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A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle · Audiobooks & Scary Stories

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Speaker 1: I hope you enjoy this reading, which comes from a
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Speaker 1: work in the public domain, A Study in Scarlet by
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Speaker 1: Arthur Conan Doyle, Chapter one, Mister Sherlock Holmes. In the
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Speaker 1: year eighteen seventy eight, I took my degree of Doctor
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Speaker 1: of Medicine of the University of London and proceeded to
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Speaker 1: Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in
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Speaker 1: the Army. Having completed my studies there, I was duly
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Speaker 1: attached to the fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as assistant surgeon. The
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Speaker 1: regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before
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Speaker 1: I could join it, the Second Afghan War had broken out.
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Speaker 1: On landing at Bombay, I learned that my corps had
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Speaker 1: advanced through the passes and was already deep in the
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Speaker 1: enemy's country. I followed, however, with many other officers who
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Speaker 1: were in the same situation as myself, and succeeded in
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Speaker 1: reaching Kandahar in safety, where I found my regiment and
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Speaker 1: at once entered upon my new duties. The campaign brought
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Speaker 1: honors and promotion to many, but for me it had
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Speaker 1: nothing but misfortune and disaster. I was removed from my
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Speaker 1: brigade and attached to the Berkshires, which whom I served
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Speaker 1: at the fatal Battle of Maywand. There I was struck
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Speaker 1: on the shoulder by a Jesile bullet which shattered the
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Speaker 1: bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I should have fallen
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Speaker 1: into the hands of the murderous Gazis, had it not
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Speaker 1: been for the devotion and courage shown by Murray, my orderly,
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Speaker 1: who threw me across a pack horse and succeeded in
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Speaker 1: bringing me safely to the British lines. Worn with pain
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Speaker 1: and weak from the prolonged hardships which I had undergone,
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Speaker 1: I was removed with a great train of wounded sufferers
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Speaker 1: to the base hospital at Peshawar. Here I rallied, and
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Speaker 1: had already improved so far as to be able to
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Speaker 1: walk about the wards and even to bask a little
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Speaker 1: upon the verandah, when I was struck down by enteric fever,
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Speaker 1: that curse of our Indian possessions. For months my life
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Speaker 1: was despaired of, And when at last I came to
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Speaker 1: myself and became convalescent, I was so weak and emaciated
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Speaker 1: that a medical board determined that not a day should
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Speaker 1: be lost in sending me back to England. I was
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Speaker 1: despatched accordingly in the troopship Orantes, and landed a month
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Speaker 1: later on Portsmouth Jetty, with my health irretrievably ruined, but
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Speaker 1: with permission from a paternal government to spend the next
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Speaker 1: nine months in attempting to improve it. I had neither
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Speaker 1: kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free
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Speaker 1: as air, or as free as an income of eleven
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Speaker 1: shillings and sixpence a day will permit a maman to be.
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Speaker 1: Under such circumstances, I naturally gravitated to London, that great
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Speaker 1: cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the
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Speaker 1: Empire are irresistibly drained. There I stayed for some time
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Speaker 1: at a private hotel in the Strand, leading a comfortless,
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Speaker 1: meaningless existence and spending such money as I had, considerably
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Speaker 1: more freely than I ought. So alarming did the state
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Speaker 1: of my finances become that I soon realized that I
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Speaker 1: must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country,
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Speaker 1: or that I must make a complete alteration in my
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Speaker 1: style of living. Choosing the latter alternative, I began by
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Speaker 1: making up my mind to leave the hotel and to
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Speaker 1: take up my quarters in some less pretentious and less
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Speaker 1: expensive domicile. On the very day that I had come
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Speaker 1: to this conclusion, I was standing at the Criterion bar
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Speaker 1: when some one tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round,
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Speaker 1: I reckonized young Stamford, who had been a dresser under
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Speaker 1: me at Bart's. The sight of a friendly face in
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Speaker 1: the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing, indeed
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Speaker 1: to a lonely man. In old days, Stamford had never
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Speaker 1: been a particular crony of mine, But now I hailed
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Speaker 1: him with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn, appeared to
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Speaker 1: be delighted to see me. In the exuberance of my joy,
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Speaker 1: I asked him to lunch with me at the Holborn,
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Speaker 1: and we started off together in a hansom. Whatever have
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Speaker 1: you been doing with yourself, Watson, he asked in undisguised wonder,
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Speaker 1: as we rattled through the crowded London streets. You are
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Speaker 1: as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut.
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Speaker 1: I gave him a short sketch of my adventures, and
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Speaker 1: had hardly concluded it by the time that we reached
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Speaker 1: our destination. Poor devil, he said, commiseratingly. After he had
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Speaker 1: listened to my misfortunes. What are you up to now
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Speaker 1: looking for lodgings, I answered, trying to solve the problem
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Speaker 1: as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms
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Speaker 1: at a reasonable price. That's a strange thing, remarked my companion.
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Speaker 1: You are the second man to that has used that
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Speaker 1: expression to me. And who was the first? I asked
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Speaker 1: a fellow who is working at the chemical laboratory up
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Speaker 1: at the hospital. He was bemoaning himself this morning because
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Speaker 1: he could not get some one to go halves with
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Speaker 1: him in some nice rooms which he had found, and
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Speaker 1: which were too much for his purse. By jove, I cried,
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Speaker 1: if he really wants some one to share the rooms
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Speaker 1: and the expense, I am the veryman for him. I
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Speaker 1: should prefer having a partner to being alone. Young Stamford
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Speaker 1: looked rather strangely at me over his wineglass. You don't know,
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Speaker 1: Sherlock holmbs yet, he said, perhaps you would not care
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Speaker 1: for him as a constant companion. Why what is there
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Speaker 1: against him? Oh? I didn't say there was anything against him.
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Speaker 1: He is a little queer in his ideas, an enthusiast
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Speaker 1: in some branches of science, as far as I know,
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Speaker 1: he is a decent fellow enough a medical student, I suppose, said,
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Speaker 1: I know, I have no idea what he intends to
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Speaker 1: go in for I believe he is well up in anatomy,
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Speaker 1: and he is a first class chemist. But as far
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Speaker 1: as I know, he has never taken out any systematic
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Speaker 1: medical classes. His studies are very desultory and eccentric. But
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Speaker 1: he has amassed a lot of out of the way
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Speaker 1: knowledge which would astonish his professors. Did you never ask
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Speaker 1: him what he was going in? Four? I asked, no.
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Speaker 1: He is not a man that it is easy to
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Speaker 1: draw out, though he can be communicative enough when the
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Speaker 1: fancy seizes him. I should like to meet him, I said.
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Speaker 1: If I am to lodge with any one, I should
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Speaker 1: prefer a man of studious and quiet habits. I am
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Speaker 1: not strong enough yet to stand much noise or excitement.
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Speaker 1: I had enough of both in Afghanistan to last me
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Speaker 1: for the remainder of my natural existence. How could I
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Speaker 1: meet this friend of yours? He is sure to be
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Speaker 1: at the laboratory, returned my companion. He either avoids the
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Speaker 1: place for weeks, or else he works there from morning
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Speaker 1: to night. If you like, we shall drive round together
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Speaker 1: after luncheon. Certainly, I answered, and the conversation drifted away
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Speaker 1: into other channels as we made our way to the hospital.
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Speaker 1: After leaving the Holborn Stamford gave me a few more
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Speaker 1: particulars about the gentleman whom I proposed to take as
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Speaker 1: a fellow lodger. You mustn't blame me if you don't
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Speaker 1: get on with him, he said. I know nothing more
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Speaker 1: of him than I have learned from meeting him occasionally
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Speaker 1: in the laboratory. You propose this arrangement, so you must
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Speaker 1: not hold me responsible if we don't get on. It
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Speaker 1: will be easy to part company, I answered. It seems
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Speaker 1: to me Stamford, I added, looking hard at my companion,
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Speaker 1: that you have some reason for washing your hands of
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Speaker 1: the matter. Is this fellow's temper so formidable or what
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Speaker 1: is it? Don't be merely mouthed about it. It is
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Speaker 1: not easy to express the inexpressible, he answered, with a laugh.
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Speaker 1: Holmes is a little too scientific for my tastes. It
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Speaker 1: approaches to cold bloodedness. I could imagine his giving a
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Speaker 1: friend a little pinch of the latest vegetable alkaloid. Not
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Speaker 1: out of malevolence, you understand, but simply out of a
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Speaker 1: spirit of inquiry, in order to have an accurate idea
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Speaker 1: of the effects to do him justice. I think that
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Speaker 1: he would take it himself with the same readiness. He
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Speaker 1: appears to have a passion for definite and exact knowledge.
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Speaker 1: Very right too, Yes, but it may be pushed to
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Speaker 1: excess when it comes to beating the subjects in the
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Speaker 1: dissecting rooms with a stick. It is certainly taking rather
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Speaker 1: a bizarre shape beating the subjects, yes, to verify how
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Speaker 1: far bruises may be produced after death. I saw him
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Speaker 1: at it with my own eyes. And yet you say
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Speaker 1: he is not a medical student. No, Heaven knows what
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Speaker 1: the objects of his studies are. But here we are,
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Speaker 1: and you must form your own impressions about him. As
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Speaker 1: he spoke, we turned down a narrow lane and passed
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Speaker 1: through a small side door which opened into a wing
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Speaker 1: of the great hospital. It was familiar ground to me
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Speaker 1: and I needed no guiding as we ascended the bleak
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Speaker 1: stone staircase and made our way down the long corridor
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Speaker 1: with its vista of white washed wall and dun colored doors.
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Speaker 1: Near the further and a low arched passage branched away
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Speaker 1: from it and led to the chemical laboratory. This was
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Speaker 1: a lofty chamber, lined and littered with countless bottles. Broad
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Speaker 1: low tables were scattered about, which bristled with retorts, test tubes,
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Speaker 1: and little Bunsen lamps with their blue, flickering flames. There
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Speaker 1: was only one student in the room, who was bending
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Speaker 1: over a distant table, absorbed in his work. At the
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Speaker 1: sound of our steps, he glanced round and sprang to
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Speaker 1: his feet with a cry of pleasure. I've found it.
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Speaker 1: I've found it, he shouted to my companion, running towards
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Speaker 1: us with a test tube in his hand. I have
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Speaker 1: found a reagent which is precipitated by hemoglobin and by
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Speaker 1: nothing else. Had he discovered a gold mine, greater delight
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Speaker 1: could not have shown upon his features, Doctor Watson, mister
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Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes, said Stamford, introducing us, How are you, he said, cordially,
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Speaker 1: gripping my hand with the strength for which I should
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Speaker 1: hardly have given him credit. You have been in Afghanistan,
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Speaker 1: I perceive, how on earth did you know? That? I asked,
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Speaker 1: in astonishment. Never mind, said he, chuckling to himself. The
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Speaker 1: question now is about hemoglobin. No doubt, you see the
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Speaker 1: significance of this discovery of mine. It is interesting chemically,
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Speaker 1: no doubt, I answered, But practically, why man, It is
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Speaker 1: the most practical medical legal discovery for years. Don't you
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Speaker 1: see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains.
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Speaker 1: Come over here now, He seized me by the coat
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Speaker 1: sleeve in his eagerness, and drew me over to the
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Speaker 1: table at which he had been working. Let us have
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Speaker 1: some fresh blood, he said, digging a long bodkin into
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Speaker 1: his finger and drawing off the resulting drop of blood
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Speaker 1: in a chemical papet. Now I ad this small quantity
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Speaker 1: of blood to a liter of water. You perceive that
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Speaker 1: the resulting mixture has the appearance of pure water. The
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Speaker 1: proportion of blood cannot be more than one in a million.
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Speaker 1: I have no doubt, however, that we shall be able
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Speaker 1: to obtain the characteristic reaction. As he spoke, he threw
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Speaker 1: into the vessel a few white crystals, and then added
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Speaker 1: some drops of a transparent fluid. In an instant the
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Speaker 1: contents assumed a dull mahogany color, and a brownish dust
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Speaker 1: was precipitated to the bottom of the glass. Jar ha ah,
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Speaker 1: he cried, clapping his hands and looking as delighted as
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Speaker 1: a child with a new toy. What do you think
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Speaker 1: of that? It seems to be a very delicate test,
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Speaker 1: I remarked, beautiful, beautiful. The old Gyakum test was very
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Speaker 1: clumsy and uncertain. So is the microscopic examination for blood corpusals.
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Speaker 1: The latter is valueless if the stains are a few
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Speaker 1: hours old. Now this appears to act as well, whether
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Speaker 1: the blood is old or new. Had this test been invented,
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Speaker 1: there are hundreds of men now walking the earth who
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Speaker 1: would long ago have paid the penalty of their crimes. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: I murmured criminal cases are continually hinging upon that one point.
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Speaker 1: A man is suspected of a crime, months perhaps after
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Speaker 1: it has been committed. His linen or clothes are examined
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Speaker 1: and brownish stains discovered upon them. Are they blood stains
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Speaker 1: or mud stains, or rust stains or fruit stains? Or
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Speaker 1: what are they? That is a question which has puzzled
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Speaker 1: many an expert. And why because there was no reliable test.
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Speaker 1: Now we have the Sherlock Holmes test, and there will
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Speaker 1: no longer be any difficulty. His eyes fairly glittered as
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Speaker 1: he spoke, and he put his hand over his heart
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Speaker 1: and bowed as if to some applauding crowd conjured up
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Speaker 1: by his imagination. You are to be congratulated, I remarked,
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Speaker 1: considerably surprised at his enthusiasm. There was the case of
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Speaker 1: Vaughan Bischoff at Frankfort last year. He would certainly have
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Speaker 1: been hung had this test been in existence. Then there
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Speaker 1: was Mason of Bradford, and the notorious Muller, and Lefever
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Speaker 1: of Montpellier, and Samson of New Orleans. I could name
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Speaker 1: a score of cases in which it would have been decisive.
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Speaker 1: You seem to be a walking calendar of crime, said Stamford,
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Speaker 1: with a laugh. You might start a paper on those lines,
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Speaker 1: call it the Police News of the Past. Very interesting
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Speaker 1: reading it might be made, too, remarked Sherlock Holmes, sticking
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Speaker 1: a small piece of plaster over the prick on his finger.
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Speaker 1: I have to be careful, he continued, turning to me
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Speaker 1: with a smile, for I dabble with poisons. A good deal.
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Speaker 1: He held out his hand as he spoke, and I
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Speaker 1: noticed that it was all modeled over with similar pieces
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Speaker 1: of plaster and discolored with strong acids. We came here
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Speaker 1: on business, said Stamford, sitting down on a high three
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Speaker 1: legged stool and pushing another one in my direction with
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Speaker 1: his foot. My friend here wants to take diggings. And
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Speaker 1: as you were complaining that you could get no one
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Speaker 1: to go halves with you, I thought that I had
12:22
Speaker 1: better bring you together. Sherlock Holms seemed delighted at the
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Speaker 1: idea of sharing his rooms with me. I have my
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Speaker 1: eye on a suite in Baker Street, he said, which
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Speaker 1: would suit us down to the ground. You don't mind
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Speaker 1: the smell of strong tobacco, I hope. I always smoke
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Speaker 1: ships myself. I answered, that's good enough. I generally have
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Speaker 1: chemicals about and occasionally do experiments. Would that annoy you?
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Speaker 1: By no means? Let me see what are my other shortcomings.
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Speaker 1: I get in the dumps at times and don't open
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Speaker 1: my mouth for days on end. You must not think
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Speaker 1: I am sulky when I do that. Just let me
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Speaker 1: alone and I'll soon be right. What have you to confess? Now?
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Speaker 1: It's just as well for two fellows to know the
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Speaker 1: worst of one another before they begin to live together,
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Speaker 1: I laughed at this cross examination. I keep a bull pup,
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Speaker 1: I said, and I object to rose because my nerves
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Speaker 1: are shaken, and I get up at all sorts of
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Speaker 1: ungodly hours, and I am extremely lazy. I have another
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Speaker 1: set of vices when I'm well, but those are the
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Speaker 1: principal ones at present. Do you include violin playing in
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Speaker 1: your category of rose, he asked anxiously. It depends on
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Speaker 1: the player, I answered. A well played violin is a
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Speaker 1: treat for the gods. A badly played one. Oh that's
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Speaker 1: all right, he cried with a merry laugh. I think
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Speaker 1: we may consider the thing as settled. That is, if
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Speaker 1: the rooms are agreeable to you, when shall we see them?
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Speaker 1: Call for me here at noon tomorrow and we'll go
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Speaker 1: together and settle everything. He answered, All right, noon exactly,
13:56
Speaker 1: said I, shaking his hand. We left him working among
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Speaker 1: his chemicals, and we walked together towards my hotel. By
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Speaker 1: the way, I asked, suddenly, stopping and turning upon Stamford,
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Speaker 1: how the deuce did he know that I had come
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Speaker 1: from Afghanistan? My companion smiled an enigmatic all smile. That's
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Speaker 1: just his little peculiarity, he said. A good many people
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Speaker 1: have wanted to know how he finds things out. Oh
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Speaker 1: a mystery, is it, I cried, rubbing my hands this
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Speaker 1: is very piquant. I am much obliged to you for
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Speaker 1: bringing us together. The proper study of mankind is men.
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Speaker 1: You know you must study him, then, Stamford said, as
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Speaker 1: he bade me good bye, You'll find him a knotty problem,
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Speaker 1: though I'll wager he learns more about you than you
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Speaker 1: about him. Goodbye, goodbye, I answered, and strolled on to
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Speaker 1: my hotel, considerably interested in my new acquaintance, Chapter two,
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Speaker 1: The Science of Deduction. We met next day, as he
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Speaker 1: had arranged and inspected the rooms at No. Two twenty
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Speaker 1: one B Baker Street of which he had spoken at
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Speaker 1: our meeting. They consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms
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Speaker 1: and a single large airy sitting room, cheerfully furnished and
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Speaker 1: illuminated by two broad windows. So desirable in every way
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Speaker 1: were the apartments, and so moderate did the term seem
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Speaker 1: when divided between us, that the bargain was concluded upon
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Speaker 1: the spot, and we at once entered into possession. That
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Speaker 1: very evening I moved my things round from the hotel,
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Speaker 1: and on the following morning Sherlock Holmes followed me with
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Speaker 1: several boxes and portmanteaus. For a day or two we
15:31
Speaker 1: were busily employed in unpacking and laying out our property
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Speaker 1: to the best advantage. That done, we gradually began to
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Speaker 1: settle down and to accommodate ourselves to our new surroundings.
15:41
Speaker 1: Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with.
15:45
Speaker 1: He was quiet in his ways, and his habits were regular.
15:49
Speaker 1: It was rare for him to be up after ten
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Speaker 1: at night, and he had invariably breakfasted and gone out
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Speaker 1: before I rose in the morning. Sometimes he spent his
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Speaker 1: day at the chemical laboratory, sometimes in the dissecting rooms,
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Speaker 1: and occasionally in long walks which appeared to take him
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Speaker 1: into the lowest portions of the city. Nothing could exceed
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Speaker 1: his energy when the working fit was upon him. But
16:08
Speaker 1: now and again a reaction would seize him, and for
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Speaker 1: days on end he would lie upon the sofa in
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Speaker 1: the sitting room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle,
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Speaker 1: from morning to night. On these occasions I have noticed
16:19
Speaker 1: such a dreamy, vacant expression in his eyes that I
16:21
Speaker 1: might have suspected him of being addicted to the use
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Speaker 1: of some narcotic, had not the temperance and cleanliness of
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Speaker 1: his whole life forbidden such a notion. As the weeks
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Speaker 1: went by, my interest in him, and my curiosity as
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Speaker 1: to his aims in life, gradually deepened and increased. His
16:36
Speaker 1: very person and appearance were such as to strike the
16:38
Speaker 1: attention of the most casual observer. In height, he was
16:42
Speaker 1: rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he
16:44
Speaker 1: seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing,
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Speaker 1: save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded,
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Speaker 1: and his thin, hawk like nose gave his whole expression
16:54
Speaker 1: an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too had
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Speaker 1: the prominence and squareness which mark the men of determination.
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Speaker 1: His hands were invariably blotted with ink and stained with chemicals.
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Speaker 1: Yet he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of touch, as
17:08
Speaker 1: I frequently had occasion to observe when I watched him
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Speaker 1: manipulating his fragile philosophical instruments. The reader may set me
17:14
Speaker 1: down as a hopeless, busy body when I confess how
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Speaker 1: much this man stimulated my curiosity, and how often I
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Speaker 1: endeavored to break through the reticence which he showed on
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Speaker 1: all that concerned himself before pronouncing judgment. However, be it
17:27
Speaker 1: remembered how objectless was my life, and how little there
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Speaker 1: was to engage my attention. My health forbade me from
17:33
Speaker 1: venturing out unless the weather was exceptionally genial, and I
17:36
Speaker 1: had no friends who would call upon me and break
17:38
Speaker 1: the monotony of my daily existence. Under these circumstances, I
17:43
Speaker 1: eagerly hailed the little mystery which hung around my companion,
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Speaker 1: and spent much of my time in endeavoring to unravel it.
17:49
Speaker 1: He was not studying medicine. He had himself, in reply
17:53
Speaker 1: to a question, confirmed Stamford's opinion upon that point. Neither
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Speaker 1: did he appear to have pursued any course of reading
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Speaker 1: which might fit him for a degree in science, or
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Speaker 1: any other recognized portal which would give hi an entrance
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Speaker 1: into the learned world. Yet his zeal for certain studies
18:07
Speaker 1: was remarkable, and within eccentric limits. His knowledge was so
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Speaker 1: extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded me. Surely,
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Speaker 1: noaman would work so hard or attain such precise information
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Speaker 1: unless he had some definite end in view. Desultory readers
18:22
Speaker 1: are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning. Noman
18:26
Speaker 1: burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some
18:28
Speaker 1: very good reason for doing so. His ignorance was as
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Speaker 1: remarkable as his knowledge of contemporary literature, philosophy, and politics.
18:37
Speaker 1: He appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting
18:40
Speaker 1: Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he
18:43
Speaker 1: might be in what he had done. My surprise reached
18:46
Speaker 1: a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was
18:49
Speaker 1: ignorant of the Copernican theory and of the composition of
18:52
Speaker 1: the solar system. That any civilized human being in this
18:55
Speaker 1: nineteenth century should not be aware that the Earth traveled
18:58
Speaker 1: round the Sun appeared to be to me such an
18:59
Speaker 1: excis extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it. You
19:03
Speaker 1: appear to be astonished, he said, smiling at my expression
19:06
Speaker 1: of surprise. Now that I do know it, I shall
19:09
Speaker 1: do my best to forget it. To forget it, you see,
19:13
Speaker 1: he explained, I consider that a man's brain originally is
19:16
Speaker 1: like a little empty attic, and you have to stock
19:18
Speaker 1: it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes
19:21
Speaker 1: in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across,
19:24
Speaker 1: so that the knowledge which might be useful to him
19:26
Speaker 1: gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with
19:28
Speaker 1: a lot of other things, so that he has a
19:30
Speaker 1: difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now, the skillful
19:33
Speaker 1: workman is very careful indeed, as to what he takes
19:35
Speaker 1: into his brain attic. He will have nothing but the
19:38
Speaker 1: tools which may help him in doing his work. But
19:41
Speaker 1: of these he has a large assortment, and all in
19:43
Speaker 1: the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think
19:46
Speaker 1: that that little room has elastic walls and can distend
19:48
Speaker 1: to any extent depend upon it. There comes a time
19:51
Speaker 1: when for every addition of knowledge, you forget something that
19:54
Speaker 1: you knew before. It is of the highest importance. Therefore,
19:57
Speaker 1: not to have useless facts elbowing out the u ones,
20:01
Speaker 1: but the solar system, I protested, What the deuce is it?
20:05
Speaker 1: To me? He interrupted, impatiently, You say that we go
20:08
Speaker 1: round the sun. If we went round the moon, it
20:10
Speaker 1: would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or
20:12
Speaker 1: to my work. I was on the point of asking
20:14
Speaker 1: him what that work might be, But something in his
20:16
Speaker 1: manner showed me that the question would be an unwelcome one.
20:19
Speaker 1: I pondered over our short conversation, however, and endeavored to
20:23
Speaker 1: draw my deductions from it. He said that he would
20:26
Speaker 1: acquire no knowledge which did not bear upon his object. Therefore,
20:30
Speaker 1: all the knowledge which he possessed was such as would
20:32
Speaker 1: be useful to him. I enumerated in my own mind
20:35
Speaker 1: all the various points upon which he had shown me
20:37
Speaker 1: that he was exceptionally well informed. I even took a
20:41
Speaker 1: pencil and jotted them down. I could not help smiling
20:44
Speaker 1: at the document when I had completed it. It ran
20:47
Speaker 1: in this way. Sherlock Holmes his limits one knowledge of
20:51
Speaker 1: literature dot nil. Two philosophy dot nil. Three astronomy dot nil,
21:00
Speaker 1: or politics dot feeble. Five botany dot variable well up
21:06
Speaker 1: in belladonna, opium and poisons. Generally knows nothing of practical gardening.
21:12
Speaker 1: Six geology dot practical, but limited. Tells at a glance
21:17
Speaker 1: different soils from each other. After Walks has shown me
21:21
Speaker 1: splashes upon his trousers and told me by their color
21:23
Speaker 1: and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
21:27
Speaker 1: Seven chemistry dot profound. Eight anatomy dot accurate but unsystematic.
21:34
Speaker 1: Nine sensational literature dot immense. He appears to know every
21:39
Speaker 1: detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. Ten plays
21:43
Speaker 1: the violin well eleven is an expert singlestick player, boxer
21:47
Speaker 1: and swordsman twelve has a good practical knowledge of British law.
21:53
Speaker 1: When I had got so far in my list, I
21:54
Speaker 1: threw it into the fire in despair. If I can
21:57
Speaker 1: only find what the fellow is driving it by record,
22:00
Speaker 1: inciling all these accomplishments and discovering a calling which needs
22:03
Speaker 1: them all, I said to myself, I may as well
22:05
Speaker 1: give up the attempt at once. I see that I
22:07
Speaker 1: have alluded above to his powers upon the violin. These
22:10
Speaker 1: were very remarkable, but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments.
22:15
Speaker 1: That he could play pieces and difficult pieces I knew well,
22:18
Speaker 1: because at my request he has played me some of
22:20
Speaker 1: Mendelssohn's Leader and other favorites. When left to himself, however,
22:25
Speaker 1: he would seldom produce any music or attempt any recognized There.
22:29
Speaker 1: Leaning back in his arm chair of an evening, he
22:31
Speaker 1: would close his eyes and scrape carelessly at the fiddle,
22:34
Speaker 1: which was thrown across his knee. Sometimes the chords were
22:37
Speaker 1: sonorous and melancholy, Occasionally they were fantastic and cheerful. Clearly
22:43
Speaker 1: they reflected the thoughts which possessed him. But whether the
22:45
Speaker 1: music aided those thoughts, or whether the playing was simply
22:48
Speaker 1: the result of a whim or fancy was more than
22:50
Speaker 1: I could determine. I might have rebelled against these exasperating
22:54
Speaker 1: solos had it not been that he usually terminated them
22:56
Speaker 1: by playing, in quick succession a whole series of my
22:58
Speaker 1: favorite airs as a slight compensation for the trial upon
23:01
Speaker 1: my patients. During the first week or so, we had
23:04
Speaker 1: no callers, and I had begun to think that my
23:06
Speaker 1: companion was as friendless a man as I was myself. Presently, however,
23:11
Speaker 1: I found that he had many acquaintances, and those in
23:13
Speaker 1: the most different classes of society. There was one little, sallow,
23:17
Speaker 1: rat faced, dark eyed fellow who was introduced to me
23:20
Speaker 1: as mister Lestrade, and who came three or four times
23:24
Speaker 1: in a single week. One morning, a young girl called
23:27
Speaker 1: fashionably dressed and stayed for half an hour or more.
23:31
Speaker 1: The same afternoon brought a gray headed, seedy visitor looking
23:34
Speaker 1: like a jew peddler, who appeared to me to be
23:36
Speaker 1: much excited, and who was closely followed by a slipshod
23:39
Speaker 1: elderly woman. On another occasion, an old, white haired gentleman
23:43
Speaker 1: had an interview with my companion, and on another a
23:46
Speaker 1: railway porter in his velveteen uniform. When any of these
23:50
Speaker 1: nondescript individuals put in an appearance, Sherlock Holms used to
23:53
Speaker 1: beg for the use of the sitting room, and I
23:55
Speaker 1: would retire to my bedroom. He always apologized to me
23:59
Speaker 1: for putting me to this inconvenience. I have to use
24:02
Speaker 1: this room as a place of business, he said, and
24:04
Speaker 1: these people are my clients. Again I had an opportunity
24:07
Speaker 1: of asking him a point blank question, and again my
24:09
Speaker 1: delicacy prevented me from forcing another man to confide in me.
24:13
Speaker 1: I imagined at the time that he had some strong
24:15
Speaker 1: reason for not alluding to it, but he soon dispelled
24:18
Speaker 1: the idea by coming round to the subject of his
24:20
Speaker 1: own accord. It was upon the fourth of March, as
24:23
Speaker 1: I have good reason to remember, that I rose somewhat
24:25
Speaker 1: earlier than usual, and found that Sherlock Homs had not
24:28
Speaker 1: yet finished his breakfast. The landlady had become so accustomed
24:32
Speaker 1: to my late habits that my place had not been laid,
24:34
Speaker 1: nor my coffee prepared. With the unreasonable petulance of mankind,
24:38
Speaker 1: I rang the bell and gave a curt intimation that
24:41
Speaker 1: I was ready. Then I picked up a magazine from
24:44
Speaker 1: the table and attempted to while away the time with it,
24:46
Speaker 1: while my companion munched silently at his toast. One of
24:50
Speaker 1: the articles had a pencil mark at the heading, and
24:52
Speaker 1: I naturally began to run my eye through it. Its
24:55
Speaker 1: somewhat ambitious title was the Book of Life, and it
24:58
Speaker 1: attempted to show how much an observant man might learn
25:00
Speaker 1: by an accurate and systematic examination of all that came
25:03
Speaker 1: in his way. It struck me as being a remarkable
25:06
Speaker 1: mixture of shrewdness and of absurdity. The reasoning was close
25:10
Speaker 1: and intense, but the deductions appeared to me to be
25:12
Speaker 1: far fetched and exaggerated. The writer claimed by a momentary expression,
25:17
Speaker 1: a twitch of a muscle, or a glance of an eye,
25:19
Speaker 1: to fathom a man's inmost thoughts deceit, according to him,
25:23
Speaker 1: was an impossibility in the case of one trained to
25:25
Speaker 1: observation and analysis. His conclusions were as infallible as so
25:30
Speaker 1: many propositions of euclid. So startling would his results appear
25:33
Speaker 1: to the uninitiated, that until they learned the processes by
25:36
Speaker 1: which he had arrived at them, they might well consider
25:38
Speaker 1: him as a necromancer from a drop of water, said
25:41
Speaker 1: the writer. A logician could infer the possibility of an
25:44
Speaker 1: Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of
25:46
Speaker 1: one or the other. So all life is a great chain,
25:50
Speaker 1: the nature of which is known whenever we are shown
25:52
Speaker 1: a single link of it. Like all other arts, the
25:55
Speaker 1: science of deduction and analysis is one which can only
25:57
Speaker 1: be acquired by long and patient study. Nor is life
26:00
Speaker 1: long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest
26:03
Speaker 1: possible perfection in it. Before turning to those moral and
26:06
Speaker 1: mental aspects of the matter which present the greatest difficulties,
26:09
Speaker 1: let the inquirer begin by mastering more elementary problems. Let him,
26:14
Speaker 1: on meeting a fellow mortal, learn at a glance to
26:16
Speaker 1: distinguish the history of the men and the trade or
26:18
Speaker 1: profession to which he belongs. Pureril. As such an exercise
26:22
Speaker 1: may seem, it sharpens the faculties of observation, and teaches
26:26
Speaker 1: one where to look and what to look for. By
26:29
Speaker 1: a man's finger nails, by his coat sleeve, by his boot,
26:32
Speaker 1: by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger
26:35
Speaker 1: and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs, by
26:37
Speaker 1: each of these things, a man's calling is plainly revealed.
26:41
Speaker 1: That all united should fail to enlighten the competent inquirer
26:44
Speaker 1: in any case is almost inconceivable. What ineffable twaddle, I cried,
26:49
Speaker 1: slapping the magazine down on the table. I never read
26:51
Speaker 1: such rubbish in my life. What is it? Ask Sherlock Holmes.
26:56
Speaker 1: Why this article, I said, pointing at it with my
26:59
Speaker 1: eggs boon as I sat down to my breakfast. I
27:02
Speaker 1: see that you have read it, since you have marked it.
27:05
Speaker 1: I don't deny that it is smartly written. It irritates me,
27:09
Speaker 1: though it is evidently the theory of some arm chair
27:12
Speaker 1: lounger who evolves all these neat little paradoxes in the
27:14
Speaker 1: seclusion of his own study. It is not practical. I
27:18
Speaker 1: should like to see him clap down in a third
27:20
Speaker 1: class carriage on the underground and asked to give the
27:23
Speaker 1: trades of all his fellow travelers. I would lay a
27:26
Speaker 1: thousand to one against him. You would lose your money.
27:29
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes remarked, calmly, As for the article, I wrote
27:33
Speaker 1: it myself. You yes, I have a turn both for
27:37
Speaker 1: observation and for deduction. The theories which I have expressed there,
27:42
Speaker 1: and which appear to you to be so chimerical, are
27:44
Speaker 1: really extremely practical, so practical that I depend upon them
27:47
Speaker 1: for my bread and cheese. And how I asked involuntarily, well,
27:52
Speaker 1: I have a trade of my own. I suppose I
27:55
Speaker 1: am the only one in the world. I'm a consulting detective,
27:59
Speaker 1: if you can understand and what that is. Here in
28:02
Speaker 1: London we have lots of government detectives and lots of
28:04
Speaker 1: private ones. When these fellows are at fault, they come
28:07
Speaker 1: to me and I manage to put them on the
28:09
Speaker 1: right scent. They lay all the evidence before me, and
28:13
Speaker 1: I am generally able, by the help of my knowledge
28:15
Speaker 1: of the history of crime, to set them straight. There
28:18
Speaker 1: is a strong family resemblance about misdeeds, and if you
28:21
Speaker 1: have all the details of a thousand at your finger ends,
28:23
Speaker 1: it is odd if you can't unravel the thousand and first.
28:27
Speaker 1: Lestrade is a well known detective. He got himself into
28:30
Speaker 1: a fog recently over a forgery case, and that was
28:33
Speaker 1: what brought him here. And these other people, they are
28:37
Speaker 1: mostly sent on by private inquiry agencies. They are all
28:40
Speaker 1: people who are in trouble about something and want a
28:43
Speaker 1: little enlightening. I listen to their story, they listen to
28:46
Speaker 1: my comments, and then I pocket my fee. But do
28:49
Speaker 1: you mean to say I said that, without leaving your room,
28:52
Speaker 1: you can unravel some not which other men can make
28:54
Speaker 1: nothing of, although they have seen every detail for themselves.
28:58
Speaker 1: Quite so, I have a kind of intuition that way.
29:02
Speaker 1: Now and again a case turns up which is a
29:04
Speaker 1: little more complex. Then I have to bustle about and
29:07
Speaker 1: see things with my own eyes. You see, I have
29:10
Speaker 1: a lot of special knowledge which I applied to the problem,
29:13
Speaker 1: and which facilitates matters wonderfully. Those rules of deduction laid
29:17
Speaker 1: down in that article which aroused your scorn, are invaluable
29:20
Speaker 1: to me in practical work. Observation with me is second nature.
29:25
Speaker 1: You appeared to be surprised when I told you on
29:27
Speaker 1: our first meeting that you had come from Afghanistan. You
29:31
Speaker 1: were told, no doubt, nothing of the sort. I knew
29:35
Speaker 1: you came from Afghanistan. From long habit. The train of
29:39
Speaker 1: thoughts ran so swiftly through my mind that I arrived
29:42
Speaker 1: at the conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps. There
29:45
Speaker 1: were such steps, however, the train of reasoning ran here
29:49
Speaker 1: is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the
29:51
Speaker 1: air of a military man. Clearly an army doctor. Then
29:56
Speaker 1: he has just come from the tropics. For his face
29:58
Speaker 1: is dark, and that is not the natural tint of
30:00
Speaker 1: his skin. For his wrists are fair. He has undergone
30:04
Speaker 1: hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly. His
30:08
Speaker 1: left arm has been injured. He holds it in a
30:11
Speaker 1: stiff and unnatural manner. Wherein the tropics could an English
30:15
Speaker 1: army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded?
30:18
Speaker 1: Clearly in Afghanistan. The whole train of thought did not
30:21
Speaker 1: occupy a second. I then remarked that you came from Afghanistan,
30:25
Speaker 1: and you were astonished. It is simple enough as you
30:28
Speaker 1: explain it, I said, smiling. You remind me of Edgar
30:32
Speaker 1: Allan Poese. Dpan. I had no idea that such individuals
30:36
Speaker 1: did exist outside of stories. Sherlock Holms rose and lit
30:39
Speaker 1: his pipe. No doubt you think that you are complimenting
30:42
Speaker 1: me in comparing me to Japan, he observed. Now, in
30:46
Speaker 1: my opinion, Dupan was a very inferior fellow. That trick
30:50
Speaker 1: of his of breaking in on his friend's thoughts with
30:52
Speaker 1: an Apropos remark after a quarter of an hour's silence,
30:54
Speaker 1: is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius,
30:59
Speaker 1: no doubt, but he was by no means such a
31:01
Speaker 1: phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine. Have you read Gaboryet's works,
31:05
Speaker 1: I asked, does Lecick come up to your idea of
31:08
Speaker 1: a detective? Sherlockom sniff sardonically. Lekick was a miserable bungler,
31:13
Speaker 1: he said in an angry voice. He had only one
31:16
Speaker 1: thing to recommend him, and that was his energy. That
31:19
Speaker 1: book made me positively ill. The question was how to
31:23
Speaker 1: identify an unknown prisoner. I could have done it in
31:26
Speaker 1: twenty four hours. Lekick took six months or so. It
31:31
Speaker 1: might be made a text book for detectives to teach
31:33
Speaker 1: them what to avoid. I felt rather indignant at having
31:35
Speaker 1: two characters whom I had admired treated in this cavalier's style.
31:39
Speaker 1: I walked over to the window and stood looking out
31:42
Speaker 1: into the busy street. This fellow may be very clever,
31:45
Speaker 1: I said to myself, but he is certainly very conceited.
31:49
Speaker 1: There are no crimes and no criminals in these days,
31:51
Speaker 1: he said, querulously, What is the use of having brains
31:55
Speaker 1: in our profession. I know well that I have it
31:58
Speaker 1: in me to make my name famous. No man lives,
32:01
Speaker 1: or has ever lived, who has brought the same amount
32:02
Speaker 1: of study and of natural talent to the detection of
32:05
Speaker 1: crime which I have done. And what is the result.
32:09
Speaker 1: There is no crime to detect, or at most some
32:11
Speaker 1: bungling villainy with a mode of so transparent that even
32:14
Speaker 1: a Scotland yard official can see through it. I was
32:16
Speaker 1: still annoyed at his pumptuous style of conversation. I thought
32:20
Speaker 1: it best to change the topic. I wonder what that
32:23
Speaker 1: fellow is looking for, I asked, pointing to a stalwart,
32:27
Speaker 1: plainly dressed individual who was walking slowly down the other
32:30
Speaker 1: side of the street, looking anxiously at the numbers. He
32:33
Speaker 1: had a large blue envelope in his hand, and was
32:36
Speaker 1: evidently the bearer of a message. You mean, the retired
32:39
Speaker 1: sergeant of Marines, said Sherlock Holmes brag and bounds, thought
32:43
Speaker 1: I to myself. He knows that I cannot verify his guess.
32:47
Speaker 1: The thought had hardly passed through my mind when the
32:49
Speaker 1: men whom we were watching caught sight of the number
32:51
Speaker 1: on our door and ran rapidly across the roadway. We
32:55
Speaker 1: heard a loud knock, a deep voice below, and heavy
32:58
Speaker 1: steps ascending the stair for mister Sherlock Holmes, he said,
33:03
Speaker 1: stepping into the room and handing my friend the letter.
33:06
Speaker 1: Here was an opportunity of taking the conceit out of him.
33:10
Speaker 1: He little thought of this when he made that random shot.
33:13
Speaker 1: May I ask my lad, I said, in the blandest voice,
33:16
Speaker 1: what your trade may be? Commissionaire? Sir, he said, gruffly,
33:22
Speaker 1: uniform away for repairs. And you were, I asked, with
33:26
Speaker 1: a slightly malicious glance at my companion, A sergeant Sir,
33:30
Speaker 1: Royal Marine Light Infantry, Sir. No answer, write sir. He
33:36
Speaker 1: clicked his heels together, raised his hand in a salute,
33:39
Speaker 1: and was gone. Chapter three, The Lwst and Gardens Mystery.
33:44
Speaker 1: I confess that I was considerably startled by this fresh
33:46
Speaker 1: proof of the practical nature of my companion's theories. My
33:50
Speaker 1: respect for his powers of analysis increased wondrously. There still
33:54
Speaker 1: remained some lurking suspicion in my mind, however, that the
33:57
Speaker 1: whole thing was a pre arranged episode in ten did
34:00
Speaker 1: it to dazzle me? Though? What earthly object he could
34:02
Speaker 1: have been taken me and was past my comprehension. When
34:05
Speaker 1: I looked at him, he had finished reading the note,
34:07
Speaker 1: and his eyes had assumed the vacant, lack luster expression
34:10
Speaker 1: which showed mental abstraction. How in the world did you
34:14
Speaker 1: deduce that? I asked, deduce what said he petulantly, Why
34:19
Speaker 1: that he was a retired sergeant of marines. I have
34:23
Speaker 1: no time for trifles, he answered brusquely, then with a smile,
34:27
Speaker 1: excuse my rudeness. You broke the thread of my thoughts.
34:30
Speaker 1: But perhaps it is as well so you actually were
34:33
Speaker 1: not able to see that that man was a sergeant
34:35
Speaker 1: of marines. No, indeed, it was easier to know it
34:40
Speaker 1: than to explain why I knew it. If you were
34:43
Speaker 1: asked to prove that two and two made four, you
34:45
Speaker 1: might find some difficulty. And yet you are quite sure
34:48
Speaker 1: of the fact. Even across the street, I could see
34:50
Speaker 1: a great blue anchor tattooed on the back of the
34:53
Speaker 1: fellow's hand that smacked of the sea. He had a
34:57
Speaker 1: military carriage, however, and regulation side with kers there we
35:01
Speaker 1: have the marine. He was a man with some amount
35:04
Speaker 1: of self importance and a certain air of command. You
35:07
Speaker 1: must have observed the way in which he held his
35:09
Speaker 1: head and swung his cane. A steady, respectable, middle aged
35:13
Speaker 1: man two on the face of him, all facts which
35:16
Speaker 1: led me to believe that he had been a sergeant. Wonderful,
35:19
Speaker 1: I ejaculated commonplace, said Holmes, though I thought from his
35:23
Speaker 1: expression that he was pleased at my evident surprise and admiration.
35:28
Speaker 1: I said, just now that there were no criminals. It
35:31
Speaker 1: appears that I am wrong. Look at this, he threw
35:33
Speaker 1: me over the note which the commissionaire had brought. Why,
35:36
Speaker 1: I cried as I cast my eye over it. This
35:39
Speaker 1: is terrible. It does seem to be a little out
35:42
Speaker 1: of the common he remarked, calmly. Would you mind reading
35:45
Speaker 1: it to me aloud? This is the letter which I
35:47
Speaker 1: read to him, My dear mister Sherlock Holmes. There has
35:50
Speaker 1: been a bad business during the night at three Luriston Gardens,
35:53
Speaker 1: off the Brixton Road. Our men on the beat saw
35:56
Speaker 1: a light there about two in the morning, and as
35:58
Speaker 1: the house was an empty, one suspect that something was amiss.
36:02
Speaker 1: He found the door open, and in the front room,
36:04
Speaker 1: which is bare of furniture, discovered the body of a
36:06
Speaker 1: gentleman well dressed and having cards in his pocket bearing
36:09
Speaker 1: the name of Enoch J. Drebber, Cleveland, Ohio U. S A.
36:14
Speaker 1: There have been no robbery, nor is there any evidence
36:17
Speaker 1: as to how the men met his death. There are
36:19
Speaker 1: marks of blood in the room, but there is no
36:21
Speaker 1: wound upon his person. We are at a loss as
36:24
Speaker 1: to how he came into the empty house. Indeed, the
36:27
Speaker 1: whole affair is a puzzler. If you can come round
36:30
Speaker 1: to the house any time before twelve you will find
36:32
Speaker 1: me there. I have left everything in statue quo until
36:35
Speaker 1: I hear from you. If you are unable to come,
36:38
Speaker 1: I shall give you fuller details, and would esteem it
36:41
Speaker 1: a great kindness if you would favor me with your
36:42
Speaker 1: opinion yours faithfully to Bias Gregson. Gregson is the smartest
36:48
Speaker 1: of the Scotland yarders. My friend remarked, he and Lestrad
36:51
Speaker 1: are the pick of a bad lot. They are both
36:53
Speaker 1: quick and energetic, but conventional. Shockingly so, they have their
36:57
Speaker 1: knives into one another too. They are as jealous as
37:01
Speaker 1: a pair of professional beauties. There will be some fun
37:04
Speaker 1: over this case if they are both put upon the scent.
37:06
Speaker 1: I was amazed at the calm way in which he
37:08
Speaker 1: rippled on. Surely there is not a moment to be lost,
37:11
Speaker 1: I cried, Shall I go and order you a cab?
37:14
Speaker 1: I am not sure about whether I shall go. I
37:17
Speaker 1: am the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood intoe leather,
37:20
Speaker 1: that is when the fit is on me. For I
37:22
Speaker 1: can be spry enough at times. Why it is just
37:26
Speaker 1: such a chance as you have been longing for, my
37:29
Speaker 1: dear fellow, What does it matter to me? Supposing I
37:32
Speaker 1: unravel the whole matter? You may be sure that Gregson,
37:35
Speaker 1: Lestrade and co. Will pocket all the credit that comes
37:39
Speaker 1: of being an unofficial personage. But he begs you to
37:43
Speaker 1: help him. Yes, he knows that I am his superior
37:47
Speaker 1: and acknowledges it to me. But he would cut his
37:49
Speaker 1: tongue out before he would own it to any third person. However,
37:53
Speaker 1: we may as well go and have a look. I
37:55
Speaker 1: shall work it out on my own hook. I may
37:58
Speaker 1: have a laugh at them if I have nothing else else.
38:01
Speaker 1: Come on, He hustled on his overcoat and bustled about
38:04
Speaker 1: in a way that showed that an energetic fit had
38:06
Speaker 1: superseded the apathetic one. Get your hat, he said, you
38:10
Speaker 1: wish me to come? Yes, if you have nothing better
38:14
Speaker 1: to do. A minute later we were both in a hansom,
38:17
Speaker 1: driving furiously for the Brixton Road. It was a foggy,
38:21
Speaker 1: cloudy morning, and a dun colored veil hung over the
38:23
Speaker 1: house tops, looking like the reflection of the mud colored
38:26
Speaker 1: streets beneath. My companion was in the best of spirits
38:30
Speaker 1: and prattled away about Cremona fiddles and the difference between
38:33
Speaker 1: a strativarius and ainimodi. As for myself, I was silent.
38:37
Speaker 1: For the dull weather and the melancholy business upon which
38:39
Speaker 1: we were engaged depressed my spirits. You don't seem to
38:43
Speaker 1: give much thought to the matter in hand, I said,
38:45
Speaker 1: at last, interrupting Holmes's musical disquisition. No data yet, he answered.
38:51
Speaker 1: It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have
38:54
Speaker 1: all the evidence. It biases the judgment. You will have
38:58
Speaker 1: your data soon, I remarked, pointing with my finger. This
39:01
Speaker 1: is the Brixton Road, and that is the house. If
39:04
Speaker 1: I am not very much mistaken, so it is stop, driver, stop.
39:10
Speaker 1: We were still a hundred yards or so from it,
39:12
Speaker 1: but he insisted upon our alighting, and we finished our
39:14
Speaker 1: journey upon foot number three. Lurist and gardens wore an
39:18
Speaker 1: ill omened and minatory look. It was one of four
39:21
Speaker 1: which stood back some little way from the street, two
39:24
Speaker 1: being occupied and too empty. The latter looked out with
39:27
Speaker 1: three tiers of vacant, melancholy windows, which were blank and dreary,
39:31
Speaker 1: save that here and there a to let card had
39:33
Speaker 1: developed like a cataract upon the bleared panes. A small garden,
39:37
Speaker 1: sprinkled over with a scattered eruption of sickly plants, separated
39:40
Speaker 1: each of these houses from the street, and was traversed
39:42
Speaker 1: by a narrow pathway yellowish in color and consisting apparently
39:46
Speaker 1: of a mixture of clay and of gravel. The whole
39:49
Speaker 1: place was very sloppy from the rain which had fallen
39:51
Speaker 1: through the night. The garden was bounded by a three
39:54
Speaker 1: foot brick wall with a fringe of wood rails upon
39:56
Speaker 1: the top, and against this wall was leaning a stalwart
39:59
Speaker 1: police constable, surrounded by a small knot of loafers, who
40:02
Speaker 1: craned their necks and strained their eyes in the vein
40:04
Speaker 1: hope of catching some glimpse of the proceedings within. I
40:07
Speaker 1: had imagined that Sherlock Holmes would at once have hurried
40:10
Speaker 1: into the house and plunged into a study of the mystery.
40:13
Speaker 1: Nothing appeared to be further from his intention. With an
40:16
Speaker 1: air of nonchalance, which, under the circumstances seemed to me
40:19
Speaker 1: to border upon affectation, he lounged up and down the
40:22
Speaker 1: pavement and gazed vacantly at the ground, the sky, the
40:25
Speaker 1: opposite houses, and the line of railings. Having finished his scrutiny,
40:30
Speaker 1: he proceeded slowly down the path, or rather down the
40:32
Speaker 1: fringe of grass which flanked the path, keeping his eyes
40:35
Speaker 1: riveted upon the ground. Twice he stopped, and once I
40:39
Speaker 1: saw him smile and heard him utter an exclamation of satisfaction.
40:43
Speaker 1: There were many marks of footsteps upon the wit Clayey soil,
40:46
Speaker 1: but since the police had been coming and going over it,
40:48
Speaker 1: I was unable to see how my companion could hope
40:51
Speaker 1: to learn anything from it. Still, I had had such
40:54
Speaker 1: extraordinary evidence of the quickness of his perceptive faculties that
40:57
Speaker 1: I had no doubt that he could see a great
40:58
Speaker 1: deal which was hidden from me. At the door of
41:01
Speaker 1: the house we were met by a tall, white faced,
41:04
Speaker 1: flaxen haired man with a note book in his hand,
41:06
Speaker 1: who rushed forward and wrung my companion's hand with effusion.
41:10
Speaker 1: It is indeed kind of you to come, he said.
41:12
Speaker 1: I have had everything left untouched except that, my friend answered,
41:17
Speaker 1: pointing at the pathway. If a herd of buffaloes had
41:20
Speaker 1: passed along, there could not be a greater mess, no doubt. However,
41:24
Speaker 1: you had drawn your own conclusions, Gregson, before you permitted this.
41:29
Speaker 1: I have had so much to do inside the house,
41:31
Speaker 1: the detective said, evasively. My colleague, mister Lestrade is here.
41:36
Speaker 1: I had relied upon him to look after this. Holmes
41:39
Speaker 1: glanced at me and raised his eyebrows sardonically. With two
41:42
Speaker 1: such men as yourself and Lestrade upon the ground, there
41:45
Speaker 1: will not be much for a third party to find out,
41:47
Speaker 1: he said. Gregson rubbed his hands in a self satisfied way.
41:52
Speaker 1: I think we have done all that can be done,
41:54
Speaker 1: he answered. It's a queer case, though, and I knew
41:56
Speaker 1: your taste for such things. You did not come here
42:00
Speaker 1: in a cab, asked Sherlock Holmes, No sir, nor Lestrade,
42:06
Speaker 1: No sir. Then let us go and look at the room,
42:11
Speaker 1: with which, in consequent remark, he strode on into the house,
42:13
Speaker 1: followed by Gregson, whose features expressed his astonishment. A short passage,
42:18
Speaker 1: bare plank and dusty, led to the kitchen and offices.
42:22
Speaker 1: Two doors opened out of it, to the left and
42:24
Speaker 1: to the right. One of these had obviously been closed
42:27
Speaker 1: for many weeks. The other belonged to the dining room,
42:31
Speaker 1: which was the apartment in which the mysterious affair had occurred.
42:34
Speaker 1: Holmes walked in, and I followed him with that subdued
42:37
Speaker 1: feeling at my heart which the presence of death inspires.
42:40
Speaker 1: It was a large, square room, looking all the larger
42:43
Speaker 1: from the absence of all furniture. A vulgar flaring paper
42:46
Speaker 1: adorned the walls, but it was blotched in places with mildew,
42:49
Speaker 1: and here in their great strips had become detached and
42:52
Speaker 1: hung down, exposing the yellow plaster. Beneath Opposite the door
42:56
Speaker 1: was a showy fireplace, surmounted by a mantelpiece of imitation
42:59
Speaker 1: white marks. On one corner of this was struck the
43:02
Speaker 1: stump of a red wax candle. The solitary window was
43:06
Speaker 1: so dirty that the light was hazy and uncertain, giving
43:09
Speaker 1: a dull, gray tinge to everything, which was intensified by
43:12
Speaker 1: the thick layer of dust which coated the whole apartment.
43:15
Speaker 1: All these details I observed afterwards. At present, my attention
43:19
Speaker 1: was centered upon the single, grim, motionless figure, which lay
43:22
Speaker 1: stretched upon the boards, with vacant, sightless eyes staring up
43:25
Speaker 1: at the discolored ceiling. It was that of a man
43:27
Speaker 1: about forty three or forty four years of age, middle sized,
43:31
Speaker 1: broad shouldered, with crisp, curling black hair and a short,
43:34
Speaker 1: stubbly beard. He was dressed in a heavy broadcloth frock
43:38
Speaker 1: coat and waistcoat, with light colored trousers and immaculate collar
43:42
Speaker 1: and cuffs. A top hat, well brushed and trim was
43:45
Speaker 1: placed upon the floor beside him. His hands were clenched
43:49
Speaker 1: and his arms thrown abroad, while his lower limbs were interlocked,
43:52
Speaker 1: as though his death struggle had been a grievous one.
43:55
Speaker 1: On his rigid face there stood an expression of horror, and,
43:57
Speaker 1: as it seemed to me, of hatred, such which as
44:00
Speaker 1: I have never seen upon human features. This malignant and
44:03
Speaker 1: terrible contortion, combined with the low forehead, blunt nose, and
44:07
Speaker 1: prognathus jaw, gave the dead man a singularly simious and
44:10
Speaker 1: apelike appearance, which was increased by his writhing on natural posture.
44:15
Speaker 1: I have seen death in many forms, but never has
44:17
Speaker 1: it appeared to me in a more fearsome aspect than
44:19
Speaker 1: in the dark, grimy apartment which looked out upon one
44:22
Speaker 1: of the main arteries of suburban London. Lestrade, lean and
44:26
Speaker 1: ferret like as ever, was standing by the doorway and
44:28
Speaker 1: greeted my companion and myself. This case will make a stir, sir,
44:33
Speaker 1: he remarked. It beats anything I have seen, and I
44:37
Speaker 1: am no chicken. There is no clue, said Gregson, none
44:41
Speaker 1: at all, chimed in Lestrade. Sherlock Holmes approached the body and,
44:46
Speaker 1: kneeling down, examined it intently. You are sure that there
44:50
Speaker 1: is no wound, he asked, pointing to numerous scouts and
44:53
Speaker 1: splashes of blood which lay all round. Positive cried both detectives. Then,
45:00
Speaker 1: of course this blood belongs to a second individual, presumably
45:03
Speaker 1: the murderer. If murder has been committed. It reminds me
45:07
Speaker 1: of the circumstances attendant on the death of Van Jansen
45:09
Speaker 1: in Utrecht in the year thirty four. Do you remember
45:12
Speaker 1: the case, Gregson? No, sir, read it up. You really should.
45:19
Speaker 1: There is nothing new under the sun. It has all
45:22
Speaker 1: been done before, as he spoke. His nimble fingers were
45:25
Speaker 1: flying here, there and everywhere, feeling, pressing, unbuttoning, examining, while
45:30
Speaker 1: his eyes were the same far away expression which I
45:32
Speaker 1: have already remarked upon. So swiftly was the examination made
45:36
Speaker 1: that one would hardly have guessed the minuteness with which
45:39
Speaker 1: it was conducted. Finally, he sniffed the dead man's lips,
45:43
Speaker 1: and then glanced at the saws of his patent leather boots.
45:46
Speaker 1: He has not been moved at all, he asked, No
45:49
Speaker 1: more than was necessary for the purposes of our examination.
45:53
Speaker 1: You can take him to the mortuary now, he said.
45:56
Speaker 1: There is nothing more to be learned. Gregson had a
45:58
Speaker 1: stretcher and four men at hand at his call. They
46:02
Speaker 1: entered the room, and the stranger was lifted and carried out.
46:05
Speaker 1: As they raised him, a ring tinkled down and rolled
46:08
Speaker 1: across the floor. Lestrade grabbed it up and stared at
46:11
Speaker 1: it with mystified eyes. There's been a woman here, he cried,
46:16
Speaker 1: It's a woman's wedding ring. He held it out as
46:18
Speaker 1: he spoke upon the palm of his hand. We all
46:21
Speaker 1: gathered round him and gazed at it. There could be
46:24
Speaker 1: no doubt that that circlet of plain gold had once
46:26
Speaker 1: adorned the finger of a bride. This complicates matters, said Gregson.
46:32
Speaker 1: Heaven knows they were complicated enough before you're sure it
46:36
Speaker 1: doesn't simplify them, observed Holmes. There's nothing to be learned
46:40
Speaker 1: by staring at it. What did you find in his pockets?
46:44
Speaker 1: We have it all here, said Gregson, pointing to a
46:46
Speaker 1: litter of objects upon one of the bottom steps of
46:48
Speaker 1: the stairs. A gold watch No. Nine seven one six
46:54
Speaker 1: three by Barroad of London, gold Albert chain, very heavy
46:58
Speaker 1: and solid gold ring with Masonic device, gold pin, bulldog's
47:04
Speaker 1: head with rubies as eyes, Russian leather card case with
47:08
Speaker 1: cards of Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland, corresponding with the E.
47:12
Speaker 1: J D. Upon the linen. No purse but loose money
47:16
Speaker 1: to the extent of seven pounds thirteen pocket edition of
47:19
Speaker 1: Berccaccio's to Cameron, with name of Joseph Stangerson. Upon the
47:23
Speaker 1: fly leaf two letters, one addressed to E. J. Drebber
47:27
Speaker 1: and one to Joseph Stangerson at what address American Exchange
47:32
Speaker 1: strand to be left till called four. They are both
47:35
Speaker 1: from the guy On Steamship Company and refer to the
47:38
Speaker 1: sailing of their boats from Liverpool. It is clear that
47:41
Speaker 1: this unfortunate man was about to return to New York.
47:44
Speaker 1: Have you made any inquiries as to this man stan Jerson?
47:48
Speaker 1: I did it at once, sir, said Gregson. I have
47:52
Speaker 1: had advertisements sent to all the newspapers, and one of
47:54
Speaker 1: my men has gone to the American Exchange, but he
47:57
Speaker 1: has not returned yet. Have you sent to Cleveland? We
48:01
Speaker 1: telegraphed this morning. How did you word your inquiries? We
48:05
Speaker 1: simply detailed the circumstances and said that we should be
48:08
Speaker 1: glad of any information which could help us. You did
48:12
Speaker 1: not ask for particulars on any point which appeared to
48:14
Speaker 1: you to be crucial. I asked about stan Jerson, nothing else.
48:20
Speaker 1: Is there no circumstance on which this whole case appears
48:22
Speaker 1: to hinge? Will you not telegraph again? I have said
48:26
Speaker 1: all I have to say, said Gregson in an offended voice.
48:30
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes chuckled to himself and appeared to be about
48:33
Speaker 1: to make some remark when Lestrade, who had been in
48:36
Speaker 1: the front room while we were holding this conversation in
48:38
Speaker 1: the hall, reappeared upon the scene, rubbing his hands in
48:41
Speaker 1: a pompous and self satisfied manner. Mister Gregson, he said,
48:47
Speaker 1: I have just made a discovery of the highest importance,
48:49
Speaker 1: and one which would have been overlooked had I not
48:51
Speaker 1: made a careful examination of the walls. The little man's
48:54
Speaker 1: eyes sparkled as he spoke, and he was evidently in
48:56
Speaker 1: a state of suppressed exultation at having scored a point
48:59
Speaker 1: against his colleague. Come here, he said, bustling back into
49:03
Speaker 1: the room, the atmosphere of which felt clearer since the
49:05
Speaker 1: removal of its ghastly inmate. Now stand there. He struck
49:09
Speaker 1: a match on his boot and held it up against
49:11
Speaker 1: the wall. Look at that, he said triumphantly. I have
49:16
Speaker 1: remarked that the paper had fallen away in parts. In
49:19
Speaker 1: this particular corner of the room, A large piece had
49:21
Speaker 1: peeled off, leaving a yellow square of coarse plastering across
49:26
Speaker 1: this bare space. There was scrawled in blood red letters
49:28
Speaker 1: a single word rake. What do you think of that?
49:31
Speaker 1: Cried the detective, with the air of a showman exhibiting
49:34
Speaker 1: his show. This was overlooked because it was in the
49:37
Speaker 1: darkest corner of the room, and no one thought of
49:39
Speaker 1: looking there. The murderer has written it with his or
49:42
Speaker 1: our own blood. See this mer where it has trickled
49:45
Speaker 1: down the wall that disposes of the idea of suicide. Anyhow,
49:50
Speaker 1: why was that corner chosen to write it on? I
49:53
Speaker 1: will tell you. See the candle on the mantelpiece. It
49:57
Speaker 1: was lit at the time, and if it was lit,
49:59
Speaker 1: this cour would be the brightest instead of the darkest
50:01
Speaker 1: portion of the wall. And what does it mean now
50:04
Speaker 1: that you have found it, asked Gregson in a depreciatory voice.
50:08
Speaker 1: Mean why it means that the writer was going to
50:11
Speaker 1: put the female name Rachel, but was disturbed before he
50:14
Speaker 1: or she had time to finish. You mark my words.
50:17
Speaker 1: When this case comes to be cleared up, you will
50:19
Speaker 1: find that a woman named Rachel has something to do
50:21
Speaker 1: with it. It's all very well for you to laugh,
50:24
Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes. You may be very smart and clever,
50:28
Speaker 1: but the old hound is the best. When all is
50:30
Speaker 1: said and done, I really beg your pardon, said my companion,
50:34
Speaker 1: who had ruffled the little man's temper by bursting into
50:37
Speaker 1: an explosion of laughter. You certainly have the credit of
50:40
Speaker 1: being the first of us to find this out. And
50:43
Speaker 1: as you say, it bears every mark of having been
50:45
Speaker 1: written by the other participant in last night's mystery. I
50:49
Speaker 1: have not had time to examine this room yet, but
50:51
Speaker 1: with your permission, I shall do so now. As he spoke,
50:54
Speaker 1: he whipped a tape measure and a large round magnifying
50:57
Speaker 1: glass from his pocket. With these two in implements, he
51:00
Speaker 1: trotted noiselessly about the room, sometimes stopping, occasionally kneeling, and
51:04
Speaker 1: once lying flat upon his face. So engrossed was he
51:08
Speaker 1: with his occupation that he appeared to have forgotten our presence,
51:11
Speaker 1: for he chattered away to himself under his breath the
51:13
Speaker 1: whole time, keeping up a running fire of exclamations, groans, whistles,
51:17
Speaker 1: and little cries suggestive of encouragement and of hope. As
51:21
Speaker 1: I watched him, I was irresistibly reminded of a pure blooded,
51:23
Speaker 1: well trained foxhound as it dashes backwards and forwards through
51:26
Speaker 1: the covert, whining in its eagerness until it comes across
51:29
Speaker 1: the lost scent. For twenty minutes or more, he continued
51:33
Speaker 1: his researches, measuring with the most exact care the distance
51:36
Speaker 1: between marks which were entirely invisible to me, and occasionally
51:39
Speaker 1: applying his tape to the walls in an equally incomprehensible manner.
51:43
Speaker 1: In one place, he gathered up, very carefully a little
51:45
Speaker 1: pile of gray dust from the floor, and packed it
51:48
Speaker 1: away in an envelope. Finally, he examined with his glass
51:51
Speaker 1: the word upon the wall, going over every letter of
51:54
Speaker 1: it with the most minute exactness. This done, he appeared
51:58
Speaker 1: to be satisfied, for he replaced his tape and his
52:00
Speaker 1: glass in his pocket. They say that genius is an
52:03
Speaker 1: infinite capacity for taking pains, he remarked, with a smile.
52:07
Speaker 1: It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to
52:10
Speaker 1: detective work. Gregson and Lestrade had watched the maneuvers of
52:13
Speaker 1: their amateur companion with considerable curiosity and some contempt. They
52:17
Speaker 1: evidently failed to appreciate the fact which I had begun
52:20
Speaker 1: to realize that Sherlock Holmn's smallest actions were all directed
52:23
Speaker 1: towards some definite and practical end. What do you think
52:27
Speaker 1: of it, sir, they both asked. It would be robbing
52:30
Speaker 1: you of the credit of the case if I was
52:32
Speaker 1: to presume to help you. Remark, my friend, you are
52:35
Speaker 1: doing so well now that it would be a pity
52:37
Speaker 1: for any one to interfere. There was a world of
52:39
Speaker 1: sarcasm in his voice as he spoke. If you will
52:42
Speaker 1: let me know how your investigations go, he continued, I
52:45
Speaker 1: shall be happy to give you any help I can.
52:48
Speaker 1: In the meantime, I should like to speak to the
52:50
Speaker 1: constable who found the body. Can you give me his
52:53
Speaker 1: name and address? Lestrade glanced at his note book, John Rance.
52:57
Speaker 1: He said, he is off duty. Now you will find
53:01
Speaker 1: him at forty six Audley Court, Kennington, park Gate. Holmes
53:04
Speaker 1: took a note of the address. Come along, doctor, he said,
53:08
Speaker 1: we shall go and look him up. I'll tell you
53:11
Speaker 1: one thing which may help you in the case, he continued,
53:14
Speaker 1: turning to the two detectives. There has been murder done,
53:17
Speaker 1: and the murderer was a man. He was more than
53:20
Speaker 1: six feet high, was in the prime of life, had
53:22
Speaker 1: small feet for his height, were coarse, square toed boots,
53:25
Speaker 1: and smoked a trichinopoly cigar. He came here with his
53:29
Speaker 1: victim in a four wheeled cab which was drawn by
53:31
Speaker 1: a horse, with three old shoes and one new one
53:33
Speaker 1: on his off four leg. In all probability, the murderer
53:37
Speaker 1: had a florid face, and the finger nails of his
53:39
Speaker 1: right hand were remarkably long. These are only a few indications,
53:43
Speaker 1: but they may assist you. Lestrade and Gregson glanced at
53:47
Speaker 1: each other with an incredulous smile. If this man was murdered,
53:51
Speaker 1: how was it done? Asked the former poison said Sherlock
53:54
Speaker 1: Holmes curtly, and strode off. One other thing, Lestrade, he added,
53:59
Speaker 1: turning round at the door. Rake is the German for revenge,
54:03
Speaker 1: So don't lose your time looking for miss Rachel, with
54:06
Speaker 1: which Parthian shot. He walked away, leaving the two rivals
54:09
Speaker 1: open mouthed behind him. Chapter four. What John Rands had
54:14
Speaker 1: to tell It was one o'clock when we left number
54:17
Speaker 1: three Lewiston Gardens. Sherlock Holmes led me to the nearest
54:21
Speaker 1: telegraph office, whence he dispatched a long telegram. He then
54:25
Speaker 1: hailed a cab and ordered the driver to take us
54:28
Speaker 1: to the address given us by Lestrade. There is nothing
54:31
Speaker 1: like first hand evidence, he remarked. As a matter of fact,
54:34
Speaker 1: my mind is entirely made up upon the case. But
54:37
Speaker 1: still we may as well learn all that is to
54:38
Speaker 1: be learned. You amaze me, Holmes said, I surely you
54:44
Speaker 1: are not as sure as you pretend to be of
54:45
Speaker 1: all those particulars which you gave. There's no room for
54:48
Speaker 1: a mistake, he answered. The very first thing which I
54:52
Speaker 1: observed on arriving there was that a cab had made
54:54
Speaker 1: two ruts with its wheels close to the curb. Now,
54:57
Speaker 1: up to last night we have had no rain for
54:59
Speaker 1: a WHI so that those wheels, which left such a
55:02
Speaker 1: deep impression must have been there during the night. There
55:04
Speaker 1: were the marks of the horse's hoofs, too, the outline
55:07
Speaker 1: of one of which was far more clearly cut than
55:09
Speaker 1: that of the other three, showing that that was a
55:11
Speaker 1: new shoe. Since the cab was thereafter the rain began,
55:15
Speaker 1: and was not there at any time during the morning,
55:17
Speaker 1: I have Gregson's word for that, it follows that it
55:19
Speaker 1: must have been there during the night, and therefore that
55:22
Speaker 1: it brought those two individuals to the house. That seems
55:25
Speaker 1: simple enough, said I. But how about the other man's height?
55:29
Speaker 1: Why the height of a man, in nine cases out
55:32
Speaker 1: of ten, can be told from the length of his stride.
55:35
Speaker 1: It is a simple calculation enough, though there is no
55:37
Speaker 1: use my boring you with figures. I had this fellow's
55:40
Speaker 1: stride both on the clay outside and on the dust within.
55:44
Speaker 1: Then I had a way of checking my calculation. When
55:47
Speaker 1: a man writes on a wall, his instinct leads him
55:49
Speaker 1: to write about the level of his own eyes. Now
55:52
Speaker 1: that writing was just over six feet from the ground.
55:55
Speaker 1: It was child's play and his age. I asked, well,
56:00
Speaker 1: if a man can stride four and a half feet
56:02
Speaker 1: without the smallest effort, he can't be quite in the
56:05
Speaker 1: sere and yellow that was the breadth of a puddle
56:08
Speaker 1: on the garden walk, which he had evidently walked across.
56:11
Speaker 1: Patent leather boots had gone round, and square toes had
56:14
Speaker 1: hopped over. There is no mystery about it at all.
56:18
Speaker 1: I am simply applying to ordinary life a few of
56:20
Speaker 1: those precepts of observation and deduction which I advocated in
56:23
Speaker 1: that article. Is there anything else that puzzles you? The finger,
56:28
Speaker 1: nails and the trichinopoly, I suggested. The writing on the
56:32
Speaker 1: wall was done with a man's forefinger dipped in blood.
56:35
Speaker 1: My glass allowed me to observe that the plaster was
56:37
Speaker 1: slightly scratched in doing it, which would not have been
56:40
Speaker 1: the case if the man's nail had been trimmed. I
56:43
Speaker 1: gathered up some scattered ash from the floor. It was
56:46
Speaker 1: dark in color and flaky, such an ash as is
56:48
Speaker 1: only made by a trickanopoly. I have made a special
56:52
Speaker 1: study of cigar ashes. In fact, I have written a
56:54
Speaker 1: monograph upon the subject. I flatter myself that I can
56:58
Speaker 1: distinguish at a glance the ash of any known brand,
57:00
Speaker 1: either of cigar or of tobacco. It is just in
57:04
Speaker 1: such details that the skilled detective differs from the Gregson
57:06
Speaker 1: and Lestrade type and the florid face. I asked, Ah,
57:11
Speaker 1: that was a more daring shot. Though I have no
57:13
Speaker 1: doubt that I was right, you must not ask me
57:16
Speaker 1: that at the present state of the affair, I passed
57:18
Speaker 1: my hand over my brow. My head is in a whirl,
57:22
Speaker 1: I remarked. The more one thinks of it, the more
57:24
Speaker 1: mysterious it grows. How came these two men? If there
57:27
Speaker 1: were two men into an empty house, what has become
57:31
Speaker 1: of the cabman who drove them? How could one man
57:33
Speaker 1: compel another to take poison? Where did the blood come from?
57:38
Speaker 1: What was the object of the murderer? Since robbery had
57:41
Speaker 1: no part in it? How came the woman's ring? There?
57:45
Speaker 1: Above all? Why should the second men write up the
57:47
Speaker 1: German word rake before decamping? I confess that I cannot
57:50
Speaker 1: see any possible way of reconciling all these facts, my
57:53
Speaker 1: companion smiled approvingly. You sum up the difficulties of the
57:57
Speaker 1: situation succinctly and well, he said. There is much that
58:01
Speaker 1: is still obscure, though I have quite made up my
58:03
Speaker 1: mind on the main facts. As to poor Lestrade's discovery,
58:07
Speaker 1: it was simply a blind intended to put the police
58:09
Speaker 1: upon a wrong track by suggesting socialism and secret societies.
58:13
Speaker 1: It was not done by a German. The a, if
58:17
Speaker 1: you noticed, was printed somewhat after the German fashion. Now
58:21
Speaker 1: a real German invariably prints in the Latin character, so
58:24
Speaker 1: that we may safely say that this was not written
58:26
Speaker 1: by one but by a clumsy imitator who overdid his part.
58:30
Speaker 1: It was simply a ruse to divert inquiry into a
58:32
Speaker 1: wrong channel. I am not going to tell you much
58:35
Speaker 1: more of the case, doctor. You know, a conjurer gets
58:38
Speaker 1: no credit when once he has explained his trick. And
58:41
Speaker 1: if I show you too much of my method of working,
58:43
Speaker 1: you will come to the conclusion that I am a
58:44
Speaker 1: very ordinary individual. After all, I shall never do that,
58:48
Speaker 1: I answered, you have brought detection as near an exact
58:51
Speaker 1: science as it ever will be brought in this world.
58:53
Speaker 1: My companion flushed up with pleasure at my words and
58:56
Speaker 1: the earnest way in which I uttered them. I had
58:58
Speaker 1: already observed that he was as sensitive to flattery on
59:01
Speaker 1: the score of his art as any girl could be
59:03
Speaker 1: of her beauty. I'll tell you one other thing, he said.
59:07
Speaker 1: Patent Leathers and square Toes came in the same cab,
59:10
Speaker 1: and they walked down the pathway together as friendly as possible,
59:13
Speaker 1: arm in arm, in all probability. When they got inside,
59:16
Speaker 1: they walked up and down the room, or rather, Patent
59:19
Speaker 1: Leathers stood still while square Toes walked up and down.
59:22
Speaker 1: I could read all that in the dust, and I
59:24
Speaker 1: could read that as he walked he grew more and
59:26
Speaker 1: more excited. That is shown by the increased length of
59:29
Speaker 1: his strides. He was talking all the while and working
59:33
Speaker 1: himself up, no doubt, into a fury. Then the tragedy occurred.
59:38
Speaker 1: I've told you all I know myself now, for the
59:40
Speaker 1: rest is mere surmise and conjecture. We have a good
59:43
Speaker 1: working basis. However, on which to start we must hurry up,
59:47
Speaker 1: for I want to go to Halley's concert to hear
59:49
Speaker 1: Norman Neruda this afternoon. This conversation had occurred while our
59:53
Speaker 1: cab had been fretting its way through a long succession
59:55
Speaker 1: of dingy streets and dreary byways. In the dingiest and
59:58
Speaker 1: dreariest of them, our driver suddenly came to a stand.
1:00:02
Speaker 1: That's oddly Court in there, he said, pointing to a
1:00:04
Speaker 1: narrow slit in the line of dead colored brick. You'll
1:00:08
Speaker 1: find me here when you come back. Oddly Court was
1:00:10
Speaker 1: not an attractive locality. The narrow passage led us into
1:00:14
Speaker 1: a quadrangle, paved with flags and lined by sordid dwellings.
1:00:18
Speaker 1: We picked our way among groups of dirty children and
1:00:20
Speaker 1: through lines of discolored linen, until we came to number
1:00:23
Speaker 1: forty six, the door of which was decorated with a
1:00:25
Speaker 1: small slip of brass on which the name Rance was engraved.
1:00:29
Speaker 1: On inquiry, we found that the Constable was in bed,
1:00:32
Speaker 1: and we were shown into a little front parlor to
1:00:34
Speaker 1: await his coming. He appeared, presently, looking a little irritable
1:00:38
Speaker 1: at being disturbed in his slumbers. I made my report
1:00:41
Speaker 1: at the office, he said. Holmes took a half sovereign
1:00:44
Speaker 1: from his pocket and played with it. Pensively. We thought
1:00:47
Speaker 1: that we should like to hear it all from your
1:00:49
Speaker 1: own lips. He said, I shall be most happy to
1:00:52
Speaker 1: tell you anything I can. The Constable answered, with his
1:00:54
Speaker 1: eyes upon the little golden disc. Just let us hear
1:00:57
Speaker 1: it all in your own way. As it occurred, Rance
1:01:00
Speaker 1: sat down on the horsehair sofa and knitted his brows,
1:01:03
Speaker 1: as though determined not to omit anything in his narrative.
1:01:06
Speaker 1: I'll tell it ye from the beginning, he said. My
1:01:09
Speaker 1: time is from ten at night to six in the morning.
1:01:12
Speaker 1: At eleven there was a fight at the White Heart,
1:01:14
Speaker 1: but bar that all was quiet enough on the beat.
1:01:17
Speaker 1: At one o'clock it began to rain, and I met
1:01:20
Speaker 1: Harry Murcher, him who has the Holland Grove beat, and
1:01:22
Speaker 1: we stood together at the corner of Henrietta Street Atokin presently,
1:01:27
Speaker 1: maybe about two or a little after. I thought I
1:01:29
Speaker 1: would take a look round and see that all was
1:01:31
Speaker 1: right down the Brixton Road. It was precious, dirty and lonely.
1:01:36
Speaker 1: Not a soul did I meet all the way down,
1:01:38
Speaker 1: though a cab or two went past me. I was
1:01:40
Speaker 1: a strollin down, thinkin between ourselves, how uncommon handy A
1:01:44
Speaker 1: four of gin hot would be when suddenly the glint
1:01:46
Speaker 1: of a light caught my eye in the window of
1:01:48
Speaker 1: that same house. Now I knew that them two houses
1:01:51
Speaker 1: in Luriston Gardens was empty on account of him that
1:01:54
Speaker 1: owns them, who won't have the drain seen to. Though
1:01:56
Speaker 1: the very last tenant what lived in one of them, died,
1:01:58
Speaker 1: oh typhoid fever. I was knocked all in a heap
1:02:01
Speaker 1: therefore at seeing a light in the window, and I
1:02:04
Speaker 1: suspected as something was wrong. When I got to the door,
1:02:07
Speaker 1: you stopped and then walked back to the garden gate.
1:02:10
Speaker 1: My companion interrupted, what did you do that? For? Rance
1:02:14
Speaker 1: gave a violent jump and stared at Sherlock Holmes with
1:02:16
Speaker 1: the utmost amazement upon his features. Why that's true, sir,
1:02:21
Speaker 1: he said, though how you come to know it? Heaven
1:02:23
Speaker 1: only knows. Ye. See, when I got up to the door,
1:02:27
Speaker 1: it was so still and so lonesome that I thought
1:02:29
Speaker 1: i'd be none the worse for some one with me.
1:02:31
Speaker 1: I ain't afeard of anything on this side, oh the grave,
1:02:34
Speaker 1: but I thought that maybe it was him the didoh
1:02:36
Speaker 1: the typhoid, inspecting the drains what killed him. The thought
1:02:40
Speaker 1: gave me a kind oak turn and I walked back
1:02:42
Speaker 1: to the gate to see if I could see Murcher's lantern,
1:02:44
Speaker 1: But there wasn't no sign of him, nor of any
1:02:46
Speaker 1: one else. There was northwest one in the street, not
1:02:50
Speaker 1: a livin soul, sir, nor as much as a dog.
1:02:54
Speaker 1: Then I pulled myself together and went back and pushed
1:02:56
Speaker 1: the door open. All was quiet inside, so I went
1:03:00
Speaker 1: into the room where the light was aburnin. There was
1:03:03
Speaker 1: a candle flick karn on the mantelpiece, a red wax one,
1:03:06
Speaker 1: and by its light I saw, yes, I know all
1:03:08
Speaker 1: that you saw. You walked round the room several times,
1:03:12
Speaker 1: and you knelt down by the body, and then you
1:03:14
Speaker 1: walked through and tried the kitchen door. And then John
1:03:17
Speaker 1: ran sprang to his feet with a frightened face and
1:03:19
Speaker 1: suspicion in his eyes. Where was you hit to see
1:03:22
Speaker 1: all that? He cried? It seems to me that you
1:03:25
Speaker 1: knows a deal more than you should. Holmes laughed and
1:03:28
Speaker 1: threw his cart across the table to the constable. Don't
1:03:31
Speaker 1: get arresting me for the murder, he said, I am
1:03:34
Speaker 1: one of the hounds and not the wolf. Mister Gregson
1:03:37
Speaker 1: or mister Lestrade will answer for that. Go on, though,
1:03:41
Speaker 1: What did you do next? Rance resumed his seat, without, however,
1:03:44
Speaker 1: losing his mystified expression. I went back to the gate
1:03:48
Speaker 1: and sounded my whistle that brought Murcher and two more
1:03:52
Speaker 1: to the spot. Was the street empty? Then? Well it
1:03:56
Speaker 1: was as far as anybody that could be of any
1:03:58
Speaker 1: good goes. What do you mean? The Constable's features broadened
1:04:02
Speaker 1: into a grin. I've seen many a drunk chap in
1:04:05
Speaker 1: my time, he said, but never any one so cryin
1:04:08
Speaker 1: drunk as that cove. He was at the gate when
1:04:11
Speaker 1: I came out, a leanin up agin the railings, and
1:04:13
Speaker 1: a singin' at the pitch o his lungs about Columbine's
1:04:17
Speaker 1: new fangled banner or some such stuff. He couldn't stand
1:04:21
Speaker 1: far less help. What sort of a man was? He
1:04:24
Speaker 1: asked Sherlock Holmes. John Rance appeared to be somewhat irritated
1:04:29
Speaker 1: at this digression. He was an uncommon drunk sword o man,
1:04:32
Speaker 1: he said. He'd hop found hisself in the station if
1:04:36
Speaker 1: we hadn't been so took up his face his dress.
1:04:39
Speaker 1: Didn't you notice them? Holmes broken impatiently. I should think
1:04:43
Speaker 1: I did notice them, seeing that I had to prop
1:04:45
Speaker 1: him up me a murcher between us. He was a
1:04:48
Speaker 1: long chap with a red face, the lower part muffled round.
1:04:52
Speaker 1: That will do, cried Holmes. What became of him? We'd
1:04:56
Speaker 1: enough to do without lookin after him, the policeman said,
1:04:59
Speaker 1: in an agrieved for I'll wager he found his way
1:05:02
Speaker 1: home all right? How was he dressed? A brown overcoat?
1:05:08
Speaker 1: Had he a whip in his hand? A whip? No,
1:05:12
Speaker 1: he must have left it behind, muttered my companion. You
1:05:15
Speaker 1: didn't happen to see or hear a cab after that. No,
1:05:19
Speaker 1: there's a half sovereign for you, my companion said, standing
1:05:22
Speaker 1: up and taking his hat. I am afraid, rance that
1:05:26
Speaker 1: you will never rise in the force. That head of
1:05:28
Speaker 1: yours should be for use as well as ornament. You
1:05:31
Speaker 1: might have gained your sergeant's stripes last night. The men
1:05:34
Speaker 1: whom you held in your hands as the men who
1:05:36
Speaker 1: holds the clue of this mystery, and whom we are seeking.
1:05:40
Speaker 1: There is no use of arguing about it now I
1:05:42
Speaker 1: tell you that it is so. Come along, doctor. We
1:05:45
Speaker 1: started off for the cab together, leaving our informant incredulous
1:05:49
Speaker 1: but obviously uncomfortable. The blundering fool Holmes said bitterly as
1:05:54
Speaker 1: we drove back to our lodgings. Just to think of
1:05:57
Speaker 1: his having such an incomparable bit of good luck and
1:05:59
Speaker 1: not takeking advantage of it, I am rather in the dark. Still,
1:06:04
Speaker 1: it is true that the description of this mentally is
1:06:06
Speaker 1: with your idea of the second party in this mystery.
1:06:09
Speaker 1: But why should he come back to the house after
1:06:11
Speaker 1: leaving it? That is not the way of criminals. The
1:06:14
Speaker 1: ring man the ring, that was what he came back for.
1:06:18
Speaker 1: If we have no other way of catching him, we
1:06:20
Speaker 1: can always bait our line with the ring. I shall
1:06:23
Speaker 1: have him, Doctor. I'll lay you two to one that
1:06:25
Speaker 1: I have him. I must thank you for it all.
1:06:29
Speaker 1: I might not have gone but for you, and so
1:06:31
Speaker 1: have missed the finest study I ever came across, A
1:06:34
Speaker 1: study in scarlet. Eh, why shouldn't we use a little
1:06:37
Speaker 1: art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through
1:06:40
Speaker 1: the colorless skein of life, and our duty is to
1:06:43
Speaker 1: unravel it and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.
1:06:47
Speaker 1: And now for lunch, and then for Norman Neruda. Her
1:06:50
Speaker 1: attack and her bowing are splendid. What's that little thing
1:06:54
Speaker 1: of chopin? She plays so magnificently trolla l aliilirolay leaning
1:06:57
Speaker 1: back in the cab this amateur bloodhouse, and caroled away
1:07:00
Speaker 1: like a lark while I meditated upon the many sidedness
1:07:03
Speaker 1: of the human mind. Chapter five, Our advertisement brings a visitor.
1:07:09
Speaker 1: Our morning's exertions had been too much for my weak health,
1:07:12
Speaker 1: and I was tired out. In the afternoon, after holmes
1:07:15
Speaker 1: departure for the concert, I lay down upon the sofa
1:07:18
Speaker 1: and endeavored to get a couple of hours sleep. It
1:07:21
Speaker 1: was a useless attempt. My mind had been too much
1:07:24
Speaker 1: excited by all that had occurred, and the strangest fancies
1:07:27
Speaker 1: and surmises crowded into it. Every time that I closed
1:07:30
Speaker 1: my eyes, I saw before me the distorted, baboon like
1:07:33
Speaker 1: countenance of the murdered men. So sinister was the impression
1:07:36
Speaker 1: which the face had produced upon me that I found
1:07:38
Speaker 1: it difficult to feel anything but gratitude for him who
1:07:41
Speaker 1: had removed its owner from the world. If ever human
1:07:44
Speaker 1: features bespoke vice of the most malignant type, they were
1:07:46
Speaker 1: certainly those of Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland. Still, I
1:07:51
Speaker 1: recognized that justice must be done, and that the depravity
1:07:54
Speaker 1: of the victim was no condonement in the eyes of
1:07:56
Speaker 1: the law. The more I thought of it, the more
1:07:58
Speaker 1: extraordinary did my companions hypothesis that the men had been
1:08:01
Speaker 1: poisoned appear. I remembered how he had sniffed his lips,
1:08:05
Speaker 1: and had no doubt that he had detected something which
1:08:07
Speaker 1: had given rise to the idea. Then again, if not poison,
1:08:12
Speaker 1: what had caused the man's death, since there was neither
1:08:14
Speaker 1: wound nor marks of strangulation. But on the other hand,
1:08:18
Speaker 1: whose blood was that which lay so thickly upon the floor.
1:08:22
Speaker 1: There were no signs of a struggle, nor had the
1:08:24
Speaker 1: victim any weapon with which he might have wounded an antagonist.
1:08:27
Speaker 1: As long as all these questions were unsolved, I felt
1:08:30
Speaker 1: that sleep would be no easy matter, either for Holmes
1:08:33
Speaker 1: or myself. His quiet, self confident manner convinced me that
1:08:37
Speaker 1: he had already formed a theory which explained all the facts,
1:08:39
Speaker 1: though what it was I could not for an instant conjecture.
1:08:42
Speaker 1: He was very late in returning, so late that I
1:08:45
Speaker 1: knew that the concert could not have detained him all
1:08:47
Speaker 1: the time. Dinner was on the table before he appeared.
1:08:51
Speaker 1: It was magnificent, he said, as he took his seat.
1:08:55
Speaker 1: Do you remember what Darwin says about music? He claims
1:08:58
Speaker 1: that the power of producing in appreciating it existed among
1:09:01
Speaker 1: the human race long before the power of speech was
1:09:03
Speaker 1: arrived at. Perhaps that is why we are so subtly
1:09:07
Speaker 1: influenced by it. There are vague memories in our souls
1:09:10
Speaker 1: of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood.
1:09:14
Speaker 1: That's rather a broad idea, I remarked. One's ideas must
1:09:18
Speaker 1: be as broad as nature if they are to interpret nature.
1:09:20
Speaker 1: He answered, what's the matter. You're not looking quite yourself.
1:09:26
Speaker 1: This Brixton Road affair has upset you. To tell the truth,
1:09:30
Speaker 1: it has, I said, I ought to be more case
1:09:33
Speaker 1: hardened after my Afghan experiences. I saw my own comrades
1:09:37
Speaker 1: hacked to pieces at maywand without losing my nerve, I
1:09:40
Speaker 1: can understand there is a mystery about this which stimulates
1:09:44
Speaker 1: the imagination. Where there is no imagination, there is no horror.
1:09:48
Speaker 1: Have you seen the evening paper? No, it gives a
1:09:52
Speaker 1: fairly good account of the affair. It does not mention
1:09:55
Speaker 1: the fact that when the men was raised up a
1:09:57
Speaker 1: woman's wedding ring fell upon the floor. It is just
1:10:00
Speaker 1: as well it does not Why look at this advertisement,
1:10:05
Speaker 1: he answered, I had one sent to every paper this morning,
1:10:08
Speaker 1: immediately after the affair. He threw the paper across to
1:10:12
Speaker 1: me and I glanced at the place indicated it was
1:10:15
Speaker 1: the first announcement in the found column in Brixton Road
1:10:19
Speaker 1: this morning. It ran a plain gold wedding ring found
1:10:22
Speaker 1: in the roadway between the white Hart Tavern and Holland Grove.
1:10:26
Speaker 1: Apply doctor Watson, two twenty one b Baker Street between
1:10:30
Speaker 1: eight and nine this evening. Excuse my using your name,
1:10:34
Speaker 1: he said. If I used my own, some of these
1:10:36
Speaker 1: dunderheads would recognize it and want to meddle in the affair.
1:10:40
Speaker 1: That is all right, I answered, But supposing any one applies,
1:10:44
Speaker 1: I have no ring. Oh yes, you have said, he
1:10:48
Speaker 1: handing me one. This will do very well. It is
1:10:52
Speaker 1: almost a facsimile. And who do you expect will answer
1:10:56
Speaker 1: this advertisement? Why the men in the brown coat are
1:11:00
Speaker 1: our florid friend with the square toes. If he does
1:11:03
Speaker 1: not come himself, he will send an accomplice. Would he
1:11:06
Speaker 1: not consider it as too dangerous? Not at all? If
1:11:10
Speaker 1: my view of the case is correct, and I have
1:11:12
Speaker 1: every reason to believe that it is, this man would
1:11:15
Speaker 1: rather risk anything than lose the ring. According to my notion,
1:11:18
Speaker 1: he dropped it while stooping over Drebber's body, and did
1:11:21
Speaker 1: not miss it at the time. After leaving the house,
1:11:24
Speaker 1: he discovered his loss and hurried back, but found the
1:11:26
Speaker 1: police already in possession. Owing to his own folly in
1:11:29
Speaker 1: leaving the candle burning, he had to pretend to be
1:11:32
Speaker 1: drunk in order to allay the suspicions which might have
1:11:34
Speaker 1: been aroused by his appearance at the gate. Now put
1:11:37
Speaker 1: yourself in that man's place. On thinking the matter over,
1:11:41
Speaker 1: it must have occurred to him that it was possible
1:11:43
Speaker 1: that he had lost the ring in the road after
1:11:45
Speaker 1: leaving the house. What would he do? Then? He would
1:11:49
Speaker 1: eagerly look out for the evening papers, in the hope
1:11:51
Speaker 1: of seeing it. Among the articles found. His eye, of course,
1:11:55
Speaker 1: would light upon this. He would be overjoyed. Why should
1:11:59
Speaker 1: he fear it? There would be no reason in his
1:12:02
Speaker 1: eyes why the finding of the ring should be connected
1:12:04
Speaker 1: with the murder. He would come, He will come. You
1:12:09
Speaker 1: shall see him within an hour. And then I asked, oh,
1:12:14
Speaker 1: you can leave me to deal with him? Then have
1:12:16
Speaker 1: you any arms? I have my old service revolver and
1:12:20
Speaker 1: a few cartridges, you had better clean it and load it.
1:12:24
Speaker 1: He will be a desperate man, and though I shall
1:12:26
Speaker 1: take him unawares, it is as well to be ready
1:12:28
Speaker 1: for anything. I went to my bedroom and followed his advice.
1:12:32
Speaker 1: When I returned with the pistol, the table had been
1:12:34
Speaker 1: cleared and Holmes was engaged in his favorite occupation of
1:12:37
Speaker 1: scraping upon his violin The plot thickens, he said as
1:12:41
Speaker 1: I entered, I have just had an answer to my
1:12:43
Speaker 1: American telegram. My view of the case is the correct one,
1:12:48
Speaker 1: and that is I asked eagerly. My fiddle would be
1:12:51
Speaker 1: the better for new strings, He remarked. Put your pistol
1:12:54
Speaker 1: in your pocket. When the fellow comes, speak to him
1:12:57
Speaker 1: in an ordinary way. Leave the rest to me. Don't
1:13:01
Speaker 1: frighten him by looking at him too hard. It is
1:13:04
Speaker 1: eight o'clock now, I said, glancing at my watch. Yes,
1:13:09
Speaker 1: he will probably be here in a few minutes. Open
1:13:13
Speaker 1: the door slightly. That will do. Now put the key
1:13:17
Speaker 1: on the inside. Thank you. This is a queer old
1:13:21
Speaker 1: book I picked up at a stall yesterday to jure
1:13:23
Speaker 1: enter genties. Published in Latin at Liege in the Lowlands
1:13:26
Speaker 1: in sixteen forty two. Charles's Head was still firm on
1:13:29
Speaker 1: his shoulders when this little brown backed volume was struck off.
1:13:33
Speaker 1: Who is the printer Philippe de Croix, whoever he may
1:13:36
Speaker 1: have been? On the fly leaf, in very faded ink,
1:13:40
Speaker 1: is written ex libriskly on me White. I wonder who
1:13:43
Speaker 1: William White was some pragmatical seventeenth century lawyer. I suppose
1:13:49
Speaker 1: his writing has a legal twist about it. Here comes
1:13:52
Speaker 1: our men, I think. As he spoke, there was a
1:13:54
Speaker 1: sharp ring at the bell Sherlock Holmes rose softly and
1:13:58
Speaker 1: moved his chair in the direction of the door. We
1:14:01
Speaker 1: heard the servant pass along the hall, and the sharp
1:14:03
Speaker 1: click of the latch as she opened it. Does doctor
1:14:06
Speaker 1: Watson live here? Asked a clear but rather harsh voice.
1:14:10
Speaker 1: We could not hear the servant's reply, but the door closed,
1:14:12
Speaker 1: and some one began to ascend the stairs. The footfall
1:14:16
Speaker 1: was an uncertain and shuffling one. A look of surprise
1:14:19
Speaker 1: passed over the face of my companion as he listened
1:14:22
Speaker 1: to it. It came slowly along the passage, and there
1:14:25
Speaker 1: was a feeble tap at the door. Come in, I
1:14:28
Speaker 1: cried at my summons. Instead of the men of violence
1:14:31
Speaker 1: whom we expected, a very old and wrinkled woman hobbled
1:14:34
Speaker 1: into the apartment. She appeared to be dazzled by the
1:14:38
Speaker 1: sudden blaze of light, and after dropping a curtsey, she stood,
1:14:41
Speaker 1: blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fumbling in
1:14:43
Speaker 1: her pocket with nervous, shaky fingers. I glanced at my companion,
1:14:47
Speaker 1: and his face had assumed such a disconsolate expression that
1:14:50
Speaker 1: it was all I could do to keep my countenance.
1:14:53
Speaker 1: The old crone drew out an evening paper and pointed
1:14:55
Speaker 1: at our advertisement. It's this as has brought me good gentleman,
1:15:00
Speaker 1: she said, dropping another curtsey, a gold wedding ring in
1:15:03
Speaker 1: the Brixton Road. It belongs to my girl, Sallie, As
1:15:06
Speaker 1: was married only this time twelvemonth, which her husband is
1:15:09
Speaker 1: steward aboard a union boat. And what he'd say if
1:15:12
Speaker 1: he come home and found her without her ring is
1:15:14
Speaker 1: more than I can think, he being short enough at
1:15:16
Speaker 1: the best oh times, but more especially when he has
1:15:18
Speaker 1: the drink. If it please you, she went to the
1:15:21
Speaker 1: circus last night along with is that her ring? I asked?
1:15:25
Speaker 1: The lord be thanked, cried the old woman. Sallie will
1:15:28
Speaker 1: be a glad woman this night. That's the ring and
1:15:32
Speaker 1: what may your address be? I inquired, taking up a pencil.
1:15:36
Speaker 1: Thirteen Duncan Street, Hound's ditch a weary way from here.
1:15:41
Speaker 1: The Brixton Road does not lie between any circus and
1:15:44
Speaker 1: Hound's Ditch, said Sherlock Holmb sharply. The old woman faced
1:15:48
Speaker 1: round and looked keenly at him from her little, red
1:15:50
Speaker 1: rimmed eyes. The gentleman asked me for my address, She said,
1:15:55
Speaker 1: Sallie lives in lodgings at three Mayfield Place, Peckham. And
1:15:59
Speaker 1: your name is My name is Sawyer. Hers is Denis,
1:16:03
Speaker 1: which Tom Denis married her, and a smart clean lad too,
1:16:07
Speaker 1: as long as he's at sea, and no steward in
1:16:09
Speaker 1: the company more thought of. But when on shore, what
1:16:11
Speaker 1: with the women? And what with liquor shops? Here is
1:16:14
Speaker 1: your ring, missus, Sawyer, I interrupted, in obedience to a
1:16:18
Speaker 1: sign from my companion. It clearly belongs to your daughter,
1:16:21
Speaker 1: and I am glad to be able to restore it
1:16:23
Speaker 1: to the rightful owner. With many mumbled blessings and protestations
1:16:26
Speaker 1: of gratitude, the old crone packed it away in her
1:16:28
Speaker 1: pocket and shuffled off down the stairs. Sherlock Holms sprang
1:16:32
Speaker 1: to his feet. The moment that she was gone, and
1:16:34
Speaker 1: rushed into his room. He returned in a few seconds,
1:16:37
Speaker 1: enveloped in an ulster and a cravat. I'll follow her,
1:16:40
Speaker 1: he said hurriedly. She must be an accomplice and will
1:16:44
Speaker 1: lead me to him. Wait up for me. The hall
1:16:47
Speaker 1: door had hardly slammed behind our visitor before Holmes had
1:16:50
Speaker 1: descended the stair. Looking through the window, I could see
1:16:53
Speaker 1: her walking feebly along the other side, while her pursuer
1:16:56
Speaker 1: dogged her some little distance behind. Either his theory is incorrect,
1:17:01
Speaker 1: I thought to myself, or else he will be led
1:17:03
Speaker 1: now to the heart of the mystery. There was no
1:17:06
Speaker 1: need for him to ask me to wait up for him,
1:17:08
Speaker 1: for I felt that sleep was impossible until I heard
1:17:10
Speaker 1: the result of his adventure. It was close upon nine
1:17:14
Speaker 1: when he set out. I had no idea how long
1:17:17
Speaker 1: he might be, but I sat stolidly, puffing at my
1:17:19
Speaker 1: pipe and skipping over the pages of Honriy Mergers viaa Boheim.
1:17:23
Speaker 1: Ten o'clock passed, and I heard the footsteps of the
1:17:26
Speaker 1: maid as they pattered off to bed eleven, and the
1:17:29
Speaker 1: more stately tread of the landlady passed my door, bound
1:17:32
Speaker 1: for the same destination. It was close upon twelve before
1:17:36
Speaker 1: I heard the sharp sound of his latch key. The
1:17:39
Speaker 1: instant he entered, I saw by his face that he
1:17:41
Speaker 1: had not been successful. Amusement and chagrin seemed to be
1:17:44
Speaker 1: struggling for the mastery, until the former suddenly carried the day,
1:17:48
Speaker 1: and he burst into a hearty laugh. I wouldn't have
1:17:51
Speaker 1: the Scotland yarders know it for the world, he cried,
1:17:53
Speaker 1: dropping into his chair. I have chaffed them so much
1:17:56
Speaker 1: that they would never have let me hear the end
1:17:57
Speaker 1: of it. I can afford to laugh because I know
1:18:00
Speaker 1: that I will be even with them in the long run.
1:18:03
Speaker 1: What is it, then, I asked, Oh, I don't mind
1:18:06
Speaker 1: telling a story against myself. That creature had gone a
1:18:10
Speaker 1: little way when she began to limp and show every
1:18:12
Speaker 1: sign of being foot sore. Presently she came to a
1:18:15
Speaker 1: halt and hailed a four wheeler which was passing. I
1:18:19
Speaker 1: managed to be close to her so as to hear
1:18:21
Speaker 1: the address. But I need not have been so anxious,
1:18:23
Speaker 1: for she sang it out loud enough to be heard
1:18:25
Speaker 1: at the other side of the street. Drive to thirteen
1:18:28
Speaker 1: Duncan Street, Hounds Ditch. She cried, this begins to look genuine,
1:18:32
Speaker 1: I thought, and having seen her safely inside, I perched
1:18:36
Speaker 1: myself behind. That's an art which every detective should be
1:18:39
Speaker 1: an expert at. Well away we rattled and never drew
1:18:43
Speaker 1: rein until we reached the street in question. I hopped
1:18:46
Speaker 1: off before we came to the door, and strolled down
1:18:49
Speaker 1: the street in an easy lounging way. I saw the
1:18:52
Speaker 1: cab pull up, The driver jumped down, and I saw
1:18:56
Speaker 1: him open the door and stand expectantly. Nothing came out,
1:18:59
Speaker 1: though when I reached him he was groping about frantically
1:19:02
Speaker 1: in the empty cab and giving vent to the finest
1:19:05
Speaker 1: assortid collection of oaths that ever I listened to. There
1:19:08
Speaker 1: was no sign or trace of his passenger, and I
1:19:10
Speaker 1: fear it will be some time before he gets his fare.
1:19:14
Speaker 1: On inquiring at number thirteen, we found that the house
1:19:16
Speaker 1: belonged to a respectable paper hanger named Keswick, and that
1:19:20
Speaker 1: no one of the name either of Sawyer or Denis
1:19:21
Speaker 1: had ever been heard of there. You don't mean to say,
1:19:25
Speaker 1: I cried in amazement that that tottering, feeble old woman
1:19:28
Speaker 1: was able to get out of the cab while it
1:19:30
Speaker 1: was in motion without either you or the driver seeing
1:19:32
Speaker 1: her old woman be damned, said Sherlock Holmes, sharply, we
1:19:37
Speaker 1: were the old women to be so taken in. It
1:19:40
Speaker 1: must have been a young man, and an active one too,
1:19:43
Speaker 1: Besides being an incomparable actor. The get up was inimitable.
1:19:48
Speaker 1: He saw that he was followed no doubt, and used
1:19:50
Speaker 1: this means of giving me the slip. It shows that
1:19:53
Speaker 1: the men we are after is not as lonely as
1:19:55
Speaker 1: I imagined he was, but has friends who are ready
1:19:57
Speaker 1: to risk something for him. Now, doctor, you are looking
1:20:01
Speaker 1: done up, take my advice and turn in. I was
1:20:04
Speaker 1: certainly feeling very weary, so I bade his injunction. I
1:20:08
Speaker 1: left home seated in front of the smoldering fire, and
1:20:11
Speaker 1: long into the watches of the night. I heard the low,
1:20:13
Speaker 1: melancholy wailings of his violin, and knew that he was
1:20:16
Speaker 1: still pondering over the strange problem which he had set
1:20:18
Speaker 1: himself to unravel. Chapter six to Bias, Gregson shows what
1:20:23
Speaker 1: he can do. The papers next day were full of
1:20:26
Speaker 1: the Brixton mystery, as they termed it. Each had a
1:20:29
Speaker 1: long account of the affair, and some had leaders upon it.
1:20:32
Speaker 1: In addition, there was some information in them, which was
1:20:35
Speaker 1: new to me. I still retain in my scrap book
1:20:38
Speaker 1: numerous clippings and extracts bearing upon the case. Here is
1:20:42
Speaker 1: a condensation of a few of them. The Daily Telegraph
1:20:45
Speaker 1: remarked that in the history of crime there had seldom
1:20:47
Speaker 1: been a tragedy which presented stranger features. The German name
1:20:51
Speaker 1: of the victim, the absence of all other motive, and
1:20:53
Speaker 1: the sinister inscription on the wall all pointed to its
1:20:56
Speaker 1: perpetration by political refugees and revolutionists. The Socialists had many
1:21:01
Speaker 1: branches in America, and the deceased had no doubt infringed
1:21:04
Speaker 1: their unwritten laws and been tracked down by them. After
1:21:08
Speaker 1: alluding airily to the venderic Aquatofana Carbonari, the marchionist, to Brinvilliers,
1:21:13
Speaker 1: the Darwinian theory, the principles of Malthus, and the Ratcliffe
1:21:16
Speaker 1: Highway murders, the article concluded by admonishing the government and
1:21:20
Speaker 1: advocating a closer watch over foreigners in England. The Standard
1:21:24
Speaker 1: commented upon the fact that lawless outrages of the sort
1:21:26
Speaker 1: usually occurred under a liberal administration. They arose from the
1:21:30
Speaker 1: unsettling of the minds of the masses and the consequent
1:21:33
Speaker 1: weakening of all authority. The deceased was an American gentleman
1:21:36
Speaker 1: who had been residing for some weeks in the metropolis.
1:21:40
Speaker 1: He had stayed at the boarding house of Madame Charpentier
1:21:43
Speaker 1: in Torquay Terrace, Camberwell. He was accompanied in his travels
1:21:47
Speaker 1: by his private secretary, mister Joseph Stangerson. The two bade
1:21:51
Speaker 1: adieu to their land lady upon Tuesday the fourth I
1:21:54
Speaker 1: n s t And departed to Euston Station with the
1:21:56
Speaker 1: avowed intention of catching the Liverpool Express. They were afterwards
1:22:00
Speaker 1: seen together upon the platform. Nothing more is known of
1:22:04
Speaker 1: them until mister Drebber's body was, as recorded, discovered in
1:22:07
Speaker 1: an empty house in the Brixton Road, many miles from Euston.
1:22:11
Speaker 1: How he came there or how he met his fate
1:22:13
Speaker 1: are questions which are still involved in mystery. Nothing is
1:22:17
Speaker 1: known of the whereabouts of Stan Jerson. We are glad
1:22:20
Speaker 1: to learn that mister Lestrade and mister Gregson of Scotland
1:22:23
Speaker 1: Yard are both engaged upon the case, and it is
1:22:26
Speaker 1: confidently anticipated that these well known officers will speedily throw
1:22:29
Speaker 1: light upon the matter. The Daily News observed that there
1:22:32
Speaker 1: was no doubt as to the crime being a political one.
1:22:36
Speaker 1: The despotism and hatred of liberalism which animated the continental
1:22:39
Speaker 1: governments had the effect of driving to our shores a
1:22:41
Speaker 1: number of men who might have made excellent citizens, were
1:22:43
Speaker 1: they not soured by the recollection of all that they
1:22:45
Speaker 1: had undergone. Among these men there was a stringent code
1:22:49
Speaker 1: of honor, any infringement of which was punished by death.
1:22:52
Speaker 1: Every effort should be made to find the Secretary Stan Jerson,
1:22:56
Speaker 1: and to ascertain some particulars of the habits of the deceased.
1:22:59
Speaker 1: A great step had been gained by the discovery of
1:23:02
Speaker 1: the address of the house at which he had boarded,
1:23:04
Speaker 1: a result which was entirely due to the acuteness and
1:23:06
Speaker 1: energy of mister Gregson of Scotland. Yard. Sherlock Holmes and
1:23:10
Speaker 1: I read these notices over together at breakfast, and they
1:23:13
Speaker 1: appeared to afford him considerable amusement. I told you that
1:23:17
Speaker 1: whatever happened, Lestrade and Gregson would be sure to score.
1:23:20
Speaker 1: That depends on how it turns out, Oh bless you,
1:23:24
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter in the least. If the men is caught,
1:23:27
Speaker 1: it will be on account of their exertions. If he escapes,
1:23:30
Speaker 1: it will be in spite of their exertions. It's heads
1:23:33
Speaker 1: I win and tails you lose. Whatever they do, they
1:23:36
Speaker 1: will have followers unsought. Trouvay toujours un plus sotka el admire,
1:23:42
Speaker 1: What on earth is this? I cried for At this
1:23:44
Speaker 1: moment there came the pattering of many steps in the
1:23:46
Speaker 1: hall and on the stairs, accompanied by audible expressions of
1:23:49
Speaker 1: disgust upon the part of our landlady. It's the Baker's
1:23:53
Speaker 1: Street Division of the Detective Police Force, said my companion gravely.
1:23:57
Speaker 1: And as he spoke, there rushed into the room half
1:23:58
Speaker 1: a dozen of the dirtiest and most ragged street arabs
1:24:01
Speaker 1: that ever. I clapped eyes on tension, cried Holmes in
1:24:05
Speaker 1: a sharp tone, and the six dirty little scoundrels stood
1:24:08
Speaker 1: in a line like so many disreputable statuettes. In future,
1:24:12
Speaker 1: you shall send up Wiggins alone to report, and the
1:24:14
Speaker 1: rest of you must wait in the street. Have you
1:24:17
Speaker 1: found it Wiggins, no, sir, we haint, said one of
1:24:21
Speaker 1: the youths. I hardly expected you would. You must keep
1:24:26
Speaker 1: on until you do. Here are your wages. He handed
1:24:29
Speaker 1: each of them a shilling. Now off you go and
1:24:32
Speaker 1: come back with a better report. Next time. He waved
1:24:35
Speaker 1: his hand, and they scampered away downstairs like so many rats,
1:24:38
Speaker 1: and we heard their shrill voices next moment in the street.
1:24:41
Speaker 1: There's more work to be got out of one of
1:24:43
Speaker 1: those little beggars than out of a dozen of the force.
1:24:45
Speaker 1: Holmes remarked, the mere sight of an official looking person
1:24:49
Speaker 1: seals men's lips. These youngsters, however, go everywhere and hear everything.
1:24:55
Speaker 1: They are as sharp as needles too. All they want
1:24:57
Speaker 1: is organization. Is it on this Brixton case that you
1:25:01
Speaker 1: are employing them? I asked, yes, there is a point
1:25:04
Speaker 1: which I wish to ascertain. It is merely a matter
1:25:08
Speaker 1: of time. Hullo, we are going to hear some news
1:25:12
Speaker 1: now with a vengeance. Here is Gregson coming down the road,
1:25:15
Speaker 1: with beatitude written upon every feature of his face, bound
1:25:19
Speaker 1: for us. I know, yes, he is stopping there. He is.
1:25:24
Speaker 1: There was a violent peal at the bell, and in
1:25:26
Speaker 1: a few seconds the fair haired detective came up the
1:25:28
Speaker 1: stairs three steps at a time and burst into our
1:25:31
Speaker 1: sitting room. My dear fellow, he cried, wringing Holme's unresponsive hand.
1:25:36
Speaker 1: Congratulate me. I have made the whole thing as clear
1:25:39
Speaker 1: as day A shade of anxiety seemed to me to
1:25:42
Speaker 1: cross my companion's expressive face. Do you mean that you
1:25:46
Speaker 1: are on the right track, he asked, the right track? Why, sir,
1:25:51
Speaker 1: we have the men under lock and key, and his
1:25:54
Speaker 1: name is Arthur Charpentier, sub Lieutenant in Her Majesty's Navy,
1:25:59
Speaker 1: cried Gregson, pompously, rubbing his fat hands and inflating his chest.
1:26:04
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holms gave a sigh of relief and relaxed into
1:26:07
Speaker 1: a smile. Take a seat and try one of these cigars,
1:26:10
Speaker 1: he said. We are anxious to know how you managed it.
1:26:14
Speaker 1: Will you have some whisky in water? I don't mind
1:26:18
Speaker 1: if I do, the detective answered. The tremendous exertions which
1:26:21
Speaker 1: I have gone through during the last day or two
1:26:23
Speaker 1: have worn me out. Not so much bodily exertion, you understand,
1:26:28
Speaker 1: as the strain upon the mind. You will appreciate that,
1:26:32
Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes, for we are both brain workers. You
1:26:35
Speaker 1: do me too much, honor, said Holmes, gravely. Let us
1:26:39
Speaker 1: hear how you arrived at this most gratifying result. The
1:26:43
Speaker 1: detective seated himself in the arm chair and puffed complacently
1:26:46
Speaker 1: at his cigar. Then suddenly he slapped his thigh in
1:26:49
Speaker 1: a paroxysm of amusement. The fun of it is, he
1:26:52
Speaker 1: cried that that fool lestrade, who thinks himself so smart,
1:26:56
Speaker 1: has gone off upon the wrong track. Altogether he is
1:26:59
Speaker 1: at the Secretary Stan Jerson, who had no more to
1:27:02
Speaker 1: do with the crime than the babe unborn. I have
1:27:05
Speaker 1: no doubt that he has caught him by this time.
1:27:07
Speaker 1: The idea tickled Gregson so much that he laughed until
1:27:09
Speaker 1: he choked. And how did you get your clue? Ah?
1:27:13
Speaker 1: I'll tell you all about it, of course, doctor Watson.
1:27:17
Speaker 1: This is strictly between ourselves. The first difficulty which we
1:27:21
Speaker 1: had to contend with was the finding of this American's antecedents.
1:27:25
Speaker 1: Some people would have waited until their advertisements were answered,
1:27:28
Speaker 1: or until parties came forward and volunteered information. That is
1:27:32
Speaker 1: not to bias Gregson's way of going to work. You
1:27:35
Speaker 1: remember the hat beside the dead men, Yes, said Holmes
1:27:39
Speaker 1: by John Underwood and Sons, one hundred and twenty nine
1:27:42
Speaker 1: Camberwell Road. Gregson looked quite crestfallen. I had no idea
1:27:46
Speaker 1: that you noticed that, He said, have you been there?
1:27:51
Speaker 1: No Ah, cried Gregson in a relieved voice. You should
1:27:54
Speaker 1: never neglect a chance, however small it may seem, to
1:27:58
Speaker 1: a great mind. Nothing is little, remarked Holmes, sententiously. Well,
1:28:03
Speaker 1: I went to Underwood and asked him if he had
1:28:05
Speaker 1: sold a hat of that size and description. He looked
1:28:08
Speaker 1: over his books and came on it at once. He
1:28:11
Speaker 1: had sent the hat to a mister Drebber residing at
1:28:13
Speaker 1: Charpontier's boarding establishment, Torquay Terrace. Thus I got at his address, smart,
1:28:20
Speaker 1: very smart, murmured Sherlock Holmes. I next called upon Madame Charpontier,
1:28:25
Speaker 1: continued the detective. I found her very pale and distressed.
1:28:30
Speaker 1: Her daughter was in the room, too, an uncommonly fine girl,
1:28:33
Speaker 1: she is too. She was looking red about the eyes,
1:28:36
Speaker 1: and her lips trembled as I spoke to her. That
1:28:38
Speaker 1: didn't escape my notice. I began to smell a rat.
1:28:43
Speaker 1: You know the feeling, mister Sherlock Holmes, when you come
1:28:46
Speaker 1: upon the right scent, a kind of thrill in your nerves.
1:28:49
Speaker 1: Have you heard of the mysterious death of your late
1:28:51
Speaker 1: border mister Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland, I asked. The
1:28:55
Speaker 1: mother nodded, she didn't seem abel to get out a word.
1:29:00
Speaker 1: The daughter burst into tears. I felt more than ever
1:29:03
Speaker 1: that these people knew something of the matter. At what
1:29:06
Speaker 1: o'clock did mister Drebber leave your house for the train?
1:29:08
Speaker 1: I asked? At eight o'clock, she said, gulping in her
1:29:12
Speaker 1: throat to keep down her agitation. His secretary, mister Stangerson,
1:29:16
Speaker 1: said that there were two trains, one at nine point
1:29:19
Speaker 1: one five and one at eleven. He was to catch
1:29:21
Speaker 1: the first, and was that the last which you saw
1:29:24
Speaker 1: of him? A terrible change came over the woman's face
1:29:27
Speaker 1: as I asked the question. Her features turned perfectly livid.
1:29:32
Speaker 1: It was some seconds before she could get out the
1:29:34
Speaker 1: single word yes, and when it did come, it was
1:29:37
Speaker 1: in a husky, unnatural tone. There was silence for a moment,
1:29:41
Speaker 1: and then the daughter spoke in a calm, clear voice.
1:29:44
Speaker 1: No good can ever come of falsehood, Mother, she said,
1:29:47
Speaker 1: let us be frank with this, gentleman. We did see
1:29:50
Speaker 1: mister Drebber again. God forgive you, cried Madame Charpontier, throwing
1:29:55
Speaker 1: up her hands and sinking back in her chair. You
1:29:58
Speaker 1: have murdered your brother. Arthur would rather that we spoke
1:30:02
Speaker 1: the truth. The girl answered firmly. You had best tell
1:30:05
Speaker 1: me all about it now, I said. Half confidences are
1:30:09
Speaker 1: worse than none. Besides, you do not know how much
1:30:12
Speaker 1: we know of it. On your head be it, Alice,
1:30:15
Speaker 1: cried her mother, and then turning to me, I will
1:30:18
Speaker 1: tell you all, sir. Do not imagine that my agitation
1:30:22
Speaker 1: on behalf of my son arises from any fear lest
1:30:25
Speaker 1: he should have had a hand in this terrible affair.
1:30:27
Speaker 1: He is utterly innocent of it. My dread is, however,
1:30:31
Speaker 1: that in your eyes and in the eyes of others,
1:30:33
Speaker 1: he may appear to be compromised. That, however, is surely impossible.
1:30:38
Speaker 1: His high character, his profession, his antecedents, would all forbid it.
1:30:42
Speaker 1: Your best way is to make a clean breast of
1:30:44
Speaker 1: the facts, I answered, depend upon it. If your son
1:30:48
Speaker 1: is innocent, he will be none the worse. Perhaps, Alice,
1:30:51
Speaker 1: you had better leave us together, she said, and her
1:30:54
Speaker 1: daughter withdrew. Now, sir, she continued, I had no intention
1:30:58
Speaker 1: of telling you all this, but since my poor daughter
1:31:01
Speaker 1: has disclosed it, I have no alternative. Having once decided
1:31:04
Speaker 1: to speak, I will tell you all without omitting any
1:31:07
Speaker 1: particular It is your wisest course, said I mister Drebber
1:31:11
Speaker 1: has been with us nearly three weeks. He and his secretary,
1:31:15
Speaker 1: mister stan Jerson, had been traveling on the continent. I
1:31:20
Speaker 1: noticed a Copenhagen label upon each of their trunks, showing
1:31:23
Speaker 1: that there had been their last stopping place. Stan Jerson
1:31:26
Speaker 1: was a quiet, reserved man, but his employer, I am
1:31:29
Speaker 1: sorry to say, was far otherwise. He was coarse in
1:31:33
Speaker 1: his habits and brutish in his ways. The very night
1:31:36
Speaker 1: of his arrival he became very much the worse for drink,
1:31:39
Speaker 1: and indeed, after twelve o'clock in the day he could
1:31:41
Speaker 1: hardly ever be said to be sober. His manners towards
1:31:45
Speaker 1: the maid servants were disgustingly free and familiar. Worst of all,
1:31:49
Speaker 1: he speedily assumed the same attitude towards my daughter Alice,
1:31:53
Speaker 1: and spoke to her more than once in a way
1:31:54
Speaker 1: which fortunately she is too innocent to understand. On one
1:31:59
Speaker 1: occasion he actually seized her in his arms and embraced her,
1:32:02
Speaker 1: an outrage which caused his own secretary to reproach him
1:32:05
Speaker 1: for his unmanly conduct. But why did you stand all this,
1:32:08
Speaker 1: I asked, I suppose that you can get rid of
1:32:11
Speaker 1: your boarders when you wish, missus Charpentier blushed at my
1:32:15
Speaker 1: pertinent question. Would to God that I had given him
1:32:18
Speaker 1: notice on the very day that he came, she said,
1:32:21
Speaker 1: But it was a sore temptation. They were paying a
1:32:24
Speaker 1: pound a day each fourteen pounds a week, and this
1:32:27
Speaker 1: is the slack season. I am a widow, and my
1:32:30
Speaker 1: boy in the navy has cost me much. I grudged
1:32:33
Speaker 1: to lose the money. I acted for the best. This
1:32:37
Speaker 1: last was too much, however, and I gave him notice
1:32:40
Speaker 1: to leave on account of it. That was the reason
1:32:43
Speaker 1: of his going. Well. My heart grew light when I
1:32:47
Speaker 1: saw him drive away. My son is on leave just now,
1:32:50
Speaker 1: but I did not tell him anything of all this,
1:32:52
Speaker 1: for his temper is violent, and he is passionately fond
1:32:55
Speaker 1: of his sister. When I closed the door behind them,
1:32:58
Speaker 1: a load seemed to be lifted from my alas. In
1:33:02
Speaker 1: less than an hour there was a ring at the bell,
1:33:04
Speaker 1: and I learned that mister Drebber had returned. He was
1:33:08
Speaker 1: much excited, and evidently the worse for drink. He forced
1:33:12
Speaker 1: his way into the room where I was sitting with
1:33:14
Speaker 1: my daughter, and made some incoherent remark about having missed
1:33:17
Speaker 1: his train. He then turned to Alice, and before my
1:33:20
Speaker 1: very face, proposed to her that she should fly with him.
1:33:24
Speaker 1: You are of age, he said, and there is no
1:33:26
Speaker 1: law to stop you. I have money enough and to spare.
1:33:30
Speaker 1: Never mind the old girl here, but come along with
1:33:33
Speaker 1: me now straight away. You shall live like a princess.
1:33:36
Speaker 1: Poor Alice was so frightened that she shrunk away from him,
1:33:39
Speaker 1: but he caught her by the wrist and endeavored to
1:33:40
Speaker 1: draw her towards the door. I screamed, and at that
1:33:44
Speaker 1: moment my son Arthur came into the room. What happened
1:33:47
Speaker 1: then I do not know. I heard oaths and the
1:33:50
Speaker 1: confused sounds of a scuffle. I was too terrified to
1:33:54
Speaker 1: raise my head. When I did look up, I saw
1:33:57
Speaker 1: Arthur standing in the doorway, laughing, with a stick in
1:33:59
Speaker 1: his hand. I don't think that fine fellow will trouble
1:34:02
Speaker 1: us again, he said, I will just go after him
1:34:05
Speaker 1: and see what he does with himself. With those words,
1:34:07
Speaker 1: he took his hat and started off down the street.
1:34:10
Speaker 1: The next morning we heard of mister Drebber's mysterious death.
1:34:14
Speaker 1: This statement came from Missus Charpontier's lips with many gasps
1:34:17
Speaker 1: and pauses. At times she spoke so low that I
1:34:20
Speaker 1: could hardly catch the words. I made shorthand notes of
1:34:24
Speaker 1: all that she said, however, so that there should be
1:34:26
Speaker 1: no possibility of a mistake. It's quite exciting, said Sherlock
1:34:30
Speaker 1: Holmes with a yawn. What happened next? When missus Charpontier paused,
1:34:36
Speaker 1: the detective continued, I saw that the whole case hung
1:34:39
Speaker 1: upon one point. Fixing her with my eye in a
1:34:42
Speaker 1: way which I always found effective with women, I asked
1:34:45
Speaker 1: her at what hour her son returned? I do not know,
1:34:48
Speaker 1: she answered not, no, No, he has a latch key,
1:34:53
Speaker 1: and he let himself in after you went to bed. Yes,
1:34:58
Speaker 1: when did you go to bed? About eleven? So your
1:35:02
Speaker 1: son was gone at least two hours, yes, possibly four
1:35:06
Speaker 1: or five. Yes. What was he doing during that time?
1:35:12
Speaker 1: I do not know, she answered, turning white to her
1:35:14
Speaker 1: very lips. Of course, after that there was nothing more
1:35:17
Speaker 1: to be done. I found out where Lieutenant Charpontier was,
1:35:21
Speaker 1: took two officers with me, and arrested him. When I
1:35:25
Speaker 1: touched him on the shoulder and warned him to come
1:35:26
Speaker 1: quietly with us, he answered us as bold as brass,
1:35:29
Speaker 1: I suppose you are arresting me for being concerned in
1:35:32
Speaker 1: the death of that scoundrel Drebber. He said we had
1:35:35
Speaker 1: said nothing to him about it, so that his alluding
1:35:37
Speaker 1: to it had a most suspicious aspect. Very, said Holmes.
1:35:42
Speaker 1: He still carried the heavy stick which the mother described
1:35:44
Speaker 1: him as having with him when he followed Drebber. It
1:35:47
Speaker 1: was a stout oak cudgel. What is your theory then, well,
1:35:52
Speaker 1: my theory is that he followed Drebber as far as
1:35:54
Speaker 1: the Brixton Road, when there a fresh altercation arose between them,
1:35:58
Speaker 1: in the course of which drebber Is received a blow
1:36:00
Speaker 1: from the stick in the pit of the stomach, perhaps,
1:36:03
Speaker 1: which killed him without leaving any mark. The night was
1:36:06
Speaker 1: so wet that no one was about, so Charpentier dragged
1:36:09
Speaker 1: the body of his victim into the empty house. As
1:36:12
Speaker 1: to the candle and the blood, and the writing on
1:36:14
Speaker 1: the wall, and the ring, they may all be so
1:36:16
Speaker 1: many tricks to throw the police on to the wrong scent.
1:36:20
Speaker 1: Well done, said Holmes in an encouraging voice. Really, Gregson,
1:36:24
Speaker 1: you are getting along. We shall make something of you.
1:36:27
Speaker 1: Yet I flatter myself that I have managed it rather neatly.
1:36:31
Speaker 1: The detective answered, proudly. The young men volunteered a statement
1:36:35
Speaker 1: in which he said that after following Drebber some time,
1:36:37
Speaker 1: the latter perceived him and took a cab in order
1:36:40
Speaker 1: to get away from him. On his way home, he
1:36:42
Speaker 1: met an old shipmate and took a long walk with him.
1:36:46
Speaker 1: On being asked where this old shipmate lived, he was
1:36:49
Speaker 1: unable to give any satisfactory reply. I think the whole
1:36:52
Speaker 1: case fits together uncommonly. Well, what amuses me is to
1:36:56
Speaker 1: think of Lestrade, who had started off upon the wrong scent.
1:37:00
Speaker 1: I am afraid he won't make much of it. Why,
1:37:03
Speaker 1: by jove, here's the veryman himself. It was indeed Lestrade
1:37:07
Speaker 1: who had ascended the stairs while we were talking, and
1:37:09
Speaker 1: who now entered the room. The assurance and jauntiness which
1:37:13
Speaker 1: generally marked his demeanor and dress were, however wanting. His
1:37:17
Speaker 1: face was disturbed and troubled, while his clothes were disarranged
1:37:20
Speaker 1: and untidy. He had evidently come with the intention of
1:37:24
Speaker 1: consulting with Sherlock Holmes, for on perceiving his colleague, he
1:37:27
Speaker 1: appeared to be embarrassed and put out. He stood in
1:37:30
Speaker 1: the center of the room, fumbling nervously with his hat
1:37:32
Speaker 1: and uncertain what to do. This is a most extraordinary case,
1:37:36
Speaker 1: he said, at last, a most incomprehensible affair. Ah you
1:37:41
Speaker 1: find it so, mister Lestrade, cried Gregson triumphantly. I thought
1:37:45
Speaker 1: you would come to that conclusion. Have you managed to
1:37:48
Speaker 1: find the secretary, mister Joseph Stangerson. The Secretary, mister Joseph Stangerson,
1:37:54
Speaker 1: said Lestrade, gravely, was murdered at Halliday's private hotel about
1:37:57
Speaker 1: six o'clock this morning. Chapter seven, Light in the Darkness.
1:38:02
Speaker 1: The intelligence with which Lestrade greeted us was so momentous
1:38:05
Speaker 1: and so unexpected, that we were all three fairly dumbfoundered
1:38:09
Speaker 1: Gregson sprang out of his chair and upset the remainder
1:38:12
Speaker 1: of his whisky and water. I stared in silence at
1:38:15
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes, whose lips were compressed and his brows drawn
1:38:18
Speaker 1: down over his eyes. Stan Jerson too, he muttered, the
1:38:22
Speaker 1: plot thickens. It was quite thick enough, before, grumbled Lestrade,
1:38:27
Speaker 1: taking a chair. I seem to have dropped into a
1:38:30
Speaker 1: sort of council of war. Are you are you sure
1:38:33
Speaker 1: of this piece of intelligence? Stammered Gregson. I have just
1:38:37
Speaker 1: come from his room, said Lestrade. I was the first
1:38:40
Speaker 1: to discover what had occurred. We have been hearing Gregson's
1:38:43
Speaker 1: view of the matter. Holmes observed, would you mind letting
1:38:47
Speaker 1: us know what you have seen and done? I have
1:38:49
Speaker 1: no objection, Lestrade answered, seating himself. I freely confess that
1:38:54
Speaker 1: I was of the opinion that Stangerson was concerned in
1:38:56
Speaker 1: the death of Drebber. This fresh development has showed me
1:39:00
Speaker 1: that I was completely mistaken. Full of the one idea,
1:39:04
Speaker 1: I set myself to find out what had become of
1:39:05
Speaker 1: the secretary. They had been seen together at Euston Station
1:39:09
Speaker 1: about half past eight on the evening of the third.
1:39:12
Speaker 1: At two in the morning, Drebber had been found in
1:39:14
Speaker 1: the Brixton Road. The question which confronted me was to
1:39:17
Speaker 1: find out how Stangerson had been employed between eight point
1:39:20
Speaker 1: three zero and the time of the crime, and what
1:39:22
Speaker 1: had become of him. Afterwards, I telegraphed to Liverpool, giving
1:39:26
Speaker 1: a description of the men and warning them to keep
1:39:28
Speaker 1: a watch upon the American boats. I then set to work,
1:39:32
Speaker 1: calling upon all the hotels and lodging houses in the
1:39:34
Speaker 1: vicinity of Euston. You see, I argued that if Drebber
1:39:38
Speaker 1: and his companion had become separated. The natural course for
1:39:41
Speaker 1: the latter would be to put up somewhere in the
1:39:42
Speaker 1: vicinity for the night, and then to hang about the
1:39:45
Speaker 1: station again next morning. They would be likely to agree
1:39:48
Speaker 1: on some meeting place beforehand, remarked Holmes. So it proved.
1:39:53
Speaker 1: I spent the whole of yesterday evening in making inquiries
1:39:56
Speaker 1: entirely without avail. This morning I began very early, and
1:40:00
Speaker 1: at eight o'clock I reached Halliday's private hotel in Little
1:40:03
Speaker 1: George Street. On my inquiry as to whether a mister
1:40:07
Speaker 1: stan Jerson was living there, they at once answered me
1:40:10
Speaker 1: in the affirmative, no doubt you are the gentleman whom
1:40:13
Speaker 1: he was expecting. They said, he has been waiting for
1:40:16
Speaker 1: a gentleman for two days. Where is he now, I asked,
1:40:21
Speaker 1: He is upstairs in bed. He wished to be called.
1:40:24
Speaker 1: At nine. I will go up and see him. At once,
1:40:27
Speaker 1: I said, it seemed to me that my sudden appearance
1:40:31
Speaker 1: might shake his nerves and lead him to say something unguarded.
1:40:34
Speaker 1: The boots volunteered to show me the room. It was
1:40:36
Speaker 1: on the second floor, and there was a small corridor
1:40:39
Speaker 1: leading up to it. The boots pointed out the door
1:40:42
Speaker 1: to me, and was about to go downstairs again when
1:40:44
Speaker 1: I saw something that made me feel sickish, in spite
1:40:47
Speaker 1: of my twenty years experience. From under the door there
1:40:50
Speaker 1: curled a little red ribbon of blood, which had meandered
1:40:52
Speaker 1: across the passage and formed a little pool along the
1:40:55
Speaker 1: skirting at the other side. I gave a cry, which
1:40:58
Speaker 1: brought the boots back. He nearly fainted when he saw it.
1:41:02
Speaker 1: The door was locked on the inside, but we put
1:41:04
Speaker 1: our shoulders to it and knocked it in. The window
1:41:07
Speaker 1: of the room was open, and beside the window, all
1:41:10
Speaker 1: huddled up, lay the body of a man in his
1:41:12
Speaker 1: night dress. He was quite dead, and had been for
1:41:15
Speaker 1: some time, for his limbs were rigid and cold. When
1:41:19
Speaker 1: we turned him over, the boots recognized him at once
1:41:21
Speaker 1: as being the same gentleman who had engaged the room
1:41:23
Speaker 1: under the name of Joseph Stangerson. The cause of death
1:41:27
Speaker 1: was a deep stab in the left side, which must
1:41:29
Speaker 1: have penetrated the heart. And now comes the strangest part
1:41:33
Speaker 1: of the affair. What do you suppose was above the
1:41:35
Speaker 1: murdered men? I felt a creeping of the flesh and
1:41:38
Speaker 1: a presentiment of coming horror. Even before Sherlock Holmes answered
1:41:42
Speaker 1: the word rake written in letters of blood. He said
1:41:46
Speaker 1: that was it, said Lestrade, in an awe struck voice,
1:41:48
Speaker 1: and we were all silent for a while. There was
1:41:51
Speaker 1: something so methodical and so incomprehensible about the deeds of
1:41:54
Speaker 1: this unknown assassin that it imparted a fresh ghastliness to
1:41:57
Speaker 1: his crimes. My nerves, which were steady enough on the
1:42:01
Speaker 1: field of battle, tingled as I thought of it. The
1:42:03
Speaker 1: men was seen, continued Lestrade. A milk boy passing on
1:42:08
Speaker 1: his way to the dairy, happened to walk down the
1:42:10
Speaker 1: lane which leads from the mews at the back of
1:42:12
Speaker 1: the hotel. He noticed that a ladder which usually lay there,
1:42:16
Speaker 1: was raised against one of the windows of the second floor,
1:42:19
Speaker 1: which was wide open. After passing, he looked back and
1:42:22
Speaker 1: saw men descend the ladder. He came down so quietly
1:42:26
Speaker 1: and openly that the boy imagined him to be some
1:42:28
Speaker 1: carpenter or joiner at work in the hotel. He took
1:42:31
Speaker 1: no particular notice of him, beyond thinking in his own
1:42:34
Speaker 1: mind that it was early for him to be at work.
1:42:36
Speaker 1: He has an impression that the men was tall, had
1:42:39
Speaker 1: a reddish face, and was dressed in a long brownish coat.
1:42:43
Speaker 1: He must have stayed in the room some little time
1:42:45
Speaker 1: after the murder, for we found blood stained water in
1:42:47
Speaker 1: the basin where he had washed his hands, and marks
1:42:50
Speaker 1: on the sheets where he had deliberately wiped his knife.
1:42:52
Speaker 1: I glanced at Holmes on hearing the description of the murderer,
1:42:54
Speaker 1: which tallied so exactly with his own. There was, however,
1:42:58
Speaker 1: no trace of exultationation or satisfaction upon his face. Did
1:43:03
Speaker 1: you find nothing in the room which could furnish a
1:43:05
Speaker 1: clue to the murderer? He asked nothing. Stan Jerson had
1:43:09
Speaker 1: Drebber's purse in his pocket, but it seems that this
1:43:12
Speaker 1: was usual, as he did all the paying. There was
1:43:15
Speaker 1: eighty odd pounds in it, but nothing had been taken.
1:43:18
Speaker 1: Whatever the motives of these extraordinary crimes, robbery is certainly
1:43:22
Speaker 1: not one of them. There were no papers or memoranda
1:43:25
Speaker 1: in the murdered man's pocket, except a single telegram, dated
1:43:28
Speaker 1: from Cleveland about a month ago, and containing the words
1:43:31
Speaker 1: j H is in Europe. There was no name appended
1:43:34
Speaker 1: to this message, and there was nothing else. Holmes asked
1:43:39
Speaker 1: nothing of any importance. The man's novel, with which he
1:43:43
Speaker 1: had read himself to sleep was lying upon the bed,
1:43:45
Speaker 1: and his pipe was on a chair beside him. There
1:43:48
Speaker 1: was a glass of water on the table, and on
1:43:50
Speaker 1: the window still a small chip ointment box containing a
1:43:53
Speaker 1: couple of pills. Sherlock Holms sprang from his chair with
1:43:57
Speaker 1: an exclamation of delight the last link, he cried, exultantly,
1:44:02
Speaker 1: My case is complete. The two detectives stared at him
1:44:05
Speaker 1: in amazement. I have now in my hands, my companion,
1:44:08
Speaker 1: said confidently, all the threads which have formed such a tangle.
1:44:13
Speaker 1: There are, of course details to be filled in, but
1:44:15
Speaker 1: I am as certain of all the main facts from
1:44:17
Speaker 1: the time that Drebber parted from Stan Jerson at the
1:44:20
Speaker 1: station up to the discovery of the body of the latter,
1:44:22
Speaker 1: as if I had seen them with my own eyes.
1:44:25
Speaker 1: I will give you a proof of my knowledge. Could
1:44:28
Speaker 1: you lay your hand upon those pills? I have them,
1:44:31
Speaker 1: said Lestrade, producing a small white box. I took them
1:44:34
Speaker 1: in the purse and the telegram, intending to have them
1:44:37
Speaker 1: put in a place of safety at the police station.
1:44:40
Speaker 1: It was the merest chance my taking these pills, for
1:44:42
Speaker 1: I am bound to say that I do not attach
1:44:44
Speaker 1: any importance to them. Give them here, said Holmes, Now doctor,
1:44:49
Speaker 1: turning to me, are those ordinary pills? They certainly were not.
1:44:53
Speaker 1: They were of a pearly gray color, small round, and
1:44:56
Speaker 1: almost transparent against the light. From their lightness and transparency,
1:45:01
Speaker 1: I should imagine that they are soluble in water, I remarked.
1:45:05
Speaker 1: Precisely so, answered Holmes. Now, would you mind going down
1:45:09
Speaker 1: and fetching the poor little devil of a terrier, which
1:45:11
Speaker 1: has been bad so long, and which the landlady wanted
1:45:14
Speaker 1: you to put out of its pain? Yesterday? I went
1:45:16
Speaker 1: downstairs and carried the dog upstairs in my arms. Its
1:45:19
Speaker 1: labored breathing and glazing I showed that it was not
1:45:22
Speaker 1: far from its end. Indeed, its snow white muzzle proclaimed
1:45:26
Speaker 1: that it had already exceeded the usual term of canine existence.
1:45:30
Speaker 1: I placed it upon a cushion on the rug. I
1:45:33
Speaker 1: will now cut one of these pills in two, said Holmes,
1:45:35
Speaker 1: and drawing his penknife, he suited the action to the word.
1:45:39
Speaker 1: One half we return into the box for future purposes.
1:45:42
Speaker 1: The other half I will place in this wineglass, in
1:45:45
Speaker 1: which is a teaspoonful of water. You perceive that our friend,
1:45:49
Speaker 1: the doctor, is right, and that it readily dissolves. This
1:45:52
Speaker 1: may be very interesting, said Lestrade, in the injured tone
1:45:55
Speaker 1: of one who suspects that he is being laughed at.
1:45:58
Speaker 1: I cannot see, however, what it has to do with
1:46:00
Speaker 1: the death of mister Joseph Stangerson. Patience, my friend, patience,
1:46:07
Speaker 1: you will find in time that it has everything to
1:46:09
Speaker 1: do with it. I shall now add a little milk
1:46:12
Speaker 1: to make the mixture palatable, and on presenting it to
1:46:14
Speaker 1: the dog, we find that he laps it up readily enough.
1:46:17
Speaker 1: As he spoke, he turned the contents of the wine
1:46:19
Speaker 1: glass into a saucer and placed it in front of
1:46:21
Speaker 1: the terrier, who speedily licked it dry. Sherlock Holmes's earnest
1:46:25
Speaker 1: demeanor had so far convinced us that we all sat
1:46:28
Speaker 1: in silence, watching the animal intently and expecting some startling effect.
1:46:33
Speaker 1: None such appeared. However, the dog continued to lie stretched
1:46:37
Speaker 1: upon the cushion, breathing in a labored way, but apparently
1:46:40
Speaker 1: neither the better nor the worse for its draft. Holmes
1:46:43
Speaker 1: had taken out his watch, and as minute followed minute
1:46:45
Speaker 1: without result, an expression of the utmost chagrin and disappointment
1:46:49
Speaker 1: appeared upon his features. He gnawed his lip, drummed his fingers,
1:46:53
Speaker 1: upon the table and showed every other symptom of acute impatience.
1:46:57
Speaker 1: So great was his emotion that I felt sincerely sorry
1:47:00
Speaker 1: for him, while the two detectives smiled derisively by no
1:47:03
Speaker 1: means displeased at this check which he had met. It
1:47:06
Speaker 1: can't be a coincidence, he cried at last, springing from
1:47:09
Speaker 1: his chair and pacing wildly up and down the room.
1:47:11
Speaker 1: It is impossible that it should be a mere coincidence.
1:47:14
Speaker 1: The very pills which I suspected in the case of
1:47:16
Speaker 1: Drebber are actually found after the death of Stangerson, and
1:47:20
Speaker 1: yet they are inert. What can it mean? Surely my
1:47:24
Speaker 1: whole chain of reasoning cannot have been false. It is impossible,
1:47:29
Speaker 1: and yet this wretched dog is none the worse. Ah,
1:47:32
Speaker 1: I have it. I have it. With a perfect shriek
1:47:35
Speaker 1: of delight, he rushed to the box, cut the other
1:47:37
Speaker 1: pill in two, dissolved it, added milk, and presented it
1:47:40
Speaker 1: to the terrier. The unfortunate creature's tongue seemed hardly to
1:47:44
Speaker 1: have been moistened in it before. It gave a convulsive
1:47:46
Speaker 1: shiver in every limb, and lay as rigid and lifeless
1:47:49
Speaker 1: as if it had been struck by lightning. Sherlock Holmes
1:47:52
Speaker 1: drew a long breath and wiped the perspiration from his forehead.
1:47:56
Speaker 1: I should have more faith, he said. I ought to
1:47:59
Speaker 1: know by this time that when a fact appears to
1:48:00
Speaker 1: be opposed to a long train of deductions, it invariably
1:48:03
Speaker 1: proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation. Of
1:48:07
Speaker 1: the two pills in that box, one was of the
1:48:09
Speaker 1: most deadly poison, and the other was entirely harmless. I
1:48:13
Speaker 1: ought to have known that before ever I saw the
1:48:14
Speaker 1: box at all. This last statement appeared to me to
1:48:17
Speaker 1: be so startling that I could hardly believe that he was,
1:48:19
Speaker 1: in his sober senses, there was the dead dog. However,
1:48:23
Speaker 1: to prove that his conjecture had been correct. It seemed
1:48:26
Speaker 1: to me that the mists in my own mind were
1:48:28
Speaker 1: gradually clearing away, and I began to have a dim,
1:48:31
Speaker 1: vague perception of the truth. All this seems strange to you,
1:48:34
Speaker 1: continued Holmes, because you failed, at the beginning of the
1:48:37
Speaker 1: inquiry to grasp the importance of the single real clue
1:48:39
Speaker 1: which was presented to you. I had the good fortune
1:48:43
Speaker 1: to seize upon that, and everything which has occurred since
1:48:45
Speaker 1: then has served to confirm my original supposition, and indeed
1:48:49
Speaker 1: was the logical sequence of it. Hence, things which have
1:48:52
Speaker 1: perplexed you and made the case more obscure have served
1:48:55
Speaker 1: to enlighten me and to strengthen my conclusions. It is
1:48:58
Speaker 1: a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery. The most commonplace
1:49:03
Speaker 1: crime is often the most mysterious because it presents no
1:49:05
Speaker 1: new or special features from which deductions may be drawn.
1:49:09
Speaker 1: This murder would have been infinitely more difficult to unravel
1:49:11
Speaker 1: had the body of the victim been simply found lying
1:49:14
Speaker 1: in the roadway, without any of those who tray in
1:49:16
Speaker 1: sensational accompaniments which have rendered it remarkable. These strange details,
1:49:20
Speaker 1: far from making the case more difficult, have really had
1:49:23
Speaker 1: the effect of making it less. So mister Gregson, who
1:49:27
Speaker 1: had listened to this address with considerable impatience, could contain
1:49:30
Speaker 1: himself no longer. Look here, mister Sherlock Holmes, he said,
1:49:35
Speaker 1: we are all ready to acknowledge that you are a
1:49:36
Speaker 1: smart man, and that you have your own methods of working.
1:49:40
Speaker 1: We want something more than mere theory in preaching. Now,
1:49:42
Speaker 1: though it is a case of taking the men, I
1:49:46
Speaker 1: have made my case out, and it seems I was wrong.
1:49:49
Speaker 1: Young Charpentier could not have been engaged in this second affair.
1:49:53
Speaker 1: Lestrade went after his men Stan Jerson, and it appears
1:49:56
Speaker 1: that he was wrong too. You have thrown out hints
1:49:59
Speaker 1: here and hints there, and seem to know more than
1:50:02
Speaker 1: we do. But the time has come when we feel
1:50:04
Speaker 1: that we have a right to ask you straight how
1:50:05
Speaker 1: much you do know of the business? Can you name
1:50:08
Speaker 1: the men who did it? I cannot help feeling that
1:50:11
Speaker 1: Gregson is right, Sir, remarked Lestrade. We have both tried,
1:50:15
Speaker 1: and we have both failed. You have remarked more than
1:50:18
Speaker 1: once since I have been in the room that you
1:50:20
Speaker 1: had all the evidence which you require. Surely you will
1:50:23
Speaker 1: not withhold it any longer. Any delay in arresting the assassin,
1:50:27
Speaker 1: I observed, might give him time to perpetrate some fresh atrocity.
1:50:31
Speaker 1: Thus pressed by us, all Holmes showed signs of irresolution.
1:50:35
Speaker 1: He continued to walk up and down the room, with
1:50:37
Speaker 1: his head sunk on his chest and his brows drawn down,
1:50:39
Speaker 1: as was his habit when lost in thought. There will
1:50:42
Speaker 1: be no more murders, he said at last, stopping abruptly
1:50:45
Speaker 1: and facing us. You can put that consideration out of
1:50:48
Speaker 1: the question. You have asked me if I know the
1:50:51
Speaker 1: name of the assassin. I do. The mere knowing of
1:50:55
Speaker 1: his name is a small thing, however, compared with the
1:50:58
Speaker 1: power of laying our hands upon him. This I expect
1:51:01
Speaker 1: very shortly to do. I have good hopes of managing
1:51:05
Speaker 1: it through my own arrangements. But it is a thing
1:51:07
Speaker 1: which needs delicate handling. For we have a shrewd and
1:51:09
Speaker 1: desperate man to deal with, who is supported, as I
1:51:12
Speaker 1: have had occasion to prove by another, who is as
1:51:14
Speaker 1: clever as himself. As long as this man has no
1:51:17
Speaker 1: idea that anyone can have a clue, there is some
1:51:19
Speaker 1: chance of securing him. But if he had the slightest suspicion,
1:51:22
Speaker 1: he would change his name and vanish in an instant
1:51:24
Speaker 1: among the four million inhabitants of this great city. Without
1:51:28
Speaker 1: meaning to hurt either of your feelings, I am bound
1:51:30
Speaker 1: to say that I consider these men to be more
1:51:32
Speaker 1: than a match for the official force, and that is
1:51:34
Speaker 1: why I have not asked your assistance. If I fail,
1:51:37
Speaker 1: I shall of course incur all the blame due to
1:51:40
Speaker 1: this omission. But that I am prepared for at present.
1:51:43
Speaker 1: I am ready to promise that the instant that I
1:51:45
Speaker 1: can communicate with you without endangering my own combinations. I
1:51:48
Speaker 1: shall do so. Gregson and Lestrade seem to be far
1:51:51
Speaker 1: from satisfied by this assurance, or by the depreciating allusion
1:51:54
Speaker 1: to the detective police. The former had flushed up to
1:51:57
Speaker 1: the roots of his flaxen hair, while the others be
1:51:59
Speaker 1: de glistened with curiosity and resentment. Neither of them had
1:52:03
Speaker 1: time to speak, however, before there was a tap at
1:52:06
Speaker 1: the door, and the spokesman of the street arabs. Young
1:52:09
Speaker 1: Wiggins introduced his insignificant and unsavory person. Please, sir, he said,
1:52:15
Speaker 1: touching his forelock. I have the cab downstairs. Good boy,
1:52:19
Speaker 1: said Holmes, blandly. Why don't you introduce this pattern at
1:52:23
Speaker 1: Scotland Yard, He continued, taking a pair of steel handcuffs
1:52:26
Speaker 1: from a drawer. See how beautifully the spring works. They
1:52:31
Speaker 1: fasten in an instant. The old pattern is good enough,
1:52:34
Speaker 1: remarked Lestrade, if we can only find the men to
1:52:37
Speaker 1: put them on. Very good, very good, said Holmes, smiling.
1:52:42
Speaker 1: The cabman may as well help me with my boxes.
1:52:46
Speaker 1: Just ask him to step up. Wiggins. I was surprised
1:52:49
Speaker 1: to find my companion speaking as though he were about
1:52:51
Speaker 1: to set out on a journey, since he had not
1:52:53
Speaker 1: said anything to me about it. There was a small
1:52:56
Speaker 1: portmanteau in the room, and this he pulled out and
1:52:58
Speaker 1: began to strap. He was busily engaged at it when
1:53:02
Speaker 1: the cabman entered the room. Just give me a help
1:53:05
Speaker 1: with this buckle, cabman, he said, kneeling over his task
1:53:08
Speaker 1: and never turning his head. The fellow came forward with
1:53:11
Speaker 1: a somewhat sullen, defiant air, and put down his hands
1:53:14
Speaker 1: to assist. At that instant there was a sharp click,
1:53:18
Speaker 1: the jangling of metal, and Sherlock Holms sprang to his
1:53:20
Speaker 1: feet again. Gentlemen, he cried, with flashing eyes, let me
1:53:25
Speaker 1: introduce you to mister Jefferson Hope, the murderer of Enoch
1:53:27
Speaker 1: Drebber and of Joseph Stangerson. The whole thing occurred in
1:53:30
Speaker 1: a moment so quickly that I had no time to
1:53:32
Speaker 1: realize it. I have a vivid recollection of that instant,
1:53:36
Speaker 1: of Holmes's triumphant expression and the ring of his voice,
1:53:38
Speaker 1: of the cabman's dazed, savage face as he glared at
1:53:42
Speaker 1: the glittering handcuffs which had appeared, as if by magic,
1:53:44
Speaker 1: upon his wrists. For a second or two, we might
1:53:47
Speaker 1: have been a group of statues. Then, with an inarticulate
1:53:51
Speaker 1: roar of fury, the prisoner wrenched himself free from Holmes's
1:53:54
Speaker 1: grasp and hurled himself through the window. Woodwork and glass
1:53:58
Speaker 1: gave way before him. But before he got quite through, Gregson, Lestrade,
1:54:02
Speaker 1: and Homes sprang upon him like so many staghounds. He
1:54:06
Speaker 1: was dragged back into the room, and then commenced a
1:54:08
Speaker 1: terrific conflict. So powerful and so fierce was he that
1:54:12
Speaker 1: the four of us were shaken off again and again.
1:54:15
Speaker 1: He appeared to have the convulsive strength of a man
1:54:17
Speaker 1: in an epileptic fit. His face and hands were terribly
1:54:21
Speaker 1: mangled by his passage through the glass, but loss of
1:54:24
Speaker 1: blood had no effect in diminishing his resistance. It was
1:54:27
Speaker 1: not until Lestrade succeeded in getting his hand inside his
1:54:30
Speaker 1: neckcloth and half strangling him that we made him realize
1:54:32
Speaker 1: that his struggles were of no avail. And even then
1:54:35
Speaker 1: we felt no security until we had pinioned his feet
1:54:37
Speaker 1: as well as his hands. That done, we rose to
1:54:40
Speaker 1: our feet, breathless and panting. We have his cab, said
1:54:44
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. It will serve to take him to Scotland Yard.
1:54:48
Speaker 1: And now, gentlemen, he continued, with a pleasant smile, we
1:54:52
Speaker 1: have reached the end of our little mystery. You are
1:54:55
Speaker 1: very welcome to put any questions that you like to
1:54:57
Speaker 1: me now, and there is no danger that I will
1:54:59
Speaker 1: refuse to answer them. Part two, The Country of the Saints.
1:55:03
Speaker 1: Chapter one. On the Great Alkali Plain, in the central
1:55:08
Speaker 1: portion of the Great North American continent, there lies an
1:55:10
Speaker 1: arid and repulsive desert which, for many a long year
1:55:13
Speaker 1: served as a barrier against the advance of civilization. From
1:55:16
Speaker 1: the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River
1:55:20
Speaker 1: in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is
1:55:22
Speaker 1: a region of desolation and silence. Nor is nature always
1:55:26
Speaker 1: in one mood Throughout this grim district. It comprises snow
1:55:29
Speaker 1: capped in lofty mountains and dark and gloomy valleys. There
1:55:33
Speaker 1: are swift, flowing rivers which dash through jagged cannons, and
1:55:36
Speaker 1: there are enormous plains which in winter are white with snow,
1:55:39
Speaker 1: and in summer are gray with the saline alkali dust.
1:55:43
Speaker 1: They all preserve, however, the common characteristics of barrenness, in
1:55:47
Speaker 1: hospitality and misery. There are no inhabitants of this land
1:55:51
Speaker 1: of despair. A band of pawnees or of blackfeet may
1:55:54
Speaker 1: occasionally traverse it in order to reach other hunting grounds.
1:55:57
Speaker 1: But the hardiest of the braves are glad to lose
1:55:59
Speaker 1: sight of Goa, those awesome plains, and to find themselves
1:56:02
Speaker 1: once more upon their prairies. The coyote skulks among the scrub,
1:56:06
Speaker 1: the buzzard flaps heavily through the air, and the clumsy,
1:56:09
Speaker 1: grisly bare lumbers through the dark ravines and picks up
1:56:11
Speaker 1: such sustenance as it can amongst the rocks. These are
1:56:15
Speaker 1: the sole dwellers in the wilderness. In the whole world,
1:56:18
Speaker 1: there can be no more dreary view than that from
1:56:20
Speaker 1: the northern slope of the Sierra Blanco. As far as
1:56:23
Speaker 1: the eye can reach, stretches the great flat plain land,
1:56:26
Speaker 1: all dusted over with patches of alkali and intersected by
1:56:29
Speaker 1: clumps of the dwarf as chaparral bushes. On the extreme
1:56:32
Speaker 1: verge of the horizon lie a long chain of mountain peaks,
1:56:35
Speaker 1: with their rugged summits flecked with snow. In this great
1:56:39
Speaker 1: stretch of country, there is no sign of life, nor
1:56:41
Speaker 1: of anything appertaining to life. There is no bird in
1:56:44
Speaker 1: the steel blue heaven, no movement upon the dull, gray earth.
1:56:48
Speaker 1: Above all, there is absolute silence. Listen as one may.
1:56:52
Speaker 1: There is no shadow of a sound in all that
1:56:54
Speaker 1: mighty wilderness. Nothing but silence, complete and heart subduing silence.
1:56:59
Speaker 1: It has been said, but there is nothing appertaining to
1:57:01
Speaker 1: life upon the broad plain. That is hardly true. Looking
1:57:05
Speaker 1: down from the Sierra Blanco, one sees a pathway traced
1:57:08
Speaker 1: out across the desert, which winds away and is lost
1:57:11
Speaker 1: in the extreme distance. It is rutted with wheels and
1:57:14
Speaker 1: trodden down by the feet of many adventurers. Here and
1:57:17
Speaker 1: there there are scattered white objects which glisten in the
1:57:20
Speaker 1: sun and stand out against the dull deposit of alkali.
1:57:24
Speaker 1: Approach and examine them. They are bones, some large and coarse,
1:57:28
Speaker 1: other smaller and more delicate. The former have belonged to Oxen,
1:57:32
Speaker 1: and the latter to men. For fifteen hundred miles, one
1:57:36
Speaker 1: may trace this ghastly caravan route by these scattered remains
1:57:39
Speaker 1: of those who had fallen by the wayside. Looking down
1:57:42
Speaker 1: on this very scene, there stood upon the fourth of
1:57:44
Speaker 1: May eighteen hundred and forty seven, a solitary traveler. His
1:57:49
Speaker 1: appearance was such that he might have been the very
1:57:51
Speaker 1: genius or demon of the region. An observer would have
1:57:54
Speaker 1: found it difficult to say whether he was nearer to
1:57:56
Speaker 1: forty or to sixty. His face was lean and haggard,
1:58:00
Speaker 1: and the brown parchment like skin was drawn tightly over
1:58:02
Speaker 1: the projecting bones. His long brown hair and beard were
1:58:05
Speaker 1: all flecked and dashed with white. His eyes were sunken
1:58:08
Speaker 1: in his head and burned with an unnatural luster, while
1:58:11
Speaker 1: the hand which grasped his rifle was hardly more fleshy
1:58:13
Speaker 1: than that of a skeleton. As he stood, he leaned
1:58:16
Speaker 1: upon his weapon for support. And yet his tall figure
1:58:19
Speaker 1: in the massive framework of his bones, suggested a wiry
1:58:22
Speaker 1: and vigorous constitution. His gaunt face, however, and his clothes,
1:58:26
Speaker 1: which hung so baggily over his shriveled limbs, proclaimed what
1:58:29
Speaker 1: it was that gave him that se nile and decrepit appearance.
1:58:33
Speaker 1: The men was dying, dying from hunger and from thirst.
1:58:36
Speaker 1: He had toiled painfully down the ravine and on to
1:58:39
Speaker 1: this little elevation in the vain hope of seeing some
1:58:41
Speaker 1: signs of water. Now the great salt plain stretched before
1:58:45
Speaker 1: his eyes, and the distant belt of savage mountains without
1:58:48
Speaker 1: a sign anywhere of plant or tree which might indicate
1:58:51
Speaker 1: the presence of moisture. In all that broad landscape, there
1:58:54
Speaker 1: was no gleam of hope. North and east and west.
1:58:58
Speaker 1: He looked with wild, questioning eye eyes, and then he
1:59:01
Speaker 1: realized that his wanderings had come to an end, and
1:59:03
Speaker 1: that there on that barren crag he was about to die?
1:59:07
Speaker 1: Why not here as well as in a feather bed
1:59:09
Speaker 1: twenty years? Hence, he muttered, as he seated himself in
1:59:12
Speaker 1: the shelter of a bowlder. Before sitting down, he had
1:59:16
Speaker 1: deposited upon the ground his useless rifle, and also a
1:59:19
Speaker 1: large bundle tied up in a gray shawl, which he
1:59:21
Speaker 1: had carried slung over his right shoulder. It appeared to
1:59:24
Speaker 1: be somewhat too heavy for his strength, for in lowering
1:59:27
Speaker 1: it it came down on the ground with some little violence.
1:59:30
Speaker 1: Instantly there broke from the gray parcel a little moaning cry,
1:59:33
Speaker 1: and from it there protruded a small, scared face with
1:59:36
Speaker 1: very bright brown eyes and two little speckled, dimpled fists.
1:59:41
Speaker 1: You've hurt me, said a childish voice, reproachfully, have I,
1:59:44
Speaker 1: though the men answered penitently, I didn't go for to
1:59:47
Speaker 1: do it. As he spoke, he unwrapped the gray shawl
1:59:50
Speaker 1: and extricated a pretty little girl of about five years
1:59:52
Speaker 1: of age, whose dainty shoes and smart pink frock with
1:59:55
Speaker 1: its little linen apron all bespoke a mother's care. The
1:59:58
Speaker 1: child was pale and wane, but her healthy arms and
2:00:01
Speaker 1: legs showed that she had suffered less than her companion.
2:00:04
Speaker 1: How is it now, he answered anxiously, for she was
2:00:08
Speaker 1: still rubbing the towsy golden curls which covered the back
2:00:11
Speaker 1: of her head. Kiss it and make it well, she said,
2:00:14
Speaker 1: with perfect gravity, showing the injured part up to him.
2:00:17
Speaker 1: That's what mother used to do. Where's mother? Mother's gone?
2:00:23
Speaker 1: I guess you'll see her before long gone, eh, said
2:00:26
Speaker 1: the little girl. Funny she didn't say good bye. She
2:00:30
Speaker 1: most always did if she was just goin over to
2:00:32
Speaker 1: Auntie's for tea, And now she's been away three days.
2:00:36
Speaker 1: Say it's awful dry, ain't it? Ain't there no water
2:00:40
Speaker 1: nor nothing to eat? No, there ain't nothing, dearie. You'll
2:00:45
Speaker 1: just need to be patient awhile, and then you'll be
2:00:47
Speaker 1: all right, put your head up agin me like that,
2:00:50
Speaker 1: and then you'll feel bullier. It ain't easy to talk
2:00:53
Speaker 1: when your lips is like leather. But I guess i'd
2:00:55
Speaker 1: best let you know how the cards lie. What's that?
2:00:58
Speaker 1: You've got pretty things, fine things, cried the little girl, enthusiastically,
2:01:04
Speaker 1: holding up two glittering fragments of Micah. When we goes
2:01:08
Speaker 1: back to home, I'll give them to brother Bob. You'll
2:01:11
Speaker 1: see prettier things than them soon, said the men, confidently.
2:01:14
Speaker 1: You just wait a bit. I was going to tell
2:01:17
Speaker 1: you though. You remember when we left the river. Oh, yes,
2:01:22
Speaker 1: well we reckoned. We'd strike another river soon, d c.
2:01:26
Speaker 1: But there was something wrong compasses or map or somethin
2:01:29
Speaker 1: and it didn't turn up. Water ran out. Just accept
2:01:34
Speaker 1: a little drop for the likes of you, Anne, Anne,
2:01:36
Speaker 1: and you couldn't wash yourself, interrupted his companion, gravely, staring
2:01:40
Speaker 1: up at his grimy visage. No nor drink, and mister bender,
2:01:46
Speaker 1: he was the fuss to go. And then Indian Pete,
2:01:49
Speaker 1: and then Missus mc gregor, and then Johnny Holmes and
2:01:52
Speaker 1: then Dearie your mother. Then mother's a debt or two,
2:01:55
Speaker 1: cried the little girl, dropping her face in her pinafore
2:01:58
Speaker 1: and sobbing bitterly. Yes, they all went except you and me.
2:02:03
Speaker 1: Then I thought there was some chance of water in
2:02:05
Speaker 1: this direction, so I heaved you over my shoulder and
2:02:07
Speaker 1: we tramped it together. It don't seem as though we've
2:02:10
Speaker 1: improved matters. There's an almighty small chance for us. Now
2:02:14
Speaker 1: do you mean that we are going to die too?
2:02:16
Speaker 1: Asked the child, checking her sobs and raising her tear
2:02:19
Speaker 1: stained face. I guess that's about the size of it.
2:02:23
Speaker 1: Why didn't you say so before, she said, laughing gleefully.
2:02:27
Speaker 1: You gave me such a fright. Why, of course? Now,
2:02:31
Speaker 1: as long as we die, will be with mother again.
2:02:34
Speaker 1: Yes you will, deary, and you too. I'll tell her
2:02:38
Speaker 1: how awful good you've been. I'll bet she meets us
2:02:41
Speaker 1: at the door of heaven with a big pitcher of
2:02:43
Speaker 1: water and a lot of buckwheat cakes, hot and toasted
2:02:46
Speaker 1: on both sides, like Bob and me. Was fond of
2:02:50
Speaker 1: How long will it be? First? I don't know, not
2:02:53
Speaker 1: very long. The man's eyes were fixed upon the northern horizon.
2:02:57
Speaker 1: In the blue vault of the heaven, there had appeared
2:02:59
Speaker 1: three little which increased in size every moment. So rapidly
2:03:02
Speaker 1: did they approach. They speedily resolved themselves into three large
2:03:06
Speaker 1: brown birds, which circled over the heads of the two wanderers,
2:03:10
Speaker 1: and then settled upon some rocks which overlooked them. They
2:03:13
Speaker 1: were buzzards, the vultures of the west, whose coming is
2:03:16
Speaker 1: the forerunner of death. Cocks and hens, cried the little girl, gleefully,
2:03:20
Speaker 1: pointing at their ill omen forms and clapping her hands
2:03:23
Speaker 1: to make them rise. Say did God make this country?
2:03:28
Speaker 1: In course he did, said her companion, rather startled by
2:03:31
Speaker 1: this unexpected question. He made the country down in Illinois,
2:03:35
Speaker 1: and he made the Missouri. The little girl continued, I
2:03:38
Speaker 1: guess somebody else made the country in these parts. It's
2:03:41
Speaker 1: not nearly so well done. They forgot the water in
2:03:45
Speaker 1: the trees. What would you think of offering up prayer,
2:03:48
Speaker 1: the men asked, diffidently, it ain't night yet, she answered,
2:03:53
Speaker 1: it don't matter. It ain't quite regular, But he won't
2:03:56
Speaker 1: mind that. You bet you say over them ones that
2:03:59
Speaker 1: you use to say every night in the wagon when
2:04:01
Speaker 1: we was on the plains. Why don't you say some yourself,
2:04:05
Speaker 1: the child asked, with wondering eyes. I disremember them, he answered,
2:04:10
Speaker 1: I hain't said none since I was half the height.
2:04:12
Speaker 1: Oh that gun, I guess it's never too late. You
2:04:16
Speaker 1: say them out, and I'll stand by and come in
2:04:18
Speaker 1: on the choruses. Then you'll need to kneel down, and
2:04:22
Speaker 1: me too, she said, laying the shawl out for that purpose.
2:04:25
Speaker 1: You've got to put your hands up like this. It
2:04:28
Speaker 1: makes you feel kind oh good. It was a strange
2:04:31
Speaker 1: sight had there been anything but the buzzards to see it.
2:04:34
Speaker 1: Side by side on the narrow shawl knelt the two wanderers,
2:04:37
Speaker 1: the little prattling child and the reckless, hardened adventurer. Her
2:04:41
Speaker 1: chubby face and his haggard angular visage were both turned
2:04:44
Speaker 1: up to the cloutless heaven and heartfelt entreaty to the
2:04:46
Speaker 1: dread being with whom they were face to face, while
2:04:49
Speaker 1: the two voices, the one thin and clear, the other
2:04:51
Speaker 1: deep and harsh, united in the entreaty for mercy and forgiveness.
2:04:55
Speaker 1: The prayer finished, they resumed their seat in the shadow
2:04:58
Speaker 1: of the boulder, until the child fell asleep, nestling upon
2:05:00
Speaker 1: the broad breast of her protector. He watched over her
2:05:04
Speaker 1: slumber for some time, but nature proved to be too
2:05:06
Speaker 1: strong for him. For three days and three nights he
2:05:09
Speaker 1: had allowed himself neither rest nor repose. Slowly, the eyelids
2:05:13
Speaker 1: drooped over the tired eyes, and the head sunk lower
2:05:16
Speaker 1: and lower upon the breast, until the man's grizzled beard
2:05:19
Speaker 1: was mixed with the gold tresses of his companion, and
2:05:21
Speaker 1: both slept the same deep and dreamless slumber. Had the
2:05:25
Speaker 1: wanderer remained awake for another half hour, a strange sight
2:05:27
Speaker 1: would have met his eyes. Far away, on the extreme
2:05:31
Speaker 1: verge of the Alkali plane, there rose up a little
2:05:33
Speaker 1: spray of dust, very slight at first and hardly to
2:05:36
Speaker 1: be distinguished from the mists of the distance, but gradually
2:05:38
Speaker 1: growing higher and broader until it formed a solid, well
2:05:41
Speaker 1: defined cloud. This cloud continued to increase in size until
2:05:45
Speaker 1: it became evident that it could only be raised by
2:05:47
Speaker 1: a great multitude of moving creatures. In more fertile spots,
2:05:51
Speaker 1: the observer would have come to the conclusion that one
2:05:53
Speaker 1: of those great herds of bisons which graze upon the
2:05:55
Speaker 1: prairie land was approaching him. This was obviously impossible in
2:05:59
Speaker 1: these airs wilds. As the whirl of dust drew nearer
2:06:03
Speaker 1: to the solitary bluff upon which the two castaways were
2:06:05
Speaker 1: reposing the canvas covered tilts of wagons, and the figures
2:06:08
Speaker 1: of armed horsemen began to show up through the haze,
2:06:10
Speaker 1: and the apparition revealed itself as being a great caravan
2:06:13
Speaker 1: upon its journey for the west. But what a caravan.
2:06:17
Speaker 1: When the head of it had reached the base of
2:06:19
Speaker 1: the mountains, the rear was not yet visible on the horizon.
2:06:22
Speaker 1: Right across the enormous plain stretched the straggling array wagons
2:06:26
Speaker 1: and carts, men on horseback and men on foot, innumerable
2:06:30
Speaker 1: women who staggered along under burdens, and children who toddled
2:06:33
Speaker 1: beside the wagons or peeped out from under the white coverings.
2:06:37
Speaker 1: This was evidently no ordinary party of immigrants, but rather
2:06:40
Speaker 1: some nomad people who had been compelled from stress of
2:06:43
Speaker 1: circumstances to seek themselves a new country. There rose through
2:06:46
Speaker 1: the clear air, confused clattering and rumbling from this great
2:06:49
Speaker 1: mass of humanity, With the creaking of wheels and the
2:06:52
Speaker 1: neighing of horses. Loud as it was, it was not
2:06:55
Speaker 1: sufficient to rouse the two tired wayfarers above them. At
2:06:59
Speaker 1: the head of the column, they rode a score or
2:07:01
Speaker 1: more of grave, iron faced men clad in somber homespun garments,
2:07:04
Speaker 1: and armed with rifles. On reaching the base of the bluff,
2:07:07
Speaker 1: they halted and held a short council among themselves. The
2:07:11
Speaker 1: wells are to the right, my brothers, said one, a
2:07:14
Speaker 1: hard lipped, clean shaven men with grisly hair, to the
2:07:18
Speaker 1: right of the Sierra Blanco. So we shall reach the
2:07:20
Speaker 1: Rio Grande, said another. Fear not for water, cried a third.
2:07:25
Speaker 1: He who could draw it from the rocks, will not
2:07:27
Speaker 1: now abandon his own chosen people. Amen, Amen, responded the
2:07:32
Speaker 1: whole party. They were about to resume their journey when
2:07:36
Speaker 1: one of the youngest and keenest eyed uttered an exclamation
2:07:38
Speaker 1: and pointed up at the rugged crag above them. From
2:07:41
Speaker 1: its summit there fluttered a little wisp of pink, showing
2:07:44
Speaker 1: up hard and bright against the gray rocks behind. At
2:07:47
Speaker 1: the sight, there was a general reining up of horses
2:07:49
Speaker 1: and unslinging of guns, while fresh horsemen came galloping up
2:07:52
Speaker 1: to reinforce the vanguard. The word redskins was on every lip.
2:07:57
Speaker 1: There can't be any number of engines here, said the
2:08:00
Speaker 1: elderly men who appeared to be in command. We have
2:08:03
Speaker 1: passed the Pawnees, and there are no other tribes until
2:08:06
Speaker 1: we crossed the great mountains. Shall I go forward and
2:08:09
Speaker 1: see brother stan Jerson, asked one of the band, and
2:08:13
Speaker 1: I and I cried a dozen voices. Leave your horses below,
2:08:17
Speaker 1: and we will await you here, the elder answered. In
2:08:20
Speaker 1: a moment. The young fellows had dismounted, fastened their horses,
2:08:24
Speaker 1: and were ascending the precipitous slope which led up to
2:08:26
Speaker 1: the object which had excited their curiosity. They advanced rapidly
2:08:30
Speaker 1: and noiselessly, with the confidence and dexterity of practiced scouts.
2:08:34
Speaker 1: The watchers from the plain below could see them flit
2:08:37
Speaker 1: from rock to rock until their figures stood out against
2:08:39
Speaker 1: the skyline. The young men, who had first given the alarm,
2:08:42
Speaker 1: was leading them. Suddenly his followers saw him throw up
2:08:46
Speaker 1: his hands as though overcome with astonishment, and on joining him,
2:08:49
Speaker 1: they were affected in the same way by the sight
2:08:51
Speaker 1: which met their eyes. On the little plateau which crowned
2:08:54
Speaker 1: the Baron hill, there stood a single giant boulder, And
2:08:57
Speaker 1: against this boulder there lay a tall man, long bearded
2:09:00
Speaker 1: and hard featured, but of an excessive thinness. His placid
2:09:03
Speaker 1: face and regular breathing showed that he was fast asleep.
2:09:07
Speaker 1: Beside him lay a little child, with her round white
2:09:10
Speaker 1: arms encircling his brown, sinewy neck, and her golden haired
2:09:13
Speaker 1: head resting upon the breast of his velveteen tunic. Her
2:09:16
Speaker 1: rosy lips were parted, showing the regular line of snow
2:09:19
Speaker 1: white teeth within, and a playful smile played over her
2:09:21
Speaker 1: infantile features. Her plump, little white legs terminating in white
2:09:26
Speaker 1: socks and nat shoes with shining buckles, offered a strange
2:09:29
Speaker 1: contrast to the long, shriveled members of her companion. On
2:09:32
Speaker 1: the ledge of rock. Above this strange couple there stood
2:09:35
Speaker 1: three solemn buzzards, who, at the sight of the newcomers,
2:09:38
Speaker 1: uttered rocous screams of disappointment and flapped sullenly away. The
2:09:42
Speaker 1: cries of the foul birds awoke the two sleepers, who
2:09:44
Speaker 1: stared about them in bewilderment. The men staggered to his
2:09:47
Speaker 1: feet and looked down upon the plain which had been
2:09:49
Speaker 1: so desolate when sleep had overtaken him, and which was
2:09:52
Speaker 1: now traversed by this enormous body of men and of beasts.
2:09:56
Speaker 1: His face assumed an expression of incredulity as he gazed,
2:09:59
Speaker 1: and he passed his bone hand over his eyes. This
2:10:02
Speaker 1: is what they call delirium, I guess, he muttered. The
2:10:05
Speaker 1: child stood beside him, holding on to the skirt of
2:10:08
Speaker 1: his coat, and said nothing, but looked all round her
2:10:10
Speaker 1: with the wondering, questioning gaze of childhood. The rescuing party
2:10:14
Speaker 1: were speedily able to convince the two castaways that their
2:10:17
Speaker 1: appearance was no delusion. One of them seized the little
2:10:20
Speaker 1: girl and hoisted her upon his shoulder, while two others
2:10:23
Speaker 1: supported her gaunt companion and assisted him towards the wagons.
2:10:27
Speaker 1: My name is John Ferrier, the wanderer, explained, me, and
2:10:30
Speaker 1: that little hon are all that's left, Oh, twenty one people.
2:10:34
Speaker 1: The rest is all dead, oh thurst and hunger away
2:10:36
Speaker 1: down in the south. Is she your child? Ask some one.
2:10:40
Speaker 1: I guess she is now, The other cried defiantly, She's mine,
2:10:44
Speaker 1: cause I saved her. No one will take her from me.
2:10:48
Speaker 1: She's Lucy Ferrier. From this day on, Who are you?
2:10:51
Speaker 1: Though he continued glancing with curiosity at his stalwart, sunburned rescuers,
2:10:56
Speaker 1: There seems to be a powerful lot of ye. Nigh
2:10:59
Speaker 1: upon ten thousand, said one of the young men. We
2:11:02
Speaker 1: are the persecuted children of God. The chosen of the
2:11:04
Speaker 1: Angel Merona. I never heard tell on him, said the wanderer.
2:11:09
Speaker 1: He appears to have chosen a fair crowd of Ye,
2:11:12
Speaker 1: do not jest at that which is sacred, said the
2:11:14
Speaker 1: other sternly. We are of those who believe in those
2:11:17
Speaker 1: sacred writings drawn in Egyptian letters on plates of beaten gold,
2:11:21
Speaker 1: which were handed unto the Holy Joseph Smith at Palmyra.
2:11:24
Speaker 1: We have come from Nauvu, in the state of Illinois,
2:11:27
Speaker 1: where we had founded our temple. We have come to
2:11:30
Speaker 1: seek a refuge from the violent men and from the godless,
2:11:32
Speaker 1: even though it be the heart of the desert. The
2:11:34
Speaker 1: name of Nauvu evidently recalled recollections to John Ferrier. I see,
2:11:39
Speaker 1: he said, you are the Mormons. We are the Mormons,
2:11:42
Speaker 1: answered his companions with one voice, And where are you going?
2:11:47
Speaker 1: We do not know. The hand of God is leading
2:11:50
Speaker 1: us under the person of our prophet. You must come
2:11:53
Speaker 1: before him. He shall say what is to be done
2:11:55
Speaker 1: with you. They had reached the base of the hill
2:11:57
Speaker 1: by this time and were surrounded by crowds of the pilgrims,
2:12:00
Speaker 1: pale faced, meek looking women, strong laughing children, and anxious,
2:12:04
Speaker 1: earnest eyed men. Many were the cries of astonishment and
2:12:07
Speaker 1: of commiseration which arose from them when they perceived the
2:12:09
Speaker 1: youth of one of the strangers and the destitution of
2:12:11
Speaker 1: the other. Their escort did not halt, however, but pushed on,
2:12:16
Speaker 1: followed by a great crowd of Mormons, until they reached
2:12:18
Speaker 1: a wagon which was conspicuous for its great size and
2:12:21
Speaker 1: for the gaudiness and smartness of its appearance. Six horses
2:12:25
Speaker 1: were yoked to it, whereas the others were furnished with
2:12:27
Speaker 1: two or at most four APIs. Beside the driver, their satomen,
2:12:32
Speaker 1: who could not have been more than thirty years of age,
2:12:34
Speaker 1: but whose massive head and resolute expression marked him as
2:12:37
Speaker 1: a leader. He was reading a brown backed volume, but
2:12:40
Speaker 1: as the crowd approached, he laid it aside and listened
2:12:42
Speaker 1: attentively to an account of the episode. Then he turned
2:12:46
Speaker 1: to the two castaways. If we take you with us,
2:12:49
Speaker 1: he said, in solemn words, it can only be as
2:12:52
Speaker 1: believers in our own creed, we shall have no wolves
2:12:55
Speaker 1: in our fold. Better far that your bones should bleach
2:12:58
Speaker 1: in this wilderness than that you should prove to be
2:13:00
Speaker 1: that little speck of decay which in time corrupts the
2:13:02
Speaker 1: whole fruit. Will you come with us on these terms?
2:13:06
Speaker 1: Guess I'll come with you on any terms, said Ferrier,
2:13:08
Speaker 1: with such emphasis that the grave elders could not restrain
2:13:11
Speaker 1: a smile. The leader alone retained his stern, impressive expression.
2:13:16
Speaker 1: Take him, brother, Stangerson, he said, give him food and drink.
2:13:20
Speaker 1: And the child likewise, let it be your task also
2:13:23
Speaker 1: to teach him our holy creed. We have delayed long enough.
2:13:28
Speaker 1: Forward On on to Zion, On On to Zion, cried
2:13:33
Speaker 1: the crowd of Mormons, and the words rippled down the
2:13:35
Speaker 1: long caravan, passing from mouth to mouth, until they died
2:13:38
Speaker 1: away in a dull murmur in the far distance. With
2:13:41
Speaker 1: the cracking of whips and the creaking of wheels, the
2:13:43
Speaker 1: great wagons got into motion, and soon the whole caravan
2:13:46
Speaker 1: was winding along once more. The elder, to whose care
2:13:50
Speaker 1: the two waives had been committed, led them to his wagon,
2:13:52
Speaker 1: where a meal was already awaiting them. You shall remain here,
2:13:56
Speaker 1: he said, in a few days, you will have recovered
2:13:59
Speaker 1: from your footstigues. In the meantime, remember that now and
2:14:03
Speaker 1: forever you are of our religion. Brigham Young has said it,
2:14:06
Speaker 1: and he has spoken with the voice of Joseph Smith,
2:14:09
Speaker 1: which is the Voice of God. Chapter two, The Flower
2:14:12
Speaker 1: of Utah. This is not the place to commemorate the
2:14:15
Speaker 1: trials and privations endured by the immigrant Mormons. Before they
2:14:18
Speaker 1: came to their final haven. From the shores of the
2:14:21
Speaker 1: Mississippi to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, they
2:14:24
Speaker 1: had struggled on with a constancy almost unparalleled in history.
2:14:28
Speaker 1: The savage men and the savage beast, hunger, thirst, fatigue,
2:14:32
Speaker 1: and disease. Every impediment which nature could place in the
2:14:35
Speaker 1: way had all been overcome with Anglo Saxon tenacity. Yet
2:14:39
Speaker 1: the long journey and the accumulated terrors had shaken the
2:14:41
Speaker 1: hearts of the stoutest among them. There was not one
2:14:44
Speaker 1: who did not sink upon his knees in heartfelt prayer
2:14:47
Speaker 1: when they saw the broad valley of Utah bathed in
2:14:48
Speaker 1: the sunlight beneath them, and learned from the lips of
2:14:51
Speaker 1: their leader that this was the promised land, and that
2:14:53
Speaker 1: these virgin acres were to be theirs forevermore. Young speedily
2:14:57
Speaker 1: proved himself to be a skillful administrator as well as
2:15:00
Speaker 1: a resolute chief. Maps were drawn in charts prepared in
2:15:03
Speaker 1: which the future city was sketched out all around, farms
2:15:07
Speaker 1: were apportioned and allotted in proportion to the standing of
2:15:09
Speaker 1: each individual. The tradesman was put to his trade in
2:15:13
Speaker 1: the artisan to his calling. In the town, streets and
2:15:16
Speaker 1: squares sprang up as if by magic. In the country
2:15:19
Speaker 1: there was draining and hedging, planting, and clearing, until the
2:15:22
Speaker 1: next summer saw the whole country golden with the wheat crop.
2:15:26
Speaker 1: Everything prospered in the strange settlement. Above all, the great temple,
2:15:30
Speaker 1: which they had erected in the center of the city,
2:15:32
Speaker 1: grew ever taller and larger from the first blush of
2:15:35
Speaker 1: dawn until the closing of the twilight. The clatter of
2:15:38
Speaker 1: the hammer and the rasp of the saw was never
2:15:39
Speaker 1: absent from the monument, which the immigrants erected to him
2:15:42
Speaker 1: who had led them safe through many dangers. The two castaways,
2:15:46
Speaker 1: John Ferrier, and the little girl who had shared his
2:15:48
Speaker 1: fortunes and had been adopted as his daughter, accompanied the
2:15:51
Speaker 1: Mormons to the end of their great pilgrimage. Little Lucy
2:15:54
Speaker 1: Ferrier was born along pleasantly enough in Elder Stangerson's wagon,
2:15:58
Speaker 1: a retreat which she shared with the Mormon's three wives
2:16:00
Speaker 1: and with his son, a headstrong, forward boy of twelve.
2:16:04
Speaker 1: Having rallied with the elasticity of childhood from the shock
2:16:07
Speaker 1: caused by her mother's death, she soon became a pet
2:16:10
Speaker 1: with the women and reconciled herself to this new life
2:16:12
Speaker 1: in her moving canvas covered home. In the meantime, Ferrier,
2:16:16
Speaker 1: having recovered from his privations, distinguished himself as a useful
2:16:20
Speaker 1: guide and an indefatigable hunter. So rapidly did he gain
2:16:23
Speaker 1: the esteem of his new companions, that when they reached
2:16:26
Speaker 1: the end of their wanderings, it was inanimously agreed that
2:16:28
Speaker 1: he should be provided with as large and as fertile
2:16:30
Speaker 1: attractive land as any of the settlers, with the exception
2:16:33
Speaker 1: of young himself and of Stangerson, Kembell, Johnston and Drebber,
2:16:38
Speaker 1: who were the four principal elders on the farm. Thus acquired,
2:16:42
Speaker 1: John Ferrier built himself a substantial log house, which received
2:16:45
Speaker 1: so many additions in succeeding years that it grew into
2:16:48
Speaker 1: a roomy villa. He was a man of a practical
2:16:50
Speaker 1: turn of mind, keen in his dealings and skillful with
2:16:53
Speaker 1: his hands. His iron constitution enabled him to work morning
2:16:57
Speaker 1: and evening at improving and tilling his lands. Hence it
2:17:01
Speaker 1: came about that his farm and all that belonged to
2:17:03
Speaker 1: him prospered exceedingly. In three years he was better off
2:17:06
Speaker 1: than his neighbors. In six he was well to do,
2:17:09
Speaker 1: in nine he was rich. And in twelve there were
2:17:11
Speaker 1: not half a dozen men in the whole of Salt
2:17:13
Speaker 1: Lake City who could compare with him. From the great
2:17:16
Speaker 1: Inland Sea to the distant Wassatch Mountains, there was no
2:17:18
Speaker 1: name better known than that of John Ferrier. There was
2:17:22
Speaker 1: one way, and only one, in which he offended the
2:17:24
Speaker 1: susceptibilities of his co religionists. No argument or persuasion could
2:17:28
Speaker 1: ever induce him to set up a female establishment after
2:17:30
Speaker 1: the manner of his companions. He never gave reasons for
2:17:34
Speaker 1: this persistent refusal, but contented himself by resolutely and inflexibly
2:17:38
Speaker 1: adhering to his determination. There were some who accused him
2:17:41
Speaker 1: of lukewarmness in his adopted religion, and others who put
2:17:44
Speaker 1: it down to greed of wealth and reluctance to incur expense.
2:17:48
Speaker 1: Others again spoke of some early love affair, and of
2:17:51
Speaker 1: a fair haired girl who had pined away on the
2:17:53
Speaker 1: shores of the Atlantic. Whatever the reason Ferrier remained strictly celibate.
2:17:58
Speaker 1: In every other respect he can form to the religion
2:18:00
Speaker 1: of the young settlement, and gained the name of being
2:18:03
Speaker 1: an orthodox and straight walking men. Lucy Ferrier grew up
2:18:06
Speaker 1: within the log house and assisted her adopted father in
2:18:09
Speaker 1: all his undertakings. The keen air of the mountains and
2:18:13
Speaker 1: the balsamic odor of the pine trees took the place
2:18:15
Speaker 1: of nurse and mother to the young girl. As year
2:18:18
Speaker 1: succeeded to year, she grew taller and stronger, her cheek
2:18:20
Speaker 1: more rooty, and her step more elastic. Many a wayfarer
2:18:24
Speaker 1: upon the high road which ran by Ferrier's farm felt
2:18:27
Speaker 1: long forgotten thoughts revive in their mind as they watched
2:18:29
Speaker 1: her live girlish figure tripping through the wheat fields, or
2:18:32
Speaker 1: met her mounted upon her father's mustang and managing it
2:18:35
Speaker 1: with all the ease and grace of a true child
2:18:36
Speaker 1: of the West. So the bud blossomed into a flower,
2:18:40
Speaker 1: and the year which saw her father the richest of
2:18:42
Speaker 1: the farmers, left her as fair as specimen of American
2:18:44
Speaker 1: girlhood as could be found in the whole Pacific slope.
2:18:47
Speaker 1: It was not the father, however, who first discovered that
2:18:50
Speaker 1: the child had developed into the woman. It seldom is
2:18:53
Speaker 1: in such cases that mysterious change is too subtle and
2:18:57
Speaker 1: too gradual to be measured by dates. Least of all
2:19:00
Speaker 1: does the maiden herself know it until the tone of
2:19:02
Speaker 1: a voice or the touch of a hand sets her
2:19:04
Speaker 1: heart thrilling within her, and she learns, with a mixture
2:19:07
Speaker 1: of pride and of fear, that a new and a
2:19:09
Speaker 1: larger nature has awoken within her. There are few who
2:19:12
Speaker 1: cannot recall the day and remember the one little incident
2:19:15
Speaker 1: which heralded the dawn of a new life. In the
2:19:18
Speaker 1: case of Lucy Ferrier, the occasion was serious enough in itself,
2:19:21
Speaker 1: apart from its future influence on her destiny and that
2:19:24
Speaker 1: of many. Besides, it was a warm June morning, and
2:19:27
Speaker 1: the latter day saints were as busy as the bees,
2:19:29
Speaker 1: whose hive they have chosen for their emblem. In the
2:19:32
Speaker 1: fields and in the streets rose the same hum of
2:19:34
Speaker 1: human industry. Down the dusty high roads defiled long streams
2:19:38
Speaker 1: of heavily laden mules, all heading to the west, for
2:19:41
Speaker 1: the gold fever had broken out in California, and the
2:19:44
Speaker 1: overland route lay through the city of the elect There too,
2:19:48
Speaker 1: were droves of sheep and bullocks coming in from the
2:19:50
Speaker 1: outlying pasture lands, and trains of tired immigrants, men and horses,
2:19:54
Speaker 1: equally weary of their interminable journey through all this motley assemblage,
2:19:58
Speaker 1: threading her way with the sk Giel, an accomplished rider
2:20:01
Speaker 1: their galloped lucy ferrier, her fair face flushed with the
2:20:04
Speaker 1: exercise and her long chestnut hair floating out behind her.
2:20:08
Speaker 1: She had a commission from her father in the city,
2:20:10
Speaker 1: and was dashing in as she had done many a
2:20:12
Speaker 1: time before, with all the fearlessness of youth, thinking only
2:20:15
Speaker 1: of her task and how it was to be performed.
2:20:18
Speaker 1: The travel stained adventurers gazed after her in astonishment, and
2:20:21
Speaker 1: even the unemotional Indians journeying in with their pelties relaxed
2:20:25
Speaker 1: their accustomed stoicism as they marveled at the beauty of
2:20:27
Speaker 1: the pale faced maiden. She had reached the outskirts of
2:20:30
Speaker 1: the city when she found the road blocked by a
2:20:32
Speaker 1: great drove of cattle driven by a half dozen wild
2:20:35
Speaker 1: looking herdsmen from the plains. In her impatience, she endeavored
2:20:39
Speaker 1: to pass this obstacle by pushing her horse into what
2:20:41
Speaker 1: appeared to be a gap scarcely had she got fairly
2:20:44
Speaker 1: into it, however, before the beasts closed in behind her,
2:20:48
Speaker 1: and she found herself completely embedded in the moving stream
2:20:51
Speaker 1: of fearside long horned bullocks. Accustomed as she was to
2:20:54
Speaker 1: deal with cattle, she was not alarmed at her situation,
2:20:57
Speaker 1: but took advantage of every opportunity to urge her horse
2:21:00
Speaker 1: in the hopes of pushing her way through the cavalcade. Unfortunately,
2:21:04
Speaker 1: the horns of one of the creatures, either by accident
2:21:06
Speaker 1: or design, came in violent contact with the flank of
2:21:09
Speaker 1: the mustang and excited it to madness. In an instant,
2:21:13
Speaker 1: it reared up upon its hind legs with a snort
2:21:15
Speaker 1: of rage, and pranced and tossed in a way that
2:21:17
Speaker 1: would have unseated any but a most skillful rider. The
2:21:20
Speaker 1: situation was full of peril. Every plunge of the excited
2:21:24
Speaker 1: horse brought it against the horns again and goaded it
2:21:26
Speaker 1: to fresh madness. It was all that the girl could
2:21:29
Speaker 1: do to keep herself in the saddle, Yet a slip
2:21:32
Speaker 1: would mean a terrible death under the hoofs of the
2:21:34
Speaker 1: unwieldy and terrified animals. Unaccustomed to sudden emergencies. Her head
2:21:38
Speaker 1: began to swim, and her grip upon the bridle to relax.
2:21:42
Speaker 1: Choked by the rising cloud of dust and by the
2:21:44
Speaker 1: steam from the struggling creatures, she might have abandoned her
2:21:47
Speaker 1: efforts in despair, but for a kindly voice at her elbow,
2:21:50
Speaker 1: which assured her of assistance. At the same moment, a
2:21:53
Speaker 1: sinewy brown hand caught the frightened horse by the curb,
2:21:56
Speaker 1: and forcing away through the drove, soon brought her to
2:21:58
Speaker 1: the outskirts. You're not hurt, I hope, miss, said her
2:22:02
Speaker 1: preserver respectfully. She looked up at his dark, fierce face
2:22:07
Speaker 1: and laughed saucily. I'm awful frightened, she said naively. Whoever
2:22:12
Speaker 1: would have thought that Poncho would have been so scared
2:22:14
Speaker 1: by a lot of cows? Thank god you kept your seat,
2:22:17
Speaker 1: the other said earnestly. He was a tall, savage looking
2:22:21
Speaker 1: young fellow, mounted on a powerful roan horse and clad
2:22:24
Speaker 1: in the rough dress of a hunter, with a long
2:22:26
Speaker 1: rifle slung over his shoulders. I guess you are the
2:22:29
Speaker 1: daughter of John Ferrier, he remarked. I saw you ride
2:22:32
Speaker 1: down from his house. When you see him, ask him
2:22:35
Speaker 1: if he remembers the Jefferson Hopes of S. T. Lewis.
2:22:38
Speaker 1: If he's the same Ferrier, My father and he were
2:22:41
Speaker 1: pretty thick. Hadn't you better come and ask yourself? She
2:22:44
Speaker 1: asked demurely. The young fellow seemed pleased at the suggestion,
2:22:49
Speaker 1: and his dark eyes sparkled with pleasure. I'll do so,
2:22:52
Speaker 1: he said. We've been in the mountains for two months
2:22:55
Speaker 1: and are not over and above in visiting condition. He
2:22:58
Speaker 1: must take us as he finds us. He has a
2:23:01
Speaker 1: good deal to thank you for, and so have I.
2:23:03
Speaker 1: She answered. He's awful fond of me. If those cows
2:23:07
Speaker 1: had jumped on me, he'd have never got over it.
2:23:10
Speaker 1: Neither would I said her companion. You well, I don't
2:23:14
Speaker 1: see that it would make much matter to you. Anyhow,
2:23:18
Speaker 1: you ain't even a friend of ours. The young Hunter's
2:23:20
Speaker 1: dark face grew so gloomy over this remark that Lucy
2:23:22
Speaker 1: Ferrier laughed aloud. There I didn't mean that, she said,
2:23:27
Speaker 1: of course you are a friend. Now you must come
2:23:30
Speaker 1: and see us. Now I must push along, or father
2:23:33
Speaker 1: won't trust me with his business any more. Good Bye,
2:23:37
Speaker 1: good bye, he answered, raising his broad sombrero and bending
2:23:41
Speaker 1: over her little hand she wheeled her mustang round, gave
2:23:45
Speaker 1: it a cut with her riding whip, and darted away
2:23:47
Speaker 1: down the broad road in a rolling cloud of dust.
2:23:50
Speaker 1: Young Jefferson Hope rode on with his companions, Gloomy and Taciturn.
2:23:55
Speaker 1: He and they had been among the Nevada mountains prospecting
2:23:57
Speaker 1: for silver, and were returning to Salt Lake's Inity in
2:24:00
Speaker 1: the hope of raising capital enough to work some loads
2:24:02
Speaker 1: which they had discovered. He had been as keen as
2:24:05
Speaker 1: any of them upon the business until this sudden incident
2:24:07
Speaker 1: had drawn his thoughts into another channel. The sight of
2:24:11
Speaker 1: the fair young girl, as frank and wholesome as the
2:24:13
Speaker 1: Sia Era breezes, had stirred his volcanic, untamed heart to
2:24:17
Speaker 1: its very depths. When she had vanished from his sight,
2:24:20
Speaker 1: he realized that a crisis had come in his life,
2:24:23
Speaker 1: and that neither silver speculations nor any other questions could
2:24:25
Speaker 1: ever be of such importance to him as this new
2:24:27
Speaker 1: and all absorbing one. The love which had sprung up
2:24:31
Speaker 1: in his heart was not the sudden, changeable fancy of
2:24:33
Speaker 1: a boy, but rather the wild, fierce passion of a
2:24:36
Speaker 1: man of strong will and imperious temper. He had been
2:24:39
Speaker 1: accustomed to succeed in all that he undertook. He swore
2:24:42
Speaker 1: in his heart that he would not fail in this
2:24:44
Speaker 1: if human effort and human perseverance could render him successful.
2:24:48
Speaker 1: He called on John Ferrier that night, and many times again,
2:24:51
Speaker 1: until his face was a familiar one at the farmhouse. John,
2:24:55
Speaker 1: cooped up in the valley and absorbed in his work,
2:24:58
Speaker 1: had had little chance of learning the news of the
2:25:00
Speaker 1: outside world during the last twelve years. All this Jefferson
2:25:04
Speaker 1: Hope was able to tell him, and in a style
2:25:06
Speaker 1: which interested Lucy as well as her father. He had
2:25:09
Speaker 1: been a pioneer in California and could narrate many a
2:25:12
Speaker 1: strange tale of fortunes made in fortunes lost in those
2:25:15
Speaker 1: wild halcyon days. He had been a scout too, and
2:25:19
Speaker 1: a trapper, a silver explorer, and a ranchman. Wherever stirring
2:25:23
Speaker 1: adventures were to be had, Jefferson Hope had been there
2:25:25
Speaker 1: in search of them. He soon became a favorite with
2:25:29
Speaker 1: the old farmer, who spoke eloquently of his virtues on
2:25:32
Speaker 1: such occasions. Lucy was silent, but her blushing cheek in
2:25:36
Speaker 1: her bright, happy eyes showed only too clearly that her
2:25:39
Speaker 1: young heart was no longer her own. Her honest father
2:25:42
Speaker 1: may not have observed these symptoms, but they were assuredly
2:25:45
Speaker 1: not thrown away upon the men who had won her affections.
2:25:48
Speaker 1: It was a summer evening when he came galloping down
2:25:50
Speaker 1: the road and pulled up at the gate. She was
2:25:53
Speaker 1: at the doorway and came down to meet him. He
2:25:56
Speaker 1: threw the bridle over the fence and strode up the pathway.
2:26:00
Speaker 1: I am off, lucy, he said, taking her two hands
2:26:03
Speaker 1: in his and gazing tenderly down into her face. I
2:26:05
Speaker 1: won't ask you to come with me now, but will
2:26:07
Speaker 1: you be ready to come when I am here again?
2:26:10
Speaker 1: And when will that be, she asked, blushing and laughing,
2:26:14
Speaker 1: a couple of months at the outside. I will come
2:26:17
Speaker 1: and claim you then, my darling. There's no one who
2:26:20
Speaker 1: can stand between us. And how about father, she asked.
2:26:25
Speaker 1: He has given his consent provided we get these mines working,
2:26:28
Speaker 1: all right, I have no fear on the head. Oh well,
2:26:32
Speaker 1: of course, if you and Father have arranged it all,
2:26:35
Speaker 1: there's no more to be said, She whispered, with her
2:26:37
Speaker 1: cheek against his broad breast. Thank god, he said, hoarsely,
2:26:43
Speaker 1: stooping and kissing her. It is settled. Then the longer
2:26:47
Speaker 1: I stay, the harder it will be to go. They
2:26:50
Speaker 1: are waiting for me at the cannon. Good Bye, my
2:26:53
Speaker 1: own darling. Goodbye. In two months you shall see me.
2:26:58
Speaker 1: He tore himself from her as he spoke, and, flinging
2:27:01
Speaker 1: himself upon his horse, galloped furiously away, never even looking round,
2:27:05
Speaker 1: as though afraid that his resolution might fail him if
2:27:07
Speaker 1: he took one glance at what he was leaving. She
2:27:10
Speaker 1: stood at the gate, gazing after him until he vanished
2:27:13
Speaker 1: from her sight. Then she walked back into the house,
2:27:16
Speaker 1: the happiest girl in all Utah. Chapter three, John Ferrier
2:27:21
Speaker 1: talks with the prophet. Three weeks had passed since Jefferson
2:27:24
Speaker 1: Hope and his comrades had departed from Salt Lake City.
2:27:28
Speaker 1: John Ferrier's heart was sore within him when he thought
2:27:30
Speaker 1: of the young man's return and of the impending loss
2:27:33
Speaker 1: of his adopted child. Yet her bright and happy face
2:27:36
Speaker 1: reconciled him to the arrangement more than any argument could
2:27:39
Speaker 1: have done. He had always determined, deep down in his
2:27:43
Speaker 1: resolute heart, that nothing would ever induce him to allow
2:27:45
Speaker 1: his daughter to wed a Mormon. Such a marriage he
2:27:48
Speaker 1: regarded as no marriage at all but as a shame
2:27:50
Speaker 1: and a disgrace. Whatever he might think of the Mormon doctrines,
2:27:54
Speaker 1: upon that one point he was inflexible. He had to
2:27:58
Speaker 1: seal his mouth on the subject, however, for to express
2:28:01
Speaker 1: an unorthodox opinion was a dangerous matter in those days
2:28:03
Speaker 1: in the land of the Saints, Yes, a dangerous matter,
2:28:07
Speaker 1: so dangerous that even the most saintly dared only whisper
2:28:10
Speaker 1: their religious opinions with bated breath, lest something which fell
2:28:13
Speaker 1: from their lips might be misconstrued and bring down a
2:28:15
Speaker 1: swift retribution upon them. The victims of persecution had now
2:28:19
Speaker 1: turned persecutors on their own account, and persecutors of the
2:28:22
Speaker 1: most terrible description. Not the Inquisition of Seville, nor the
2:28:26
Speaker 1: German Vemderic, nor the secret societies of Italy were ever
2:28:30
Speaker 1: able to put a more formidable machinery in motion than
2:28:32
Speaker 1: that which cast a cloud over the state of Utah.
2:28:35
Speaker 1: Its invisibility and the mystery which was attached to it,
2:28:38
Speaker 1: made this organization doubly terrible. It appeared to be omniscient
2:28:42
Speaker 1: and omnipotent, and yet was neither seen nor heard. The
2:28:46
Speaker 1: men who held out against the Church vanished away, and
2:28:48
Speaker 1: none knew whither he had gone, or what had befallen him.
2:28:52
Speaker 1: His wife and his children awaited him at home, but
2:28:54
Speaker 1: no father ever returned to tell them how he had
2:28:56
Speaker 1: fared at the hands of his secret judges. A rash
2:28:59
Speaker 1: word or a hasty act was followed by annihilation. And
2:29:02
Speaker 1: yet none knew what the nature might be of this
2:29:04
Speaker 1: terrible power which was suspended over them. No wonder that
2:29:08
Speaker 1: men went about in fear and trembling, and that even
2:29:10
Speaker 1: in the heart of the wilderness they dared not whisper
2:29:12
Speaker 1: the doubts which oppressed them. At first, this vague and
2:29:15
Speaker 1: terrible power was exercised only upon the recalcitrants, who, having
2:29:19
Speaker 1: embraced the Mormon faith, wished afterwards to pervert or to
2:29:22
Speaker 1: abandon it. Soon, however, it took a wider range. The
2:29:27
Speaker 1: supply of adult women was running short, and polygamy without
2:29:30
Speaker 1: a female population on which to draw was a barren doctrine. Indeed,
2:29:34
Speaker 1: strange rumors began to be bandied about, rumors of murdered
2:29:37
Speaker 1: immigrants and rifled camps in regions where Indians had never
2:29:40
Speaker 1: been seen. Fresh women appeared in the harems of the elders,
2:29:44
Speaker 1: women who pined and wept and bore upon their faces
2:29:46
Speaker 1: the traces of an unextinguishable horror. Belated wanderers upon the
2:29:50
Speaker 1: mountain spoke of gangs of armed men, masked, stealthy and noiseless,
2:29:55
Speaker 1: who flitted by them in the darkness. These tales and
2:29:58
Speaker 1: rumors took substance and shape, and were corroborated and re
2:30:01
Speaker 1: corroborated until they resolved themselves into a definite name. To
2:30:05
Speaker 1: this day, in the lonely ranches of the West, the
2:30:08
Speaker 1: name of the Danite Band or the Avenging Angels is
2:30:11
Speaker 1: a sinister and an ill omened one. Fuller knowledge of
2:30:14
Speaker 1: the organization which produced such terrible results served to increase,
2:30:17
Speaker 1: rather than to lessen, the horror which it inspired in
2:30:19
Speaker 1: the minds of men. None knew who belonged to this
2:30:22
Speaker 1: ruthless society. The names of the participators in the deeds
2:30:26
Speaker 1: of blood and violence done under the name of religion
2:30:29
Speaker 1: were kept profoundly secret. The very friend to whom you
2:30:32
Speaker 1: communicated your misgivings as to the prophet and his mission,
2:30:35
Speaker 1: might be one of those who would come forth at
2:30:36
Speaker 1: night with fire and sword to exact a terrible reparation.
2:30:40
Speaker 1: Hence every man feared his neighbor and none spoke of
2:30:43
Speaker 1: the things which were nearest his heart. One fine morning,
2:30:46
Speaker 1: John Ferrier was about to set out to his wheat
2:30:48
Speaker 1: fields when he heard the click of the latch, and
2:30:51
Speaker 1: looking through the window, saw a stout, sandy haired, middle
2:30:55
Speaker 1: aged man coming up the pathway. His heart leapt to
2:30:58
Speaker 1: his mouth, for this was none other than the Great
2:31:00
Speaker 1: Brigham Young, himself full of trepidation, for he knew that
2:31:04
Speaker 1: such a visit boded him. Little Good Ferrier ran to
2:31:06
Speaker 1: the door to greet the Mormon chief. The latter, however,
2:31:10
Speaker 1: received his salutations coldly, and followed him with a stern
2:31:13
Speaker 1: face into the sitting room. Brother Ferrier, he said, taking
2:31:17
Speaker 1: a seat and eyeing the farmer keenly from under his
2:31:19
Speaker 1: light colored eye lashes. The true Believers have been good
2:31:22
Speaker 1: friends to you. We picked you up when you were
2:31:25
Speaker 1: starving in the desert. We shared our food with you,
2:31:27
Speaker 1: led you safe to the chosen valley, gave you a
2:31:29
Speaker 1: goodly share of land, and allowed you to wax rich
2:31:32
Speaker 1: under a protection. Is not this so? It is? So,
2:31:36
Speaker 1: answered John Ferrier. In return for all this we asked
2:31:40
Speaker 1: but one condition, that was that you should embrace the
2:31:43
Speaker 1: true faith and conform in every way to its usages.
2:31:46
Speaker 1: This you promised to do, and this if common report says,
2:31:49
Speaker 1: truly you have neglected. And how have I neglected it?
2:31:53
Speaker 1: Asked Ferrier, throwing out his hands in expostulation. Have I
2:31:57
Speaker 1: not given to the common fund? Have I not attended
2:32:00
Speaker 1: at the temple? Have I not? Where are your wives?
2:32:04
Speaker 1: Asked young looking round him, Call them in that I
2:32:08
Speaker 1: may greet them. It is true that I have not married,
2:32:11
Speaker 1: Ferrier answered, But women were few, and there were many
2:32:15
Speaker 1: who had better claims than I. I was not a
2:32:17
Speaker 1: lonely man. I had my daughter to attend to my wants.
2:32:21
Speaker 1: It is of that daughter that I would speak to you,
2:32:23
Speaker 1: said the leader of the Mormons. She has grown to
2:32:26
Speaker 1: be the flower of Utah and has found favor in
2:32:28
Speaker 1: the eyes of many who are high in the land.
2:32:30
Speaker 1: John Ferrier groaned internally. There are stories of her which
2:32:34
Speaker 1: I would feign. Disbelieve, stories that she is sealed to
2:32:36
Speaker 1: some gentile. This must be the gossip of idle tongues.
2:32:41
Speaker 1: What is the thirteenth rule in the Code of the
2:32:43
Speaker 1: Sainted Joseph Smith? Let every maiden of the true faith
2:32:46
Speaker 1: marry one of the elect, For if she went a gentile,
2:32:49
Speaker 1: she commits a grievous sin. This being so, it is
2:32:52
Speaker 1: impossible that you, who profess the holy creed, should suffer
2:32:55
Speaker 1: your daughter to violate it. John Ferrier made no answer,
2:32:58
Speaker 1: but he played nervously with it, riding whip upon this
2:33:02
Speaker 1: one point, your whole faith shall be tested. So it
2:33:04
Speaker 1: has been decided in the sacred Council of four. The
2:33:07
Speaker 1: girl is young, and we would not have her wet
2:33:09
Speaker 1: gray hairs. Neither would we deprive her of all choice.
2:33:13
Speaker 1: We elders have many heifers one, but our children must
2:33:16
Speaker 1: also be provided. Stan Jerson has a son, and Drebber
2:33:20
Speaker 1: has a son, and either of them would gladly welcome
2:33:22
Speaker 1: your daughter to their house. Let her choose between them.
2:33:26
Speaker 1: They are young, and rich and of the true faith.
2:33:29
Speaker 1: What say you to that one? Hebrecy Kempbell, in one
2:33:33
Speaker 1: of his sermons, alludes to his hundred wives. Under this
2:33:36
Speaker 1: endearing epithet, Ferrier remained silent for some little time, with
2:33:40
Speaker 1: his brows knitted. You will give us time, he said,
2:33:43
Speaker 1: at last. My daughter is very young. She is scarce
2:33:46
Speaker 1: of an age to marry. She shall have a month
2:33:49
Speaker 1: to choose, said young rising from his seat. At the
2:33:53
Speaker 1: end of that time she shall give her answer. He
2:33:55
Speaker 1: was passing through the door when he turned with flushed
2:33:57
Speaker 1: face and flashing eyes. It were better for you, John Ferrier.
2:34:02
Speaker 1: He thundered, that you and she were now lying blanched
2:34:04
Speaker 1: skeletons upon the Sierra Blanco, than that you should put
2:34:07
Speaker 1: your weak wills against the orders of the Holy Four.
2:34:09
Speaker 1: With a threatening gesture of his hand, he turned from
2:34:11
Speaker 1: the door, and Ferrier heard his heavy steps scrunching along
2:34:14
Speaker 1: the shingly path. He was still sitting with his elbows
2:34:17
Speaker 1: upon his knees, considering how he should broach the matter
2:34:20
Speaker 1: to his daughter, when a soft hand was laid upon his,
2:34:23
Speaker 1: and looking up, he saw her standing beside him. One
2:34:26
Speaker 1: glance at her pale, frightened face showed him that she
2:34:29
Speaker 1: had heard what had passed. I could not help it,
2:34:32
Speaker 1: she said, in answer to his look. His voice rang
2:34:35
Speaker 1: through the house. Oh, father, father, what shall we do?
2:34:40
Speaker 1: Don't you scare yourself? He answered, drawing her to him
2:34:43
Speaker 1: and passing his broad, rough hand caressingly over her chestnut hair.
2:34:48
Speaker 1: We'll fix it up somehow or another. You don't find
2:34:51
Speaker 1: your fancy kind o lessening for this chap? Do you
2:34:55
Speaker 1: a sob and a squeeze of his hand was her
2:34:56
Speaker 1: only answer. No, of course not. I shouldn't care to
2:35:01
Speaker 1: hear you say you did. He's a likely lad, and
2:35:04
Speaker 1: he's a Christian, which is more than these folk here
2:35:07
Speaker 1: in spite o all their praying and preaching. There's a
2:35:10
Speaker 1: party starting for Nevada to morrow, and I'll manage to
2:35:13
Speaker 1: send him a message letting him know the hole we
2:35:14
Speaker 1: are in. If I know anything. Oh that, young men,
2:35:18
Speaker 1: he'll be back here with a speed that would whip
2:35:20
Speaker 1: elector telegraphs. Lucy laughed through her tears at her father's description.
2:35:24
Speaker 1: When he comes, he will advise us for the best.
2:35:27
Speaker 1: But it is for you that I am frightened. Dear
2:35:30
Speaker 1: one hears one hears such dreadful stories about those who
2:35:33
Speaker 1: oppose the prophet, something terrible always happens to them. But
2:35:37
Speaker 1: we haven't opposed him yet, her father answered, it will
2:35:40
Speaker 1: be time to look out for squalls when we do.
2:35:43
Speaker 1: We have a clear month before us. At the end
2:35:46
Speaker 1: of that, I guess we had best chin out of Utah.
2:35:49
Speaker 1: Leave Utah. That's about the size of it. But the
2:35:53
Speaker 1: farm we will raise as much as we can in
2:35:55
Speaker 1: money and let the rest go to tell the truth. Lucy,
2:35:59
Speaker 1: it isn't the first time I have thought of doing it.
2:36:02
Speaker 1: I don't care about knuckling under to any men as
2:36:04
Speaker 1: these folk do to their darned prophet. I'm a free
2:36:07
Speaker 1: born American and it's all new to me. Guess I'm
2:36:11
Speaker 1: too old to learn. If he comes browsing about this farm,
2:36:14
Speaker 1: he might chance to run up against a charge of
2:36:16
Speaker 1: buckshot traveling in the opposite direction. But they won't let
2:36:20
Speaker 1: us leave. His daughter objected, Wait till Jefferson comes, and
2:36:24
Speaker 1: we'll soon manage that. In the meantime, don't you fret yourself,
2:36:28
Speaker 1: my dearie, and don't get your eyes swelled up, else
2:36:31
Speaker 1: he'll be walking into me when he sees you. There's
2:36:34
Speaker 1: nothing to be afeared about, and there's no danger at all.
2:36:37
Speaker 1: John Ferrier uttered these consoling remarks in a very confident tone,
2:36:41
Speaker 1: but she could not help observing that he paid unusual
2:36:43
Speaker 1: care to the fastening of the doors that night, and
2:36:45
Speaker 1: that he carefully cleaned and loaded the rusty old shotgun
2:36:48
Speaker 1: which hung upon the wall of his bedroom. Chapter four,
2:36:52
Speaker 1: A Flight for Life. On the morning which followed his
2:36:55
Speaker 1: interview with the Mormon prophet, John Ferrier went into Salt
2:36:58
Speaker 1: Lake city, and having found his acquaintance, who was bound
2:37:01
Speaker 1: for the Nevada Mountains, he entrusted him with his message
2:37:04
Speaker 1: to Jefferson Hope. In it, he told the young men
2:37:07
Speaker 1: of the imminent danger which threatened them, and how necessary
2:37:10
Speaker 1: it was that he should return. Having done thus, he
2:37:13
Speaker 1: felt easier in his mind, and returned home with a
2:37:15
Speaker 1: lighter heart. As he approached his farm, he was surprised
2:37:19
Speaker 1: to see a horse hitch to each of the posts
2:37:21
Speaker 1: of the gate. Still more surprised was he on entering
2:37:24
Speaker 1: to find two young men in possession of his sitting room.
2:37:27
Speaker 1: One with a long, pale face, was leaning back in
2:37:30
Speaker 1: the rocking chair with his feet cocked up upon the stove.
2:37:34
Speaker 1: The other, a bull necked youth with coarse bloated features,
2:37:37
Speaker 1: was standing in front of the window with his hands
2:37:39
Speaker 1: in his pocket, whistling a popular hymn. Both of them
2:37:42
Speaker 1: nodded to Ferrier as he entered, and the one in
2:37:44
Speaker 1: the rocking chair commenced the conversation, maybe you don't know us,
2:37:48
Speaker 1: He said, this here is the son of Elder Drebber,
2:37:51
Speaker 1: and I'm Joseph Stangerson, who traveled with you in the desert.
2:37:54
Speaker 1: When the Lord stretched out his hand and gathered you
2:37:56
Speaker 1: into the true fold, as he wore all the nations
2:37:59
Speaker 1: in his own good time, said the other, in a
2:38:01
Speaker 1: nasal voice. He grind death slowly, but exceeding. Small John
2:38:05
Speaker 1: Ferrier bowed coldly. He had guessed who his visitors were.
2:38:09
Speaker 1: We have come, continued stan Jerson, at the advice of
2:38:12
Speaker 1: our fathers, to solicit the hand of your daughter, for
2:38:14
Speaker 1: whichever of you s may seem good to you and
2:38:16
Speaker 1: to her. As I have but four wives, and brother
2:38:19
Speaker 1: Drebber here as seven, it appears to me that my
2:38:21
Speaker 1: claim is the stronger one. Nay, nay, brother stan Jerson,
2:38:25
Speaker 1: cried the other. The question is not how many wives
2:38:28
Speaker 1: we have, but how many we can keep. My father
2:38:31
Speaker 1: has now given over his mills to me, and I
2:38:33
Speaker 1: am the richer man. But my prospects are better, said
2:38:36
Speaker 1: the other warmly. When the Lord removes my father, I
2:38:40
Speaker 1: shall have his tanning yard and his leather factory. Then
2:38:43
Speaker 1: I am your elder and am higher in the church.
2:38:46
Speaker 1: It will be for the maiden to decide, rejoined young Drebber,
2:38:49
Speaker 1: smirking at his own reflection in the glass. We will
2:38:52
Speaker 1: leave it all to her decision. During this dialog, John
2:38:55
Speaker 1: Ferrier had stood fuming in the doorway, hardly able to
2:38:58
Speaker 1: keep his riding whip from the back of his two visitors.
2:39:02
Speaker 1: Look here, he said, at last, striding up to them.
2:39:04
Speaker 1: When my daughter summons you, you can come. But until
2:39:07
Speaker 1: then I don't want to see your faces again. The
2:39:09
Speaker 1: two young Mormons stared at him in amazement. In their eyes,
2:39:12
Speaker 1: this competition between them for the maiden's hand was the
2:39:14
Speaker 1: highest of honors, both to her and her father. There
2:39:17
Speaker 1: are two ways out of the room, cried Ferrier. There
2:39:20
Speaker 1: is the door, and there is the window. Which do
2:39:23
Speaker 1: you care to use. His brown face looked so savage,
2:39:26
Speaker 1: and his gaunt hands so threatening that his visitors sprang
2:39:28
Speaker 1: to their feet and beat a hurried retreat. The old
2:39:31
Speaker 1: farmer followed them to the door. Let me know when
2:39:34
Speaker 1: you have settled which it is to be, he said, sardonically.
2:39:38
Speaker 1: You shall smart for this stand, Jerson cried, white with rage.
2:39:42
Speaker 1: You have defied the prophet and the Council of four.
2:39:46
Speaker 1: You shall rue it to the end of your days.
2:39:48
Speaker 1: The hand of the Lord shall be heavy upon you,
2:39:50
Speaker 1: cried young Drebber. He will arise and smite you. Then
2:39:54
Speaker 1: I'll start the smiting exclaimed Ferrier furiously, and would have
2:39:57
Speaker 1: rushed upstairs for his gun had not Lucy seized him
2:40:00
Speaker 1: by the arm and restrained him. Before he could escape
2:40:03
Speaker 1: from her. The clatter of horses hoofs told him that
2:40:05
Speaker 1: they were beyond his reach, the young canting rascals, he exclaimed,
2:40:10
Speaker 1: wiping the perspiration from his forehead. I would sooner see
2:40:13
Speaker 1: you in your grave, my girl, than the wife of
2:40:15
Speaker 1: either of them, and so should I father, she answered
2:40:19
Speaker 1: with spirit. But Jefferson will soon be here. Yes, it
2:40:24
Speaker 1: will not be long before he comes. The sooner the better,
2:40:27
Speaker 1: for we do not know what their next move may be.
2:40:31
Speaker 1: It was indeed high time that some one capable of
2:40:33
Speaker 1: giving advice and help should come to the aid of
2:40:35
Speaker 1: the sturdy old farmer and his adopted daughter. In the
2:40:39
Speaker 1: whole history of the settlement, there had never been such
2:40:41
Speaker 1: a case of rank disobedience to the authority of the elders.
2:40:44
Speaker 1: If minor errors were punished so sternly, what would be
2:40:47
Speaker 1: the fate of this arch rebel. Ferrier knew that his
2:40:50
Speaker 1: wealth and position would be of no avail to him.
2:40:53
Speaker 1: Others as well known and as rich as himself had
2:40:55
Speaker 1: been spirited away before. Now and their goods given over
2:40:58
Speaker 1: to the church. It was a brave man, but he
2:41:01
Speaker 1: trembled at the vague, shadowy terrors which hung over him.
2:41:04
Speaker 1: Any known danger he could face with a firm lip,
2:41:07
Speaker 1: but this suspense was unnerving. He concealed his fears from
2:41:10
Speaker 1: his daughter, however, and affected to make light of the
2:41:13
Speaker 1: whole matter, though she, with the keen eye of love,
2:41:15
Speaker 1: saw plainly that he was ill at ease. He expected
2:41:19
Speaker 1: that he would receive some message or remonstrance from young
2:41:21
Speaker 1: as to his conduct, and he was not mistaken, though
2:41:24
Speaker 1: it came in an unlook for manner. Upon rising next morning,
2:41:27
Speaker 1: he found, to his surprise a small square of paper
2:41:30
Speaker 1: pinned on to the coverlet of his bed, just over
2:41:32
Speaker 1: his chest. On it was printed, in bold, straggling letters,
2:41:36
Speaker 1: twenty nine days are given you for amendment, and then
2:41:39
Speaker 1: the dash was more fear inspiring than any threat could
2:41:41
Speaker 1: have been. How this warning came into his room puzzled
2:41:45
Speaker 1: John Ferrier sorely, for his servants slept in an outhouse,
2:41:48
Speaker 1: and the doors and windows had all been secured. He
2:41:51
Speaker 1: crumpled the paper up and said nothing to his daughter.
2:41:53
Speaker 1: But the incident struck a chill into his heart. The
2:41:56
Speaker 1: twenty nine days were evidently the balance of the month
2:41:59
Speaker 1: which young had promised. What strength or courage could avail
2:42:02
Speaker 1: against an enemy armed with such mysterious powers. The hand
2:42:06
Speaker 1: which fastened the pin might have struck him to the heart,
2:42:09
Speaker 1: and he could never have known who had slain him.
2:42:12
Speaker 1: Still more shaken was he. Next morning they had sat
2:42:15
Speaker 1: down to their breakfast when Lucy, with a cry of surprise,
2:42:17
Speaker 1: pointed upwards. In the center of the ceiling was scrawled
2:42:21
Speaker 1: with a burned stick, apparently the number twenty eight. To
2:42:25
Speaker 1: his daughter, it was unintelligible, and he did not enlighten her.
2:42:29
Speaker 1: That night he sat up with his gun and kept watch,
2:42:31
Speaker 1: and ward he saw and he heard nothing. And yet
2:42:34
Speaker 1: in the morning a great twenty seven had been painted
2:42:36
Speaker 1: upon the outside of his door. Thus day followed day,
2:42:40
Speaker 1: and as sure as morning came he found that his
2:42:42
Speaker 1: unseen enemies had kept their register and had marked up
2:42:44
Speaker 1: in some conspicuous position, how many days were still left
2:42:47
Speaker 1: to him out of the month of grace. Sometimes the
2:42:50
Speaker 1: fatal numbers appeared upon the walls, sometimes upon the floors.
2:42:53
Speaker 1: Occasionally they were on small placards stuck upon the garden
2:42:56
Speaker 1: gate or the railings. With all his vigilance, John Farearrier
2:43:00
Speaker 1: could not discover whence these daily warnings proceeded. A horror
2:43:04
Speaker 1: which was almost superstitious, came upon him at the sight
2:43:06
Speaker 1: of them. He became haggard and restless, and his eyes
2:43:10
Speaker 1: had the troubled look of some hunted creature. He had
2:43:12
Speaker 1: but one hope in life now, and that was for
2:43:15
Speaker 1: the arrival of the young hunter from Nevada. Twenty had
2:43:18
Speaker 1: changed to fifteen, and fifteen to ten, but there was
2:43:20
Speaker 1: no news of the absentee. One by one the numbers
2:43:24
Speaker 1: dwindled down, and still there came no sign of him.
2:43:27
Speaker 1: Whenever a horseman clattered down the road or a driver
2:43:30
Speaker 1: shouted at his team, the old farmer hurried to the gate,
2:43:33
Speaker 1: thinking that help had arrived at last, at last. When
2:43:36
Speaker 1: he saw five give way to four, and that again
2:43:38
Speaker 1: to three, he lost heart and abandoned all hope of escape.
2:43:42
Speaker 1: Single handed, and with his limited knowledge of the mountains
2:43:45
Speaker 1: which surrounded the settlement, he knew that he was powerless.
2:43:49
Speaker 1: The more frequented roads were strictly watched and guarded, and
2:43:52
Speaker 1: none could pass along them without an order from the council.
2:43:55
Speaker 1: Turn which way he would there appeared to be no
2:43:58
Speaker 1: avoiding the blow which hung over him. Yet the old
2:44:01
Speaker 1: man never wavered in his resolution to part with life itself.
2:44:04
Speaker 1: Before he consented to what he regarded as his daughter's dishonor,
2:44:07
Speaker 1: he was sitting alone one evening, pondering deeply over his
2:44:10
Speaker 1: troubles and searching vainly for some way out of them.
2:44:14
Speaker 1: That morning had shown the figure too upon the wall
2:44:16
Speaker 1: of his house, and the next day would be the
2:44:18
Speaker 1: last of the allotted time. What was to happen then?
2:44:22
Speaker 1: All manner of vague and terrible fancies filled his imagination,
2:44:26
Speaker 1: and his daughter what was to become of her after
2:44:28
Speaker 1: he was gone? Was there no escape from the invisible
2:44:31
Speaker 1: net work which was drawn all round them? He sank
2:44:34
Speaker 1: his head upon the table and sobbed at the thought
2:44:36
Speaker 1: of his own impotence. What was that? In the silence?
2:44:40
Speaker 1: He heard a gentle scratching sound, low but very distinct,
2:44:43
Speaker 1: in the quiet of the night. It came from the
2:44:46
Speaker 1: door of the house. Ferrier crept into the hall and
2:44:49
Speaker 1: listened intently. There was a pause for a few moments,
2:44:53
Speaker 1: and then the low, insidious sound was repeated. Some one
2:44:56
Speaker 1: was evidently tapping very gently upon one of the panels
2:44:59
Speaker 1: of the door. Was it some midnight assassin who had
2:45:02
Speaker 1: come to carry out the murderous orders of the secret Tribunal?
2:45:06
Speaker 1: Or was it some agent who was marking up that
2:45:08
Speaker 1: the last day of grace had arrived? John Ferrier felt
2:45:11
Speaker 1: that instant death would be better than the suspense which
2:45:13
Speaker 1: shook his nerves and chilled his heart. Springing forward, he
2:45:17
Speaker 1: drew the bolt and threw the door open. Outside, all
2:45:20
Speaker 1: was calm and quiet, The night was fine, and the
2:45:23
Speaker 1: stars were twinkling brightly. Overhead. The little front garden lay
2:45:27
Speaker 1: before the farmer's eyes, bounded by the fence and gate.
2:45:30
Speaker 1: But neither there, nor on the road was any human
2:45:32
Speaker 1: being to be seen. With a sigh of relief, Ferrier
2:45:35
Speaker 1: looked to right and to left, until happening to glance
2:45:38
Speaker 1: straight down at his own feet, he saw, to his astonishment,
2:45:40
Speaker 1: of them, and lying flat upon his face upon the ground,
2:45:42
Speaker 1: with arms and legs all a sprawl. So unnerved was
2:45:46
Speaker 1: he at the sight that he leaned up against the
2:45:48
Speaker 1: wall with his hand to his throat to stifle his
2:45:50
Speaker 1: inclination to call out. His first thought was that the
2:45:53
Speaker 1: prostrate figure was that of some wounded or dying men,
2:45:55
Speaker 1: but as he watched it, he saw it writhe along
2:45:57
Speaker 1: the ground and into the hall with the rapidity and
2:45:59
Speaker 1: noiselessness of a serpent. Once within the house, the man
2:46:02
Speaker 1: sprang to his feet, closed the door, and revealed to
2:46:05
Speaker 1: the astonished farmer the fierce face and resolute expression of
2:46:08
Speaker 1: Jefferson Hope, Good God, gasped John Ferrier. How you scared me?
2:46:14
Speaker 1: Whatever made you come in like that? Give me food,
2:46:18
Speaker 1: the other said, hoarsely. I have had no time for
2:46:21
Speaker 1: bite or sup for eight and forty hours. He flung
2:46:24
Speaker 1: himself upon the cold meat and bread which were still
2:46:26
Speaker 1: lying upon the table from his host's supper, and devoured
2:46:29
Speaker 1: it voraciously. Does Lucy bear up well, he asked, when
2:46:33
Speaker 1: he had satisfied his hunger. Yes, she does not know
2:46:37
Speaker 1: the danger. Her father answered, that is well. The house
2:46:42
Speaker 1: is watched on every side. That is why I crawled
2:46:45
Speaker 1: my way up to it. They may be darn sharp,
2:46:48
Speaker 1: but they're not quite sharp enough to catch her with
2:46:50
Speaker 1: show hunter. John Ferrier felt a different man now that
2:46:52
Speaker 1: he realized that he had a devoted ally. He seized
2:46:56
Speaker 1: the young man's leathery hand and wrung it cordially. You
2:46:59
Speaker 1: are meant to be out of he said, there are
2:47:02
Speaker 1: not many who would come to share our danger and
2:47:04
Speaker 1: our troubles. You've hit it there, Pard, the young hunter answered,
2:47:09
Speaker 1: I have a respect for you, but if you were
2:47:11
Speaker 1: alone in this business, I'd think twice before I put
2:47:13
Speaker 1: my head into such a hornet's nest. It's Lucy that
2:47:16
Speaker 1: brings me here, and before harm comes on her, I
2:47:18
Speaker 1: guess there will be one less o the Hope family
2:47:20
Speaker 1: in Utah. What are we to do? Tomorrow is your
2:47:24
Speaker 1: last day, and unless you act to night, you are lost.
2:47:28
Speaker 1: I have a mule and two horses waiting in the
2:47:30
Speaker 1: eagle ravine. How much money have you? Two thousand dollars
2:47:34
Speaker 1: in gold and five in notes? That will do? I
2:47:39
Speaker 1: have as much more to add to it. We must
2:47:41
Speaker 1: push for Carson City through the mountains. You had best
2:47:45
Speaker 1: wake Lucy. It is as well that the servants do
2:47:48
Speaker 1: not sleep in the house. While Ferrier was absent preparing
2:47:52
Speaker 1: his daughter for the approaching journey, Jefferson Hope packed all
2:47:54
Speaker 1: the eatables that he could find into a small parcel
2:47:57
Speaker 1: and filled a stoneware jar with water, For he knew
2:47:59
Speaker 1: by experience that the mountain wells were few and far between.
2:48:03
Speaker 1: He had hardly completed his arrangements before the farmer returned
2:48:06
Speaker 1: with his daughter, all dressed and ready for a start.
2:48:09
Speaker 1: The greeting between the lovers was warm but brief, for
2:48:12
Speaker 1: minutes were precious and there was much to be done.
2:48:15
Speaker 1: We must make our start at once, said Jefferson Hope,
2:48:18
Speaker 1: speaking in a low but resolute voice, like one who
2:48:21
Speaker 1: realizes the greatness of the peril, but has steeled his
2:48:23
Speaker 1: heart to meet it. The front and back entrances are watched,
2:48:26
Speaker 1: but with caution, we may get away through the side
2:48:28
Speaker 1: window and across the fields. Once on the road, we
2:48:32
Speaker 1: are only two miles from the ravine where the horses
2:48:34
Speaker 1: are waiting. By daybreak we should be half way through
2:48:37
Speaker 1: the mountains. What if we are stopped, asked Ferrier. Hope
2:48:42
Speaker 1: slapped the revolver but which protruded from the front of
2:48:44
Speaker 1: his tunic. If they are too many for us, we
2:48:47
Speaker 1: shall take two or three of them with us, he said,
2:48:49
Speaker 1: with a sinister smile. The lights inside the house had
2:48:52
Speaker 1: all been extinguished, and from the darkened window Ferrier peered
2:48:55
Speaker 1: over the fields which had been his own, and which
2:48:58
Speaker 1: he was now about to abandon. Forever. He had long
2:49:01
Speaker 1: nerved himself to the sacrifice, however, and the thought of
2:49:04
Speaker 1: the honor and happiness of his daughter outweighed any regret
2:49:06
Speaker 1: at his ruined fortunes. All looked so peaceful and happy,
2:49:10
Speaker 1: the rustling trees and the broad, silent stretch of grain land,
2:49:13
Speaker 1: that it was difficult to realize that the spirit of
2:49:15
Speaker 1: murder lurked through it all. Yet the white face and
2:49:18
Speaker 1: set expression of the young hunter showed that in his
2:49:20
Speaker 1: approach to the house he had seen enough to satisfy him.
2:49:23
Speaker 1: Upon that head, Ferrier carried the bag of gold and notes.
2:49:27
Speaker 1: Jefferson Hope had the scanty provisions and water, while Lucy
2:49:30
Speaker 1: had a small bundle containing a few of her more
2:49:32
Speaker 1: valued possessions. Opening the window very slowly and carefully, they
2:49:36
Speaker 1: waited until a dark cloud had somewhat obscured the night,
2:49:39
Speaker 1: and then one by one passed through into the little
2:49:41
Speaker 1: garden with bated breath and crouching figures. They stumbled across
2:49:45
Speaker 1: it and gained the shelter of the hedge, which they
2:49:48
Speaker 1: skirted until they came to the gap which opened into
2:49:50
Speaker 1: the cornfields. They had just reached this point when the
2:49:53
Speaker 1: young men seized his two companions and dragged them down
2:49:55
Speaker 1: into the shadow, where they lay, silent and trembling. It
2:49:59
Speaker 1: was as well, but his prairie training had given Jefferson
2:50:01
Speaker 1: Hope the ears of a lynx. He and his friends
2:50:04
Speaker 1: had hardly crouched down before the melancholy hooting of a
2:50:07
Speaker 1: mountain owl was heard within a few yards of them,
2:50:09
Speaker 1: which was immediately answered by another hoot at a small distance.
2:50:13
Speaker 1: At the same moment, a vague, shadowy figure emerged from
2:50:16
Speaker 1: the gap for which they had been making, and uttered
2:50:18
Speaker 1: the plaintive signal cry again, on which a second man
2:50:20
Speaker 1: appeared out of the obscurity. Tomorrow at midnight, said the first,
2:50:24
Speaker 1: who appeared to be in authority. When the whippoor will
2:50:27
Speaker 1: calls three times, it is well returned the other. Shall
2:50:32
Speaker 1: I tell brother Drebber pass it on to him, and
2:50:35
Speaker 1: from him to the others. Nine to seven, Seven to five,
2:50:40
Speaker 1: repeated the other, and the two figures flitted away in
2:50:42
Speaker 1: different directions. Their concluding words had evidently been some form
2:50:47
Speaker 1: of sign and countersign. The instant that their footsteps had
2:50:50
Speaker 1: died away in the distance, Jefferson Hope sprang to his feet, and,
2:50:53
Speaker 1: helping his companions through the gap, led the way across
2:50:56
Speaker 1: the fields at the top of his speed, supporting and
2:50:58
Speaker 1: half carrying the girl when her strength appeared to fail her.
2:51:02
Speaker 1: Hurry on, hurry on, he gasped, from time to time.
2:51:07
Speaker 1: We are through the line of sentinels. Everything depends on speed.
2:51:11
Speaker 1: Hurry on. Once on the high road they made rapid progress.
2:51:15
Speaker 1: Only once did they meet anyone, and then they managed
2:51:18
Speaker 1: to slip into a field and so avoid recognition. Before
2:51:22
Speaker 1: reaching the town, the hunter branched away into a rugged
2:51:24
Speaker 1: and narrow footpath which led to the mountains. Two dark,
2:51:28
Speaker 1: jagged peaks loomed above them through the darkness, and the
2:51:30
Speaker 1: defile which led between them was the Eagle Cannon, in
2:51:33
Speaker 1: which the horses were awaiting them with unerring instinct. Jefferson
2:51:37
Speaker 1: Hope picked his way among the great boulders and along
2:51:39
Speaker 1: the bed of a dried up water course until he
2:51:41
Speaker 1: came to the retired corner, screened with rocks, where the
2:51:44
Speaker 1: faithful animals had been picketed. The girl was placed upon
2:51:48
Speaker 1: the mule. An old ferrier upon one of the horses
2:51:50
Speaker 1: with his money bag, while Jefferson Hope led the other
2:51:53
Speaker 1: along the precipitous and dangerous path. It was a bewildering
2:51:57
Speaker 1: route for anyone who was not accustomed to face nature
2:51:59
Speaker 1: in her wild moods. On the one side, a great
2:52:02
Speaker 1: crag towered up a thousand feet or more, black stern
2:52:06
Speaker 1: and menacing with long basaltic columns upon its rugged surface,
2:52:09
Speaker 1: like the ribs of some petrified monster. On the other hand,
2:52:13
Speaker 1: a wild chaos of boulders and debris made all advance impossible.
2:52:17
Speaker 1: Between the two were in the irregular track, so narrow
2:52:19
Speaker 1: in places that they had to travel an Indian file,
2:52:22
Speaker 1: and so rough that only practiced riders could have traversed
2:52:24
Speaker 1: it at all. Yet in spite of all dangers and difficulties,
2:52:28
Speaker 1: the hearts of the fugitives were light within them, for
2:52:30
Speaker 1: every step increased the distance between them and the terrible
2:52:33
Speaker 1: despotism from which they were flying. They soon had a proof, however,
2:52:37
Speaker 1: that they were still within the jurisdiction of the Saints.
2:52:41
Speaker 1: They had reached the very wildest and most desolate portion
2:52:43
Speaker 1: of the pass when the girl gave a startled cry
2:52:46
Speaker 1: and pointed upwards on a rock which overlooked the track.
2:52:49
Speaker 1: Showing out, dark and plain against the sky, there stood
2:52:52
Speaker 1: a solitary sentinel. He saw them as soon as they
2:52:55
Speaker 1: perceived him, and his military challenge of who goes there?
2:52:59
Speaker 1: Rang through the sun silent Ravine travelers for Nevada, said
2:53:03
Speaker 1: Jefferson Hope, with his hand upon the rifle which hung
2:53:05
Speaker 1: by his saddle. They could see the lonely Watcher fingering
2:53:09
Speaker 1: his gun and peering down at them, as if dissatisfied
2:53:11
Speaker 1: at their reply. By whose permission he asked the Holy four,
2:53:16
Speaker 1: answered Ferrier. His Mormon experiences had taught him that that
2:53:20
Speaker 1: was the highest authority to which he could refer. Nine
2:53:24
Speaker 1: from seven cried the sentinel. Seven from five returned Jefferson Hope, promptly,
2:53:29
Speaker 1: remembering the countersign which he had heard in the garden.
2:53:32
Speaker 1: Pass and the Lord go with you, said the voice
2:53:34
Speaker 1: from above. Beyond his post. The path broadened out, and
2:53:38
Speaker 1: the horses were able to break into a trot. Looking back,
2:53:42
Speaker 1: they could see the solitary Watcher leaning upon his gun,
2:53:45
Speaker 1: and knew that they had passed the outlying post of
2:53:47
Speaker 1: the Chosen People, and that freedom lay before them. Chapter
2:53:50
Speaker 1: five The Avenging Angels. All night their course lay through
2:53:54
Speaker 1: intricate defile and over irregular and rock strewn paths. More
2:53:58
Speaker 1: than once they lost their way, but Hope's intimate knowledge
2:54:01
Speaker 1: of the mountains enabled them to regain the track once more.
2:54:05
Speaker 1: When morning broke, a scene of marvelous, though savage beauty
2:54:08
Speaker 1: lay before them in every direction. The great snow capped
2:54:11
Speaker 1: peakus hemmed them in peeping over each other's shoulders to
2:54:14
Speaker 1: the far horizon. So steep were the rocky banks on
2:54:17
Speaker 1: either side of them that the larch in the pine
2:54:19
Speaker 1: seemed to be suspended over their heads, and to need
2:54:21
Speaker 1: only a gust of wind to come hurtling down upon them.
2:54:24
Speaker 1: Nor was the fear entirely in illusion, for the barren
2:54:27
Speaker 1: valley was thickly strewn with trees and boulders which had
2:54:29
Speaker 1: fallen in a similar manner. Even as they passed, a
2:54:33
Speaker 1: great rock came thundering down with a horse rattle, which
2:54:35
Speaker 1: woke the echoes in the silent gorges and startled the
2:54:38
Speaker 1: weary horses into a gallop. As the sun rose slowly
2:54:42
Speaker 1: above the eastern horizon, the caps of the great mountains
2:54:44
Speaker 1: lit up one after the other, like lamps at a festival,
2:54:47
Speaker 1: until they were all ruddy and glowing. The magnificent spectacle
2:54:51
Speaker 1: cheered the hearts of the three fugitives and gave them
2:54:53
Speaker 1: fresh energy. At a wild torrent, which swept out of
2:54:56
Speaker 1: a ravine. They called a halt and watered their horses
2:54:59
Speaker 1: while they partook of a hate hasty breakfast. Lucy and
2:55:02
Speaker 1: her father would fain have rested longer, but Jefferson Hope
2:55:05
Speaker 1: was inexorable. They will be upon our track by this time,
2:55:08
Speaker 1: he said, everything depends upon our speed. Once safe in Carson,
2:55:13
Speaker 1: we may rest for the remainder of our lives. During
2:55:16
Speaker 1: the whole of the day, they struggled on through the defile,
2:55:18
Speaker 1: and by evening they calculated that they were more than
2:55:20
Speaker 1: thirty miles from their enemies. At night time, they chose
2:55:24
Speaker 1: the base of a beetling crag, where the rocks offered
2:55:26
Speaker 1: some protection from the chill wind, and there, huddled together
2:55:29
Speaker 1: for warmth, they enjoyed a few hours sleep. Before daybreak, however,
2:55:34
Speaker 1: they were up and on their way once more. They
2:55:37
Speaker 1: had seen no signs of any pursuers, and Jefferson Hope
2:55:39
Speaker 1: began to think that they were fairly out of the
2:55:41
Speaker 1: reach of the terrible organization whose enmity they had incurred.
2:55:45
Speaker 1: He little knew how far that iron grasp could reach,
2:55:48
Speaker 1: or how soon it was to close upon them and
2:55:49
Speaker 1: crush them. About the middle of the second day of
2:55:52
Speaker 1: their flight, their scanty store of provisions began to run out.
2:55:56
Speaker 1: This gave the hunter little uneasiness, however, for there was
2:55:59
Speaker 1: game to be had among the mountains, and he had
2:56:01
Speaker 1: frequently before had to depend upon his rifle for the
2:56:03
Speaker 1: needs of life. Choosing a sheltered nook, he piled together
2:56:07
Speaker 1: a few dried branches and made a blazing fire at
2:56:10
Speaker 1: which his companions might warm themselves, for they were now
2:56:13
Speaker 1: nearly five thousand feet above the sea level, and the
2:56:15
Speaker 1: air was bitter and keen. Having tethered the horses and
2:56:19
Speaker 1: bade lucy ado, he threw his gun over his shoulder
2:56:22
Speaker 1: and set out in search of whatever chance might throw
2:56:24
Speaker 1: in his way. Looking back, he saw the old man
2:56:27
Speaker 1: and the young girl crouching over the blazing fire, while
2:56:30
Speaker 1: the three animals stood motionless in the background. Then the
2:56:33
Speaker 1: intervening rocks hid them from his view. He walked for
2:56:37
Speaker 1: a couple of miles through one ravine after another without success,
2:56:40
Speaker 1: though from the marks upon the bark of the trees
2:56:42
Speaker 1: and other indications, he judged that there were numerous bears
2:56:45
Speaker 1: in the vicinity. At last, after two or three hours
2:56:49
Speaker 1: fruitless search, he was thinking of turning back in despair.
2:56:52
Speaker 1: When casting his eyes upwards, he saw a sight which
2:56:54
Speaker 1: sent a thrill of pleasure through his heart. On the
2:56:57
Speaker 1: edge of a jutting pinnacle three or four hundred feet
2:57:00
Speaker 1: above him, there stood a creature somewhat resembling a sheep
2:57:02
Speaker 1: in appearance, but armed with a pair of gigantic horns.
2:57:06
Speaker 1: The big Horn, for so it is called, was acting
2:57:08
Speaker 1: probably as a guardian over a flock which were invisible
2:57:11
Speaker 1: to the hunter, but fortunately it was heading in the
2:57:13
Speaker 1: opposite direction and had not perceived him. Lying on his face,
2:57:17
Speaker 1: he rested his rifle upon a rock and took a
2:57:20
Speaker 1: long and steady aim. Before drawing the trigger, the animal
2:57:24
Speaker 1: sprang into the air, tottered for a moment upon the
2:57:26
Speaker 1: edge of the precipice, and then came crashing down into
2:57:29
Speaker 1: the valley beneath. The creature was too unwieldy to lift,
2:57:33
Speaker 1: so the hunter contented himself with cutting away one haunch
2:57:35
Speaker 1: and part of the flank. With this trophy over his shoulder,
2:57:39
Speaker 1: he hastened to retrace his steps, for the evening was
2:57:41
Speaker 1: already drawing in. He had hardly started, however, before he
2:57:46
Speaker 1: realized the difficulty which faced him In his eagerness, he
2:57:49
Speaker 1: had wandered far past the ravines which were known to him,
2:57:52
Speaker 1: and it was no easy matter to pick out the
2:57:54
Speaker 1: path which he had taken. The valley in which he
2:57:57
Speaker 1: found himself divided and subdivided into many gorges, which were
2:58:00
Speaker 1: so like each other that it was impossible to distinguish
2:58:02
Speaker 1: one from the other. He followed one for a mile
2:58:05
Speaker 1: or more until he came to a mountain torrent which
2:58:07
Speaker 1: he was sure that he had never seen before. Convinced
2:58:11
Speaker 1: that he had taken the wrong turn, he tried another,
2:58:13
Speaker 1: but with the same result. Night was coming on rapidly,
2:58:17
Speaker 1: and it was almost dark before he had last found
2:58:19
Speaker 1: himself in a defile which was familiar to him. Even then,
2:58:23
Speaker 1: it was no easy matter to keep to the right track,
2:58:25
Speaker 1: for the moon had not yet risen, and the high
2:58:27
Speaker 1: cliffs on either side made the obscurity more profound. Weighed
2:58:31
Speaker 1: down with his burden and weary from his exertions, he
2:58:34
Speaker 1: stumbled along, keeping up his heart by the reflection that
2:58:37
Speaker 1: every step brought him nearer to Lucy, and that he
2:58:39
Speaker 1: carried with him enough to insure them food for the
2:58:41
Speaker 1: remainder of their journey. He had now come to the
2:58:44
Speaker 1: mouth of the very defile in which he had left them.
2:58:47
Speaker 1: Even in the darkness, he could recognize the outline of
2:58:49
Speaker 1: the cliffs which bounded it. They must, he reflected, be
2:58:53
Speaker 1: awaiting him anxiously, for he had been absent nearly five hours.
2:58:57
Speaker 1: In the gladness of his heart, he put his hands
2:58:59
Speaker 1: to his mouth and made the glen re echo to
2:59:01
Speaker 1: alloud haloo as a signal that he was coming. He
2:59:04
Speaker 1: paused and listened for an answer. None came save his
2:59:07
Speaker 1: own cry, which clattered up the dreary, silent ravines, and
2:59:11
Speaker 1: was borne back to his ears in countless repetitions. Again
2:59:14
Speaker 1: he shouted, even louder than before, and again no whisper
2:59:17
Speaker 1: came back from the friends whom he had left such
2:59:19
Speaker 1: a short time ago. A vague, nameless dread came over him,
2:59:24
Speaker 1: and he hurried onwards, frantically, dropping the precious food in
2:59:27
Speaker 1: his agitation. When he turned the corner, he came full
2:59:30
Speaker 1: in sight of the spot where the fire had been lit.
2:59:33
Speaker 1: There was still a glowing pile of wood ashes there,
2:59:35
Speaker 1: but it had evidently not been tended since his departure.
2:59:39
Speaker 1: The same dead silence still reigned all round, with his
2:59:42
Speaker 1: fears all changed to convictions. He hurried on. There was
2:59:46
Speaker 1: no living creature near the remains of the fire. Animals, men,
2:59:50
Speaker 1: maiden all were gone. It was only too clear that
2:59:53
Speaker 1: some sudden and terrible disaster had occurred during his absence,
2:59:56
Speaker 1: a disaster which had embraced them all and yet had
2:59:59
Speaker 1: left no traces behind it. Bewildered and stunned by this blow,
3:00:03
Speaker 1: Jefferson Hope felt his head spin round and had to
3:00:06
Speaker 1: lean upon his rifle to save himself from falling. He
3:00:09
Speaker 1: was essentially a man of action, however, and speedily recovered
3:00:12
Speaker 1: from his temporary impotence. Seizing a half consumed piece of
3:00:16
Speaker 1: wood from the smoldering fire, he blew it into a
3:00:19
Speaker 1: flame and proceeded with its help to examine the little camp.
3:00:22
Speaker 1: The ground was all stamped down by the feet of horses,
3:00:25
Speaker 1: showing that a large party of mounted men had overtaken
3:00:28
Speaker 1: the fugitives, and the direction of their tracks proved that
3:00:30
Speaker 1: they had afterwards turned back to Salt Lake City. Had
3:00:33
Speaker 1: they carried back both of his companions with them. Jefferson
3:00:37
Speaker 1: Hope had almost persuaded himself that they must have done so,
3:00:40
Speaker 1: when as eye fell upon an object which made every
3:00:42
Speaker 1: nerve of his body tingle within him. A little way
3:00:45
Speaker 1: on one side of the camp was a low lying
3:00:47
Speaker 1: heap of reddish soil which had assuredly not been there before.
3:00:51
Speaker 1: There was no mistaking it for anything but a newly
3:00:53
Speaker 1: dug grave. As the young hunter approached it, he perceived
3:00:57
Speaker 1: that a stick had been planted on it, with a
3:00:59
Speaker 1: sheet of paper stufu in the cleft fork of it.
3:01:02
Speaker 1: The inscription upon the paper was brief, but to the point.
3:01:05
Speaker 1: John Ferrier, formerly of Salt Lake City, died August fourth,
3:01:08
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty. The sturdy old man whom he had left
3:01:12
Speaker 1: so short a time before, was gone then, and this
3:01:15
Speaker 1: was all his epitaph. Jefferson Hope looked wildly round to
3:01:19
Speaker 1: see if there was a second grave, but there was
3:01:21
Speaker 1: no sign of one. Lucy had been carried back by
3:01:24
Speaker 1: their terrible pursuers to fulfill her original destiny by becoming
3:01:27
Speaker 1: one of the harem of the elder's son. As the
3:01:30
Speaker 1: young fellow realized the certainty of her fate and his
3:01:33
Speaker 1: own powerlessness to prevent it, he wished that he too
3:01:36
Speaker 1: was lying with the old farmer in his last silent
3:01:38
Speaker 1: resting place. Again. However, his active spirits shook off the
3:01:43
Speaker 1: lethargy which springs from despair. If there was nothing else
3:01:46
Speaker 1: left to him, he could at least devote his life
3:01:48
Speaker 1: to revenge. With indomitable patience and perseverance. Jefferson Hope possessed
3:01:53
Speaker 1: also a power of sustained vindictiveness, which he may have
3:01:56
Speaker 1: learned from the Indians, amongst whom he had lived. As
3:01:59
Speaker 1: he stood by by the desolate fire, he felt that
3:02:01
Speaker 1: the only one thing which could assuage his grief would
3:02:03
Speaker 1: be thorough and complete retribution brought by his own hand
3:02:06
Speaker 1: upon his enemies. His strong will and untiring energy, should
3:02:10
Speaker 1: he determined, be devoted to that one end. With a
3:02:14
Speaker 1: grim white face, he retraced his steps to where he
3:02:16
Speaker 1: had dropped the food, and, having stirred up the smoldering fire,
3:02:20
Speaker 1: he cooked enough to last him for a few days.
3:02:22
Speaker 1: This he made up into a bundle, and, tired as
3:02:25
Speaker 1: he was, he set himself to walk back through the
3:02:28
Speaker 1: mountains upon the track of the Avenging Angels. For five
3:02:31
Speaker 1: days he toiled footsore and weary through the defile which
3:02:34
Speaker 1: he had already traversed on horseback. At night, he flung
3:02:37
Speaker 1: himself down among the rocks and snatched a few hours
3:02:40
Speaker 1: of sleep, but before daybreak he was always well on
3:02:43
Speaker 1: his way. On the sixth day, he reached the Eagle
3:02:46
Speaker 1: cannon from which they had commenced their ill fated flight.
3:02:50
Speaker 1: Thence he could look down upon the home of the Saints.
3:02:53
Speaker 1: Worn and exhausted, he leaned upon his rifle and shook
3:02:55
Speaker 1: his gun hand fiercely at the silent, widespread city beneath him.
3:02:59
Speaker 1: As he looked at it, he observed that there were
3:03:01
Speaker 1: flags in some of the principal streets, and other signs
3:03:04
Speaker 1: of festivity. He was still speculating as to what this
3:03:07
Speaker 1: might mean when he heard the clatter of horses hoofs
3:03:10
Speaker 1: and saw a mounted man riding towards him. As he approached,
3:03:14
Speaker 1: he recognized him as a Mormon named Cooper, to whom
3:03:16
Speaker 1: he had rendered services at different times. He therefore accosted
3:03:20
Speaker 1: him when he got up to him, with the object
3:03:22
Speaker 1: of finding out what Lucy Ferrier's fate had been. I
3:03:25
Speaker 1: am Jefferson's hope, he said, you remember me. The Mormon
3:03:30
Speaker 1: looked at him with undisguised astonishment. Indeed, it was difficult
3:03:34
Speaker 1: to recognize in this tattered, unkempt wanderer with ghastly white
3:03:37
Speaker 1: face and fierce wild eyes the spruce young hunter of
3:03:40
Speaker 1: former days. Having, however, at last satisfied himself as to
3:03:45
Speaker 1: his identity, the man's surprise changed to consternation. You are
3:03:49
Speaker 1: mad to come here, he cried. It is as much
3:03:52
Speaker 1: as my own life is worth to be seen talking
3:03:54
Speaker 1: with you. There is a warrant against you from the
3:03:56
Speaker 1: Holy Four for assisting the Ferriers away. I don't don't
3:04:00
Speaker 1: fear them were their warrant, Hope said earnestly, you must
3:04:04
Speaker 1: know something of this matter, Cooper, I conjure you, by
3:04:07
Speaker 1: everything you hold dear to answer a few questions. We
3:04:11
Speaker 1: have always been friends for God's sake. Don't refuse to
3:04:14
Speaker 1: answer me. What is it? The Mormon asked uneasily. Be quick.
3:04:20
Speaker 1: The very rocks have ears and the tree's eyes. What
3:04:23
Speaker 1: has become of Lucy Ferrier? She was married yesterday to
3:04:27
Speaker 1: young Drebber. Hold up, man, hold up, you have no
3:04:31
Speaker 1: life left in you. Don't mind me, said Hope faintly.
3:04:35
Speaker 1: He was white to the very lips, and had sunk
3:04:37
Speaker 1: down on the stone against which he had been leaning. Married.
3:04:41
Speaker 1: You say, married yesterday? That's what those flags are for.
3:04:44
Speaker 1: On the endowment house. There was some words between young
3:04:48
Speaker 1: Drebber and young Stangerson as to which was to have her.
3:04:51
Speaker 1: They'd both been in the party that followed them, and
3:04:53
Speaker 1: stan Jerson had shot her father, which seemed to give
3:04:56
Speaker 1: him the best claim. But when they argued it out
3:04:58
Speaker 1: in council, Drebber's party was the strong hunger, so the
3:05:00
Speaker 1: prophet gave her over to him. No one won't have
3:05:03
Speaker 1: her very long, though, for I saw death in her
3:05:05
Speaker 1: face yesterday. She is more like a ghost than a woman.
3:05:10
Speaker 1: Are you off, then? Yes, I am off, said Jefferson Hope,
3:05:14
Speaker 1: who had risen from his seat. His face might have
3:05:17
Speaker 1: been chiseled out of marble, so hard and set was
3:05:19
Speaker 1: its expression, while its eyes glowed with a baleful light.
3:05:23
Speaker 1: Where are you going? Never mind? He answered, and, slinging
3:05:27
Speaker 1: his weapon over his shoulder, strode off down the gorge
3:05:30
Speaker 1: and so away into the heart of the mountains, to
3:05:32
Speaker 1: the haunts of the wild beasts. Amongst them all, there
3:05:35
Speaker 1: was none so fierce and so dangerous as himself. The
3:05:38
Speaker 1: prediction of the Mormon was only too well fulfilled. Whether
3:05:42
Speaker 1: it was the terrible death of her father or the
3:05:44
Speaker 1: effects of the hateful marriage into which she had been forced.
3:05:46
Speaker 1: Poor Lucy never held up her head again, but pined
3:05:49
Speaker 1: away and died within a month. Her Sottish husband, who
3:05:53
Speaker 1: had married her principally for the sake of John Ferrier's property,
3:05:56
Speaker 1: did not affect any great grief at his bereavement, but
3:05:58
Speaker 1: his other wives mourned over her and sat up with her.
3:06:01
Speaker 1: The night before the burial, as is the Mormon custom,
3:06:04
Speaker 1: they were grouped round the bier in the early hours
3:06:06
Speaker 1: of the morning, when, to their inexpressible fear and astonishment,
3:06:09
Speaker 1: the door was flung open, and a savage looking, weather
3:06:12
Speaker 1: beaten men in tattered garments strode into the room. Without
3:06:16
Speaker 1: a glance or a word to the cowering women. He
3:06:18
Speaker 1: walked up to the white, silent figure which had once
3:06:20
Speaker 1: contained the pure soul of Lucy Ferrier. Stooping over her,
3:06:24
Speaker 1: he pressed his lips reverently to her cold forehead, and then,
3:06:27
Speaker 1: snatching up her hand, he took the wedding ring from
3:06:30
Speaker 1: her finger. She shall not be buried in that, he
3:06:33
Speaker 1: cried with a fierce snarl, and before an alarm could
3:06:35
Speaker 1: be raised, sprang down the stairs and was gone. So
3:06:39
Speaker 1: strange and so brief was the episode that the watchers
3:06:41
Speaker 1: might have found it hard to believe it themselves or
3:06:43
Speaker 1: persuade other people of it, had it not been for
3:06:45
Speaker 1: the undeniable fact that the circlet of gold which marked
3:06:48
Speaker 1: her as having been a bride, had disappeared. For some months,
3:06:51
Speaker 1: Jefferson Hope lingered among the mountains, leading a strange wild life,
3:06:55
Speaker 1: and nursing in his heart the fierce desire for vengeance
3:06:57
Speaker 1: which possessed him. Tales were told in the city of
3:07:00
Speaker 1: the weird figure which was seen prowling about the suburbs,
3:07:03
Speaker 1: and which haunted the lonely mountain gorges. Once a bullet
3:07:07
Speaker 1: whistled through Stangerson's window and flattened itself upon the wall
3:07:10
Speaker 1: within a foot of him. On another occasion, as Drebber
3:07:13
Speaker 1: passed under, a cliff of great Boulder crashed down on him,
3:07:16
Speaker 1: and he only escaped a terrible death by throwing himself
3:07:19
Speaker 1: upon his face. The two young Mormons were not long
3:07:22
Speaker 1: in discovering the reason of these attempts upon their lives,
3:07:25
Speaker 1: and led repeated expeditions into the mountains in the hope
3:07:27
Speaker 1: of capturing or killing their enemy, but always without success.
3:07:31
Speaker 1: Then they adopted the precaution of never going out alone
3:07:34
Speaker 1: or after nightfall, and of having their houses guarded. After
3:07:38
Speaker 1: a time, they were able to relax these measures, for
3:07:40
Speaker 1: nothing was either heard or seen of their opponent, and
3:07:43
Speaker 1: they hoped that time had cooled his vindictiveness. Far from
3:07:46
Speaker 1: doing so, it had, if anything, augmented it. The hunter's
3:07:50
Speaker 1: mind was of a hard, unyielding nature, and the predominant
3:07:54
Speaker 1: idea of revenge had taken such complete possession of it
3:07:56
Speaker 1: that there was no room for any other emotion. He was, however,
3:08:00
Speaker 1: above all things practical. He soon realized that even his
3:08:04
Speaker 1: iron constitution could not stand the incessant strain which he
3:08:07
Speaker 1: was putting upon it. Exposure and want of wholesome food
3:08:11
Speaker 1: were wearing him out. If he died like a dog
3:08:14
Speaker 1: among the mountains, what was to become of his revenge then?
3:08:17
Speaker 1: And yet such a death was sure to overtake him
3:08:19
Speaker 1: if he persisted. He felt that that was to play
3:08:22
Speaker 1: his enemy's game. So he reluctantly returned to the old
3:08:25
Speaker 1: Nevada mines, there to recruit his health and too amass
3:08:27
Speaker 1: money enough to allow him to pursue his object without privation.
3:08:31
Speaker 1: His intention had been to be absent a year at
3:08:33
Speaker 1: the most, but a combination of unforeseen circumstances prevented his
3:08:37
Speaker 1: leaving the Minds for nearly five At the end of
3:08:40
Speaker 1: that time, however, his memory of his wrongs and his
3:08:42
Speaker 1: craving for revenge were quite as keen as on that
3:08:45
Speaker 1: memorable night when he had stood by John Ferrier's grave.
3:08:48
Speaker 1: Disguised and under an assumed name. He returned to Salt
3:08:51
Speaker 1: Lake City, careless what became of his own life, as
3:08:54
Speaker 1: long as he obtained what he knew to be justice.
3:08:57
Speaker 1: There he found evil tidings awaiting him. There had been
3:09:00
Speaker 1: a schism among the Chosen People a few months before,
3:09:03
Speaker 1: some of the younger members of the church having rebelled
3:09:05
Speaker 1: against the authority of the elders, and the result had
3:09:07
Speaker 1: been the secession of a certain number of the malcontents,
3:09:10
Speaker 1: who had left Utah and become gentiles. Among these had
3:09:14
Speaker 1: been Drebber and stan Jerson, and no one knew whither
3:09:16
Speaker 1: they had gone. Rumor reported that Drebber had managed to
3:09:19
Speaker 1: convert a large part of his property into money, and
3:09:22
Speaker 1: that he had departed a wealthy man, while his companion
3:09:24
Speaker 1: Stan Jerson was comparatively poor. There was no clue at all, however,
3:09:29
Speaker 1: as to their whereabouts. Many a man. However, vindictive, would
3:09:33
Speaker 1: have abandoned all thought of revenge in the face of
3:09:36
Speaker 1: such a difficulty. But Jefferson Hope never faltered for a moment.
3:09:40
Speaker 1: With the small competence he possessed, eked out by such
3:09:42
Speaker 1: employment as he could pick up, he traveled from town
3:09:45
Speaker 1: to town through the United States in quest of his enemies.
3:09:48
Speaker 1: Year passed into year, his black hair turned grizzled, but
3:09:51
Speaker 1: still he wandered on a human bloodhound, with his mind
3:09:54
Speaker 1: wholly set upon the one object upon which he had
3:09:57
Speaker 1: devoted his life. At last, his perseverance was rewarded. It
3:10:02
Speaker 1: was but a glance of a face in a window,
3:10:03
Speaker 1: but that one glance told him that Cleveland in Ohio
3:10:06
Speaker 1: possessed the men whom he was in pursuit of. He
3:10:09
Speaker 1: returned to his miserable lodgings, with his plan of vengeance
3:10:11
Speaker 1: all arranged. It chanced, however, that Drebber, looking from his window,
3:10:16
Speaker 1: had recognized the vagrant in the street, and had read
3:10:19
Speaker 1: murder in his eyes. He hurried before a Justice of
3:10:22
Speaker 1: the Peace, accompanied by Stan Jerson, who had become his
3:10:25
Speaker 1: private secretary, and represented to him that they were in
3:10:28
Speaker 1: danger of their lives from the jealousy and hatred of
3:10:30
Speaker 1: an old rival. That evening, Jefferson Hope was taken into custody, and,
3:10:35
Speaker 1: not being able to find sureties, was detained for some weeks.
3:10:39
Speaker 1: When at last he was liberated, it was only to
3:10:41
Speaker 1: find that Drebber's house was deserted, and that he and
3:10:44
Speaker 1: his secretary had departed for Europe. Again, the Avenger had
3:10:47
Speaker 1: been foiled, and again his concentrated hatred urged him to
3:10:50
Speaker 1: continue the pursuit. Funds were wanting, however, and for some
3:10:54
Speaker 1: time he had to return to work, saving every dollar
3:10:57
Speaker 1: for his approaching journey. At last, having collected enough to
3:11:01
Speaker 1: keep life in him, he departed for Europe and tracked
3:11:03
Speaker 1: his enemies from city to city, working his way in
3:11:06
Speaker 1: any menial capacity, but never overtaking the fugitives. When he
3:11:10
Speaker 1: reached St. Petersburg, they had departed for Paris, and when
3:11:14
Speaker 1: he followed them there he learned that they had just
3:11:16
Speaker 1: set off for Copenhagen, at the Danish capital. He was
3:11:19
Speaker 1: again a few days late, for they had journeyed on
3:11:22
Speaker 1: to London, where he at last succeeded in running them
3:11:24
Speaker 1: to earth. As to what occurred there, we cannot do
3:11:27
Speaker 1: better than quote the old Hunter's own account, as duly
3:11:30
Speaker 1: recorded in doctor Watson's journal, to which we are already
3:11:32
Speaker 1: under such obligations. Chapter six, a continuation of the Reminiscences
3:11:38
Speaker 1: of John Watson m d. Our prisoner's furious resistance did
3:11:42
Speaker 1: not apparently indicate any ferocity in his disposition towards ourselves,
3:11:46
Speaker 1: for on finding himself powerless, he smiled in an affable
3:11:49
Speaker 1: manner and expressed his hopes that he had not heard
3:11:51
Speaker 1: any of us in the scuffle. I guess you are
3:11:54
Speaker 1: going to take me to the police station, he remarked
3:11:56
Speaker 1: to Sherlock Holmes. My cabs at the door. If you'll
3:12:00
Speaker 1: loose my legs, I'll walk down to it. I'm not
3:12:03
Speaker 1: so like to lift as I used to be. Gregson
3:12:05
Speaker 1: and Lestrade exchanged glances as if they thought this proposition
3:12:08
Speaker 1: rather a bold one. But Holmes at once took the
3:12:10
Speaker 1: prisoner at his word and loosened the towel which we
3:12:12
Speaker 1: had bound round his ankles. He rose and stretched his legs,
3:12:16
Speaker 1: as though to assure himself that they were free once more.
3:12:19
Speaker 1: I remember that I thought to myself as I eyed him,
3:12:22
Speaker 1: that I had seldom seen a more powerfully built man,
3:12:25
Speaker 1: and his dark, sunburned face bore an expression of determination
3:12:27
Speaker 1: and energy which was as formidable as his personal strength.
3:12:31
Speaker 1: If there's a vacant place for a chief of the police,
3:12:33
Speaker 1: I reckon you are the men for it, he said,
3:12:35
Speaker 1: gazing with undisguised admiration at my fellow lodger. The way
3:12:40
Speaker 1: you kept on my trail was a caution. You had
3:12:42
Speaker 1: better come with me. Set Holmes to the two detectives.
3:12:46
Speaker 1: I can drive you, said Lestrade. Good and Gregson can
3:12:50
Speaker 1: come inside with me. You too, doctor, you have taken
3:12:54
Speaker 1: an interest in the case, and may as well stick
3:12:56
Speaker 1: to us. I assented gladly, and we all descended together.
3:13:00
Speaker 1: Our prisoner made no attempt at escape, but stepped calmly
3:13:03
Speaker 1: into the cab which had been his, and we followed him.
3:13:06
Speaker 1: Lestrade mounted the box, whipped up the horse, and brought
3:13:09
Speaker 1: us in a very short time to our destination. We
3:13:12
Speaker 1: were ushered into a small chamber where a police inspector
3:13:15
Speaker 1: noted down our prisoner's name and the names of the
3:13:17
Speaker 1: men with whose murder he had been charged. The official
3:13:20
Speaker 1: was a white faced, unemotional man who went through his
3:13:22
Speaker 1: duties in a dull, mechanical way. The prisoner will be
3:13:26
Speaker 1: put before the magistrates in the course of the week.
3:13:28
Speaker 1: He said, In the meantime, mister Jefferson, hope, have you
3:13:31
Speaker 1: anything that you wish to say. I must warn you
3:13:34
Speaker 1: that your words will be taken down and may be
3:13:36
Speaker 1: used against you. I've got a good deal to say,
3:13:39
Speaker 1: our prisoner said slowly. I want to tell you, gentlemen,
3:13:43
Speaker 1: all about it. Hadn't you better reserve that for your trial,
3:13:46
Speaker 1: asked the inspector. I may never be tried. He answered,
3:13:51
Speaker 1: you needn't look startled. It isn't suicide. I am thinking of.
3:13:55
Speaker 1: Are you a doctor? He turned his fierce, dark eyes
3:13:59
Speaker 1: upon me as he asked this last question. Yes I am,
3:14:03
Speaker 1: I answered. Then put your hand here, he said, with
3:14:06
Speaker 1: a smile, motioning with his manacled wrists towards his chest.
3:14:10
Speaker 1: I did so, and became at once conscious of an
3:14:13
Speaker 1: extraordinary throbbing and commotion which was going on inside. The
3:14:17
Speaker 1: walls of his chest seemed to thrill and quiver as
3:14:19
Speaker 1: a frail building would do inside when some powerful engine
3:14:22
Speaker 1: was at work. In the silence of the room, I
3:14:24
Speaker 1: could hear a dull, humming and buzzing noise which proceeded
3:14:27
Speaker 1: from the same source. Why I cried, you have an
3:14:30
Speaker 1: aortic aneurysm. That's what they call it, he said, placidly.
3:14:35
Speaker 1: I went to a doctor last week about it, and
3:14:38
Speaker 1: he told me that it is bound to burst before
3:14:39
Speaker 1: many days past. It has been getting worse for years.
3:14:44
Speaker 1: I got it from overexposure and underfeeding among the Salt
3:14:46
Speaker 1: Lake Mountains. I've done my work now and I don't
3:14:50
Speaker 1: care how soon I go, but I should like to
3:14:52
Speaker 1: leave some account of the business behind me. I don't
3:14:55
Speaker 1: want to be remembered as a common cut throat. The
3:14:57
Speaker 1: inspector and the two detectives had a hurried discussion as
3:15:00
Speaker 1: to the advisability of allowing him to tell his story.
3:15:03
Speaker 1: Do you consider, doctor, that there is immediate danger, the
3:15:06
Speaker 1: former asked, Most certainly there is. I answered. In that case,
3:15:11
Speaker 1: it is clearly our duty in the interests of justice
3:15:14
Speaker 1: to take his statement, said the inspector. You are at liberty, sir,
3:15:18
Speaker 1: to give your account, which I again warn you will
3:15:20
Speaker 1: be taken down. I'll sit down with your leave, the
3:15:24
Speaker 1: prisoner said, suiting the action to the word. This aneurism
3:15:28
Speaker 1: of mine makes me easily tired, and the tussle we
3:15:30
Speaker 1: had half an hour ago has not mended matters. I'm
3:15:34
Speaker 1: on the brink of the grave, and I am not
3:15:35
Speaker 1: likely to lie to you. Every word I say is
3:15:38
Speaker 1: the absolute truth, and how you use it as a
3:15:40
Speaker 1: matter of no consequence to me. With these words, Jefferson
3:15:44
Speaker 1: Hope leaned back in his chair and began the following
3:15:47
Speaker 1: remarkable statement. He spoke in a calm and methodical manner,
3:15:51
Speaker 1: as though the events which he narrated were commonplace enough.
3:15:54
Speaker 1: I can vouch for the accuracy of the subjoined account,
3:15:57
Speaker 1: for I have had access to Lestrade's note book, in
3:15:59
Speaker 1: which the prisoner's words were taken down exactly as they
3:16:02
Speaker 1: were uttered. It don't much matter to you why I
3:16:05
Speaker 1: hated these men, he said. It's enough that they were
3:16:07
Speaker 1: guilty of the death of two human beings, a father
3:16:09
Speaker 1: and a daughter, and that they had therefore forfeited their
3:16:12
Speaker 1: own lives. After the lapse of time that has passed
3:16:16
Speaker 1: since their crime, it was impossible for me to secure
3:16:18
Speaker 1: a conviction against them in any court. I knew of
3:16:21
Speaker 1: their guilt, though, and I determined that I should be judge, jury,
3:16:25
Speaker 1: and executioner all rolled into one. You'd have done the
3:16:28
Speaker 1: same if you have any manhood in you, if you
3:16:30
Speaker 1: had been in my place. That girl that I spoke
3:16:33
Speaker 1: of was to have married me twenty years ago. She
3:16:36
Speaker 1: was forced into marrying that same drebber and broke her
3:16:39
Speaker 1: heart over it. I took the marriage ring from her
3:16:42
Speaker 1: dead finger, and I vowed that his dying I should
3:16:44
Speaker 1: rest upon that very ring, and that his last thoughts
3:16:46
Speaker 1: should be of the crime for which he was punished.
3:16:49
Speaker 1: I have carried it about with me and have followed
3:16:51
Speaker 1: him and his accomplice over two continents until I caught them.
3:16:55
Speaker 1: They thought to tire me out, but they could not
3:16:57
Speaker 1: do it. If I died tomorrow, as is like enough,
3:17:00
Speaker 1: I die knowing that my work in this world is
3:17:02
Speaker 1: done and well done. They have perished, and by my
3:17:06
Speaker 1: hand there is nothing left for me to hope for
3:17:09
Speaker 1: or to desire. They were rich and I was poor,
3:17:12
Speaker 1: so that it was no easy matter for me to
3:17:14
Speaker 1: follow them. When I got to London, my pocket was
3:17:17
Speaker 1: about empty, and I found that I must turn my
3:17:19
Speaker 1: hand to something for my living. Driving and riding are
3:17:22
Speaker 1: as natural to me as walking. So I applied at
3:17:24
Speaker 1: Kabouner's office and soon got employment. I was to bring
3:17:28
Speaker 1: a certain sum a week to the owner, and whatever
3:17:30
Speaker 1: was over that I might keep for myself. There was
3:17:33
Speaker 1: seldom much over, but I managed to scrape along somehow.
3:17:37
Speaker 1: The hardest job was to learn my way about, for
3:17:40
Speaker 1: I reckon that of all the mazes that ever were contrived,
3:17:42
Speaker 1: this city is the most confusing. I had a map
3:17:45
Speaker 1: beside me, though, and when once I had spotted the
3:17:47
Speaker 1: principal hotels and stations, I got on pretty well. It
3:17:51
Speaker 1: was some time before I found out where my two
3:17:53
Speaker 1: gentlemen were living, but I inquired and inquired, until at
3:17:56
Speaker 1: last I dropped across them. They were at a boarding
3:17:59
Speaker 1: house at camberwell Over, on the other side of the river.
3:18:03
Speaker 1: When once I found them out, I knew that I
3:18:04
Speaker 1: had them at my mercy. I had grown my beard
3:18:08
Speaker 1: and there was no chance of their recognizing me. I
3:18:11
Speaker 1: would dog them and follow them until I saw my opportunity.
3:18:14
Speaker 1: I was determined that they should not escape me again.
3:18:17
Speaker 1: They were very near doing it, for all that go
3:18:20
Speaker 1: where they were about London, I was always at their heels.
3:18:24
Speaker 1: Sometimes I followed them on my cab and sometimes on foot,
3:18:27
Speaker 1: but the former was the best, for then they could
3:18:29
Speaker 1: not get away from me. It was only early in
3:18:32
Speaker 1: the morning or late at night that I could earn anything,
3:18:34
Speaker 1: so that I began to get behind hand with my employer.
3:18:37
Speaker 1: I did not mind that, however, as long as I
3:18:40
Speaker 1: could lay my hand upon the men I wanted. They
3:18:43
Speaker 1: were very cunning, though they must have thought that there
3:18:46
Speaker 1: was some chance of their being followed, for they would
3:18:48
Speaker 1: never go out alone, and never after nightfall. During two
3:18:52
Speaker 1: weeks I drove behind them every day and never once
3:18:55
Speaker 1: saw them separate. Drebber himself was drunk half the time,
3:18:59
Speaker 1: but Stangerson was not to be caught napping. I watched
3:19:02
Speaker 1: them late and early, but never saw the ghost of
3:19:04
Speaker 1: a chance. But I was not discouraged, for something told
3:19:07
Speaker 1: me that the hour had almost come. My only fear
3:19:10
Speaker 1: was that this thing in my chest might burst a
3:19:12
Speaker 1: little too soon and leave my work undone. At last,
3:19:15
Speaker 1: one evening, I was driving up and down Torquay Terrace,
3:19:18
Speaker 1: as the street was called in which they boarded, when
3:19:21
Speaker 1: I saw a cab drive up to their door. Presently,
3:19:24
Speaker 1: some luggage was brought out, and after a time Drebber
3:19:26
Speaker 1: and stan Jerson followed it and drove off. I whipped
3:19:30
Speaker 1: up my horse and kept within sight of them, feeling
3:19:32
Speaker 1: very ill at ease, for I feared that they were
3:19:34
Speaker 1: going to shift their quarters at Euston station. They got out,
3:19:38
Speaker 1: and I left a boy to hold my horse and
3:19:40
Speaker 1: followed them on to the platform. I heard them ask
3:19:43
Speaker 1: for the Liverpool train, and the guard answered that one
3:19:46
Speaker 1: had just gone and there would not be another for
3:19:47
Speaker 1: some hours. Stan Jerson seemed to be put out at that,
3:19:51
Speaker 1: but Drebber was rather pleased than otherwise. I got so
3:19:54
Speaker 1: close to them in the bustle that I could hear
3:19:56
Speaker 1: every word that passed between them. Drebber said that he
3:19:59
Speaker 1: had a little business of his own to do, and
3:20:01
Speaker 1: that if the other would wait for him, he would
3:20:03
Speaker 1: soon rejoin him. His companion remonstrated with him and reminded
3:20:07
Speaker 1: him that they had resolved to stick together. Drebber answered
3:20:10
Speaker 1: that the matter was a delicate one, and that he
3:20:12
Speaker 1: must go alone. I could not catch what stan Jerson
3:20:16
Speaker 1: said to that, but the other burst out swearing and
3:20:18
Speaker 1: reminded him that he was nothing more than his paid servant,
3:20:21
Speaker 1: and that he must not presume to dictate to him.
3:20:24
Speaker 1: On that, the secretary gave it up as a bad
3:20:26
Speaker 1: job and simply bargained with him that if he missed
3:20:28
Speaker 1: the last train, he should rejoin him at Halliday's private hotel,
3:20:31
Speaker 1: to which Drebber answered that he would be back on
3:20:33
Speaker 1: the platform before eleven, and made his way out of
3:20:35
Speaker 1: the station. The moment for which I had waited so long,
3:20:39
Speaker 1: had it last come. I had my enemies within my power.
3:20:43
Speaker 1: Together they could protect each other, but singly they were
3:20:46
Speaker 1: at my mercy. I did not act, however, with undue precipitation.
3:20:51
Speaker 1: My plans were already formed. There is no satisfaction in
3:20:55
Speaker 1: vengeance unless the offender has time to realize who it
3:20:57
Speaker 1: is that strikes him and why retribution has come up
3:21:00
Speaker 1: upon him. I had my plans arranged by which I
3:21:03
Speaker 1: should have the opportunity of making the men who had
3:21:04
Speaker 1: wronged me understand that his old sin had found him out.
3:21:08
Speaker 1: It chanced that some days before a gentleman who had
3:21:10
Speaker 1: been engaged in looking over some houses in the Brixton Road,
3:21:13
Speaker 1: had dropped the key of one of them in my carriage.
3:21:16
Speaker 1: It was claimed that same evening and returned. But in
3:21:19
Speaker 1: the interval I had taken a molding of it and
3:21:21
Speaker 1: had a duplicate constructed. By means of this, I had
3:21:24
Speaker 1: access to at least one spot in this great city
3:21:26
Speaker 1: where I could rely upon being free from interruption. How
3:21:30
Speaker 1: to get Drebber to that house was the difficult problem
3:21:32
Speaker 1: which I had now to solve. He walked down the
3:21:35
Speaker 1: road and went into one or two liquor shops, staying
3:21:38
Speaker 1: for nearly half an hour in the last of them.
3:21:41
Speaker 1: When he came out, he staggered in his walk and
3:21:43
Speaker 1: was evidently pretty well on. There was a hansom just
3:21:46
Speaker 1: in front of me, and he hailed it. I followed
3:21:49
Speaker 1: it so close that the nose of my horse was
3:21:51
Speaker 1: within a yard of his driver. The whole way we
3:21:54
Speaker 1: rattled across Waterloo Bridge and through miles of streets, until,
3:21:57
Speaker 1: to my astonishment, we found ourselves back in the harris
3:22:00
Speaker 1: in which he had boarded. I could not imagine what
3:22:03
Speaker 1: his intention was in returning there, but I went on
3:22:05
Speaker 1: and pulled up my cab a hundred yards or so
3:22:07
Speaker 1: from the house. He entered it, and his handsom drove away.
3:22:12
Speaker 1: Give me a glass of water, if you please. My
3:22:15
Speaker 1: mouth gets dry with the talking. I handed him the
3:22:17
Speaker 1: glass and he drank it down. That's better, he said. Well.
3:22:22
Speaker 1: I waited for a quarter of an hour or more,
3:22:24
Speaker 1: when suddenly there came a noise like people struggling inside
3:22:27
Speaker 1: the house next moment, the door was flung open, and
3:22:30
Speaker 1: two men appeared, one of whom was Drebber, and the
3:22:33
Speaker 1: other was a young chap whom I had never seen before.
3:22:36
Speaker 1: This fellow had Drebber by the collar, and when they
3:22:39
Speaker 1: came to the head of the steps, he gave him
3:22:40
Speaker 1: a shove and a kick, which sent him half across
3:22:42
Speaker 1: the road. You hound, he cried, shaking his stick at him.
3:22:46
Speaker 1: I'll teach you to insult an honest girl. He was
3:22:49
Speaker 1: so hot that I think he would have thrashed Drebber
3:22:50
Speaker 1: with his cudgel, only that the curse staggered away down
3:22:53
Speaker 1: the road as fast as his legs would carry him.
3:22:56
Speaker 1: He ran as far as the corner, and then seeing
3:22:58
Speaker 1: my cab, he hailed me and jumped in drive me
3:23:02
Speaker 1: to Halliday's private hotel, said he. When I had him
3:23:05
Speaker 1: fairly inside my cab, my heart jumped so with joy
3:23:08
Speaker 1: that I feared lest at this last moment my aneurism
3:23:10
Speaker 1: might go wrong. I drove along, slowly, weighing in my
3:23:14
Speaker 1: own mind what it was best to do. I might
3:23:17
Speaker 1: take him right out into the country and there in
3:23:19
Speaker 1: some deserted lane have my last interview with him. I
3:23:22
Speaker 1: had almost decided upon this. When he solved the problem
3:23:25
Speaker 1: for me, the craze for drink had seized him again,
3:23:28
Speaker 1: and he ordered me to pull up outside a gin palace.
3:23:31
Speaker 1: He went in, leaving word that I should wait for
3:23:33
Speaker 1: him there. He remained until closing time, and when he
3:23:37
Speaker 1: came out, he was so far gone that I knew
3:23:39
Speaker 1: the game was in my own hands. Don't imagine that
3:23:42
Speaker 1: I intended to kill him in cold blood. It would
3:23:45
Speaker 1: only have been rigid justice if I had done so,
3:23:47
Speaker 1: But I could not bring myself to do it. I
3:23:50
Speaker 1: had long determined that he should have a show for
3:23:52
Speaker 1: his life if he chose to take advantage of it.
3:23:55
Speaker 1: Among the many billets which I have filled in America
3:23:57
Speaker 1: during my wandering life, I was once janitor and sweet
3:24:00
Speaker 1: out of the laboratory at York College. One day the
3:24:03
Speaker 1: professor was lecturing on poisons, and he showed his students
3:24:06
Speaker 1: some alkaloid, as he called it, which he had extracted
3:24:09
Speaker 1: from some South American arrow poison, and which was so
3:24:12
Speaker 1: powerful that the least grain meant instant death. I spotted
3:24:15
Speaker 1: the bottle in which this preparation was kept, and when
3:24:18
Speaker 1: they were all gone, I helped myself to a little
3:24:20
Speaker 1: of it. I was a fairly good dispenser, so I
3:24:23
Speaker 1: worked this alkaloid into small soluble pills, and each pill
3:24:26
Speaker 1: I put in a box with a similar pill made
3:24:28
Speaker 1: without the poison. I determined at the time that when
3:24:31
Speaker 1: I had my chance, my gentlemen should each have a
3:24:34
Speaker 1: draw out of one of these boxes while I ate
3:24:36
Speaker 1: the pill that remained. It would be quite as deadly
3:24:39
Speaker 1: and a good deal less noisy than firing across a handkerchief.
3:24:43
Speaker 1: From that day I had always my pill boxes about
3:24:45
Speaker 1: with me, and the time had now come when I
3:24:47
Speaker 1: was to use them. It was nearer one than twelve
3:24:51
Speaker 1: and a wild, bleak night, blowing hard and raining in torrents.
3:24:55
Speaker 1: Dismal as it was outside, I was glad within, so
3:24:58
Speaker 1: glad that I could have shouted out from pe your exultation.
3:25:01
Speaker 1: If any of you, gentlemen, have ever pined for a
3:25:03
Speaker 1: thing and longed for it during twenty long years, and
3:25:06
Speaker 1: then suddenly found it within your reach, you would understand
3:25:09
Speaker 1: my feelings. I lit a cigar and puffed at it
3:25:12
Speaker 1: to steady my nerves, but my hands were trembling and
3:25:15
Speaker 1: my temples throbbing with excitement. As I drove, I could
3:25:19
Speaker 1: see old John Ferrier and sweet Lucy looking at me
3:25:21
Speaker 1: out of the darkness and smiling at me just as
3:25:24
Speaker 1: plain as I see you all in this room. All
3:25:26
Speaker 1: the way they were ahead of me, one on each
3:25:28
Speaker 1: side of the horse, until I pulled up at the
3:25:30
Speaker 1: house in the Brixton Road. There was not a soul
3:25:33
Speaker 1: to be seen, nor a sound to be heard, except
3:25:35
Speaker 1: the dripping of the rain. When I looked in at
3:25:38
Speaker 1: the window, I found Drebber all huddled together in a
3:25:40
Speaker 1: drunken sleep. I shook him by the arm. It's time
3:25:44
Speaker 1: to get out, I said, all right, Cabby, said he.
3:25:49
Speaker 1: I suppose he thought we had come to the hotel
3:25:51
Speaker 1: that he had mentioned, for he got out without another
3:25:53
Speaker 1: word and followed me down the garden. I had to
3:25:56
Speaker 1: walk beside him to keep him steady, for he was
3:25:58
Speaker 1: still a little top heavy. When we came to the door,
3:26:02
Speaker 1: I opened it and led him into the front room.
3:26:05
Speaker 1: I give you my word that all the way the
3:26:07
Speaker 1: father and the daughter were walking in front of us.
3:26:10
Speaker 1: It's infernally dark, said he, stamping about. We'll soon have
3:26:14
Speaker 1: a light, I said, striking a match and putting it
3:26:17
Speaker 1: to a wax candle which I had brought with me now,
3:26:20
Speaker 1: Enoch Drebber, I continued, turning to him and holding the
3:26:23
Speaker 1: light to my own face. Who am I? He gazed
3:26:26
Speaker 1: at me with bleard, drunken eyes for a moment, and
3:26:29
Speaker 1: then I saw a horror spring up in them and
3:26:31
Speaker 1: convulse his whole features, which showed me that he knew me.
3:26:35
Speaker 1: He staggered back with a livid face, and I saw
3:26:37
Speaker 1: the perspiration break out upon his brow, while his teeth
3:26:40
Speaker 1: chattered in his head. At the sight, I leaned my
3:26:43
Speaker 1: back against the door and laughed loud and long. I
3:26:46
Speaker 1: had always known that vengeance would be sweet, but I
3:26:48
Speaker 1: had never hoped for the contentment of soul which now
3:26:50
Speaker 1: possessed me. You dog, I said, I have hunted you
3:26:55
Speaker 1: from Salt Lake City to s. T. Petersburg, and you
3:26:57
Speaker 1: have always escaped me. Now, at last, your wanderings have
3:27:01
Speaker 1: come to an end, for either you or I shall
3:27:03
Speaker 1: never see to morrow's sun rise. He shrunk still further
3:27:06
Speaker 1: away as I spoke, and I could see on his
3:27:08
Speaker 1: face that he thought I was mad. So I was.
3:27:10
Speaker 1: For the time, the pulses in my temples beat like
3:27:14
Speaker 1: sledge hammers, and I believe I would have had a
3:27:16
Speaker 1: fit of some sort. If the blood had not gushed
3:27:18
Speaker 1: from my nose and relieved me. What do you think
3:27:20
Speaker 1: of Lucy Ferrier? Now? I cried, locking the door and
3:27:23
Speaker 1: shaking the key in his face. Punishment has been slow
3:27:27
Speaker 1: in coming, but it has overtaken you at last. I
3:27:30
Speaker 1: saw his coward lips tremble as I spoke. He would
3:27:33
Speaker 1: have begged for his life, but he knew well that
3:27:35
Speaker 1: it was useless. Would you murder me? He stammered, There
3:27:40
Speaker 1: is no murder, I answered, who talks of murdering a
3:27:43
Speaker 1: mad dog? What mercy had you upon my poor darling
3:27:47
Speaker 1: when you dragged her from her slaughtered father and bore
3:27:49
Speaker 1: her away to your accursed and shameless harem. It was
3:27:52
Speaker 1: not I who killed her father, he cried, But it
3:27:55
Speaker 1: was you who broke her innocent heart. I shrieked, thrusting
3:27:58
Speaker 1: the box before him. Let the High God judge between us,
3:28:03
Speaker 1: choose and eat. There is death in one and life
3:28:06
Speaker 1: in the other. I shall take what you leave. Let
3:28:10
Speaker 1: us see if there is justice upon the earth, or
3:28:12
Speaker 1: if we are ruled by chance. He cowered away with
3:28:15
Speaker 1: wild cries and prayers for mercy. But I drew my
3:28:18
Speaker 1: knife and held it to his throat until he had
3:28:19
Speaker 1: obeyed me. Then I swallowed the other, and we stood
3:28:23
Speaker 1: facing one another in silence for a minute or more,
3:28:25
Speaker 1: waiting to see which was to live and which was
3:28:27
Speaker 1: to die. Shall I ever forget the look which came
3:28:30
Speaker 1: over his face when the first warning pangs told him
3:28:33
Speaker 1: that the poison was in his system. I laughed as
3:28:35
Speaker 1: I saw it, and held Lucy's marriage ring in front
3:28:38
Speaker 1: of his eyes. It was but for a moment, for
3:28:41
Speaker 1: the action of the alkaloid is rapid. A spasm of
3:28:44
Speaker 1: pain contorted his features. He threw his hands out in
3:28:47
Speaker 1: front of him, staggered, and then, with a hoarse cry,
3:28:50
Speaker 1: fell heavily upon the floor. I turned him over with
3:28:53
Speaker 1: my foot and placed my hand upon his heart. There
3:28:57
Speaker 1: was no movement. He was dead. The blood had been
3:29:01
Speaker 1: streaming from my nose, but I had taken no notice
3:29:03
Speaker 1: of it. I don't know what it was that put
3:29:06
Speaker 1: it into my head to write upon the wall with it.
3:29:08
Speaker 1: Perhaps it was some mischievous idea of setting the police
3:29:11
Speaker 1: upon a wrong track, for I felt light hearted and cheerful.
3:29:15
Speaker 1: I remembered a German being found in New York with
3:29:17
Speaker 1: Rake written up above him, and it was argued at
3:29:20
Speaker 1: the time in the newspapers that the secret societies must
3:29:22
Speaker 1: have done it. I guessed that what puzzled the New
3:29:25
Speaker 1: Yorkers would puzzle the Londoners. So I dipped my finger
3:29:27
Speaker 1: in my own blood and printed it on a convenient
3:29:29
Speaker 1: place on the wall. Then I walked down to my
3:29:32
Speaker 1: cab and found that there was nobody about, and that
3:29:34
Speaker 1: the night was still very wild. I had driven some
3:29:38
Speaker 1: distance when I put my hand into the pocket in
3:29:40
Speaker 1: which I usually kept Lucy's ring and found that it
3:29:42
Speaker 1: was not there. I was thunderstruck at this, for it
3:29:45
Speaker 1: was the only memento that I had of her, Thinking
3:29:48
Speaker 1: that I might have dropped it when I stooped over
3:29:50
Speaker 1: Drebber's body, I drove back, and, leaving my cab in
3:29:53
Speaker 1: a side street, I went boldly up to the house,
3:29:56
Speaker 1: for I was ready to dare anything rather than lose
3:29:58
Speaker 1: the ring. When I arrived there, I walked right into
3:30:01
Speaker 1: the arms of a police officer who was coming out,
3:30:04
Speaker 1: and only managed to disarm his suspicions by pretending to
3:30:06
Speaker 1: be hopelessly drunk. That was how Enoch Drebber came to
3:30:10
Speaker 1: his end. All I had to do then was to
3:30:13
Speaker 1: do as much for stan Jerson and so pay off
3:30:15
Speaker 1: John Ferrier's debt. I knew that he was staying at
3:30:18
Speaker 1: Halliday's private hotel, and I hung about all day, but
3:30:21
Speaker 1: he never came out. I fancied that he suspected something
3:30:24
Speaker 1: when Drebber failed to put in an appearance. He was cunning,
3:30:28
Speaker 1: was stan Jerson, and always on his guard. If he
3:30:31
Speaker 1: thought he could keep me off by staying indoors, he
3:30:33
Speaker 1: was very much mistaken. I soon found out which was
3:30:37
Speaker 1: the window of his bedroom, and early next morning I
3:30:39
Speaker 1: took advantage of some ladders which were lying in the
3:30:41
Speaker 1: lane behind the hotel, and so made my way into
3:30:44
Speaker 1: his room in the gray of the dawn. I woke
3:30:46
Speaker 1: him up and told him that the hour had come
3:30:48
Speaker 1: when he was to answer for the life he had
3:30:50
Speaker 1: taken so long before. I described Drebber's death to him,
3:30:54
Speaker 1: and I gave him the same choice of the poison pills.
3:30:57
Speaker 1: Instead of grasping at the chance of safety which that
3:30:59
Speaker 1: offered him, he sprang from his bed and flew at
3:31:01
Speaker 1: my throat. In self defense, I stabbed him to the heart.
3:31:06
Speaker 1: It would have been the same in any case, for
3:31:08
Speaker 1: Providence would never have allowed his guilty hand to pick
3:31:10
Speaker 1: out anything but the poison. I have little more to say,
3:31:14
Speaker 1: and it's as well, for I am about done up.
3:31:16
Speaker 1: I went on cabbing it for a day or so,
3:31:18
Speaker 1: intending to keep at it until I could save enough
3:31:20
Speaker 1: to take me back to America. I was standing in
3:31:24
Speaker 1: the yard when a ragged youngster asked if there was
3:31:26
Speaker 1: a cabby there, called Jefferson Hope, and said that his
3:31:28
Speaker 1: cab was wanted by a gentleman at two twenty one B.
3:31:31
Speaker 1: Baker Street. I went round, suspecting no harm, and the
3:31:35
Speaker 1: next thing I knew, this young man here had the
3:31:37
Speaker 1: bracelets on my wrists and as neatly shackled as ever
3:31:39
Speaker 1: I saw in my life. That's the whole of my story. Gentlemen,
3:31:44
Speaker 1: you may consider me to be a murderer, but I
3:31:46
Speaker 1: hold that I am just as much an officer of
3:31:48
Speaker 1: justice as you are. So thrilling had the man's narrative been,
3:31:51
Speaker 1: and his manner was so impressive that we had sat
3:31:53
Speaker 1: silent and absorbed. Even the professional detectives, blase as they
3:31:58
Speaker 1: were in every detail of crime, appeared to be keenly
3:32:00
Speaker 1: interested in the man's story. When he finished, we sat
3:32:03
Speaker 1: for some minutes in a stillness, which was only broken
3:32:06
Speaker 1: by the scratching of Lestrade's pencil as he gave the
3:32:08
Speaker 1: finishing touches to his shorthand account. There is only one
3:32:11
Speaker 1: point on which I should like a little more information,
3:32:14
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holms said, at last, Who was your accomplice who
3:32:17
Speaker 1: came for the ring which I advertised? The prisoner winked
3:32:20
Speaker 1: at my friend jocosely. I can tell my own secrets,
3:32:23
Speaker 1: he said, but I don't get other people into trouble.
3:32:26
Speaker 1: I saw your advertisement and I thought it might be
3:32:29
Speaker 1: a plant, or it might be the ring which I wanted.
3:32:32
Speaker 1: My friend volunteered to go and see. I think you'll
3:32:35
Speaker 1: own He did it smartly. Not a doubt of that,
3:32:38
Speaker 1: said Holmes heartily. Now, gentlemen, the inspector remarked gravely, the
3:32:43
Speaker 1: forms of the law must be complied with. On Thursday,
3:32:46
Speaker 1: the prisoner will be brought before the magistrates, and your
3:32:49
Speaker 1: attendants will be required. Until then I will be responsible
3:32:52
Speaker 1: for him. He rang the bell as he spoke, and
3:32:55
Speaker 1: Jefferson Hope was led off by a couple of warders,
3:32:57
Speaker 1: while my friend and I made our way out of
3:32:59
Speaker 1: the station and took a cab back to Baker Street,
3:33:02
Speaker 1: Chapter seven, the conclusion. We had all been warned to
3:33:06
Speaker 1: appear before the magistrates upon the Thursday, but when the
3:33:09
Speaker 1: Thursday came there was no occasion for a testimony. A
3:33:12
Speaker 1: higher judge had taken the matter in hand, and Jefferson
3:33:15
Speaker 1: Hope had been summoned before a tribunal where strict justice
3:33:18
Speaker 1: would be meted out to him. On the very night
3:33:21
Speaker 1: after his capture, the aneurism burst, and he was found
3:33:24
Speaker 1: in the morning, stretched upon the floor of the cell
3:33:26
Speaker 1: with a placid smile upon his face, as though he
3:33:28
Speaker 1: had been able in his dying moments to look back
3:33:30
Speaker 1: upon a useful life and on work well done. Greggson
3:33:34
Speaker 1: and Lestrade will be wild about his death, Holmes remarked,
3:33:37
Speaker 1: as we chatted it over next evening. Where will their
3:33:40
Speaker 1: grand advertisement be now? I don't see that they had
3:33:43
Speaker 1: very much to do with his capture, I answered, what
3:33:47
Speaker 1: you do in this world is a matter of no consequence,
3:33:49
Speaker 1: returned my companion bitterly. The question is what can you
3:33:53
Speaker 1: make people believe that you have done? Never Mind, he
3:33:56
Speaker 1: continued more brightly, after a pause. I would not have
3:34:00
Speaker 1: missed the investigation for anything. There has been no better
3:34:04
Speaker 1: case within my recollection. Simple as it was, there were
3:34:08
Speaker 1: several most instructive points about it. Simple, I ejaculated. Well, really,
3:34:14
Speaker 1: it can hardly be described as otherwise, said Sherlock Holmes,
3:34:17
Speaker 1: smiling at my surprise. The proof of its intrinsic simplicity
3:34:21
Speaker 1: is that, without any help, save a few very ordinary deductions,
3:34:25
Speaker 1: I was able to lay my hand upon the criminal
3:34:27
Speaker 1: within three days. That is true, said I. I have
3:34:31
Speaker 1: already explained to you that what is out of the
3:34:33
Speaker 1: common is usually a guide rather than a hindrance, in
3:34:36
Speaker 1: solving a problem of this sort. The grand thing is
3:34:39
Speaker 1: to be able to reason backwards. That is a very
3:34:42
Speaker 1: useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, But people do
3:34:45
Speaker 1: not practice it much in the every day affairs of life.
3:34:48
Speaker 1: It is more useful to reason forwards, and so the
3:34:51
Speaker 1: other comes to be neglected. There are fifty who can
3:34:54
Speaker 1: reason synthetically for one who can reason analytically. I confess,
3:34:58
Speaker 1: said I, that I do not quite follow you. I
3:35:01
Speaker 1: hardly expected that you would Let me see if I
3:35:04
Speaker 1: can make it clearer. Most people, if you describe a
3:35:07
Speaker 1: train of events to them, will tell you what the
3:35:09
Speaker 1: result would be. They can put those events together in
3:35:12
Speaker 1: their minds and argue from them that something will come
3:35:14
Speaker 1: to pass. There are few people, however, who, if you
3:35:18
Speaker 1: told them a result, would be able to evolve from
3:35:21
Speaker 1: their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led
3:35:23
Speaker 1: up to that result. This power is what I mean
3:35:26
Speaker 1: when I talk of reasoning backwards or analytically. I understand,
3:35:30
Speaker 1: said I, Now this was a case in which you
3:35:33
Speaker 1: were given the result and had to find everything else
3:35:35
Speaker 1: for yourself. Now let me endeavor to show you the
3:35:38
Speaker 1: different steps in my reasoning. To begin at the beginning.
3:35:42
Speaker 1: I approached the house, as you know, on foot and
3:35:45
Speaker 1: with my mind entirely free from all impressions. I naturally
3:35:49
Speaker 1: began by examining the roadway, and there, as I have
3:35:52
Speaker 1: already explained to you, I saw clearly the marks of
3:35:54
Speaker 1: a cab, which I ascertained by inquiry must have been
3:35:58
Speaker 1: there during the night. I satisfied myself that it was
3:36:01
Speaker 1: a cab and not a private carriage. By the narrow
3:36:03
Speaker 1: gage of the wheels. The ordinary London growler is considerably
3:36:07
Speaker 1: less wide than a gentleman's brooom. This was the first
3:36:11
Speaker 1: point gained. I then walked slowly down the garden path,
3:36:14
Speaker 1: which happened to be composed of a clay soil, peculiarly
3:36:17
Speaker 1: suitable for taking impressions. No doubt it appeared to you
3:36:21
Speaker 1: to be a mere trampled line of slush. But to
3:36:23
Speaker 1: my trained as every mark upon its surface had a meaning.
3:36:26
Speaker 1: There is no branch of detective science which is so
3:36:29
Speaker 1: important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps.
3:36:33
Speaker 1: Happily I have always laid great stress upon it, and
3:36:36
Speaker 1: much practice has made its second nature to me. I
3:36:39
Speaker 1: saw the heavy footmarks of the constables, but I saw
3:36:41
Speaker 1: also the track of the two men who had first
3:36:43
Speaker 1: passed through the garden. It was easy to tell that
3:36:46
Speaker 1: they had been before the others, because in places their
3:36:48
Speaker 1: marks had been entirely obliterated by the others coming upon
3:36:51
Speaker 1: the top of them. In this way, my second link
3:36:54
Speaker 1: was formed, which told me that the nocturnal visitors were
3:36:57
Speaker 1: two in number, one remarkable for his height, as I
3:36:59
Speaker 1: calcul related from the length of his stride, and the
3:37:01
Speaker 1: other fashionably dressed, to judge from the small and elegant
3:37:04
Speaker 1: impression left by his boots on entering the house. This
3:37:08
Speaker 1: last inference was confirmed my well booted men lay before me.
3:37:13
Speaker 1: The tall one then had done the murder if murder
3:37:16
Speaker 1: there was. There was no wound upon the dead man's person,
3:37:20
Speaker 1: but the agitated expression upon his face assured me that
3:37:22
Speaker 1: he had foreseen his fate before it came upon him.
3:37:25
Speaker 1: Men who die from heart disease or any sudden natural cause, never,
3:37:29
Speaker 1: by any chance, exhibit agitation upon their features. Having sniffed
3:37:33
Speaker 1: the dead man's lips, I detected a slightly sour smell,
3:37:36
Speaker 1: and I came to the conclusion that he had had
3:37:38
Speaker 1: poison forced upon him. Again, I argued that it had
3:37:42
Speaker 1: been forced upon him from the hatred and fear expressed
3:37:44
Speaker 1: upon his face. By the method of exclusion, I had
3:37:47
Speaker 1: arrived at this result, for no other hypothesis would meet
3:37:50
Speaker 1: the facts. Do not imagine that it was a very
3:37:53
Speaker 1: unheard of idea. The forcible administration of poison is by
3:37:57
Speaker 1: no means a new thing in criminal annals. The cases
3:38:01
Speaker 1: of Dalsky and Odessa, and of Lecherier in Montpellier will
3:38:04
Speaker 1: occur at once to any toxicologist. And now came the
3:38:08
Speaker 1: great question as to the reason why robbery had not
3:38:11
Speaker 1: been the object of the murder, for nothing was taken.
3:38:14
Speaker 1: Was it politics, then, or was it a woman? That
3:38:18
Speaker 1: was the question which confronted me. I was inclined from
3:38:21
Speaker 1: the first to the latter supposition. Political assassins are only
3:38:25
Speaker 1: too glad to do their work and to fly. This
3:38:28
Speaker 1: murder had, on the contrary, been done most deliberately, and
3:38:31
Speaker 1: the perpetrator had left his tracks all over the room
3:38:34
Speaker 1: showing that he had been there all the time. It
3:38:36
Speaker 1: must have been a private wrong, and not a political one,
3:38:39
Speaker 1: which called for such a methodical revenge. When the inscription
3:38:43
Speaker 1: was discovered upon the wall, I was more inclined than
3:38:45
Speaker 1: ever to my opinion, the thing was too evidently a blind.
3:38:50
Speaker 1: When the ring was found, however, it settled the question clearly.
3:38:54
Speaker 1: The murderer had used it to remind his victim of
3:38:56
Speaker 1: some dead or absent woman. It was at this point
3:38:59
Speaker 1: that I asked Gregson whether he had inquired in his
3:39:02
Speaker 1: telegram to Cleveland as to any particular point in mister
3:39:04
Speaker 1: Drebber's former career. He answered, you remember in the negative.
3:39:10
Speaker 1: I then proceeded to make a careful examination of the room,
3:39:12
Speaker 1: which confirmed me in my opinion as to the murderous height,
3:39:15
Speaker 1: and furnished me with the additional details as to the
3:39:17
Speaker 1: trichinopoly cigar and the length of his nails. I had
3:39:21
Speaker 1: already come to the conclusion, since there were no signs
3:39:23
Speaker 1: of a struggle, that the blood which covered the floor
3:39:25
Speaker 1: had burst from the murderer's nose in his excitement. I
3:39:28
Speaker 1: could perceive that the track of blood coincided with the
3:39:31
Speaker 1: track of his feet. It is seldom that any man,
3:39:34
Speaker 1: unless he is very full blooded, breaks out in this
3:39:36
Speaker 1: way through emotion. So I hazarded the opinion that the
3:39:39
Speaker 1: criminal was probably a robust and ruddy faced man. Events
3:39:43
Speaker 1: proved that I had judged correctly. Having left the house,
3:39:46
Speaker 1: I proceeded to do what Gregson had neglected. I telegraphed
3:39:50
Speaker 1: to the head of the police at Cleveland, limiting my
3:39:52
Speaker 1: inquiry to the circumstances connected with the marriage of Enoch Drebber.
3:39:56
Speaker 1: The answer was conclusive. It told me that drea Ver
3:40:00
Speaker 1: had already applied for the protection of the law against
3:40:02
Speaker 1: an old rival in love named Jefferson Hope, and that
3:40:05
Speaker 1: this same Hope was at present in Europe. I knew
3:40:08
Speaker 1: now that I held the clue to the mystery in
3:40:10
Speaker 1: my hand, and all that remained was to secure the murderer.
3:40:13
Speaker 1: I had already determined in my own mind that the
3:40:16
Speaker 1: men who had walked into the house with Drebber was
3:40:18
Speaker 1: none other than the men who had driven the cab.
3:40:21
Speaker 1: The marks in the road showed me that the horse
3:40:22
Speaker 1: had wandered on in a way which would have been
3:40:24
Speaker 1: impossible had there been any one in charge of it.
3:40:27
Speaker 1: Where then could the driver be unless he were inside
3:40:30
Speaker 1: the house. Again, it is absurd to suppose that any
3:40:34
Speaker 1: sane man would carry out a deliberate crime under the
3:40:36
Speaker 1: very eyes, as it were, of a third person who
3:40:39
Speaker 1: was sure to betray him. Lastly, supposing one man wished
3:40:43
Speaker 1: to dog another through London, what better means could he
3:40:45
Speaker 1: adopt than to turn cab driver. All these considerations led
3:40:49
Speaker 1: me to the irresistible conclusion that Jefferson Hope was to
3:40:51
Speaker 1: be found among the jarvis of the metropolis. If he
3:40:55
Speaker 1: had been one, there was no reason to believe that
3:40:56
Speaker 1: he had ceased to be. On the contrary, from his
3:41:00
Speaker 1: point of view, any sudden change would be likely to
3:41:02
Speaker 1: draw attention to himself. He would probably, for a time
3:41:06
Speaker 1: at least, continue to perform his duties. There was no
3:41:10
Speaker 1: reason to suppose that he was going under an assumed name.
3:41:13
Speaker 1: Why should he change his name in a country where
3:41:15
Speaker 1: no one knew his original one. I therefore organized my
3:41:19
Speaker 1: street Arab detective Corps and sent them systematically to every
3:41:22
Speaker 1: cab proprietor in London until they ferreted out the men
3:41:25
Speaker 1: that I wanted. How well they succeeded, and how quickly
3:41:28
Speaker 1: I took advantage of it, are still fresh in your recollection.
3:41:32
Speaker 1: The murder of Stangerson was an incident which was entirely unexpected,
3:41:36
Speaker 1: but which could hardly in any case, have been prevented.
3:41:39
Speaker 1: Through it, As you know, I came into possession of
3:41:41
Speaker 1: the pills, the existence of which I had already surmised.
3:41:45
Speaker 1: You see, the whole thing is a chain of logical
3:41:47
Speaker 1: sequences without a break or flaw. It is wonderful. I cried,
3:41:52
Speaker 1: Your merits should be publicly recognized. You should publish an
3:41:56
Speaker 1: account of the case. If you won't, I will for you.
3:42:00
Speaker 1: You may do what you like, doctor, he answered, see here,
3:42:04
Speaker 1: he continued, handing a paper over to me. Look at this.
3:42:07
Speaker 1: It was the echo for the day, and the paragraph
3:42:09
Speaker 1: to which he pointed was devoted to the case in question.
3:42:13
Speaker 1: The public, it said, have lost a sensational treat through
3:42:16
Speaker 1: the sudden death of them in Hope, who was suspected
3:42:18
Speaker 1: of the murder of mister Enoch Drebber and of mister
3:42:21
Speaker 1: Joseph Stangerson. The details of the case will probably be
3:42:24
Speaker 1: never known now, though we are informed upon good authority
3:42:27
Speaker 1: that the crime was the result of an old standing
3:42:29
Speaker 1: and romantic feud in which love and Mormonism bore a part.
3:42:33
Speaker 1: It seems that both the victims belonged, in their younger
3:42:36
Speaker 1: days to the latter day Saints, and hope the deceased
3:42:39
Speaker 1: prisoner hails also from Salt Lake City. If the case
3:42:43
Speaker 1: has had no other effect, it at least brings out,
3:42:46
Speaker 1: in the most striking manner the efficiency of our detective
3:42:48
Speaker 1: police force, and will serve as a lesson to all
3:42:50
Speaker 1: foreigners that they will do wisely to settle their feuds
3:42:53
Speaker 1: at home and not to carry them on to British soil.
3:42:56
Speaker 1: It is an open secret that the credit of this
3:42:58
Speaker 1: smart capture belongs entirely to the well known Scotland Yard officials,
3:43:01
Speaker 1: Messrs Lestrade and Gregson. The men was apprehended, it appears
3:43:06
Speaker 1: in the rooms of a certain mister Sherlock Holmes, who
3:43:10
Speaker 1: has himself as an amateur, shown some talent in the
3:43:13
Speaker 1: detective line, and who with such instructors may hope in
3:43:16
Speaker 1: time to attain to some degree of their skill. It
3:43:19
Speaker 1: is expected that a testimonial of some sort will be
3:43:21
Speaker 1: presented to the two officers as a fitting recognition of
3:43:24
Speaker 1: their services. Didn't I tell you so when we started,
3:43:28
Speaker 1: cried Sherlock Holmes with a laugh. That's the result of
3:43:31
Speaker 1: all our study in scarlet to get them a testimonial.
3:43:35
Speaker 1: Never Mind, I answered, I have all the facts in
3:43:37
Speaker 1: my journal, and the public shall know them. In the meantime,
3:43:41
Speaker 1: you must make yourself contented by the consciousness of success,
3:43:44
Speaker 1: like the Roman miser populus mesibilt at mihi Plato ipsy Domi,
3:43:48
Speaker 1: Simile Acnamo's contemplor in Arca