holmes, with decision, I should
31:23
Speaker 1: let the name stand. The colonel bowed. I am very
31:28
Speaker 1: glad to have had your opinion, Sir, said he. You
31:31
Speaker 1: will find us at poor Straker's house when you have
31:34
Speaker 1: finished your walk, and we can drive together into Tavistock.
31:39
Speaker 1: He turned back with the inspector. While Holmes and I
31:42
Speaker 1: walked slowly across the moor. The sun was beginning to
31:45
Speaker 1: sink behind the stables of Mapleton, and the long sloping
31:49
Speaker 1: plain in front of us was tinged with gold, deepening
31:52
Speaker 1: into rich ruddy browns, where the faded ferns and brambles
31:57
Speaker 1: caught the evening light. The glories of the landscape were
32:01
Speaker 1: all wasted upon my companion, who were sunk in the
32:04
Speaker 1: deepest thought. It's this way, Watson said he At last
32:08
Speaker 1: we may leave the question of who killed John Straker
32:11
Speaker 1: for the instant, and confine ourselves to finding out what
32:15
Speaker 1: has become of the horse. Now, supposing that he broke
32:19
Speaker 1: away during or after the tragedy, where could he have
32:22
Speaker 1: gone to? The horse is a very gregarious creature. If
32:26
Speaker 1: left to himself, his instincts would have been either to
32:28
Speaker 1: return to King's Piland or go over to Mapleton. Why
32:32
Speaker 1: should he run wild upon the moor? He would surely
32:35
Speaker 1: have been seen by now, And why should gipsies kidnap him?
32:40
Speaker 1: These people always clear out when they hear of trouble,
32:43
Speaker 1: for they do not wish to be pestered by the police.
32:46
Speaker 1: They could not hope to sell such a horse. They
32:48
Speaker 1: would run a great risk and gain nothing by taking him.
32:52
Speaker 1: Surely that is clear. Where is he? Then? I have
32:55
Speaker 1: already said that he must have gone to King's Piland
32:58
Speaker 1: or to Mapleton. He is not at King's pieland therefore
33:02
Speaker 1: he is at Mapleton. Let us take that as a
33:05
Speaker 1: working hypothesis and see what it leads us to. This
33:09
Speaker 1: part of the moor, as the inspector remarked, is very
33:12
Speaker 1: hard and dry, but it falls away towards Mapleton, and
33:16
Speaker 1: you can see from here that there is a long
33:18
Speaker 1: hollow over Yonder, which must have been very wet on
33:21
Speaker 1: Monday night. If our supposition is correct, then the horse
33:25
Speaker 1: must have crossed that, and there is the point where
33:28
Speaker 1: we should look for his tracks. We had been walking
33:32
Speaker 1: briskly during this conversation, and a few more minutes brought
33:35
Speaker 1: us to the hollow in question. At Holmes's request, I
33:39
Speaker 1: walked down to the bank to the right and he
33:41
Speaker 1: to the left. That I had not taken fifty paces
33:45
Speaker 1: before I heard him give a shout and saw him
33:47
Speaker 1: waving his hand to me. The track of a horse
33:50
Speaker 1: was plainly outlined in the soft earth in front of him,
33:54
Speaker 1: and the shoe which he took from his pocket exactly
33:57
Speaker 1: fitted the impression. See the value of him sagination, said Holmes.
34:01
Speaker 1: It is the one quality which Gregory lacks. We imagined
34:06
Speaker 1: what might have happened, acted upon the supposition, and find
34:09
Speaker 1: ourselves justified. Let us proceed. We crossed the Marshy bottom
34:14
Speaker 1: and passed over a quarter of a mile of dry,
34:17
Speaker 1: hard turf. Again the ground sloped, and again we came
34:21
Speaker 1: on the tracks. Then we lost them for half a mile,
34:25
Speaker 1: but only to pick them up once more, quite close
34:28
Speaker 1: to Mapleton. It was Holmes who saw them first, and
34:32
Speaker 1: he stood pointing, with a look of triumph upon his face.
34:36
Speaker 1: A man's track was visible beside the horses. The horse
34:41
Speaker 1: was alone before, I cried, quite so it was alone before? Hello,
34:46
Speaker 1: what is this? The double track turned sharp off and
34:50
Speaker 1: took the direction of King's Piland. Holmes whistled, and we
34:55
Speaker 1: both followed along after it. His eyes were on the trail.
35:00
Speaker 1: I happened to look a little to one side and saw,
35:02
Speaker 1: to my surprise, the same tracks coming back again in
35:05
Speaker 1: the opposite direction. One for you, Watson, said Holmes, when
35:09
Speaker 1: I pointed it out. You have saved us a long
35:12
Speaker 1: walk which would have brought us back on our own traces.
35:16
Speaker 1: Let us follow the return track. We had not to
35:20
Speaker 1: go far. It ended at the paving of asphalt which
35:24
Speaker 1: led up to the gates of the Mapleton stables. As
35:27
Speaker 1: we approached, a groom ran out from them. We don't
35:31
Speaker 1: want any loiterers about here, said he. I only wished
35:34
Speaker 1: to ask a question, said Holmes, with his finger and
35:37
Speaker 1: thumb in his waistcoat pocket. Should I be too early
35:41
Speaker 1: to see your master, mister Silas Brown, if I were
35:44
Speaker 1: to call at five o'clock tomorrow morning, bless you, sir.
35:48
Speaker 1: If anyone is about, he will be, for he is
35:50
Speaker 1: always the first stir in. But here he is, sir,
35:52
Speaker 1: to answer your questions for himself. No, sir, no, it
35:56
Speaker 1: is as much as my place is worth to let
35:57
Speaker 1: him see me touch your money, Ah afterwards if you like.
36:02
Speaker 1: As Sherlock Holmes replaced the half crown which he had
36:04
Speaker 1: drawn from his pocket. A fierce looking elderly man strode
36:08
Speaker 1: out from the gate with a hunting crop swinging in
36:11
Speaker 1: his hand. What's this, Dawson, he cried, No gossiping, Go
36:15
Speaker 1: about your business, and you, what the devil do you
36:17
Speaker 1: want here? Ten minutes? Talk with you, my good sir,
36:21
Speaker 1: said Holmes, in the sweetest of voices. I've no time
36:24
Speaker 1: to talk to every gadabout We want no stranger here.
36:27
Speaker 1: Be off, or you may find a dog at your heels.
36:31
Speaker 1: Holmes leaned forward and whispered something in the trainer's ear.
36:35
Speaker 1: He started violently and flushed to the temples. It's a lie,
36:39
Speaker 1: he shouted, an infernal lie. Very good. Shall we argue
36:43
Speaker 1: about it here in public or talk it over in
36:45
Speaker 1: your parlor? Oh, come in if you wish to Holmes smiled.
36:51
Speaker 1: I shall not keep you more than a few minutes,
36:53
Speaker 1: Watson said he Now, mister Brown, I am quite at
36:56
Speaker 1: your disposal. It was twenty minutes and the reds had
37:01
Speaker 1: all faded into graze before Holmes and the trainer reappeared.
37:05
Speaker 1: Never have I seen such a change as had been
37:08
Speaker 1: brought about in Silas Brown in that short time. His
37:13
Speaker 1: face was ashy, pale, beads of perspiration shone upon his brow,
37:17
Speaker 1: and his hands shook until the hunting crop wagged like
37:21
Speaker 1: a branch in the wind. His bullying, overbearing manner was
37:25
Speaker 1: all gone too, and he cringed along at my companion's
37:28
Speaker 1: side like a dog with its master. Your instructions will
37:32
Speaker 1: be done. It shall all be done, said he. There
37:35
Speaker 1: must be no mistake, said Holmes, looking round at him.
37:38
Speaker 1: The other winced as he read the menace in his eyes.
37:41
Speaker 1: Oh no, there shall be no mistake, it shall be there.
37:45
Speaker 1: Should I change at first or not? Holmes thought a little,
37:49
Speaker 1: and then burst out laughing. No, don't, said he. I
37:52
Speaker 1: shall write you about it. No tricks now, or oh
37:56
Speaker 1: you can trust me, you can trust me? Yes, I
37:59
Speaker 1: think I care well. You shall hear from me to morrow.
38:03
Speaker 1: He turned upon his heel, disregarding the trembling hand which
38:07
Speaker 1: the other held out to him, and we set off
38:09
Speaker 1: a king's piland, a more perfect compound of the bully,
38:14
Speaker 1: coward and sneak than Master Silas Brown I have seldom
38:18
Speaker 1: met with, remarked Holmes, as we trudged along together. He
38:22
Speaker 1: has the horse. Then he tried to bluster out of it.
38:26
Speaker 1: But I described to him so exactly what his actions
38:29
Speaker 1: had been upon that morning, that he is convinced that
38:32
Speaker 1: I was watching him. Of course you observed the peculiarly
38:36
Speaker 1: square toes in the impressions, and that his own boots
38:39
Speaker 1: exactly corresponded to them. Again, of course, no subordinate would
38:43
Speaker 1: have dared to do such a thing. I described to him, how,
38:47
Speaker 1: when according to his custom, he was the first down,
38:50
Speaker 1: he perceived a strange horse wandering over the moor, How
38:54
Speaker 1: he went out to it, and his astonishment at recognizing
38:58
Speaker 1: from the white forehead which has given the favorite its name.
39:02
Speaker 1: The chance had put in his power the only horse
39:05
Speaker 1: which could beat the one upon which he had put
39:07
Speaker 1: his money. Then I described how his first impulse had
39:11
Speaker 1: been to lead him back to King's Piland, and how
39:14
Speaker 1: the devil had shown him how he could hide the
39:16
Speaker 1: horse until the race was over, and how he had
39:19
Speaker 1: led it back and concealed it at Mapleton. When I
39:22
Speaker 1: told him every detail, he gave it up and thought
39:26
Speaker 1: only of saving his own skin. But his stables had
39:30
Speaker 1: been searched. Oh, an old horse faker like him has
39:34
Speaker 1: many a dodge. But are you not afraid to leave
39:37
Speaker 1: the horse in his power? Now? Since he has every
39:39
Speaker 1: interest in injuring it, My dear fellow, he will guard
39:43
Speaker 1: it as the apple of his eye. He knows that
39:46
Speaker 1: his only hope of mercy is to produce it safe.
39:50
Speaker 1: Colonel Ross did not impress me as a man who
39:52
Speaker 1: would be likely to show much mercy. In any case,
39:55
Speaker 1: the matter does not rest with Colonel Ross. I follow
39:57
Speaker 1: my own methods and tell us much or as little
40:00
Speaker 1: as I choose. That is the advantage of being unofficial.
40:05
Speaker 1: I don't know whether you observed it, Watson, but the
40:07
Speaker 1: Colonel's manner has been just a trifle cavalier to me.
40:11
Speaker 1: I'm inclined now to have a little amusement at his expense.
40:15
Speaker 1: Say nothing to him about the horse, certainly not without
40:18
Speaker 1: your permission. And of course this is all quite a
40:21
Speaker 1: minor point compared to the question of who killed John Striker,
40:26
Speaker 1: and you will devote yourself to that. On the contrary,
40:29
Speaker 1: we both go back to London by the night train.
40:32
Speaker 1: I was thunderstruck by my friend's words we had only
40:36
Speaker 1: been a few hours in Devonshire, and that he should
40:39
Speaker 1: give up an investigation which he had begun so brilliantly
40:42
Speaker 1: was quite incomprehensible to me. Not a word more could
40:46
Speaker 1: I draw from him until we were back at the
40:48
Speaker 1: trainer's house. The colonel and the inspector were awaiting us
40:52
Speaker 1: in the parlor. My friend and I return to town
40:55
Speaker 1: by the night express, said Holmes, we have had a
40:58
Speaker 1: charming little breath of your beautiful dart More air. The
41:02
Speaker 1: inspector opened his eyes and the Colonel's lip curled in
41:06
Speaker 1: a sneer, so you despair of arresting the murderer of
41:10
Speaker 1: poor Straker, said he Holmes shrugged his shoulders. There are
41:14
Speaker 1: certainly grave difficulties in the way, said he. I have
41:18
Speaker 1: every hope, however, that your horse will start upon Tuesday,
41:21
Speaker 1: and I beg that you will have your jockey in readiness.
41:24
Speaker 1: Might I ask for a photograph of mister John Straker.
41:28
Speaker 1: The inspector took one from an envelope and handed it
41:31
Speaker 1: to him. My dear Gregory, you anticipate all my wants.
41:35
Speaker 1: If I might ask you to wait here for an instant,
41:38
Speaker 1: I have a question which I should like to put
41:41
Speaker 1: to the maid. I must say that I am rather
41:43
Speaker 1: disappointed in our London consultant, said Colonel Ross bluntly. As
41:48
Speaker 1: my friend left the room, I do not see that
41:51
Speaker 1: we are any further than when he came. At least
41:54
Speaker 1: you have his assurance that your horse will run, said I. Yes,
41:58
Speaker 1: I have his assurance, said the colonel, with a shrug
42:01
Speaker 1: of his shoulders. I should prefer to have the horse.
42:06
Speaker 1: I was about to make some reply in defense of
42:09
Speaker 1: my friend when he entered the room again. Now, gentlemen,
42:13
Speaker 1: said he, I am quite ready for Tavistock, as we
42:17
Speaker 1: stepped into the carriage. One of the stable lads held
42:20
Speaker 1: the door open for us. A sudden idea seemed to
42:23
Speaker 1: occur to Holmes, for he leaned forward and touched the
42:26
Speaker 1: lad upon the sleeve. You have a few sheep in
42:29
Speaker 1: the paddock, he said, Who attends to them? I do, sir?
42:33
Speaker 1: Have you noticed anything amiss with them of late? Well, sir,
42:37
Speaker 1: not of much account, but three of them have gone lame, sir.
42:41
Speaker 1: I could see that Holmes was extremely pleased, for he
42:44
Speaker 1: chuckled and rubbed his hands together. A long shot, Watson,
42:48
Speaker 1: A very long shot, said he, pinching my arm. Gregory,
42:53
Speaker 1: let me recommend your attention this singular epidemic among the
42:57
Speaker 1: sheep drive on coachman. Colonel Ross still wore an expression
43:02
Speaker 1: which showed the poor opinion which he had formed of
43:04
Speaker 1: my companion's ability. But I saw by the inspector's face
43:09
Speaker 1: that his attention had been keenly aroused. You consider that
43:13
Speaker 1: to be important, he asked, exceedingly. So is there any
43:17
Speaker 1: point to which you would wish to draw my attention
43:20
Speaker 1: to the curious incident of the dog in the night time?
43:25
Speaker 1: The dog did nothing in the night time. That was
43:28
Speaker 1: the curious incident, remarked Sherlock Holmes. Four days later, Holmes
43:34
Speaker 1: and I were again in the train bound for Winchester
43:37
Speaker 1: to see the race for the Wessex Cup. Colonel Ross
43:41
Speaker 1: met us by appointment outside the station, and we drove
43:44
Speaker 1: in his drag to the course beyond the town. His
43:47
Speaker 1: face was grave and his manner was cold in the extreme.
43:52
Speaker 1: I have seen nothing of my horse, said he. I
43:56
Speaker 1: suppose that you would know him when you saw him,
43:59
Speaker 1: asked Holmes. The colonel was very angry. I have been
44:03
Speaker 1: on the turf for twenty years and never was asked
44:05
Speaker 1: such a question as that before, said he. A child
44:08
Speaker 1: would know silver Blaze with his white forehead and his
44:11
Speaker 1: mottled off fore leg. How is the betting, well, that
44:16
Speaker 1: is the curious part of it. You could have got
44:18
Speaker 1: fifteen to one yesterday, but the price has become shorter
44:21
Speaker 1: and shorter, until you can hardly get three to one now,
44:24
Speaker 1: hum said Holmes. Somebody knows something that is clear. As
44:31
Speaker 1: the drag drew up in the enclosure near the grand stand,
44:34
Speaker 1: I glanced at the card to see the entries Wessex Plate.
44:39
Speaker 1: It ran fifty sovs each eight feet with thousand sovs
44:44
Speaker 1: added for four and five year olds. Second three hundred pounds,
44:49
Speaker 1: Third two hundred pounds. New course one mile and five furlongs.
44:55
Speaker 1: Mister Heath Newton's the Negro red cap, cinnamon jacket, Colonel
45:00
Speaker 1: Wardlaw's Pugilist pink cap, blue and black jacket, Lord Backwater's
45:05
Speaker 1: Desbra yellow cap and sleeves, Colonel Ross's Silver Blaze, black cap,
45:10
Speaker 1: red jacket, Duke of Balmoral's Iris, yellow and black stripes,
45:15
Speaker 1: Lord Singleford's Rasper purple cap, black sleeves. We scratched our
45:21
Speaker 1: other one and put all hopes on your word, said
45:25
Speaker 1: the colonel. Why what is that silver Blaze favorite? Five
45:31
Speaker 1: to four against silver Blaze, roared the ring, five to
45:34
Speaker 1: four against silver Blaze, five to fifteen against Desbra, five
45:38
Speaker 1: to four. On the field, there are the numbers up,
45:41
Speaker 1: I cried. They are all six there, all six there.
45:46
Speaker 1: Then my horse is running, cried the Colonel, in great agitation.
45:50
Speaker 1: But I don't see him. My colors have not pasted,
45:54
Speaker 1: only five have passed. This must be he As I spoke,
45:58
Speaker 1: a powerful bay horse horse swept out from the weighing
46:01
Speaker 1: enclosure and cantered past us, bearing on its back the
46:05
Speaker 1: well known black and red of the Colonel. That's not
46:09
Speaker 1: my horse, cried the owner. That beast has not a
46:12
Speaker 1: white hair upon its body. What is this that you
46:14
Speaker 1: have done, mister Holmes. Well, well, let us see how
46:18
Speaker 1: he gets on, said my friend, imperturbably. For a few
46:22
Speaker 1: minutes he gazed through my field glass capital an excellent stut,
46:27
Speaker 1: he cried. Suddenly, there they are, coming round the curve.
46:32
Speaker 1: From our drag, we had a superb view as they
46:35
Speaker 1: came up the strait. The six horses were so close
46:38
Speaker 1: together that a carpet could have covered them, but half
46:42
Speaker 1: way up the yellow of the Mapleton stable showed to
46:45
Speaker 1: the front. Before they reached us, however, Desbra's bolt was shot,
46:50
Speaker 1: and the Colonel's horse, coming away with a rush, passed
46:54
Speaker 1: the post a good six lengths before its rival, the
46:58
Speaker 1: Duke of Bowmoral's iris making a bad third. It's my race, anyhow,
47:04
Speaker 1: gasped the Colonel, passing his hand over his eyes. I
47:07
Speaker 1: confess that I can make neither head nor tail of it.
47:11
Speaker 1: Don't you think that you have kept up your mystery
47:13
Speaker 1: long enough? Mister Holmes. Certainly, colonel you shall know everything.
47:18
Speaker 1: Let us all go round and have a look at
47:20
Speaker 1: the horse together. Here he is, he continued, as we
47:24
Speaker 1: made our way into the weighing enclosure, where only owners
47:28
Speaker 1: and their friends find admittance. You have only to wash
47:32
Speaker 1: his face and his leg in spirits of wine, and
47:35
Speaker 1: you will find that he is the same old silver
47:37
Speaker 1: blaze as ever you take my breath away. I found
47:41
Speaker 1: him in the hands of a faker and took the
47:44
Speaker 1: liberty of running him just as he was sent over.
47:47
Speaker 1: My dear sir, you have done wonders. The horse looks
47:50
Speaker 1: very fit and well. It never went better in its life.
47:54
Speaker 1: I owe you a thousand apologies for having doubted your ability.
47:58
Speaker 1: You have done me a great service by recovering my horse.
48:02
Speaker 1: You would do me a greater still if you could
48:04
Speaker 1: lay your hands on the murderer of John Straker. I
48:08
Speaker 1: have done so, said Holmes quietly. The Colonel and I
48:13
Speaker 1: stared at him in amazement. You have got him. Where
48:17
Speaker 1: is he? Then? He is here? Here, where in my
48:22
Speaker 1: company at the present moment. The colonel flushed angrily. I
48:27
Speaker 1: quite recognize that I am under obligations to you, mister Holmes,
48:30
Speaker 1: said he, but I must regard what you have just
48:33
Speaker 1: said as either a very bad joke or an insult,
48:37
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes laughed. I assure you that I have not
48:41
Speaker 1: associated you with the crime, Colonel said he. The real
48:45
Speaker 1: murderer is standing immediately behind you. He stepped past and
48:49
Speaker 1: laid his hand upon the glossy neck of the thoroughbred.
48:53
Speaker 1: The horse cried both the Colonel and myself. Yes, the horse.
48:58
Speaker 1: And it may lessen his guilt if I say that
49:01
Speaker 1: it was done in self defense, and that John Straker
49:05
Speaker 1: was a man who was entirely unworthy of your confidence.
49:09
Speaker 1: But there goes the bell, and as I stand to
49:11
Speaker 1: win a little on this next race, I shall defer
49:14
Speaker 1: a lengthy explanation until a more fitting time. We had
49:19
Speaker 1: the corner of a pullman car to ourselves that evening
49:23
Speaker 1: as we whirled back to London, and I fancied that
49:26
Speaker 1: the journey was a short one to Colonel Ross as
49:29
Speaker 1: well as to myself. As we listened to our companion's
49:32
Speaker 1: narrative of the events which had occurred at the Dartmoor
49:35
Speaker 1: training stables upon the Monday night, and the means by
49:38
Speaker 1: which he had unraveled them, I confess, said he that
49:43
Speaker 1: any theories which I had formed from the newspaper reports
49:47
Speaker 1: were entirely erroneous, and yet there were indications there had
49:52
Speaker 1: there not been overlaid by other details which concealed their
49:55
Speaker 1: true import. I went to Devonshire with the conviction that
49:59
Speaker 1: Fitzroy Simpson was the true culprit, although of course I
50:03
Speaker 1: saw that the evidence against him was by no means complete.
50:06
Speaker 1: It was while I was in the carriage, just as
50:09
Speaker 1: we reached the trainer's house, that the immense significance of
50:13
Speaker 1: the curried mutton occurred to me. You may remember that
50:17
Speaker 1: I was distray and remained sitting after you had all alighted.
50:22
Speaker 1: I was marveling in my own mind how I could
50:24
Speaker 1: possibly have overlooked so obvious a clue. I confess, said
50:28
Speaker 1: the Colonel, that even now I cannot see how it
50:31
Speaker 1: helps us. It was the first link in my chain
50:34
Speaker 1: of reasoning. Powdered opium is by no means tasteless. The
50:38
Speaker 1: flavor is not disagreeable, but it is perceptible. Were it
50:43
Speaker 1: mixed with any ordinary dish, the eater would undoubtedly detect
50:47
Speaker 1: it and would probably eat no more. A curry was
50:51
Speaker 1: exactly the medium which would disguise this taste. By no
50:55
Speaker 1: possible supposition could this stranger Fitzroy Simpson have caused curry
50:59
Speaker 1: to be served in the trainer's family that night, And
51:02
Speaker 1: it is surely too monstrous a coincidence to suppose that
51:05
Speaker 1: he happened to come along with powdered opium upon the
51:09
Speaker 1: very night when a dish happened to be served, which
51:11
Speaker 1: would disguise the flavor. That is unthinkable. Therefore, Simpson becomes
51:16
Speaker 1: eliminated from the case, and our attention centers upon Straker
51:20
Speaker 1: and his wife, the only two people who could have
51:23
Speaker 1: chosen curried mutton for supper that night. The opium was
51:27
Speaker 1: added after the dish was set aside for the stable boy,
51:31
Speaker 1: for the others had the same for supper with no
51:34
Speaker 1: ill effects. Which of them then had access to that
51:38
Speaker 1: dish without the maid seeing them? Before deciding that question,
51:42
Speaker 1: I had grasped the significance of the silence of the dog,
51:46
Speaker 1: for one true inference invariably suggests others. The Simpson incident
51:52
Speaker 1: had shown me that a dog was kept in the stables,
51:55
Speaker 1: and yet though someone had been in and had fetched
51:59
Speaker 1: out a horn, he had not barked enough to arouse
52:03
Speaker 1: the two lads in the loft. Obviously, the midnight visitor
52:07
Speaker 1: was someone whom the dog knew well. I was already convinced,
52:12
Speaker 1: or almost convinced, that John Straker went down to the
52:15
Speaker 1: stables in the dead of the night and took out
52:18
Speaker 1: silver Blaze for what purpose? Were a dishonest one, obviously,
52:23
Speaker 1: or why should he drug his own stable boy? And
52:26
Speaker 1: yet I was at a loss to know why. There
52:29
Speaker 1: have been cases before now where trainers have made sure
52:32
Speaker 1: of great sums of money by laying against their own
52:35
Speaker 1: horses through agents, and then preventing them from winning by fraud.
52:41
Speaker 1: Sometimes it is a pulling jockey, sometimes it is some
52:45
Speaker 1: surer and subtler. Means, what was it here? I hoped
52:49
Speaker 1: that the contents of his pockets might help me to
52:52
Speaker 1: form a conclusion, and they did so. You cannot have
52:56
Speaker 1: forgotten the singular knife which was found in the dead
52:59
Speaker 1: man's head, and a knife which certainly no sane man
53:02
Speaker 1: would choose for a weapon. It was, as doctor Watson
53:06
Speaker 1: told us, a form of knife which is used for
53:08
Speaker 1: the most delicate operations known in surgery, and it was
53:12
Speaker 1: to be used for a delicate operation that night. You
53:16
Speaker 1: must know, with your wide experience of turf matters, Colonel Ross,
53:21
Speaker 1: that it is possible to make a slight nick upon
53:23
Speaker 1: the tendons of a horse's ham, and to do it subcutaneously,
53:28
Speaker 1: so as to leave absolutely no trace. A horse so
53:32
Speaker 1: treated would develop a slight lameness, which would be put
53:35
Speaker 1: down to a strain in exercise, or a touch of rheumatism,
53:39
Speaker 1: but never to foul play. Villain scoundrel, cried the colonel.
53:44
Speaker 1: We have here the explanation of why John Straker wished
53:48
Speaker 1: to take the horse out on to the moor. So
53:50
Speaker 1: spirited a creature would have certainly roused the soundest of
53:53
Speaker 1: sleepers when it felt the prick of the knife. It
53:57
Speaker 1: was absolutely necessary to do it in the open air.
54:00
Speaker 1: I have been blind, cried the colonel. Of course, that
54:03
Speaker 1: was why he needed the candle and struck the match, undoubtedly.
54:08
Speaker 1: But in examining his belongings, I was fortunate enough to
54:12
Speaker 1: discover not only the method of the crime, but even
54:15
Speaker 1: its motives. As a man of the world, Colonel, you
54:19
Speaker 1: know that men do not carry other people's bills about
54:22
Speaker 1: in their pockets. We have, most of us quite enough
54:25
Speaker 1: to do to settle our own. I at once concluded
54:28
Speaker 1: that Straker was leading a double life and keeping a
54:32
Speaker 1: second establishment. The nature of the bill showed that there
54:36
Speaker 1: was a lady in the case, and one who had
54:38
Speaker 1: expensive tastes. Liberal as you are with your servants, one
54:42
Speaker 1: can hardly expect that they can buy twenty guinea walking
54:45
Speaker 1: dresses for their ladies. I questioned missus Straker as to
54:49
Speaker 1: the dress, without her knowing it, and having satisfied myself
54:53
Speaker 1: that it never reached her, I made a note of
54:55
Speaker 1: the Milliner's address, and felt that by calling there with
54:58
Speaker 1: Straker's photograph I could easily dispose of the mythical Darbyshire.
55:04
Speaker 1: From that time on all was plain. Straker had led
55:07
Speaker 1: out the horse to a hollow where his light would
55:10
Speaker 1: be invisible. Simpson, in his flight had dropped his cravat,
55:13
Speaker 1: and Straker had picked it up, with some idea, perhaps
55:17
Speaker 1: that he might use it in securing the horse's leg.
55:20
Speaker 1: Once in the hollow, he had got behind the horse
55:23
Speaker 1: and had struck a light. But the creature, frightened at
55:27
Speaker 1: the sudden glare, and with the strange instinct of animals,
55:31
Speaker 1: feeling that some mischief was intended, had lashed out, and
55:35
Speaker 1: the steel shoe had struck Straker full on the forehead.
55:38
Speaker 1: It had already in spite of the rain taken off
55:41
Speaker 1: his overcoat in order to do his delicate task, and
55:44
Speaker 1: so as he fell his knife gashed his thigh. Do
55:48
Speaker 1: I make it clear? Wonderful? Cried the Colonel. Wonderful you
55:53
Speaker 1: might have been there. My final shot was, I confess,
55:57
Speaker 1: a very long one. It struck me so astute man
56:01
Speaker 1: as Straker would not undertake this delicate tendon nicking without
56:05
Speaker 1: a little practice. What could he practice on? My eyes
56:09
Speaker 1: fell upon the sheep, and I asked a question, which,
56:12
Speaker 1: rather to my surprise, showed that my surmise was correct.
56:17
Speaker 1: When I returned to London, I called upon the milliner,
56:19
Speaker 1: who had recognized Straker as an excellent customer of the
56:23
Speaker 1: name of Derbyshire, who had a very dashing wife with
56:27
Speaker 1: a strong partiality for expensive dresses. I have no doubt
56:31
Speaker 1: that this woman had plunged him head over ears in
56:34
Speaker 1: debt and so led him into this miserable plot. You
56:38
Speaker 1: have explained all but one thing, cried the Colonel. Where
56:42
Speaker 1: was the horse? Ah, it bolted and was cared for
56:46
Speaker 1: by one of your neighbors. We must have an amnesty
56:49
Speaker 1: in that direction. I think this is Clapham junction if
56:53
Speaker 1: I am not mistaken, and we shall be in Victoria
56:56
Speaker 1: in less than ten minutes. If you care to smoke
56:59
Speaker 1: a cigar in our rooms, Colonel I shall be happy
57:03
Speaker 1: to give you any other details which might interest you.
57:11
Speaker 1: That is the end of the Adventure of Silver Blaze
57:15
Speaker 1: by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Greg Wagland for Magpie
57:20
Speaker 1: Audio twenty sixteen.