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06 - The Man with the Twisted Lip · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recorded by Julian Jamison. The Adventures
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Speaker 1: of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Adventure six
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Speaker 1: The Man with the Twisted lip. Isa Whitney, brother of
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Speaker 1: the late Elias Whitney, d d. Principle of the Theological
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Speaker 1: College of Saint George's, was much addicted to opium. The
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Speaker 1: habit grew upon him, as I understand, from some foolish
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Speaker 1: freak when he was at college, for having read de
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Speaker 1: Quincey's description of his dreams and sensations, he had drenched
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Speaker 1: his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the
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Speaker 1: same effects. He found, as so many more have done,
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Speaker 1: that the practice is easier to attain than to get
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Speaker 1: rid of, And for many years he continued to be
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Speaker 1: a slave to the drug, an object of mingled horror
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Speaker 1: and pity to his friends and relatives. I can see
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Speaker 1: him now, with yellow pasty face, drooping lids, and pin
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Speaker 1: point pupils, all huddled in a chair. The wreck and
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Speaker 1: ruin of a noble man. One night, it was in
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Speaker 1: June eighty nine, there came a ring to my bell,
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Speaker 1: about the hour when a man gives his first yawn
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Speaker 1: and glances at the clock. I sat up in my chair,
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Speaker 1: and my wife laid her needlework down in her lap
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Speaker 1: and made a little face of disappointment. A patient said,
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Speaker 1: she you'll have to go out. I groaned, for I
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Speaker 1: was newly come back from a weary day. We heard
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Speaker 1: the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick
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Speaker 1: steps upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and
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Speaker 1: a lady clad in some dark colored stuff with a
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Speaker 1: black veil entered the room. You will excuse me, calling
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Speaker 1: so late, she began, and then, suddenly losing her self control,
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Speaker 1: she ran forward, threw her arms about my wife's neck,
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Speaker 1: and sobbed upon her shoulder. Oh I'm in such trouble,
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Speaker 1: she cried. I do so want a little help. Why,
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Speaker 1: said my wife, pulling up her veil. It is Kate Whitney.
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Speaker 1: How you startled me? Kate. I had not an idea
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Speaker 1: who you were when you came in. I didn't know
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Speaker 1: what to do, so I came straight to you. That
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Speaker 1: was always the way folk who were in grief, came
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Speaker 1: to my wife like birds to a lighthouse. It was
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Speaker 1: very sweet of you to come. Now. You must have
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Speaker 1: some wine and water and sit here comfortably and tell
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Speaker 1: us all about it. Or should you rather that I
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Speaker 1: sent James off to bed. Oh no, no, I want
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Speaker 1: the doctor's advice and help too. It's about Isa. He
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Speaker 1: has not been home for two days. I'm so frightened
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Speaker 1: about him. It was not the first time that she
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Speaker 1: had spoken to us of her husband's trouble, to me
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Speaker 1: as a doctor, to my life, as an old friend
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Speaker 1: and school companion. We soothed and comforted her by such
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Speaker 1: words as we could find. Did she know where her
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Speaker 1: husband was? Was it possible that we could bring him
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Speaker 1: back to her? It seems that it was. She had
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Speaker 1: the surest information that of late he had when the
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Speaker 1: fit was on him, made use of an opium den
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Speaker 1: in the farthest east of the city. Hitherto, his orgies
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Speaker 1: had always been confined to one day, and he'd come
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Speaker 1: back twitching and shattered in the evening. But now the
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Speaker 1: spell had been upon him eight and forty hours, and
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Speaker 1: he lay there, doubtless among the dregs of the docks,
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Speaker 1: breathing in the poison or sleeping off the effects. There
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Speaker 1: he was to be found. She was sure of it
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Speaker 1: at the bar of Gold in Upper Swandham Lane. But
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Speaker 1: what was she to do? How could she, a young
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Speaker 1: and timid woman, make her way into such a place
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Speaker 1: and pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who
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Speaker 1: surrounded him? There was the case, and of course there
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Speaker 1: was but one way out of it. Might I not
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Speaker 1: escort her to this place? And then, as a second thought,
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Speaker 1: why should she come at all? I was Asa Whitney's
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Speaker 1: medical adviser, and as such I had influence over him.
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Speaker 1: I could manage it better if I were alone. I
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Speaker 1: promised her on my word that I would send him
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Speaker 1: home in a cab within two hours if he were
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Speaker 1: indeed at the address which she had given me. And
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Speaker 1: so in ten minutes I had left my arm chair
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Speaker 1: and cheery sitting room behind me, and was speeding eastward
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Speaker 1: in a hansom on a strange errand, as it seemed
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Speaker 1: to me at the time, though the future only could
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Speaker 1: show how strange it was to be. But there was
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Speaker 1: no great difficulty in the first stage of my adventure.
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Speaker 1: Upper Swandam Lane is a vile alley lurking behind the
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Speaker 1: high wharves which line the north side of the river
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Speaker 1: to the east of London Bridge, between a slop shop
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Speaker 1: and a gin shop. Approached by a steep flight of
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Speaker 1: steps leading down to a black gap, like the mouth
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Speaker 1: of a cave, I found the den of which I
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Speaker 1: was in search. Ordering my cab to wait, I passed
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Speaker 1: down the steps, worn hollow in the center by the
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Speaker 1: ceaseless tread of drunken feet. By the light of a
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Speaker 1: flickering oil lamp above the door, I found the latch
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Speaker 1: and made my way into a long, low room, thick
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Speaker 1: and heavy with the brown opium smoke, and terraced with
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Speaker 1: wooden berths, like the forecastle of an emigrant ship. Through
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Speaker 1: the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies
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Speaker 1: lying in strange fantastic poses, bowed shoulders, bent knees, heads
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Speaker 1: thrown back, and chins pointing upward, with here and there
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Speaker 1: a dark, lackluster eye turned upon the newcomer. Out of
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Speaker 1: the black shadows, there glimmered little red circles of light,
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Speaker 1: now bright, now faint, as the burning poison waxed or
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Speaker 1: waned in the bowls of the metal pipes. The most
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Speaker 1: lay silent, but some muttered to themselves, and others talked
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Speaker 1: together in a strange, low monotonous voice, their conversation coming
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Speaker 1: in gushes and then suddenly tailing off into silence, each
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Speaker 1: mumbling out his own thoughts and paying little heed to
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Speaker 1: the words of his neighbor. At the farther end was
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Speaker 1: a small brazier of burning charcoal, beside which on a
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Speaker 1: three legged wooden stool, there sat a tall, thin old man,
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Speaker 1: with his jaw resting upon his two fists and his
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Speaker 1: elbows upon his knees, staring into the fire. As I entered,
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Speaker 1: a sallow malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe
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Speaker 1: for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me
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Speaker 1: to an empty berth. Thank you, I have not come
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Speaker 1: to stay, said I. There is a friend of mine here,
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Speaker 1: mister Isa Whitney, and I wished to speak with him.
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Speaker 1: There was a movement and an exclamation from my right,
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Speaker 1: and peering through the gloom, I saw Whitney, pale, haggard
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Speaker 1: and unkempt, staring out at me. My god, it's Watson,
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Speaker 1: said he. He was in a pitiable state of reaction,
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Speaker 1: with every nerve in a twitter I say, Watson, what
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Speaker 1: o'clock is it? Nearly eleven of what day of Friday?
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Speaker 1: June nineteenth? Good heavens, I thought it was Wednesday. It
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Speaker 1: is Wednesday. What do you want to frighten a chap
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Speaker 1: for he sank his face unto his arms and began
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Speaker 1: to sob in a high treble key. I tell you
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Speaker 1: that it is Friday. Man, your wife has been waiting
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Speaker 1: this two days for you. You should be ashamed of yourself,
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Speaker 1: so I am. But you've got mixed, Watson, for I've
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Speaker 1: only been here a few hours. Three pipes, four pipes,
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Speaker 1: I forget how many. But I'll go home with you.
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Speaker 1: I wouldn't frighten Kate, Poor little Kate. Give me your hand.
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Speaker 1: Have you a cab? Yes? I have one waiting. Then
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Speaker 1: I shall go in it. But I must owe something.
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Speaker 1: Find what I owe? Watson? I am all off color.
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Speaker 1: I can do nothing for myself. I walked down the
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Speaker 1: narrow passage between the double row of sleepers, holding my
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Speaker 1: breath to keep out the vile, stupefying fumes of the drug,
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Speaker 1: and looking about for the manager. As I passed the
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Speaker 1: tall man who sat by the brazier, I felt a
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Speaker 1: sudden pluck at my skirt, and a low voice whispered,
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Speaker 1: walk past me, and then look back at me. The
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Speaker 1: words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I glanced down.
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Speaker 1: They could only have come from the old man at
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Speaker 1: my side. And yet he sat now as absorbed as ever,
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Speaker 1: very thin, very wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe
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Speaker 1: dangling down from between his knees as though it had
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Speaker 1: dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers. I took two
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Speaker 1: steps forward and looked back. It took all my self
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Speaker 1: control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry
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Speaker 1: of astonishment. He turned his back so that none could
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Speaker 1: see him but I. His form had filled out, his
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Speaker 1: wrinkles were gone, the dull eyes had regained their fire,
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Speaker 1: And there, sitting by the fire and grinning at my surprise,
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Speaker 1: was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He made a slight
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Speaker 1: motion to me to approach him, and instantly as he
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Speaker 1: turned his face half round to the company, once more
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Speaker 1: subsided into a doddering, loose lipped sinility. Holmes. I whispered,
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Speaker 1: what on earth are you doing in this den? As
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Speaker 1: low as you can, he answered, I have excellent ears.
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Speaker 1: If you would have the great kindness to get rid
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Speaker 1: of that sawtish friend of yours. I should be exceedingly
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Speaker 1: glad to have a little talk with you. I have
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Speaker 1: a cab outside, then pray send him home innut you
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Speaker 1: may safely trust him, for he appears to be too
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Speaker 1: limp to get into any mischief. I should recommend you
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Speaker 1: also to send a note by the cabman to your
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Speaker 1: wife to say that you have thrown in your lot
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Speaker 1: with me. If you will wait outside, I shall be
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Speaker 1: with you in five minutes. It was difficult to refuse
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Speaker 1: any of Schlockolmbe's requests, for they were always so exceedingly
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Speaker 1: definite and put forward with such a quiet air of mastery.
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Speaker 1: I felt, however, that when Whitney was once confined in
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Speaker 1: the cab, my mission was practically accomplished, and for the
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Speaker 1: rest I could not wish anything better than to be
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Speaker 1: associated with my friend in one of those singular adventures
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Speaker 1: which were the normal condition of his existence. In a
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Speaker 1: few minutes, I had written my note, paid Whitney's bill,
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Speaker 1: led him out to the cab, and seen him driven
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Speaker 1: through the darkness. In a very short time, a decrepit
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Speaker 1: figure had emerged from the opium den and I was
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Speaker 1: walking down the street with schrlock comb umes for two streets.
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Speaker 1: He shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot, Then,
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Speaker 1: glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and burst into
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Speaker 1: a hearty fit of laughter. I suppose, Watson said he
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Speaker 1: that you imagine that I have added opium smoking to
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Speaker 1: cocaine injections, and all the other little weaknesses on which
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Speaker 1: you have favored me with your medical views. I was
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Speaker 1: certainly surprised to find you there, but not more so
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Speaker 1: than I to find you. I came to find a friend,
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Speaker 1: and I to find an enemy, an enemy, yes, one
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Speaker 1: of my natural enemies, or shall I say my natural prey. Briefly, Watson,
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Speaker 1: I am in the midst of a very remarkable inquiry,
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Speaker 1: and I have hoped to find a clue in the
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Speaker 1: incoherent ramblings of these sots, as I have done before. Now.
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Speaker 1: Had I been recognized in that den, my life would
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Speaker 1: not have been worth an hour's purchase, for I have
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Speaker 1: used it before now for my own purposes, and the
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Speaker 1: rascally lascar who runs it has sworn to have vengeance
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Speaker 1: upon me. There is a trap door at the back
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Speaker 1: of that building, near the corner of Paul's wharf, which
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Speaker 1: could tell some strange tales of what has passed through
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Speaker 1: it upon the moonless nights. What you do not mean bodies? Aye, bodies, Watson.
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Speaker 1: We should be rich men if we had a thousand
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Speaker 1: pounds for every poor devil who had been done to
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Speaker 1: death in that den. It is the vilest murder trap
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Speaker 1: on the whole river side. And I fear that nevill
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Speaker 1: Saint Clair has entered it, never to leave it more.
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Speaker 1: But our trap should be here. He put his two
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Speaker 1: forefingers between his teeth and whistled shrilly, a signal, which
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Speaker 1: was answered by a similar whistle from the distance, followed
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Speaker 1: shortly by the rattle of wheels and the clink of
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Speaker 1: horses hoofs now. Watson, said Holmes, as a tall dog
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Speaker 1: cart dashed up through the gloom, throwing out two golden
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Speaker 1: tunnels of yellow light from its side lanterns. You'll come
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Speaker 1: with me, won't you? If I can be of use? Oh,
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Speaker 1: A trusty comrade is always of use, and a crown
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Speaker 1: still more so. My room at the Cedars is a
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Speaker 1: double bedded one the Cedars. Yes, that is mister Saint
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Speaker 1: Clair's house. I am staying there while I conduct the inquiry.
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Speaker 1: Where is it? Then? Near Lee in Kent? We have
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Speaker 1: a seven mile drive before us. But I am all
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Speaker 1: in the dark. Of course you are. You'll know all
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Speaker 1: about it presently. Jump up here, all right, John, We
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Speaker 1: shall not need you. Here's half a crown. Look out
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Speaker 1: for me tomorrow about eleven. Give her her head so long.
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Speaker 1: Then he flicked the horse with his whip, and we
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Speaker 1: dashed away through the endless succession of somber and deserted streets,
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Speaker 1: which widened gradually until we were flying across a broad,
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Speaker 1: balustraded bridge, with the murky river flowing sluggishly beneath us.
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Speaker 1: Beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and mortar, its
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Speaker 1: silence broken only by the heavy regular footfall of the policeman,
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Speaker 1: or the songs and shouts of some belated party of revelers.
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Speaker 1: A dull wrack was drifting slowly across the sky, and
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Speaker 1: a star or two twinkled dimly here and there through
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Speaker 1: the rifts of the clouds. Holmes drove in silence, with
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Speaker 1: his head sunk upon his breast, and the air of
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Speaker 1: a man who is lost in thought. While I sat
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Speaker 1: beside him curious to learn what this new quest might be,
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Speaker 1: which seemed to tax his powers so sorely, and yet
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Speaker 1: afraid to break in upon the current of his thoughts.
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Speaker 1: We had driven several miles and were beginning to get
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Speaker 1: to the fringe of the belt of suburban villas when
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Speaker 1: he shook himself, shrugged his shoulders, and lit up his
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Speaker 1: pipe with the air of a man who is satisfied
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Speaker 1: himself that he is acting for the best. You have
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Speaker 1: a grand gift of silence, Watson said he. It makes
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Speaker 1: you quite invaluable as a companion. Upon my word, it
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Speaker 1: is a great thing for me to have some one
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Speaker 1: to talk to, for my own thoughts are not over pleasant.
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Speaker 1: I was wondering what I should say to this dear
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Speaker 1: little woman to night when she meets me at the door.
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Speaker 1: You forget that I know nothing about it. I shall
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Speaker 1: just time to tell you the facts of the case
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Speaker 1: before we get to Lee. It seems absurdly simple, and
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Speaker 1: yet somehow I can get nothing to go upon. There's
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Speaker 1: plenty of thread, no doubt, but I can't get the
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Speaker 1: end of it into my hand. Now I'll state the
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Speaker 1: case clearly and concisely to you, Watson, and maybe you
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Speaker 1: can see a spark where all is dark to me.
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Speaker 1: Proceed then, some years ago to be definite. In May
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Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four there came to Lee a gentleman Neville,
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Speaker 1: Saint Clair by name, who appeared to have plenty of money.
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Speaker 1: He took a large villa, laid out the grounds very nicely,
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Speaker 1: and lived generally in good style. By degrees. He made
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Speaker 1: friends in the neighborhood, and in eighteen eighty seven he
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Speaker 1: married the daughter of a local brewer, by whom he
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Speaker 1: now has two children. He had no occupation, but was
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Speaker 1: interested in several companies, and went into town as a
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Speaker 1: rule in the morning, returning by the five fourteen from
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Speaker 1: Cannon Street every night. Mister Saint Clair is now thirty
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Speaker 1: seven years of age, is a man of temperate habits,
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Speaker 1: a good husband, a very affectionate father, and a man
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Speaker 1: who's popular with all who know him. I may add
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Speaker 1: that his whole debts at the present moment, as far
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Speaker 1: as we have been able to ascertain, amount to eighty
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Speaker 1: eight pounds ten shillings, while he has two hundred twenty
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Speaker 1: pounds standing to his credit in the Capitol and County's bank.
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Speaker 1: There is no reason therefore to think that money troubles
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Speaker 1: have been weighing upon his mind. Last Monday, mister Neville
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Speaker 1: Saint Clair went into town rather earlier than usual, remarking
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Speaker 1: before he started that he had two important commissions to perform,
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Speaker 1: and that he would bring his little boy home a
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Speaker 1: box of bricks. Now, by the merest chance, his wife
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Speaker 1: received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after
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Speaker 1: his departure, to the effect that a small parcel of
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Speaker 1: considerable value, which she had been expecting, was waiting for
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Speaker 1: her the offices of the Aberdeen Shipping Company. Now, if
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Speaker 1: you are well up in your London, you will know
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Speaker 1: that the office of the company is in Fresno Street,
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Speaker 1: which branches out of upper Swandham Lane, where you found me.
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Speaker 1: To night, Missus Saint Clair had her lunch, started for
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Speaker 1: the city, did some shopping, proceeded to the company's office,
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Speaker 1: got her packet, and found herself at exactly four thirty
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Speaker 1: five walking through Swandham Lane on her way back to
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Speaker 1: the station. Have you followed me so far? It is
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Speaker 1: very clear if you remember. Monday was an exceedingly hot day,
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Speaker 1: and Missus Saint Clair walked slowly, glancing about in the
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Speaker 1: hope of seeing a cab, as she did not like
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Speaker 1: the neighborhood in which she found herself. While she was
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Speaker 1: walking in this way down Swandham Lane, she suddenly heard
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Speaker 1: an ejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see
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Speaker 1: her husband looking down at her, and, as it seemed
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Speaker 1: to her, beckoning to her from a second floor window.
16:41
Speaker 1: The window was open, and she distinctly saw his face,
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Speaker 1: which she describes as being terribly agitated. He waved his
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Speaker 1: hands frantically to her, and then vanished from the window
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Speaker 1: so suddenly that it seemed to her that he had
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Speaker 1: been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. One
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Speaker 1: singular point which struck her quite feminine I was that
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Speaker 1: although he wore some dark coat, such as he had
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Speaker 1: started to town in, he had on neither collar nor necktie.
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Speaker 1: Convinced that something was amiss with him, she rushed down
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Speaker 1: the steps, for the house was none other than the
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Speaker 1: opium den in which you found me to night, and
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Speaker 1: running through the front room, she attempted to ascend the stairs,
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Speaker 1: which led to the first floor. At the foot of
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Speaker 1: the stairs, however, she met this less scar scoundrel of
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Speaker 1: whom I have spoken, who thrust her back, and, aided
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Speaker 1: by a Dane who acts as assistant there, pushed her
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Speaker 1: out into the street. Filled with the most maddening doubts
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Speaker 1: and fears, she rushed down the lane, and by rare
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Speaker 1: good fortune, met in Fresno Street a number of constables
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Speaker 1: with an inspector, all on their way to their beat.
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Speaker 1: The inspector and two men accompanied her back, and in
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Speaker 1: spite of the continued resistance of the proprietor, they made
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Speaker 1: their way up to the room in which mister Saint
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Speaker 1: Clair had last been seen. There was no sign of
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Speaker 1: him there. In fact, in the whole of that floor,
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Speaker 1: there was no one to be seen save a crippled
17:58
Speaker 1: wretch of hideous aspect, who it seems made his home there.
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Speaker 1: Both he and the lascar stoutly swore that no one
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Speaker 1: else had been in the front room during the afternoon.
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Speaker 1: So determined was their denial that the inspector was staggered
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Speaker 1: and had almost come to believe that missus Sinclair had
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Speaker 1: been deluded, when with a cry, she sprang at a
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Speaker 1: small deal box which lay upon the table, and tore
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Speaker 1: the lid from it. Out there fell a cascade of
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Speaker 1: children's bricks. It was the toy which he had promised
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Speaker 1: to bring home. This discovery and the evident confusion which
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Speaker 1: the cripple showed, made the inspector realize that the matter
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Speaker 1: was serious. The rooms were carefully examined, and results all
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Speaker 1: pointed to an abominable crime. The front room was plainly
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Speaker 1: furnished as a sitting room, and led into a small
18:44
Speaker 1: bedroom which looked out upon the back of one of
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Speaker 1: the wharves. Between the wharf and the bedroom window is
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Speaker 1: a narrow strip which is dry and low tide, but
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Speaker 1: is covered at high tide with at least four and
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Speaker 1: a half feet of water. The bedroom window was a
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Speaker 1: broad one and opened from below. On examination, traces of
19:02
Speaker 1: blood were to be seen upon the window sill, and
19:04
Speaker 1: several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of
19:07
Speaker 1: the bedroom. Thrust away behind a curtain in the front
19:10
Speaker 1: room were all the clothes of mister Neville Saint Clair,
19:14
Speaker 1: with the exception of his coat, his boots, his socks,
19:18
Speaker 1: his hat, and his watch all were there. There were
19:22
Speaker 1: no signs of violence upon any of these garments, and
19:25
Speaker 1: there were no other traces of mister Neville Saint Clair
19:29
Speaker 1: out of the window. He must apparently have gone for
19:31
Speaker 1: no other exit could be discovered, and the ominous blood
19:34
Speaker 1: stains upon the sill gave little promise that he could
19:37
Speaker 1: save himself by swimming, for the tide was at its
19:40
Speaker 1: very highest at the moment of the tragedy. And now,
19:44
Speaker 1: as to the villains who seemed to be immediately implicated
19:46
Speaker 1: in the matter, the Lascar was known to be a
19:49
Speaker 1: man of the violest antecedents. But as by Missus Saint
19:52
Speaker 1: Clair's story, he was known to have been at the
19:54
Speaker 1: foot of the stair within a very few seconds of
19:56
Speaker 1: her husband's appearance at the window, he could hardly have
19:59
Speaker 1: been more than an accessory to the crime. His defense
20:02
Speaker 1: was one of absolute ignorance, and he protested that he
20:05
Speaker 1: had no knowledge as to the doings of Hugh Boone,
20:08
Speaker 1: his lodger, and that he could not account in any
20:11
Speaker 1: way for the presence of the missing gentleman's clothes. So
20:15
Speaker 1: much for the Lascar manager, Now for this sinister cripple
20:19
Speaker 1: who lives upon the second floor of the Opium den,
20:21
Speaker 1: and who was certainly the last human being whose eyes
20:24
Speaker 1: rested upon Neville Saint Clair. His name is Hugh Boone,
20:29
Speaker 1: and his hideous face is one which is familiar to
20:32
Speaker 1: every man who goes much to the city. He is
20:34
Speaker 1: a professional beggar, though in order to avoid the police regulations,
20:38
Speaker 1: he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas some
20:42
Speaker 1: little distance down thread Needle Street, upon the left hand side,
20:46
Speaker 1: there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle
20:49
Speaker 1: in the wall. Here it is that this creature takes
20:52
Speaker 1: his daily seat, cross legged, with his tiny stock of
20:55
Speaker 1: matches on his lap. And as he is a piteous spectacle,
20:58
Speaker 1: a small rain of charity descends into the greasy leather
21:02
Speaker 1: cap which lies upon the pavement beside him. I have
21:06
Speaker 1: watched the fellow more than once before ever I thought
21:09
Speaker 1: of making his professional acquaintance, and I have been surprised
21:12
Speaker 1: at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time.
21:15
Speaker 1: His appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one
21:18
Speaker 1: can pass him without observing him. A shock of orange hair,
21:22
Speaker 1: a pale face disfigured by a horrible scar which, by
21:26
Speaker 1: its contraction has turned up the outer edges of his
21:28
Speaker 1: upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a pair of very
21:32
Speaker 1: penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular contrast to the
21:36
Speaker 1: color of his hair, all mark him out from amid
21:39
Speaker 1: the common crowd of mendicants, and so too does his wit,
21:42
Speaker 1: for he is ever ready with a reply to any
21:44
Speaker 1: piece of chaff which may be thrown at him by
21:46
Speaker 1: the passers by. This is the man whom we now
21:49
Speaker 1: learned to have been the lodger at the Opium den,
21:51
Speaker 1: and to have been the last man to see the
21:53
Speaker 1: gentleman of whom we are in quest. But a cripple,
21:57
Speaker 1: said I what could he have done single handed against
22:00
Speaker 1: a man in the prime of life. He is a
22:03
Speaker 1: cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp,
22:05
Speaker 1: but in other respects he appears to be a powerful
22:08
Speaker 1: and well nurtured man. Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson,
22:12
Speaker 1: that weakness in one limb is often compensated for by
22:15
Speaker 1: exceptional strength in the others. Pray continue your narrative. Missus
22:21
Speaker 1: Sinclair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon
22:24
Speaker 1: the window, and she was escorted home in a cab
22:26
Speaker 1: by the police, as her presence could be of no
22:29
Speaker 1: help to them in their investigations. Inspector Barton, who had
22:33
Speaker 1: charge of the case, made a very careful examination of
22:35
Speaker 1: the premises, but without finding anything which threw any light
22:39
Speaker 1: upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not
22:41
Speaker 1: a resting boone instantly, as he was allowed some few
22:44
Speaker 1: minutes during which he might have communicated with his friend
22:47
Speaker 1: thele scar. But this fault was soon remedied, and he
22:50
Speaker 1: was seized and searched without anything being found which could
22:54
Speaker 1: incriminate him. Their word is true. Some blood stains upon
22:57
Speaker 1: his right shirt sleeve, but he pointed to his ring finger,
23:01
Speaker 1: which had been cut near the nail, and explained that
23:03
Speaker 1: the bleeding came from there, adding that he had been
23:06
Speaker 1: to the window not long before, and that the stains
23:09
Speaker 1: which had been observed there came doubtless from the same source.
23:13
Speaker 1: He denied strenuously having ever seen mister Neville Saint Clair,
23:17
Speaker 1: and swore that the presence of the clothes in his
23:19
Speaker 1: room was as much a mystery to him as to
23:21
Speaker 1: the police. As to missus Saint Clair's assertion that she
23:24
Speaker 1: had actually seen her husband at the window, he declared
23:27
Speaker 1: that she must have been either mad or dreaming. He
23:30
Speaker 1: was removed, loudly protesting to the police station, while the
23:35
Speaker 1: inspector remained upon the premises in the hope that the
23:37
Speaker 1: ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue. And it did,
23:42
Speaker 1: though they hardly found upon the mud bank what they
23:44
Speaker 1: had feared to find. It was Neville Saint Clair's coat,
23:48
Speaker 1: and not Neville Saint Clair, which lay uncovered as the
23:51
Speaker 1: tide receded. And what do you think they found in
23:54
Speaker 1: the pockets? I cannot imagine. No, I don't think you
24:00
Speaker 1: would guess every pocket stuffed with pennies and halfpennies four
24:05
Speaker 1: hundred twenty one pennies and two hundred seventy halfpennies. It
24:09
Speaker 1: was no wonder that it had not been swept away
24:11
Speaker 1: by the tide. But a human body is a different matter.
24:15
Speaker 1: There is a fierce eddy between the wharf and the house.
24:18
Speaker 1: It seemed likely enough that the weighted coat had remained
24:21
Speaker 1: when the stripped body had been sucked away into the river.
24:25
Speaker 1: But I understand that all the other clothes were found
24:27
Speaker 1: in the room. Would the body be dressed in a
24:30
Speaker 1: coat alone, No, sir, But the facts might be met
24:35
Speaker 1: speciously enough. Suppose that this man's boone had thrust Nevill
24:38
Speaker 1: Saint Clair through the window. There's no human eye which
24:41
Speaker 1: could have seen the deed. What would he do then?
24:44
Speaker 1: It would of course instantly strike him that he must
24:46
Speaker 1: get rid of the tell tale garments. He would seize
24:49
Speaker 1: the coat then and be in the act of throwing
24:51
Speaker 1: it out when it would occur to him that it
24:53
Speaker 1: would swim and not sink. He has little time, for
24:56
Speaker 1: he has heard the scuffle downstairs when the wife tried
24:59
Speaker 1: to force her way up, and perhaps he's already heard
25:01
Speaker 1: from his lescar confederate that the police are hurrying up
25:04
Speaker 1: the street. There's not an instant to be lost. He
25:08
Speaker 1: rushes to some secret horde where he has accumulated the
25:11
Speaker 1: fruits of his beggary, and he stuffs all the coins
25:13
Speaker 1: upon which he can lay his hands into the pockets
25:15
Speaker 1: to make sure of the coats sinking. He throws it out,
25:18
Speaker 1: and would have done the same thing with the other garments,
25:20
Speaker 1: had not he heard the rush of steps below, and
25:23
Speaker 1: only just had time to close the window when the
25:25
Speaker 1: police appeared. It certainly sounds feasible. Well, we will take
25:30
Speaker 1: it as a working hypothesis, for want of a better boone.
25:34
Speaker 1: As I have told you, was arrested and taken to
25:37
Speaker 1: the station. But it could not be shown that there
25:39
Speaker 1: had ever before been anything against him. He had for
25:42
Speaker 1: years been known as a professional beggar, but his life
25:45
Speaker 1: appeared to have been a very quiet and innocent one. There.
25:48
Speaker 1: The matter stands at present, and the questions which have
25:51
Speaker 1: to be solved what Neville Saint Clair was doing in
25:54
Speaker 1: the Opium Den, what happened to him when there, where
25:58
Speaker 1: is he now? And what Hugh Boone had to do
26:01
Speaker 1: with his disappearance are all as far from a solution
26:04
Speaker 1: as ever. I confess that I cannot recall any case
26:08
Speaker 1: within my experience which looked at the first glance so
26:11
Speaker 1: simple and yet which presented such difficulties. While chrlock Combe
26:16
Speaker 1: had been detailing this singular series of events, we had
26:19
Speaker 1: been whirling through the outskirts of the great town until
26:22
Speaker 1: the last straggling houses had been left behind, and we
26:26
Speaker 1: rattled along with a country hedge upon either side of us.
26:29
Speaker 1: Just as he finished, however, we drove through two scattered
26:32
Speaker 1: villages where a few lights still glimmered in the windows.
26:36
Speaker 1: We are on the outskirts of Lee, said my companion.
26:40
Speaker 1: We have touched on three English counties in our short drive,
26:43
Speaker 1: starting in Middlesex, passing over an angle of Surrey, and
26:47
Speaker 1: ending in Kent. See that light among the trees, that
26:51
Speaker 1: is the cedars, and beside that lamp sits a woman
26:54
Speaker 1: whose anxious ears have already I have little doubt caught
26:58
Speaker 1: the clink of our horses feet. But why are you
27:02
Speaker 1: not conducting the case from Baker Street, I asked, because
27:06
Speaker 1: there are many inquiries which must be made out here.
27:09
Speaker 1: Missus Saint Clair has most kindly put two rooms at
27:12
Speaker 1: my disposal, and you may rest assured that she will
27:14
Speaker 1: have nothing but a welcome for my friend and colleague.
27:18
Speaker 1: I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have no
27:20
Speaker 1: news of her husband. Here we are woa there WHOA.
27:25
Speaker 1: We had pulled up in front of a large villa
27:27
Speaker 1: which stood within its own grounds. A stable boy had
27:30
Speaker 1: run out to the horse's head, and springing down, I
27:33
Speaker 1: followed Holmes up the small winding gravel drive which led
27:37
Speaker 1: to the house. As we approached, the door flew open,
27:41
Speaker 1: and a little blond woman stood in the opening, clad
27:43
Speaker 1: in some sort of light musoline de sois, with a
27:46
Speaker 1: touch of fluffy pink chiffon at her neck and wrists.
27:50
Speaker 1: She stood with her figure outlined against the flood of light,
27:52
Speaker 1: one hand upon the door, one half raised in her eagerness,
27:56
Speaker 1: her body slightly bent, her head and face protrude with
28:00
Speaker 1: eager eyes and parted lips. A standing question, well, she
28:06
Speaker 1: cried well, and then seeing that there were two of us,
28:10
Speaker 1: she gave a cry of hope, which sank into a
28:12
Speaker 1: groan as she saw that my companion shook his head
28:15
Speaker 1: and shrugged his shoulders. No good news, none, no bad no,
28:23
Speaker 1: thank God for that. But come in. You must be weary,
28:26
Speaker 1: for you have had a long day. This is my friend,
28:30
Speaker 1: doctor Watson. He's been of most vital use to me
28:33
Speaker 1: in several of my cases, and a lucky chance has
28:36
Speaker 1: made it possible for me to bring him out and
28:38
Speaker 1: associate him with this investigation. I am delighted to see you,
28:42
Speaker 1: said she, pressing my hand warmly. You will, I am sure,
28:46
Speaker 1: forgive anything that may be wanting in our arrangements when
28:49
Speaker 1: you consider the blow which has come so suddenly upon us.
28:53
Speaker 1: My dear madam said I I am an old campaigner,
28:56
Speaker 1: and if I were not, I can very well see
28:58
Speaker 1: that no apology is needed. If I can be of
29:01
Speaker 1: any assistance, either to you or to my friend here,
29:04
Speaker 1: I shall be indeed happy. Now, mister sherlock Holmbe's, said
29:09
Speaker 1: the lady, as we entered a well lit dining room.
29:12
Speaker 1: Upon the table of which a cold supper had been
29:14
Speaker 1: laid out. I should very much like to ask you
29:17
Speaker 1: one or two plain questions, to which I beg that
29:20
Speaker 1: you will give a plain answer. Certainly, madam, do not
29:24
Speaker 1: trouble about my feelings. I am not hysterical nor given
29:28
Speaker 1: to fainting. I simply wish to hear your real, real opinion.
29:33
Speaker 1: Upon what point in your heart of hearts do you
29:37
Speaker 1: think that Neville is alive? Surlocombe seemed to be embarrassed
29:41
Speaker 1: by the question. Frankly now, she repeated, standing upon the
29:47
Speaker 1: rug and looking keenly down at him as he leaned
29:50
Speaker 1: back in a basket chair. Frankly, then, Madame, I do
29:54
Speaker 1: not you think that he is dead? I do murdered.
30:01
Speaker 1: I don't say that. Perhaps, And on what day did
30:05
Speaker 1: he meet his death? On Monday? Then perhaps, mister Holmes,
30:10
Speaker 1: you will be good enough to explain how it is
30:12
Speaker 1: that I have received a letter from him to day.
30:16
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmbe sprang out of his chair as if he
30:18
Speaker 1: had been galvanized. What he roared? Yes to day? She stood, smiling,
30:25
Speaker 1: holding up a little slip of paper in the air.
30:28
Speaker 1: May I see it? Certainly? He snatched it from her
30:32
Speaker 1: in his eagerness, and smoothing it out upon the table.
30:35
Speaker 1: He drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I
30:38
Speaker 1: had left my chair and was gazing at it over
30:40
Speaker 1: his shoulder. The envelope was a very coarse one, and
30:44
Speaker 1: was stamped with the gravesend postmark, and with the date
30:47
Speaker 1: of that very day, or rather of the day before,
30:50
Speaker 1: for it was considerably after midnight. Coarse writing, murmured Holmes.
30:55
Speaker 1: Surely this is not your husband's writing, madam. No, but
30:59
Speaker 1: the enclosure is. I perceive also that whoever addressed the
31:03
Speaker 1: envelope had to go and inquire as to the address.
31:07
Speaker 1: How can you tell that the name you see is
31:11
Speaker 1: in perfectly black ink, which has dried itself. The rest
31:15
Speaker 1: is of the grayish color, which shows that blotting paper
31:18
Speaker 1: has been used. If it had been written straight off
31:21
Speaker 1: and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade.
31:24
Speaker 1: This man has written the name, and there has then
31:26
Speaker 1: been a pause before he wrote the address, which can
31:29
Speaker 1: only mean that he was not familiar with it. It is,
31:32
Speaker 1: of course a trifle, but there is nothing so important
31:35
Speaker 1: as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Hah, there's
31:39
Speaker 1: been an enclosure here yes, there was a ring, his
31:43
Speaker 1: signet ring. And you are sure that this is your
31:46
Speaker 1: husband's hand, one of his hands, one his hand when
31:52
Speaker 1: he wrote hurriedly. It is very unlike his usual writing.
31:56
Speaker 1: And yet I know it well, dearest, Do not be frightened.
32:01
Speaker 1: All will come well. There is a huge error which
32:05
Speaker 1: it may take some little time to rectify. Wait in patience.
32:10
Speaker 1: Neville written in pencil upon the fly leaf of a
32:15
Speaker 1: book octavo size, no water mark. Hum post it to
32:20
Speaker 1: day in graves End by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha,
32:25
Speaker 1: and the flap has been gummed, if I am not
32:28
Speaker 1: very much in error, by a person who had been
32:31
Speaker 1: chewing tobacco. And you have no doubt that it is
32:34
Speaker 1: your husband's hand, madam none. Neville wrote those words, and
32:41
Speaker 1: they were posted to day at graves End. Well missus,
32:45
Speaker 1: Saint Clair. The clouds lighten, though I should not venture
32:49
Speaker 1: to say that the danger is over. But he must
32:53
Speaker 1: be alive, mister Holmes, unless this is a clever forgery
32:57
Speaker 1: to put us on the wrong scent. The ring, after all,
33:00
Speaker 1: proves nothing. It may have been taken from him. No, no,
33:04
Speaker 1: it is it is his very own writing. Very well,
33:09
Speaker 1: it may however, have been written on Monday and only
33:13
Speaker 1: post it to day. That is possible if so much
33:18
Speaker 1: may have happened between Oh, But you must not discourage me,
33:23
Speaker 1: mister Holmes. I know that all is well with him.
33:26
Speaker 1: There is so keen a sympathy between us that I
33:28
Speaker 1: should know if evil came upon him. On the very
33:31
Speaker 1: day that I saw him last, he cut himself in
33:33
Speaker 1: the bedroom, and yet I, in the dining room rushed
33:36
Speaker 1: upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that something had happened.
33:40
Speaker 1: Do you think that I would respond to such a
33:42
Speaker 1: trifle and yet be ignorant of his death. I have
33:46
Speaker 1: seen too much not to know that the impression of
33:49
Speaker 1: a woman may be more valuable than the conclusion of
33:52
Speaker 1: an analytical reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have
33:56
Speaker 1: a very strong piece of evidence to corroborate your view.
34:00
Speaker 1: But if your husband is alive and able to write letters,
34:03
Speaker 1: why should he remain away from you? I cannot imagine
34:07
Speaker 1: it is unthinkable. And on Monday he made no remarks
34:13
Speaker 1: before leaving you. No, and you were surprised to see
34:18
Speaker 1: him in Swandham Lane very much so was the window open? Yes,
34:26
Speaker 1: then he might have called to you he might he only,
34:30
Speaker 1: as I understand, gave an inarticulate cry. Yes, it called
34:36
Speaker 1: for help. You thought, yes, he waved his hands, But
34:41
Speaker 1: it might have been a cry of surprise. Astonishment at
34:44
Speaker 1: the unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw
34:46
Speaker 1: up his hands. It is possible. And you thought he
34:51
Speaker 1: was pulled back he disappeared so suddenly he might have
34:55
Speaker 1: leaped back. You did not see any one else in
34:58
Speaker 1: the room. No, but this horrible man confessed to having
35:02
Speaker 1: been there, and the le scar was at the foot
35:04
Speaker 1: of the stairs. Quite so. Your husband, as far as
35:08
Speaker 1: you could see, had his ordinary clothes on, but without
35:13
Speaker 1: his collar or tie. I distinctly saw his bare throat.
35:17
Speaker 1: Had he ever spoken of Swandham Lane? Never had he
35:22
Speaker 1: ever showed any signs of having taken an opium? Never?
35:27
Speaker 1: Thank you missus Saint Clair. Those are the principal points
35:31
Speaker 1: about which I wished to be absolutely clear. We shall
35:36
Speaker 1: now have a little supper and then retire, for we
35:39
Speaker 1: may have a very busy day tomorrow. A large and
35:43
Speaker 1: comfortable double bedded room had been placed at our disposal,
35:47
Speaker 1: and I was quickly between the sheets, for I was
35:49
Speaker 1: weary after my night of adventure. Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, who,
35:54
Speaker 1: when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would
35:57
Speaker 1: go for days and even for a week without rest,
36:00
Speaker 1: turning it over, rearranging his facts, looking at it from
36:04
Speaker 1: every point of view, until he had either fathomed it
36:06
Speaker 1: or convinced himself that his data were insufficient. It was
36:10
Speaker 1: soon evident to me that he was now preparing for
36:12
Speaker 1: an all night sitting. He took off his coat and waistcoat,
36:16
Speaker 1: put on a large blue dressing gown, and then wandered
36:19
Speaker 1: about the room, collecting pillows from his bed and cushions
36:22
Speaker 1: from the sofa and arm chairs. With these he constructed
36:25
Speaker 1: a sort of Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself
36:29
Speaker 1: cross legged, with an ounce of shag tobacco and a
36:32
Speaker 1: box of matches laid out in front of him. In
36:35
Speaker 1: the dim light of the lamp, I saw him sitting there,
36:38
Speaker 1: an old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed
36:42
Speaker 1: vacantly upon the corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke
36:46
Speaker 1: curling up from him, silent, motionless, with the light shining
36:51
Speaker 1: upon his strong set aquiline features. So he sat as
36:56
Speaker 1: I dropped off to sleep. And so he sat when
36:58
Speaker 1: a sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up, and I
37:01
Speaker 1: found the summer sun shining into the apartment. The pipe
37:05
Speaker 1: was still between his lips, the smoke still curled upward,
37:09
Speaker 1: and the room was full of a dense tobacco haze.
37:12
Speaker 1: But nothing remained of the heap of shag which I
37:14
Speaker 1: had seen upon the previous night. Awake Watson, he asked, yes,
37:21
Speaker 1: game for a morning drive. Certainly, then dress. No one
37:26
Speaker 1: is stirring yet, but I know where the stable boy sleeps,
37:29
Speaker 1: and we shall soon have the trap out. He chuckled
37:32
Speaker 1: to himself as he spoke. His eyes twinkled, and he
37:35
Speaker 1: seemed a different man to the somber thinker of the
37:37
Speaker 1: previous night. As I dressed, I glanced at my watch.
37:41
Speaker 1: It was no wonder that no one was stirring. It
37:43
Speaker 1: was twenty five minutes past four. I'd hardly finish when
37:47
Speaker 1: Holmes returned with the news that the boy was putting
37:49
Speaker 1: in the horse. I want to test a little theory
37:52
Speaker 1: of mine, said he, pulling on his boots. I think, Watson,
37:56
Speaker 1: that you are now standing in the presence of one
37:58
Speaker 1: of the most absolute us in Europe. I deserve to
38:02
Speaker 1: be kicked from here to Charing Cross. But I think
38:05
Speaker 1: I have the key of the affair now, and where
38:08
Speaker 1: is it? I asked, smiling in the bathroom, he answered,
38:13
Speaker 1: Oh yes, I'm not joking, he continued, seeing my look
38:17
Speaker 1: of incredulity. I have just been there, and I have
38:20
Speaker 1: taken it out, and I have got it in this
38:22
Speaker 1: gladstone bag. Come on, my boy, and we shall see
38:25
Speaker 1: whether it will not fit the lock. We made our
38:29
Speaker 1: way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into the
38:32
Speaker 1: bright morning sunshine. In the road stood our horse and trap,
38:36
Speaker 1: with the half clad stable boy waiting at the head.
38:39
Speaker 1: We both sprang in and away we dashed down the
38:42
Speaker 1: London road. A few country carts were stirring, bearing in
38:46
Speaker 1: vegetables to the metropolis, but the lines of villas on
38:49
Speaker 1: either side were as silent and lifeless as some city
38:52
Speaker 1: in a dream. It has been in some points a
38:56
Speaker 1: singular case, said Holmes, flicking the horse into a gallop.
39:01
Speaker 1: I confess that I have been as blind as a mole.
39:04
Speaker 1: But it is better to learn wisdom late than never
39:06
Speaker 1: to learn it at all. In town, the earliest risers
39:10
Speaker 1: were just beginning to look sleepily from their windows as
39:13
Speaker 1: we drove through the streets of the Surrey side, passing
39:16
Speaker 1: down the Waterloo Bridge Road. We crossed over the river,
39:19
Speaker 1: and dashing up Wellington Street, wheeled sharply to the right
39:23
Speaker 1: and found ourselves in Bow Street. Sherlock Holmes was well
39:26
Speaker 1: known to the force, and the two constables at the
39:28
Speaker 1: door saluted him. One of them held the horse's head,
39:31
Speaker 1: while the other led us in. Who's on duty? Asked Holmes.
39:36
Speaker 1: Inspector Bradstreet. Sir, Ah brad Street, how are you? A
39:41
Speaker 1: tall stout official had come down the stone flagged passage
39:45
Speaker 1: in a peaked cap and frogged jacket. I wish to
39:48
Speaker 1: have a quiet word with you, brad Street. Certainly, mister Holmes,
39:52
Speaker 1: step into my room. Here. It was a small office
39:56
Speaker 1: like room with a huge ledger upon the table and
39:59
Speaker 1: a telephone project from the wall. The inspector sat down
40:02
Speaker 1: at his desk. What can I do for you, mister Holmes.
40:06
Speaker 1: I called about that beggarman Boone, the one who was
40:10
Speaker 1: charged with being concerned in the disappearance of mister Neville
40:12
Speaker 1: Saint Clair of Lee. Yes, he was brought up and
40:17
Speaker 1: remanded for further inquiries. So I heard you have him
40:21
Speaker 1: here in the cells. Is he quiet? Oh, he gives
40:26
Speaker 1: no trouble, But he's a dirty scoundrel. Dirty. Yes. It
40:31
Speaker 1: is all we can do to make him wash his hands.
40:34
Speaker 1: And his face is as black as a tinker's well.
40:36
Speaker 1: And once his case has been settled, he will have
40:38
Speaker 1: a regular prison bath. And I think if you saw him,
40:41
Speaker 1: you would agree with me that he needed it. I
40:44
Speaker 1: should like to see him very much, would you. That's
40:48
Speaker 1: easily done. Come this way, you can leave your bag. No,
40:52
Speaker 1: I think that I'll take it very good. Come this
40:56
Speaker 1: way if you please. He let us down a passage,
40:59
Speaker 1: opened a bar our door, passed down a winding stair,
41:03
Speaker 1: and brought us to a whitewashed corridor with a line
41:05
Speaker 1: of doors on each side. The third on the right
41:08
Speaker 1: is his, said the inspector. Here it is. He quietly
41:12
Speaker 1: shot back a panel in the upper part of the
41:14
Speaker 1: door and glanced through. He's asleep, said he. You can
41:19
Speaker 1: see him very well. We both put our eyes to
41:22
Speaker 1: the grating. The prisoner lay with his face towards us,
41:26
Speaker 1: in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and heavily. He
41:30
Speaker 1: was a middle sized man, coarsely clad as became his calling,
41:34
Speaker 1: with a colored shirt protruding through the rent in his
41:36
Speaker 1: tattered coat. He was, as the inspector had said, extremely dirty,
41:41
Speaker 1: but the grime which covered his face could not conceal
41:43
Speaker 1: its repulsive ugliness. A broad wheel from an old scar
41:47
Speaker 1: ran right across it from eye to chin, and by
41:50
Speaker 1: its contraction, had turned up one side of the upper lip,
41:54
Speaker 1: so that three teeth were exposed in a perpetual snarl.
41:57
Speaker 1: A shock of very bright red hair grew low over
42:00
Speaker 1: his eyes and forehead. He's a beauty, isn't he, said
42:04
Speaker 1: the inspector. He certainly needs a wash, remarked Holmes. I
42:09
Speaker 1: had an idea that he might, and I took the
42:11
Speaker 1: liberty of bringing the tools with me. He opened the
42:14
Speaker 1: gladstone bag as he spoke, and took out, to my astonishment,
42:17
Speaker 1: a very large bath sponge. He eh, you're a funny one,
42:22
Speaker 1: chuckled the inspector. Now, if you will have the great
42:26
Speaker 1: goodness to open that door very quietly, we will soon
42:29
Speaker 1: make him cut a much more respectable figure. Well, I dunno,
42:34
Speaker 1: why not, said the inspector. He doesn't look a credit
42:37
Speaker 1: to the bow Street cells, does he. He slipped his
42:40
Speaker 1: key into the lock, and we all very quietly entered
42:43
Speaker 1: the cell. The sleeper half turned and then settled down
42:46
Speaker 1: once more into a deep slumber. Holmes stooped to the
42:50
Speaker 1: water jug, moistened his sponge, and then rubbed it twice
42:53
Speaker 1: vigorously across and down the prisoner's face. Let me introduce you,
42:58
Speaker 1: he shouted to mister Neville, Saint Clair of Lee in
43:02
Speaker 1: the County of Kent. Never in my life have I
43:06
Speaker 1: seen such a sight. The man's face pealed off under
43:09
Speaker 1: the sponge, like the bark from a tree. Gone was
43:13
Speaker 1: the coarse brown tint. Gone too was the horrid scar
43:17
Speaker 1: which had seemed at a cross, and the twisted lip
43:19
Speaker 1: which had given the repulsive sneer to the face. A
43:22
Speaker 1: twitch brought away the tangled red hair. And there, sitting
43:26
Speaker 1: up in his bed was a pale, sad faced, refined
43:30
Speaker 1: looking man, black haired and smooth skinned, rubbing his eyes
43:34
Speaker 1: and staring about him with sleepy bewilderment. Then, suddenly realizing
43:38
Speaker 1: the exposure, he broke into a scream and threw himself
43:41
Speaker 1: down with his face to the pillow. Great Heavens, cried
43:45
Speaker 1: the inspector. It is indeed the missing man. I know
43:48
Speaker 1: him from the photograph. The prisoner turned with the reckless
43:51
Speaker 1: air of a man who abandons himself to his destiny.
43:56
Speaker 1: Be it so, said he, and pray what am I
43:59
Speaker 1: charge with making away with mister Nevills. Oh? Come, you
44:05
Speaker 1: can't be charged with that unless they make a case
44:07
Speaker 1: of attempted suicide of it, said the inspector, with a grin. Well,
44:11
Speaker 1: I have been twenty seven years in the force, but
44:13
Speaker 1: this really takes the cake. If I am mister Neville
44:17
Speaker 1: Saint Clair, then it is obvious that no crime has
44:19
Speaker 1: been committed, and that therefore I am illegally detained. No crime,
44:25
Speaker 1: but a very great error has been committed, said Holmes.
44:29
Speaker 1: You would have done better to have trusted your wife.
44:33
Speaker 1: It was not the wife, it was the children, groaned
44:35
Speaker 1: the prisoner. God help me, I would not have them
44:38
Speaker 1: ashamed of their father. My God, what an exposure. What
44:41
Speaker 1: can I do? Chela Combe sat down beside him on
44:45
Speaker 1: the couch and patted him kindly on the shoulder. If
44:49
Speaker 1: you leave it to a court of law to clear
44:51
Speaker 1: the matter up, said he. Of course, you can hardly
44:54
Speaker 1: avoid publicity. On the other hand, if you convince the
44:58
Speaker 1: police authorities that there is no possible cause case against you,
45:01
Speaker 1: I do not know that there is any reason that
45:02
Speaker 1: the details should find their way into the papers. Inspector Bradstreet, would,
45:07
Speaker 1: I am sure, make notes upon anything which you might
45:10
Speaker 1: tell us, and submit it to the proper authorities. The
45:13
Speaker 1: case would then never go into court at all. God
45:17
Speaker 1: bless you, cried the prisoner Passionately, I would have endured imprisonment,
45:21
Speaker 1: I even execution, rather than I have left my miserable
45:25
Speaker 1: secret as a family blot to my children. You are
45:29
Speaker 1: the first to have ever heard my story. My father
45:32
Speaker 1: was a schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent education.
45:36
Speaker 1: I traveled in my youth, took to the stage, and
45:39
Speaker 1: finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London.
45:43
Speaker 1: One day, my editor wished to have a series of
45:45
Speaker 1: articles upon begging and the Metropolis, and I volunteered to
45:48
Speaker 1: supply them. There was the point from which all my
45:51
Speaker 1: adventures started. It was only by trying begging as an
45:54
Speaker 1: amateur that I could get the facts upon which to
45:56
Speaker 1: base my articles. When an actor, I had of course
46:00
Speaker 1: learned all the secrets of making up, and had been
46:02
Speaker 1: famous in the green room for my skill. I took
46:05
Speaker 1: advantage now of my attainments I painted my face, and
46:08
Speaker 1: to make myself as pitiable as possible, I made a
46:11
Speaker 1: good scar and fixed one side of my lip in
46:13
Speaker 1: a twist by the aid of a small slip of
46:15
Speaker 1: flesh colored plaster. Then with a red head of hair
46:19
Speaker 1: and an appropriate dress, I took my station in the
46:22
Speaker 1: business part of the city, ostensibly as a match seller,
46:25
Speaker 1: but really as a beggar. For seven hours I applied
46:28
Speaker 1: my trade, and when I returned home in the evening,
46:30
Speaker 1: I found to my surprise that I had received no
46:33
Speaker 1: less than twenty six shillings and fourpence. I wrote my
46:37
Speaker 1: articles and thought little more of the matter until some
46:40
Speaker 1: time later I backed a bill for a friend and
46:42
Speaker 1: had a writ served upon me for twenty five pounds.
46:46
Speaker 1: I was at my WIT's end where to get the money,
46:48
Speaker 1: but a sudden idea came to me. I begged a
46:50
Speaker 1: fortnight's grace from the creditor, asked for a holiday from
46:54
Speaker 1: my employers, and spent the time in begging in the
46:56
Speaker 1: city under my disguise. In ten days I had the
47:00
Speaker 1: money and had paid the debt. Well you can imagine
47:03
Speaker 1: how hard it was to settle down to arduous work
47:05
Speaker 1: at two pounds a week. When I knew that I
47:07
Speaker 1: could earn as much in a day by smearing my
47:09
Speaker 1: face with a little paint, laying my cap on the ground,
47:13
Speaker 1: and sitting still. It was a long fight between my
47:16
Speaker 1: pride and the money, but the dollars won at last,
47:19
Speaker 1: and I threw up reporting and sat day after day
47:21
Speaker 1: in the corner which I had first chosen, inspiring pity
47:24
Speaker 1: by my ghastly face and filling my pockets with coppers.
47:28
Speaker 1: Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper
47:31
Speaker 1: of a low den in which I used to lodge
47:33
Speaker 1: in Swandham Lane, where I could every morning emerge as
47:36
Speaker 1: a squalid beggar, and in the evenings transform myself into
47:39
Speaker 1: a well dressed man about town. This fellow, a le scar,
47:43
Speaker 1: was well paid by me for his rooms, so that
47:45
Speaker 1: I knew that my secret was safe in his possession.
47:49
Speaker 1: Well very soon I found that I was saving considerable
47:51
Speaker 1: sums of money. I do not mean that any beggar
47:54
Speaker 1: in the streets of London could earn seven hundred pounds
47:56
Speaker 1: a year, which is less than my average taking. But
48:00
Speaker 1: I had exceptional advantages in my power of making up,
48:03
Speaker 1: and also in a facility of repartee, which improved my
48:06
Speaker 1: practice and made me quite a recognized character in the city.
48:10
Speaker 1: All day a stream of pennies varied by silver, poured
48:14
Speaker 1: in upon me, and it was a very bad day
48:16
Speaker 1: in which I failed to take two pounds. As I
48:19
Speaker 1: grew richer, I grew more ambitious, took a house in
48:22
Speaker 1: the country, and eventually married without anyone having a suspicion
48:25
Speaker 1: as to my real occupation. My dear wife knew that
48:28
Speaker 1: I had business in the city. She little knew what
48:33
Speaker 1: last Monday. I had finished for the day and was
48:35
Speaker 1: dressing in my room above the Opium den when I
48:38
Speaker 1: looked out of my window and saw, to my horror
48:40
Speaker 1: and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the street
48:43
Speaker 1: with her eyes fixed full upon me. I gave a
48:46
Speaker 1: cry of surprise, threw up my arms to cover my face,
48:49
Speaker 1: and rushing to my confidante, though a scar entreated him
48:52
Speaker 1: to prevent any one from coming up to me. I
48:55
Speaker 1: heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that she could
48:57
Speaker 1: not ascend Swiftly, I threw off my clothes, pulled on
49:01
Speaker 1: those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig.
49:04
Speaker 1: Even a wife's eye could not pierce so complete a disguise.
49:08
Speaker 1: But then it occurred to me that there might be
49:10
Speaker 1: a search in the room, and that the clothes might
49:12
Speaker 1: betray me. I threw open the window, reopening by my
49:15
Speaker 1: violence a small cut which I had inflicted upon myself
49:18
Speaker 1: in the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat,
49:21
Speaker 1: which was waited by the coppers, which I had just
49:23
Speaker 1: transferred to it from the leather bag in which I
49:26
Speaker 1: carried my takings. I hurled it out of the window
49:29
Speaker 1: and it disappeared into the Thames. The other clothes would
49:32
Speaker 1: have followed, but at that moment there was a rush
49:34
Speaker 1: of constables up the stair, and a few minutes after
49:37
Speaker 1: I found rather I confessed, to my relief that instead
49:40
Speaker 1: of being identified as mister Neville Saint Clair, I was
49:43
Speaker 1: arrested as his murderer. I do not know that there
49:46
Speaker 1: is anything else for me to explain. I was determined
49:49
Speaker 1: to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and hence
49:52
Speaker 1: my preference for a dirty face. Knowing that my wife
49:55
Speaker 1: would be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and
49:58
Speaker 1: confided it to the scar at a moment when no
50:00
Speaker 1: constable was watching me, together with a hurried scrawl, telling
50:04
Speaker 1: her that she had no cause to fear. That note
50:08
Speaker 1: only reached her yesterday, said Holmes. Good God, what a
50:12
Speaker 1: week she must have spent. The police have watched this lascar,
50:16
Speaker 1: said Inspector Bradstreet, and I can quite understand that he
50:19
Speaker 1: might find it difficult to post a letter unobserved. Probably
50:23
Speaker 1: he handed to some sailor customer of his who forgot
50:26
Speaker 1: all about it for some days. That was it, said Holmes,
50:30
Speaker 1: nodding approvingly. I have no doubt of it. But have
50:33
Speaker 1: you never been prosecuted for begging? Many times? But what
50:37
Speaker 1: was a fine to me? It must stop here, however,
50:41
Speaker 1: said Bradstreet. If the police are to hush this thing up,
50:44
Speaker 1: there must be no more of Hugh Boone. I have
50:47
Speaker 1: sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man
50:50
Speaker 1: can take. In that case, I think that it is
50:53
Speaker 1: probable that no further steps may be taken. But if
50:56
Speaker 1: you are found again, then all must come out. I
50:59
Speaker 1: am sure sure, mister Holmes, that we are very much
51:01
Speaker 1: indebted to you for having cleared the matter up. I
51:04
Speaker 1: wish I knew how you reach your results. I reached
51:08
Speaker 1: this one, said my friend, by sitting upon five pillows
51:12
Speaker 1: and consuming an ounce of shag. I think Watson that
51:16
Speaker 1: if we drive to Baker Street, we shall just be
51:18
Speaker 1: in time for breakfast. End of Adventure six,