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The Resident Patient - The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The resident patient. Glancing over the somewhat incoherent series of
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Speaker 1: memoirs with which I have endeavored to illustrate a few
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Speaker 1: of the mental peculiarities of my friend mister Sherlock Holmes,
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Speaker 1: I have been struck by the difficulty which I have
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Speaker 1: experienced in picking out examples which shall in every way
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Speaker 1: answer my purpose. For in those cases in which Holmes
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Speaker 1: has performed some toward a force of analytical reasoning and
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Speaker 1: has demonstrated the value of his peculiar methods of investigation,
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Speaker 1: the facts themselves have often been so slight or so commonplace,
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Speaker 1: that I could not feel justified in laying them before
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Speaker 1: the public. On the other hand, it has frequently happened
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Speaker 1: that he has been concerned in some research where the
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Speaker 1: facts have been of the most remarkable and dramatic character,
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Speaker 1: but where the share which he has himself taken in
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Speaker 1: determining their causes has been less pronounced than I, as
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Speaker 1: his biographer, could wish. The small matter which I have
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Speaker 1: chronicled under the heading of a study in scar and
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Speaker 1: that other later one connected with the loss of the
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Speaker 1: glorious Scott, may serve as examples of this. Scylla and charybdis,
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Speaker 1: which are forever threatening the historian. It may be that,
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Speaker 1: in the business of which I am now about to write,
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Speaker 1: the part which my friend played is not sufficiently accentuated.
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Speaker 1: And yet the whole train of circumstances is so remarkable
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Speaker 1: that I cannot bring myself to omit it entirely from
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Speaker 1: this series. It had been a close, rainy day in October.
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Speaker 1: Our blinds were half drawn, and homes lay curled upon
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Speaker 1: the sofa, reading and re reading a letter which he
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Speaker 1: had received by the morning post. For myself, my term
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Speaker 1: of service in India had trained me to stand heat
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Speaker 1: better than cold, and a thermometer of ninety was no hardship.
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Speaker 1: But the paper was uninteresting. Parliament had risen, everybody was
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Speaker 1: out of town, and I yearned for the glades of
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Speaker 1: the New Forest or the shingle of Southsea. A depleted
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Speaker 1: bank account had caused me to postpone my holiday. And
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Speaker 1: as to my companion, neither the country nor the sea
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Speaker 1: presented the slightest attraction to him. He loved to lie
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Speaker 1: in the very center of five millions of people, with
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Speaker 1: his filaments stretching out and running through them, responsive to
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Speaker 1: every little rumor or suspicion of unsolved crime. Appreciation of
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Speaker 1: nature found no place among his many gifts, and his
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Speaker 1: only change was when he turned his mind from the
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Speaker 1: evil doer of the town to track down his brother
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Speaker 1: of the country. Finding that Holmes was too absorbed for conversation,
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Speaker 1: I had tossed aside the barren paper, and leaning back
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Speaker 1: in my chair, I fell into a brown study. Suddenly
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Speaker 1: my companion's voice broke in upon my thoughts. You are right, Watson,
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Speaker 1: said he. It does seem a very preposterous way of
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Speaker 1: settling a dispute. Most preposterous, I exclaimed, and then, suddenly
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Speaker 1: realizing how he had echoed the inmost thought of my soul,
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Speaker 1: I sat up in my chair and stared at him
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Speaker 1: in blank amazement. What is this, Holmes, I cried, This
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Speaker 1: is beyond anything which I could have imagined. He laughed
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Speaker 1: heartily at my perplexity. You remember, said he that, some
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Speaker 1: little time ago, when I read you the passage in
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Speaker 1: one of Poe's sketches, in which a close reasoner follows
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Speaker 1: the unspoken thought of his companion, you were inclined to
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Speaker 1: treat the matter as a mere tortive force of the
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Speaker 1: author on my remarking that I was constantly in the
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Speaker 1: habit of doing the same thing. You expressed incredulity. Oh no,
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Speaker 1: perhaps not with your tongue, my dear Watson, but certainly
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Speaker 1: with your eyebrows. So when I saw you throw down
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Speaker 1: your paper and enter upon a train of thought, I
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Speaker 1: was very happy to have the opportunity of reading it off,
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Speaker 1: and eventually of breaking into it, as a proof that
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Speaker 1: I had been in rapport with you. But I was
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Speaker 1: still far from satisfied in the example which you read
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Speaker 1: to me, said I. The reasoner drew his conclusions from
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Speaker 1: the actions of the man whom he observed. If I
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Speaker 1: remember right, he stumbled over a heap of stones, looked
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Speaker 1: up at the stars, and so on. But I've been
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Speaker 1: seated quietly in my chair, And what clues can I
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Speaker 1: have given you? You do yourself an injustice. The features
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Speaker 1: are given to man as the means by which he
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Speaker 1: shall express his emotions, and yours are faithful servants. Do
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Speaker 1: you mean to say that you read my train of
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Speaker 1: thoughts from my features? Your features, and especially your eyes.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps you cannot yourself recall how your reverie commenced. No
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Speaker 1: I cannot. Then I will tell you. After throwing down
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Speaker 1: your paper, which was the act which drew my attention
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Speaker 1: to you, You sat for half a minute with a
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Speaker 1: vacant expression. Then your eyes fixed themselves upon your newly
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Speaker 1: framed picture of General Gordon, and I saw by the
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Speaker 1: alteration in your face that a train of thought had
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Speaker 1: been started, but it did not lead very far. Your
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Speaker 1: eyes turned across to the unframed portrait of Henry Ward Beecher,
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Speaker 1: which stands upon the top of your books. You then
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Speaker 1: glanced up at the wall, and of course your meaning
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Speaker 1: was obvious. You were thinking that if the portrait were framed,
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Speaker 1: it would just cover that bare space and correspond with
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Speaker 1: Gordon's picture over there. You followed me wonderfully, I exclaimed,
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Speaker 1: so far I could hardly have gone astray. But now
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Speaker 1: your thoughts went back to Beecher, and you looked hard across,
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Speaker 1: as if you were studying the character in his features.
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Speaker 1: Then your eyes ceased pucker, but you continue to look across,
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Speaker 1: and your face was thoughtful. You were recalling the incidents
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Speaker 1: of Beecher's career. I was well aware that you could
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Speaker 1: not do this without thinking of the mission which he
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Speaker 1: undertook on behalf of the North at the time of
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Speaker 1: the Civil War. For I remember you expressing your passionate
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Speaker 1: indignation at the way in which he was received by
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Speaker 1: the more turbulent of our people. You felt so strongly
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Speaker 1: about it that I knew you could not think of
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Speaker 1: Beecher without thinking of that. Also, when a moment later
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Speaker 1: I saw your eyes wander away from the picture, I
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Speaker 1: suspected that your mind had now turned to the Civil war.
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Speaker 1: And when I observed that your lips set, your eyes sparkled,
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Speaker 1: and your hands clinched, I was positive that you were
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Speaker 1: indeed thinking of the gallantry which was shown by both
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Speaker 1: sides in that desperate struggle. But then again your face
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Speaker 1: grew sadder. You shook your head. You were dwelling upon
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Speaker 1: the sadness and horror and useless waste of life. Your
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Speaker 1: hands stole towards your own old wound, and a smile
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Speaker 1: quivered on your lips, which showed me that the ridiculous
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Speaker 1: side of this method of settling international questions had forced
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Speaker 1: itself upon your mind. At this point I agreed with
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Speaker 1: you that it was preposterous, and was glad to find
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Speaker 1: that all my deductions had been correct. Absolutely, said I,
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Speaker 1: And now that you've explained it. I confess that I
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Speaker 1: am as amazed as before. It was very superficial, My
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Speaker 1: dear Watson, I assure you I should not have intruded
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Speaker 1: it upon your attention, had you not shown some incredulity
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Speaker 1: the other day. But the evening has brought a breeze
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Speaker 1: with it. What do you say to a ramble through London?
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Speaker 1: I was weary of our little sitting room and gladly acquiesced.
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Speaker 1: For three hours we strolled about together, watching the ever
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Speaker 1: changing kaleidoscope of life as it ebbs and flows through
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Speaker 1: Fleet Street and the Strand. His characteristic talk, its keen
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Speaker 1: observance of detail, and subtle power of inference, held me
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Speaker 1: amused and enthralled. It was ten o'clock before we reached
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Speaker 1: Baker Street again. A Brupham was waiting at our door. Hum,
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Speaker 1: a doctor's general practitioner, I perceive, said Holmes not been
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Speaker 1: long in practice, but has a good deal to do.
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Speaker 1: Come to consult us. I fancy lucky we came back.
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Speaker 1: I was sufficiently conversant with Holmes's methods to be able
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Speaker 1: to follow his reasoning and to see that the nature
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Speaker 1: and state of the various medical instruments in the wicker
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Speaker 1: basket which hung in the lamp light inside the Brupham
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Speaker 1: had given him the data for his swift deduction. The
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Speaker 1: light in our window above showed that his late visit
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Speaker 1: was indeed intended for us. With some curiosity as to
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Speaker 1: what could have sent a brother Medico to us at
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Speaker 1: such an hour, I followed Holmes into our sanctum. A pale,
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Speaker 1: taper faced man with sandy whiskers rose up from a
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Speaker 1: chair by the fire as we entered. His age may
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Speaker 1: not have been more than three or four and thirty,
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Speaker 1: but his haggard expression and unhealthy hue told of a
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Speaker 1: life which has sapped his strength and robbed him of
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Speaker 1: his youth. His manner was nervous and shy, like that
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Speaker 1: of a sensitive gentleman, and the thin white hand which
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Speaker 1: he laid on the mantelpiece as he rose was that
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Speaker 1: of an artist rather than of a surgeon. His dress
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Speaker 1: was quiet and somber, a black frock coat, dark trousers,
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Speaker 1: and a touch of color about his necktie. Good evening, doctor,
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Speaker 1: said Holmes cheerily. I am glad to see that you
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Speaker 1: have only been waiting a very few minutes. You spoke
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Speaker 1: to my coachman. Then now it was the candle on
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Speaker 1: the side table that told me, pray, resume your seat
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Speaker 1: and let me know how I can serve you. My
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Speaker 1: name is doctor Percy Trevellian, said our visitor. He and
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Speaker 1: I live at four O three Brook Street. Are you
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Speaker 1: not the author of a monograph upon Obscure Nervous Lesions?
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Speaker 1: I asked, his pale cheeks flushed with pleasure at hearing
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Speaker 1: that his work was known to me. I so seldom
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Speaker 1: hear of the work that I thought it was quite dead,
10:18
Speaker 1: said he. My publishers gave me most discouraging account of
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Speaker 1: its sale. You are, yourself, I presume, a medical man,
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Speaker 1: a retired Army surgeon. My own hobby has always been
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Speaker 1: nervous disease. I should wish to make it an absolute specialty,
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Speaker 1: but of course a man must take what he can
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Speaker 1: get at first. This, however, is beside the question, mister
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Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes, and I quite appreciate how valuable your time is.
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Speaker 1: The fact is that a very singular train of events
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Speaker 1: has occurred recently at my house in Brook Street, and
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Speaker 1: to night they came to such a head as I
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Speaker 1: felt it was quite impossible for me to wait another
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Speaker 1: hour before asking for your advice and assistance. Sherlock Holmes
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Speaker 1: sat down and lit his pipe. You are very welcome
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Speaker 1: to both, said he pray. Let me have a detailed
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Speaker 1: account of what the circumstances are which have disturbed you.
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Speaker 1: One or two of them are so trivial, said Doctor Trevallion.
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Speaker 1: That really I am almost ashamed to mention them. But
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Speaker 1: the matter is so inexplicable, and the recent turn which
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Speaker 1: it has taken is so elaborate, that I shall lay
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Speaker 1: it all before you, and you shall judge what is
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Speaker 1: essential and what is not. I am compelled to begin
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Speaker 1: with to say something of my own college career. I
11:35
Speaker 1: am a London University man, you know, and I am
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Speaker 1: sure that you will not think that I am unduly
11:40
Speaker 1: singing my own praises if I say that my student
11:43
Speaker 1: career was considered by my professors to be a very
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Speaker 1: promising one. After I graduated, I continued to devote myself
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Speaker 1: to research, occupying a minor position in King's College Hospital,
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Speaker 1: and I was fortunate enough to excite considerable interest by
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Speaker 1: my my research into the pathology of catalepsy, and finally
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Speaker 1: to win the Bruce Pinkton Prize and meddle by the
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Speaker 1: monograph on Nervous Lesions to which your friend has just alluded.
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Speaker 1: I should not go too far if I were to
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Speaker 1: say that there was a general impression at the time
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Speaker 1: that a distinguished career lay before me. But the one
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Speaker 1: great stumbling block lay in my want of capital. As
12:25
Speaker 1: you will readily understand, a specialist who aims high is
12:28
Speaker 1: compelled to start in one of a dozen streets in
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Speaker 1: the Cavendish Square Quarter, all of which entail enormous rents
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Speaker 1: and furnishing expenses. Besides this preliminary outlay, he must be
12:40
Speaker 1: prepared to keep himself for some years, and to hire
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Speaker 1: a presentable carriage and horse. To do this was quite
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Speaker 1: beyond my power, and I could only hope that by economy,
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Speaker 1: I might in ten years time save enough to enable
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Speaker 1: me to put up my plate. Suddenly, however, an unexpected
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Speaker 1: incident opened up quite a new prospect to me. This
13:03
Speaker 1: was a visit from a gentleman of the name of Blessington,
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Speaker 1: who was a complete stranger to me. He came up
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Speaker 1: to my room one morning and plunged into business in
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Speaker 1: an instant. You are the same, Percy Trevellion, who has
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Speaker 1: had so distinguished a career and won a great prize lately,
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Speaker 1: said he. I bowed answer me frankly, he continued, for
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Speaker 1: you'll find it your interest to do so. You have
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Speaker 1: all the cleverness which makes a successful man, have you
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Speaker 1: the tact? I could not help smiling at the abruptness
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Speaker 1: of the question. I trust that I have my share,
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Speaker 1: I said, any bad habits not drawn towards drink ere? Really, sir,
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Speaker 1: I cried, quite right, that's all right. But I was
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Speaker 1: bound to ask, with all these qualities, why are you
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Speaker 1: not in practice? I shrugged my shoulders. Come, come, said
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Speaker 1: he in his bustling way. It's the old story. More
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Speaker 1: in your brains than in your pocket. Eh, What would
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Speaker 1: you say if I were to start you in brook Street?
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Speaker 1: I stared at him in astonishment. Oh it's for my sake,
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Speaker 1: not for yours, he cried. I'll be perfectly frank with you,
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Speaker 1: and if it suits you, it'll suit me very well.
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Speaker 1: I have a few thousands to invest, you see, and
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Speaker 1: I think I'll sink them in you. But why, I gasped, Well,
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Speaker 1: it's just like any other speculation, and safer than most.
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Speaker 1: What am I to do. Then I'll tell you I'll
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Speaker 1: take the house, furnish it, pay the maids, and run
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Speaker 1: the whole place. All you have to do is just
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Speaker 1: to wear out your chair in the consulting room. I'll
14:50
Speaker 1: let you have pocket money and everything, and you hand
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Speaker 1: over to me three quarters of what you earn, and
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Speaker 1: you keep the other quarter for yourself. This was the
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Speaker 1: strange proposal, mister Holmes, with which the man Blessington approached me.
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Speaker 1: I won't weary you with the account of how we
15:08
Speaker 1: bargained and negotiated. It ended in my moving into the
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Speaker 1: house next lady day and starting in practice on very
15:15
Speaker 1: much the same conditions as he had suggested. He came
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Speaker 1: himself to live with me in the character of a
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Speaker 1: resident patient. His heart was weak, it appears, and he
15:26
Speaker 1: needed constant medical supervision. He turned the two best rooms
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Speaker 1: of the first floor into a sitting room and bed
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Speaker 1: room for himself. He was a man of singular habits,
15:37
Speaker 1: shunning company and very seldom going out. His life was irregular,
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Speaker 1: but in one respect he was regularity itself. Every evening,
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Speaker 1: at the same hour he walked into the consulting room,
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Speaker 1: examined the books, put down five and threepence for every
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Speaker 1: guinea that I had earned, and carried the rest off
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Speaker 1: to the strong box in his own room. I may
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Speaker 1: say with confidence that he never had occasion to regret
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Speaker 1: his speculation. From the first it was a success. A
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Speaker 1: few good cases, and the reputation which I had won
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Speaker 1: in the hospital brought me rapidly to the front, and
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Speaker 1: during the last few years I have made him a
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Speaker 1: rich man. So much mister Holmes, for my past history
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Speaker 1: and my relations with mister Blessington, it only remains for
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Speaker 1: me now to tell you what has occurred to bring
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Speaker 1: me here to night. Some weeks ago mister Blessington came
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Speaker 1: down to me, in as it seemed to me, a
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Speaker 1: state of considerable agitation. He spoke of some burglary which
16:40
Speaker 1: he said had been committed in the West End, and
16:43
Speaker 1: he appeared, I remember, to be quite unnecessarily excited about it,
16:47
Speaker 1: declaring that a day should not pass before we should
16:49
Speaker 1: add stronger bolts to our windows and doors. For a
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Speaker 1: week he continued to be in a peculiar state of restlessness,
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Speaker 1: peering continually out of the windows and to take the
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Speaker 1: short walk which had usually been the prelude to his dinner.
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Speaker 1: From his manner, it struck me that he was in
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Speaker 1: mortal dread of something or somebody. But when I questioned
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Speaker 1: him upon the point, he became so offensive that I
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Speaker 1: was compelled to drop the subject. Gradually, as time passed,
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Speaker 1: his fears appeared to die away, and he had renewed
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Speaker 1: his former habits, when a fresh event reduced him to
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Speaker 1: the pitiable state of prostration in which he now lies.
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Speaker 1: What happened was this. Two days ago I received the
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Speaker 1: letter which I now read to you. Neither address nor
17:38
Speaker 1: date is attached to it. A Russian nobleman, who is
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Speaker 1: now resident in England, it runs, would be glad to
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Speaker 1: avail himself of the professional assistance of doctor Percy Trevallian.
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Speaker 1: He has been for some years a victim to cataleptic attacks,
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Speaker 1: on which, as is well known, doctor trevallion is an authority.
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Speaker 1: He proposes to call at about quarter past six to
18:01
Speaker 1: morrow evening, if Doctor Trevallian will make it convenient to
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Speaker 1: be at home. This letter interested me deeply, because the
18:11
Speaker 1: chief difficulty in the study of catalepsy is the rareness
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Speaker 1: of the disease. You may believe, then, that I was
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Speaker 1: in my consulting room when at the appointed hour the
18:21
Speaker 1: page showed in the patient. He was an elderly man, thin, demure,
18:27
Speaker 1: and commonplace, by no means the conception one forms of
18:32
Speaker 1: a Russian nobleman. I was much more struck by the
18:35
Speaker 1: appearance of his companion. This was a tall young man,
18:40
Speaker 1: surprisingly handsome, with a dark, fierce face and the lips
18:44
Speaker 1: and chest of a Hercules. He had his hand under
18:47
Speaker 1: the other's arm as they entered, and helped him to
18:50
Speaker 1: a chair with a tenderness which one would hardly have
18:53
Speaker 1: expected from his appearance. You will excuse me coming in, doctor,
18:59
Speaker 1: said he to me, speaking English with a slight lisp.
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Speaker 1: This is my father, and his health is a matter
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Speaker 1: of the most overwhelming importance to me. I was touched
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Speaker 1: by his filial anxiety. You would perhaps care to remain
19:14
Speaker 1: during the consultation, said I, Not for the world, he cried,
19:19
Speaker 1: with a gesture of horror. It is more painful to
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Speaker 1: me than I can express. If I were to see
19:26
Speaker 1: my father in one of those dreadful seizures. I am
19:29
Speaker 1: convinced that I should never survive it. My own nervous
19:33
Speaker 1: system is an exceptionally sensitive one. With your permission, I
19:37
Speaker 1: will remain in the waiting room while you go into
19:40
Speaker 1: my father's case. To this, of course, I assented, and
19:45
Speaker 1: the young man withdrew the patient, and I then plunged
19:49
Speaker 1: into a discussion of his case, of which I took
19:52
Speaker 1: exhaustive notes. He was not remarkable for intelligence, and his
19:57
Speaker 1: answers were frequently obscure, which I attribut to his limited
20:00
Speaker 1: acquaintance with our language. Suddenly, however, as I sat writing,
20:06
Speaker 1: he ceased to give any answer at all to my inquiries,
20:09
Speaker 1: and on my turning towards him, I was shocked to
20:13
Speaker 1: see that he was sitting bolt upright in his chair,
20:16
Speaker 1: staring at me with a perfectly blank and rigid face.
20:20
Speaker 1: He was again in the grip of his mysterious malady.
20:25
Speaker 1: My first feeling, as I have just said, was one
20:27
Speaker 1: of pity and horror. My second, I fear, was rather
20:32
Speaker 1: one of professional satisfaction. I made notes of my patient's
20:36
Speaker 1: pulse and temperature, tested the rigidity of his muscles, and
20:40
Speaker 1: examined his reflexes. There was nothing markedly abnormal in any
20:44
Speaker 1: of these conditions, which harmonized with my former experiences. I
20:49
Speaker 1: had obtained good results in such cases by the inhalation
20:53
Speaker 1: of nitrite of amyl, and the presence seemed an admirable
20:56
Speaker 1: opportunity of testing its virtues. The bottle was downstairs in
21:01
Speaker 1: my laboratory, so leaving my patient seated in his chair,
21:05
Speaker 1: I ran down to get it. There was some little
21:09
Speaker 1: delay in finding it five minutes, let us say, and
21:12
Speaker 1: then I returned. Imagine my amazement to find the room
21:17
Speaker 1: empty and the patient gone. Of course, my first act
21:22
Speaker 1: was to run into the waiting room. The sun had
21:24
Speaker 1: gone also. The hall door had been closed, but not shut.
21:30
Speaker 1: My page, who admits patience, is a new boy, and
21:33
Speaker 1: by no means quick he waits downstairs and runs up
21:37
Speaker 1: to show patients out. When I ring the consulting room bell,
21:41
Speaker 1: he had heard nothing, and the affair remained a complete mystery.
21:46
Speaker 1: Mister Blessington came in from his walk shortly afterwards, but
21:50
Speaker 1: I did not say anything to him upon the subject,
21:52
Speaker 1: for to tell the truth, I have got in the
21:55
Speaker 1: way of late of holding as little communication with him
21:58
Speaker 1: as possible. Well, I never thought that I should see
22:02
Speaker 1: anything more of the Russian and his son, So you
22:05
Speaker 1: can imagine my amazement when at the very same hour
22:09
Speaker 1: this evening they both came marching into my consulting room,
22:13
Speaker 1: just as they had done before. I feel that I
22:17
Speaker 1: owe you a great many apologies for my abrupt departure yesterday, doctor,
22:23
Speaker 1: said my patient. I confess that I was very much
22:27
Speaker 1: surprised at it, said I. Well, the fact is, he remarked,
22:33
Speaker 1: that when I recover from these attacks, my mind is
22:37
Speaker 1: always very clouded as to all that has gone before.
22:41
Speaker 1: I woke up in a strange room, as it seemed
22:43
Speaker 1: to me, and made my way out into the street
22:47
Speaker 1: in a sort of dazed way when you were absent,
22:50
Speaker 1: and I said the son, seeing my father past the
22:55
Speaker 1: door of the waiting room, naturally thought that the consultation
22:59
Speaker 1: had come to an end. It was not until we
23:02
Speaker 1: had reached home that I began to realize the true
23:05
Speaker 1: state of affairs. Well, said I, laughing. There is no
23:10
Speaker 1: harm done except that you puzzled me terribly. So if you, sir,
23:15
Speaker 1: would kindly step into the waiting room, I shall be
23:18
Speaker 1: happy to continue our consultation, which was brought to so
23:22
Speaker 1: abrupt an ending. For half an hour or so, I
23:26
Speaker 1: discussed that old gentleman's symptoms with him, and then, having
23:30
Speaker 1: prescribed for him, I saw him go off upon the
23:33
Speaker 1: arm of his son. I have told you that mister
23:36
Speaker 1: Blessington generally chose this hour of the day for his exercise.
23:40
Speaker 1: He came in shortly afterwards and passed upstairs. An instant
23:45
Speaker 1: later I heard him running down, and he burst into
23:48
Speaker 1: my consulting room like a man who is mad with panic.
23:52
Speaker 1: Who has been in my room? He cried. No, one
23:55
Speaker 1: said I, it's a lie, he yelled, come up and look.
24:01
Speaker 1: I passed over the grossness of his language, as he
24:04
Speaker 1: seemed half out of his mind with fear. When I
24:06
Speaker 1: went upstairs with him, he pointed to several footprints upon
24:10
Speaker 1: the light carpet. Do you mean to say those are mine?
24:14
Speaker 1: He cried. They were certainly very much larger than any
24:18
Speaker 1: which he could have made, and were evidently quite fresh.
24:23
Speaker 1: It rained hard this afternoon, as you know, and my
24:26
Speaker 1: patients were the only people who called. It must have
24:29
Speaker 1: been the case, then, that the man in the waiting
24:32
Speaker 1: room had, for some unknown reason, while I was busy
24:35
Speaker 1: with the other ascended to the room of my resident patient.
24:39
Speaker 1: Nothing had been touched or taken, but there were the
24:42
Speaker 1: footprints to prove that the intrusion was an undoubted fact.
24:47
Speaker 1: Mister Blessington seemed more excited over the matter than I
24:50
Speaker 1: should have thought possible, though of course it was enough
24:53
Speaker 1: to disturb anybody's peace of mind. He actually sat crying
24:58
Speaker 1: in an arm chair, and I it'd hardly get him
25:00
Speaker 1: to speak coherently. It was his suggestion that I should
25:05
Speaker 1: come round to you, and of course I at once
25:08
Speaker 1: saw the propriety of it, For certainly the incident is
25:11
Speaker 1: a very singular one, though he appears to completely overrate
25:15
Speaker 1: its importance. If you would only come back with me,
25:19
Speaker 1: my Brotherham, you would at least be able to soothe him,
25:22
Speaker 1: though I can hardly hope that you will be able
25:24
Speaker 1: to explain this remarkable occurrence. Sherlock Holmes had listened to
25:30
Speaker 1: this long narrative with an intentness which showed me that
25:33
Speaker 1: his interest was keenly aroused. His face was as impassive
25:38
Speaker 1: as ever, but his lids had dropped more heavily over
25:41
Speaker 1: his eyes, and his smoke had curled up more thickly
25:44
Speaker 1: from his pipe to emphasize each curious episode in the
25:47
Speaker 1: doctor's tale. As our visitor concluded, Holmes sprang up without
25:52
Speaker 1: a word, hand him in my hat, picked his own
25:55
Speaker 1: from the table, and followed Doctor Trevallian to the door.
25:59
Speaker 1: Within a quarter of an hour, we had been dropped
26:01
Speaker 1: at the door of the physician's residence in Brook Street,
26:04
Speaker 1: one of those somber, flat faced houses which one associates
26:08
Speaker 1: with the West End practice. A small page admitted us,
26:12
Speaker 1: and we began at once to ascend the broad well
26:16
Speaker 1: carpeted stare, but a singular interruption brought us to a standstill.
26:21
Speaker 1: The light at the top was suddenly whisked out, and
26:25
Speaker 1: from the darkness came a reedy, quivering voice. I have
26:29
Speaker 1: a pistol, it cried. I give you my word that
26:33
Speaker 1: I'll fire if you come any nearer. This really grows outrageous,
26:37
Speaker 1: mister Blessington, cried doctor Trevallian. Oh then it is you, doctor,
26:43
Speaker 1: said the voice, with a great heave of relief. But
26:46
Speaker 1: those other gentlemen, are they what they pretend to be?
26:50
Speaker 1: We were conscious of a long scrutiny out of the darkness. Yes, yes,
26:56
Speaker 1: it's all right, said the voice. At last, you can
26:59
Speaker 1: come up, and I am sorry if my precautions have
27:02
Speaker 1: annoyed you. He reel at the stair gas as he spoke,
27:06
Speaker 1: and we saw before us a singular looking man whose appearance,
27:10
Speaker 1: as well as his voice, testified to his jangled nerves.
27:14
Speaker 1: He was very fat, but had apparently at some time
27:17
Speaker 1: been much fatter, so that the skin hung about his
27:20
Speaker 1: face in loose pouches, like the cheeks of a bloodhound.
27:24
Speaker 1: He was of a sickly color, and his thin, sandy
27:27
Speaker 1: hair seemed to bristle up with the intensity of his emotion.
27:31
Speaker 1: In his hand he held a pistol, but he thrust
27:34
Speaker 1: it into his pocket as we advanced good evening, mister
27:37
Speaker 1: Holmes said he I am sure, I am very much
27:40
Speaker 1: obliged to you for coming round. No one ever needed
27:44
Speaker 1: your advice more than I do. I suppose that doctor
27:47
Speaker 1: Trevallian has told you of this most unwarrantable intrusion into
27:51
Speaker 1: my rooms. Quite so, said Holmes. Who are these two men,
27:56
Speaker 1: mister Blessington, and why do they wish to molest you? Well? Well,
28:01
Speaker 1: said the resident patient, in a nervous fashion. Of course,
28:05
Speaker 1: it is hard to say that. You can hardly expect
28:08
Speaker 1: me to answer that, mister Holmes, Do you mean that
28:11
Speaker 1: you don't know? Come in here, if you please, just
28:15
Speaker 1: have the kindness to step in here. He led the
28:18
Speaker 1: way into his bedroom, which was large and comfortably furnished.
28:22
Speaker 1: You see that said he, pointing to a big black
28:25
Speaker 1: box at the end of his bed. I have never
28:28
Speaker 1: been a very rich man, mister Holmes, never made but
28:31
Speaker 1: one investment in my life, as doctor Trevallian would tell you.
28:35
Speaker 1: But I don't believe in bankers. I would never trust
28:38
Speaker 1: a banker, mister Holmes. Between ourselves, what little I have
28:42
Speaker 1: is in that box. So you can understand what it
28:45
Speaker 1: means to me when unknown people forced themselves into my rooms.
28:50
Speaker 1: Holmes looked at Blessington in his questioning way and shook
28:53
Speaker 1: his head. I cannot possibly advise you if you try
28:57
Speaker 1: to deceive me, said he. But I have told you everything.
29:02
Speaker 1: Holmes turned on his heel with a gesture of disgust.
29:06
Speaker 1: Good Night, doctor Trevallion said he And no advice for me,
29:11
Speaker 1: cried Blessington in a breaking voice. My advice to you, sir,
29:16
Speaker 1: is to speak the truth. A minute later, we were
29:19
Speaker 1: in the street and walking for home. We had crossed
29:22
Speaker 1: Oxford Street and were half way down Harley Street before
29:26
Speaker 1: I could get a word from my companion. Sorry to
29:29
Speaker 1: bring you out on such a fool's errand Watson, he said,
29:32
Speaker 1: at last, it is an interesting case too. At the
29:36
Speaker 1: bottom of it, I can make little of it. I confessed, well,
29:41
Speaker 1: it is quite evident that there are two men more perhaps,
29:45
Speaker 1: but at least two who are determined for some reason
29:48
Speaker 1: to get at this fellow Blessington. I have no doubt
29:51
Speaker 1: in my mind that both on the first and on
29:53
Speaker 1: the second occasion, that young man penetrated to Blessington's room,
29:59
Speaker 1: while his confederate, by an ingenious device, kept the doctor
30:03
Speaker 1: from interfering, and the catalepsy a fraudulent imitation, Watson, though
30:10
Speaker 1: I should hardly dare to hint as much to our specialist,
30:14
Speaker 1: It is a very easy complaint to imitate. I have
30:18
Speaker 1: done it myself, And then, by the purest chance, Blessington
30:23
Speaker 1: was out on each occasion. Their reason for choosing so
30:27
Speaker 1: unusual an hour for a consultation was obviously to ensure
30:30
Speaker 1: that there should be no other patient in the waiting room.
30:34
Speaker 1: It just happened, however, that this hour coincided with Blessington's constitutional,
30:39
Speaker 1: which seems to show that they were not very well
30:42
Speaker 1: acquainted with his daily routine. Of course, if they had
30:46
Speaker 1: been merely after plunder, they would at least have made
30:49
Speaker 1: some attempt to search for it. Besides, I can read
30:53
Speaker 1: in a man's eye, when it is his own skin
30:55
Speaker 1: that he is frightened. For it is inconceivable that this
30:58
Speaker 1: fellow could have made two such vindictive enemies as these
31:01
Speaker 1: appear to be without knowing of it. I hold it, therefore,
31:06
Speaker 1: to be certain that he does know who these men are,
31:09
Speaker 1: and that, for reasons of his own, he suppresses it.
31:12
Speaker 1: It is just possible that to morrow may find him
31:16
Speaker 1: in a more communicative mood. Is there not one alternative?
31:20
Speaker 1: I suggested? Grotesquely improbable, no doubt, but still just conceivable.
31:26
Speaker 1: Might the whole story of the cataleptic Russian and his
31:29
Speaker 1: son be a concoction of doctor Trevallion's, who has, for
31:32
Speaker 1: his own purposes, been in Blessington's rooms. I saw in
31:36
Speaker 1: the gaslight that Holmes wore an amused smile at this
31:39
Speaker 1: brilliant departure of mine, my dear fellow, said he. It
31:45
Speaker 1: was one of the first solutions which occurred to me.
31:48
Speaker 1: But I was soon able to corroborate the doctor's tale.
31:51
Speaker 1: This young man has left Prince upon the stair carpet,
31:55
Speaker 1: which made it quite superfluous for me to ask to
31:58
Speaker 1: see those which he had made in the room. When
32:01
Speaker 1: I tell you that his shoes were square toed instead
32:04
Speaker 1: of being pointed like Blessington's, and were quite an inch
32:08
Speaker 1: and a third longer than the doctor's. You will acknowledge
32:11
Speaker 1: that there can be no doubt as to his individuality.
32:15
Speaker 1: But we may sleep on it now, for I shall
32:17
Speaker 1: be surprised if we do not hear something further from
32:20
Speaker 1: Brook Street in the morning. Sherlock Holmes's prophecy was soon fulfilled,
32:26
Speaker 1: and in a dramatic fashion. At half past seven next morning,
32:30
Speaker 1: in the first glimmer of daylight, I found him standing
32:33
Speaker 1: by my bedside in his dressing gown. There's a broughon
32:37
Speaker 1: waiting for us, Watson, said he. What's the matter? Then?
32:41
Speaker 1: The Brook Street business? Any fresh news? Tragic but ambiguous,
32:47
Speaker 1: said he, pulling up the blind. Look at this a
32:51
Speaker 1: sheet from a note book with for God's sake, come
32:55
Speaker 1: at once p. T. Scrawled upon it in pencil. Our friend,
33:01
Speaker 1: the doctor was hard put to it when he wrote this,
33:04
Speaker 1: come along, my dear fellow, for it's an urgent call.
33:08
Speaker 1: In a quarter of an hour or so we were
33:09
Speaker 1: back at the physician's house. He came running out to
33:12
Speaker 1: meet us with a face of horror. Oh, such a business,
33:16
Speaker 1: he cried, with his hands to his temples. What then,
33:20
Speaker 1: Blessington has committed suicide? Holmes whistled, Yes, he hanged himself
33:26
Speaker 1: during the night we had entered, and the doctor had
33:29
Speaker 1: preceded us into what was evidently his waiting room. I
33:33
Speaker 1: really hardly know what I'm doing, he cried. The police
33:37
Speaker 1: are already upstairs. It has shaken me most dreadfully. When
33:42
Speaker 1: did you find out he has a cup of tea
33:45
Speaker 1: taken into him early every morning? When the maid entered
33:48
Speaker 1: about seven there the unfortunate fellow was hanging in the
33:52
Speaker 1: middle of the room. He had tied his cord to
33:55
Speaker 1: the hook on which the heavy lamp used to hang,
33:57
Speaker 1: and he had jumped off from the top of the
33:59
Speaker 1: very box that he showed us yesterday. Holmes stood for
34:03
Speaker 1: a moment in deep thought. With your permission, said he
34:08
Speaker 1: at last, I should like to go upstairs and look
34:11
Speaker 1: into the matter. We both ascended, followed by the doctor.
34:15
Speaker 1: It was a dreadful sight which met us as we
34:18
Speaker 1: entered the bedroom door. I have spoken of the impression
34:21
Speaker 1: of flabbiness which this man Blessington conveyed as he dangled
34:25
Speaker 1: from the hook. It was exaggerated and intensified until he
34:30
Speaker 1: was scarce human in his appearance. The neck was drawn
34:34
Speaker 1: out like a plucked chicken's, making the rest of him
34:37
Speaker 1: seem the more obese and unnatural. By contrast, he was
34:41
Speaker 1: clad only in his long night dress, and his swollen
34:44
Speaker 1: ankles and ungainly feet protruded starkly from beneath it. Beside
34:49
Speaker 1: him stood a smart looking police inspector who was taking
34:52
Speaker 1: notes in a pocket book. Ah, mister Elmes, said he
34:57
Speaker 1: heartily as my friend entered. I am delighted to I
35:00
Speaker 1: see you. Good morning, Leanna answered Holmes. You won't think
35:05
Speaker 1: me an intruder. I am sure. Have you heard of
35:07
Speaker 1: the events which led up to this affair? Yeah, I
35:11
Speaker 1: heard something of them. Have you formed any opinion? As
35:16
Speaker 1: far as I can see, the man has been driven
35:18
Speaker 1: out of his senses by fright. The bed has been
35:21
Speaker 1: well slept in. You see, there's his impression deep enough.
35:25
Speaker 1: It's about five in the morning. You know that suicides
35:28
Speaker 1: are most common. That would be about his time for
35:30
Speaker 1: hanging himself. It seems to have been a very deliberate affair.
35:34
Speaker 1: I should say that he has been dead about three hours,
35:38
Speaker 1: judging by the rigidity of the muscles, said, I noticed
35:42
Speaker 1: anything peculiar about the room, asked Holmes found a screwdriver
35:47
Speaker 1: and some screws on the washhand stand. Seems to have
35:50
Speaker 1: smoked heavily during the night too. Here are four cigar
35:53
Speaker 1: ends that I've picked out of the fireplace, hm said Holmes.
35:58
Speaker 1: Have you got his cigar holder? No, I have, say none,
36:03
Speaker 1: his cigar case? Then, yes, it was in his coat pocket.
36:08
Speaker 1: Holmes opened it and smelled the single cigar which it contained. Oh,
36:14
Speaker 1: this is an Havana and these others are cigars of
36:17
Speaker 1: the peculiar sort, which are imported by the Dutch from
36:20
Speaker 1: their East Indian colonies. They are usually wrapped in straw,
36:23
Speaker 1: you know, and are thinner for their length than any
36:26
Speaker 1: other brand. He picked up the four ends and examined
36:29
Speaker 1: them with his pocket lens. Two of these have been
36:32
Speaker 1: smoked from a holder and two without, said he. Two
36:36
Speaker 1: have been cut by a not very sharp knife, and
36:39
Speaker 1: two have had the ends bitten off by a set
36:41
Speaker 1: of excellent teeth. This is no suicide, mister Leanna. It
36:46
Speaker 1: is a very deeply planned and cold blooded murder. Impossible,
36:51
Speaker 1: cried the inspector. And why why should any one murder
36:56
Speaker 1: a man? In so clumsy a fashion as by hanging him.
37:00
Speaker 1: That is what we have to find out. How could
37:03
Speaker 1: thy gain through the front door? It was barred in
37:08
Speaker 1: the morning, then it was barred after them. How do
37:12
Speaker 1: you know I saw their traces. Excuse me a moment,
37:17
Speaker 1: and I may be able to give you some further
37:19
Speaker 1: information about it. He went over to the door, and
37:23
Speaker 1: turning the lock, he examined it in his methodical way.
37:27
Speaker 1: Then he took out the key, which was on the inside,
37:30
Speaker 1: and inspected that. Also the bed, the carpet, the chairs,
37:34
Speaker 1: the mantel piece, the dead body, and the rope were
37:37
Speaker 1: each in turn examined, until at last he professed himself satisfied, and,
37:42
Speaker 1: with my aid and that of the inspector, cut down
37:46
Speaker 1: the wretched object and laid it reverently under a sheet.
37:50
Speaker 1: How about this rope, he asked, It is cut off,
37:54
Speaker 1: This said doctor Trevillian, drawing a large coil from under
37:57
Speaker 1: the bed. He was morbidly of fire, and always kept
38:02
Speaker 1: this beside him so that he might escape by the
38:04
Speaker 1: window in case the stairs were burning. That must have
38:08
Speaker 1: saved them trouble, said Holmes thoughtfully. Yes, the actual facts
38:13
Speaker 1: are very plain, and I shall be surprised if by
38:16
Speaker 1: the afternoon I cannot give you the reasons for them
38:19
Speaker 1: as well. I will take this photograph of Blessington, which
38:23
Speaker 1: I see upon the mantelpiece, as it may help me
38:25
Speaker 1: in my inquiries. But you have told us nothing, cried
38:30
Speaker 1: the doctor. Oh, there can be no doubt as to
38:33
Speaker 1: the sequence of events, said Holmes. There were three of
38:37
Speaker 1: them in it, the young man, the old man, and
38:40
Speaker 1: a third to whose identity I have no clue. The
38:44
Speaker 1: first two, I need hardly remark, are the same who
38:46
Speaker 1: masqueraded as the Russian count and his son, so we
38:50
Speaker 1: can give a very full description of them. They were
38:53
Speaker 1: admitted by a confederate inside the house. If I might
38:58
Speaker 1: offer you a word of advice, Specter, it would be
39:01
Speaker 1: to arrest the page, who, as I understand, has only
39:05
Speaker 1: recently come into your service. Doctor. The young imp cannot
39:09
Speaker 1: be found, said Doctor Trevallion. The maid and the cook
39:13
Speaker 1: have just been searching for him. Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
39:18
Speaker 1: He has played a not unimportant part in this drama,
39:21
Speaker 1: said he. The three men having ascended the stairs, which
39:25
Speaker 1: they did on tiptoe, the elder man first, the younger
39:28
Speaker 1: man second, and the unknown man in the rear, My
39:33
Speaker 1: dear Holmes, I ejaculated. Oh, there could be no question
39:37
Speaker 1: as to the superimposing of the footmarks. I had the
39:40
Speaker 1: advantage of learning which was which last night. They ascended
39:44
Speaker 1: then to mister Blessington's room, the door of which they
39:47
Speaker 1: found to be locked. With the help of a wire. However,
39:50
Speaker 1: they forced round the quay even without the lens. You
39:54
Speaker 1: will perceive by the scratches on this ward where the
39:57
Speaker 1: pressure was applied on entering the room. Their first proceeding
40:01
Speaker 1: must have been to gag mister Blessington. He may have
40:04
Speaker 1: been asleep, or he may have been so paralyzed with
40:07
Speaker 1: terror as to have been unable to cry out. These
40:10
Speaker 1: walls are thick, and it is conceivable that his shriek,
40:14
Speaker 1: if he had time to utter one, was unheard. Having
40:18
Speaker 1: secured him, it is evident to me that a consultation
40:21
Speaker 1: of some sort was held. Probably it was something in
40:25
Speaker 1: the nature of a judicial proceeding. It must have lasted
40:29
Speaker 1: for some time, for it was then that these cigars
40:32
Speaker 1: were smoked. The older man sat in that wicker chair.
40:36
Speaker 1: It was he who used the cigar holder. The younger
40:39
Speaker 1: man sat over yonder. He knocked his ash off against
40:43
Speaker 1: the chest of drawers. The third fellow paced up and down.
40:47
Speaker 1: Blessington I think sat upright in the bed, but of
40:50
Speaker 1: that I cannot be absolutely certain. Well it ended by
40:55
Speaker 1: their taking Blessington and hanging him. The matter was so
40:58
Speaker 1: prearranged that it is my belief that they brought with
41:01
Speaker 1: them some sort of block or pulley which might serve
41:04
Speaker 1: as a gallows. That screwdriver and those screws were, as
41:09
Speaker 1: I conceive, for fixing it up. Seeing the hook, however,
41:13
Speaker 1: they naturally saved themselves the trouble. Having finished their work,
41:17
Speaker 1: they made off, and the door was barred behind them
41:20
Speaker 1: by their confederate. We had all listened with the deepest
41:24
Speaker 1: interest to this sketch of the night's doings, which Holmes
41:27
Speaker 1: had deduced from signs so subtle and minute that even
41:31
Speaker 1: when he had pointed them out to us, we could
41:33
Speaker 1: scarcely follow him in his reasoning. The inspector hurried away
41:37
Speaker 1: on the instant to make inquiries about the page, while
41:41
Speaker 1: Holmes and I returned to Baker Street for breakfast. I'll
41:45
Speaker 1: be back by three, said he, when we'd finished our meal.
41:49
Speaker 1: Both the inspector and the doctor will meet me here
41:51
Speaker 1: at that hour, and I hope by that time to
41:54
Speaker 1: have cleared up any little obscurity which the case may
41:57
Speaker 1: still present. Our visitors arrived at the appointed time, but
42:02
Speaker 1: it was a quarter to four before my friend put
42:05
Speaker 1: in an appearance. From his expression as he entered, however,
42:09
Speaker 1: I could see that all had gone well with him.
42:13
Speaker 1: Any news, Inspector. We've got the boy, sir, excellent, and
42:19
Speaker 1: I have got the men. You have got them, we
42:23
Speaker 1: cried all three. Well, at least I have got their identity.
42:28
Speaker 1: This so called Blessington is, as I expected, well known
42:32
Speaker 1: at headquarters, and so are his assailants. Their names are Biddle,
42:37
Speaker 1: Haywood and moffat the Worthingdon Bank gang, cried the inspector. Precisely,
42:44
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Then Blessington must have been sattin exactly, said Holmes.
42:51
Speaker 1: Why that makes it as clear as crystal, said the inspector.
42:56
Speaker 1: But Trevellion and I looked at each other in bewilderment.
43:00
Speaker 1: You must surely remember the great Worthingdon Bank business, said Holmes.
43:05
Speaker 1: Five men were in it, these four and a fifth
43:09
Speaker 1: called Cartwright. Tobin. The caretaker was murdered, and the thieves
43:13
Speaker 1: got away with seven thousand pounds. This was in eighteen
43:17
Speaker 1: seventy five. They were all five arrested, but the evidence
43:21
Speaker 1: against them was by no means conclusive. This Blessington or Sutton,
43:27
Speaker 1: who was the worst of the gang, turned informer on
43:30
Speaker 1: his evidence. Cartwright was hanged and the other three got
43:33
Speaker 1: fifteen years apiece. When they got out the other day,
43:37
Speaker 1: which was some years before their full term, they set themselves,
43:41
Speaker 1: as you perceive, to hunt down the traitor and to
43:44
Speaker 1: avenge the death of their comrade upon him. Twice they
43:47
Speaker 1: tried to get at him and failed. A third time,
43:51
Speaker 1: you see it came off. Is there anything further which
43:54
Speaker 1: I can explain, Doctor Trevallian? I think you've made it
43:58
Speaker 1: all remarkably clear, the doctor, no doubt. The day on
44:02
Speaker 1: which he was perturbed was the day when he had
44:04
Speaker 1: seen of their release in the newspapers. Quite so, his
44:09
Speaker 1: talk about a burglary was the merest blind. But why
44:13
Speaker 1: could he not tell you this? Well, my dear sir,
44:17
Speaker 1: knowing the vindictive character of his old associates, he was
44:20
Speaker 1: trying to hide his own identity from everybody as long
44:24
Speaker 1: as he could. His secret was a shameful one, and
44:27
Speaker 1: he could not bring himself to divulge it. However, wretch
44:31
Speaker 1: as he was, he was still living under the shield
44:34
Speaker 1: of British law. And I have no doubt, Inspector, that
44:37
Speaker 1: you will see that though that shield might fail to guard,
44:40
Speaker 1: the sword of justice is still there to avenge. Such
44:45
Speaker 1: were the singular circumstances in connection with the Resident Patient
44:49
Speaker 1: and the brook Street doctor. From that night. Nothing has
44:53
Speaker 1: been seen of the three murderers by the police, and
44:56
Speaker 1: it is surmised at Scotland Yard that they were among
44:59
Speaker 1: them passengers of the ill fated steamer Norah Creina, which
45:04
Speaker 1: was lost some years ago with all hands upon the
45:07
Speaker 1: Portuguese coast, some leagues to the north of a Porto.
45:12
Speaker 1: The proceedings against the page broke down for want of evidence,
45:16
Speaker 1: and the brook Street mystery, as it was called, has
45:19
Speaker 1: never until now been fully dealt with in any public print.
45:24
Speaker 1: End of the Resident Patient