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30 Black Peter from The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1 · Sherlock Holmes

0:01
Speaker 1: The adventure of Black Peter. I have never known my
0:08
Speaker 1: friend to be in better form, both mental and physical,
0:12
Speaker 1: than in the year ninety five. His increasing fame had
0:15
Speaker 1: brought with it an immense practice, and I should be
0:18
Speaker 1: guilty of an indiscretion if I were even to hint
0:21
Speaker 1: at the identity of some of the illustrious clients who
0:24
Speaker 1: crossed our humble threshold in Baker Street. Holmes. However, like
0:30
Speaker 1: all great artists, lived for his art's sake, and save
0:33
Speaker 1: in the case of the Duke of Holderness, I have
0:36
Speaker 1: seldom known him claim any large reward for his inestimable services.
0:41
Speaker 1: So unworldly was he, nor so capricious that he frequently
0:45
Speaker 1: refused his help to the powerful and wealthy, where the
0:49
Speaker 1: problem made no appeal to his sympathies, while he would
0:52
Speaker 1: devote weeks of most intense application to the affairs of
0:55
Speaker 1: some humble client whose case presented those strange and dramatic
1:00
Speaker 1: qualities which appealed to his imagination and challenged his ingenuity.
1:06
Speaker 1: In this memorable year ninety five, a curious and incongruous
1:10
Speaker 1: succession of cases had engaged his attention, ranging from his
1:14
Speaker 1: famous investigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Toscer, an
1:19
Speaker 1: inquiry which was carried out by him at the express
1:22
Speaker 1: desire of his Holiness the Pope, down to his arrest
1:25
Speaker 1: of Wilson, the notorious Canary Trainer, which removed a plague
1:30
Speaker 1: spot from the east end of London. Close on the
1:34
Speaker 1: heels of these two famous cases came the tragedy of
1:38
Speaker 1: Woodman's Lee and the very obscure circumstances which surrounded the
1:43
Speaker 1: death of Captain Peter Carey. No record of the doings
1:47
Speaker 1: of mister Sherlock Holmes would be complete which did not
1:50
Speaker 1: include some account of this very unusual affair. During the
1:54
Speaker 1: first week of July. My friend had been absent so
1:57
Speaker 1: often and so long from our lodgings that I knew
2:00
Speaker 1: he had something on hand. The fact that several rough
2:04
Speaker 1: looking men called during that time and inquired for Captain
2:08
Speaker 1: Basil made me understand that Holmes was working somewhere under
2:13
Speaker 1: one of the numerous disguises and names with which he
2:16
Speaker 1: concealed his own formidable identity. He had at least five
2:21
Speaker 1: small refuges in different parts of London in which he
2:24
Speaker 1: was able to change his personality. He said nothing of
2:28
Speaker 1: his business to me, and it was not my habit
2:31
Speaker 1: to force a confidence. The first positive sign which he
2:35
Speaker 1: gave me of the direction which his investigation was taking
2:39
Speaker 1: was an extraordinary one. He had gone out before breakfast,
2:42
Speaker 1: and I had sat down to mine when he strode
2:45
Speaker 1: into the room, his hat upon his head and a
2:48
Speaker 1: huge barbed headed spear tucked like an umbrella under his arm. Good,
2:53
Speaker 1: gracious Homes, I cried, You don't mean to say that
2:56
Speaker 1: you've been walking about London with that thing. I drove,
3:00
Speaker 1: move to the butchers, and back the butchers, and I
3:03
Speaker 1: return with an excellent appetite. There can be no question,
3:06
Speaker 1: my dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast.
3:10
Speaker 1: But I am prepared to bet that you will not
3:12
Speaker 1: guess the form that my exercise has taken. I will
3:16
Speaker 1: not attempt it. He chuckled as he poured out the coffee.
3:21
Speaker 1: If you could have looked into Alardyce's back shop, you
3:24
Speaker 1: would have seen a dead pig swung from a hook
3:26
Speaker 1: in the ceiling, and a gentleman in his shirt sleeves
3:30
Speaker 1: furiously stabbing at it with this weapon. I was that
3:35
Speaker 1: energetic person, and I have satisfied myself that by no
3:38
Speaker 1: exertion of my strength. Can I transfix the pig with
3:42
Speaker 1: a single blow? Perhaps you would care to try? Not
3:46
Speaker 1: for worlds, But why were you doing this? Because it
3:51
Speaker 1: seemed to me to have an indirect bearing upon the
3:53
Speaker 1: mystery of Woodman's lee. Ah, Hopkins, I got your wire
3:58
Speaker 1: last night, and I've been expecting you come and join us.
4:03
Speaker 1: Our visitor was an exceedingly alert man, thirty years of age,
4:07
Speaker 1: dressed in a quiet tweed suit, but retaining the erect
4:11
Speaker 1: bearing of one who was accustomed to official uniform. I
4:16
Speaker 1: recognized him at once, our Stanley Hopkins, a young police
4:19
Speaker 1: inspector for whose future homes had high hopes, while he
4:23
Speaker 1: in turn professed the admiration and respect of a pupil
4:27
Speaker 1: for the scientific methods of the famous amateur. Hopkins's brow
4:32
Speaker 1: was clouded, and he sat down with an air of
4:34
Speaker 1: deep dejection. No thank you, sir. I breakfasted before I
4:39
Speaker 1: came round. I spent the night in town, for I
4:42
Speaker 1: came up yesterday to report. And what had you to report? Failure, sir,
4:48
Speaker 1: absolute failure. You have made no progress, none, Dear me,
4:54
Speaker 1: I must have a look at the matter. I wish
4:57
Speaker 1: to Heavens that you would, mister Holmes, it's my first
5:00
Speaker 1: big chance, and I am at my wits end. For
5:03
Speaker 1: goodness sake, come down and lend me a hand. Well, well,
5:07
Speaker 1: it just happens that I've already read all the available evidence,
5:11
Speaker 1: including the report of the inquest, with some care. By
5:15
Speaker 1: the way, what do you make of that tobacco pouch
5:17
Speaker 1: found on the scene of the crime. Is there no
5:20
Speaker 1: clue there? Hopkins looked surprised. It was the man's own pouch, sir,
5:26
Speaker 1: His initials were inside it, and it was of seal skin,
5:30
Speaker 1: and he was an old sealer. But he had no pipe, No, sir,
5:35
Speaker 1: we could find no pipe. Indeed, he smoked very little,
5:40
Speaker 1: and yet he might have kept some tobacco for his friends,
5:43
Speaker 1: no doubt. I only mention it because if I had
5:47
Speaker 1: been handling the case, I should have been inclined to
5:49
Speaker 1: make that the starting point of my investigation. However, my
5:53
Speaker 1: friend doctor Watson knows nothing of this matter, and I
5:56
Speaker 1: should be none the worse for hearing the sequence of events.
5:59
Speaker 1: Once more, just give us some short sketches of the essentials.
6:05
Speaker 1: Stanley Hopkins drew a slip of paper from his pocket.
6:09
Speaker 1: I have a few dates here which will give you
6:11
Speaker 1: the career of the Dead Man Captain Peter Carey. He
6:16
Speaker 1: was born in forty five fifty years of age. He
6:20
Speaker 1: was a most daring and successful seal and whale fisher.
6:25
Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty three he commanded the steam sealer see
6:28
Speaker 1: Unicorn of Dundee. He had then had several successful voyages
6:33
Speaker 1: in succession, and in the following year eighteen eighty four,
6:37
Speaker 1: he retired. After that he traveled for some years, and
6:41
Speaker 1: finally he bought a small place called Woodman's Lee near
6:45
Speaker 1: Forest Row in Sussex. There he has lived for six years,
6:49
Speaker 1: and there he died just a week ago to day.
6:52
Speaker 1: There were some most singular points about the man. In
6:56
Speaker 1: ordinary life. He was a strict puritan, a silent, gloomy fellow.
7:00
Speaker 1: His household consisted of his wife, his daughter aged twenty,
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Speaker 1: and two female servants. These last were continually changing, for
7:09
Speaker 1: it was never a very cheery situation, and sometimes it
7:12
Speaker 1: became past all bearing. The man was an intermittent drunkard,
7:17
Speaker 1: and when he had the fit on him he was
7:19
Speaker 1: a perfect fiend. He has been known to drive his
7:23
Speaker 1: wife and daughter out of doors in the middle of
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Speaker 1: the night and flog them through the park until the
7:28
Speaker 1: whole village outside the gates was aroused by their screams.
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Speaker 1: He was summoned once for a savage assault upon the
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Speaker 1: old vicar, who had called upon him to remonstrate with
7:38
Speaker 1: him upon his conduct. In short, mister Holmes, you would
7:42
Speaker 1: go far before you found a more dangerous man than
7:45
Speaker 1: Peter Carey, and I have heard that he bore the
7:48
Speaker 1: same character. When he commanded his ship. He was known
7:52
Speaker 1: in the trade as Black Peter, and the name was
7:54
Speaker 1: given him not only on account of his swarthy features
7:57
Speaker 1: and the color of his huge beard, but for the
8:00
Speaker 1: humors which were the terror of all around him. I
8:03
Speaker 1: need not say that he was loathed and avoided by
8:05
Speaker 1: every one of his neighbors, and that I have not
8:08
Speaker 1: heard one single word of sorrow about his terrible end.
8:13
Speaker 1: You must have read in the account of the inquest
8:15
Speaker 1: about the man's cabin, mister Holmes, but perhaps your friend
8:18
Speaker 1: here has not heard of it. He had built himself
8:21
Speaker 1: a wooden outhouse he always called it the cabin, a
8:26
Speaker 1: few hundred yards from his house, and it was here
8:29
Speaker 1: that he slept every night. It was a little, single
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Speaker 1: roomed hut sixteen feet by ten. He kept the key
8:36
Speaker 1: in his pocket, made his own bed, cleaned it himself,
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Speaker 1: and allowed no other foot to cross the threshold. There
8:43
Speaker 1: are small windows on each side, which were covered by
8:46
Speaker 1: curtains and never opened. One of these windows was turned
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Speaker 1: towards the high road, and when the light burned in
8:53
Speaker 1: it at night, the folk used to point it out
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Speaker 1: to each other and wonder what Black Peter was doing
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Speaker 1: in there. That's the window, mister Holmes, which gave us
9:02
Speaker 1: one of the few bits of positive evidence that came
9:05
Speaker 1: out at the inquest. You remember that a stonemason named Slater,
9:10
Speaker 1: walking from Forest Row about one o'clock in the morning
9:14
Speaker 1: two days before the murder, stopped as he passed the
9:17
Speaker 1: ground and looked at the square of light still shining
9:20
Speaker 1: among the trees. He swears that the shadow of a
9:23
Speaker 1: man's head turned sideways was clearly visible on the blind,
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Speaker 1: and that this shadow was certainly not that of Peter Carey,
9:31
Speaker 1: whom he knew well. It was that of a bearded man,
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Speaker 1: but the beard was short and bristled forward in a
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Speaker 1: way very different from that of the captain, so he says,
9:42
Speaker 1: But he had been two hours in the public house,
9:45
Speaker 1: and at some distance from the road to the window.
9:48
Speaker 1: Besides this, refers to the Monday, and the crime was
9:51
Speaker 1: done upon the Wednesday. On the Tuesday, Peter Carey was
9:55
Speaker 1: in one of his blackest moods, flushed with drink and
9:58
Speaker 1: as savage as a dangerous wild beast. He roamed about
10:02
Speaker 1: the house, and the women ran for it when they
10:04
Speaker 1: heard him coming late in the evening. He went down
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Speaker 1: to his own hut. About two o'clock the following morning,
10:11
Speaker 1: his daughter, who slept with her window open, heard a
10:14
Speaker 1: most fearful yell from that direction. But it was no
10:18
Speaker 1: unusual thing for him to ball and shout when he
10:21
Speaker 1: was in drink, so no notice was taken. On rising
10:25
Speaker 1: at seven, one of the maids noticed that the door
10:28
Speaker 1: of the hut was open. But so great was the
10:30
Speaker 1: terror which the man caused, that it was midday before
10:33
Speaker 1: any one would venture down to see what had become
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Speaker 1: of him. Peeping into the open door, they saw a
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Speaker 1: sight which sent them flying with white faces into the village.
10:43
Speaker 1: Within an hour, I was on the spot and had
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Speaker 1: taken over the case. Well, I have fairly steady nerves,
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Speaker 1: as you know, mister Holmes, but I give you my
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Speaker 1: word that I got a shake when I put my
10:55
Speaker 1: head into that little house. It was droning like a
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Speaker 1: harmony with the flies and blue bottles, and the floor
11:04
Speaker 1: and walls were like a slaughter house. He had called
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Speaker 1: it a cabin, and a cabin it was sure enough,
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Speaker 1: for you would have thought that you were in a ship.
11:14
Speaker 1: There was a bunk at one end, a sea chest,
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Speaker 1: maps and charts, a picture of the sea unicorn, a
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Speaker 1: line of log books on a shelf, all exactly as
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Speaker 1: one would expect to find it in a captain's room.
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Speaker 1: And there in the middle of it was the man himself,
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Speaker 1: his face twisted like a lost soul in torment, and
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Speaker 1: his great brindled beard stuck upward in his agony. Right
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Speaker 1: through his broad breast, a steel harpoon had been driven,
11:43
Speaker 1: and it had sunk deep into the wood of the
11:45
Speaker 1: wall behind him. He was pinned like a beetle on
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Speaker 1: a card. Of course, he was quite dead, and had
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Speaker 1: been so from the instant that he had uttered that
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Speaker 1: last yell of agony. I know your method, sir, and
11:59
Speaker 1: I plied them. Before I permitted anything to be moved.
12:03
Speaker 1: I examined most carefully the ground outside and also the
12:07
Speaker 1: floor of the room. There were no footmarks, meaning that
12:11
Speaker 1: you saw none I assure you, sir, that there were
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Speaker 1: none I could hopkins. I have investigated many crimes, but
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Speaker 1: I have never yet seen one which was committed by
12:22
Speaker 1: a flying creature. As long as the criminal remains upon
12:26
Speaker 1: two legs, so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion,
12:31
Speaker 1: some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific searcher.
12:36
Speaker 1: It is incredible that this blood bespattered room contained no
12:40
Speaker 1: trace which could have aided us. I understand, however, from
12:44
Speaker 1: the inquest, that there were some objects which you failed
12:48
Speaker 1: to overlook. The young inspector winced at my companion's ironical comments,
12:54
Speaker 1: I was a fool not to call you in at
12:56
Speaker 1: the time, mister Holmes. However, that's past praying for now. Yes,
13:00
Speaker 1: there were several objects in the room which called for
13:03
Speaker 1: special attention. One was the harpoon with which the deed
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Speaker 1: was committed. It had been snatched down from a rack
13:11
Speaker 1: on the wall. Two others remained there, and there was
13:14
Speaker 1: a vacant place for the third. On the stock was
13:17
Speaker 1: engraved S. S. C. Unicorn Dundee. This seemed to establish
13:23
Speaker 1: that the crime had been done in a moment of fury,
13:26
Speaker 1: and that the murderer had seized the first weapon which
13:29
Speaker 1: came in his way. The fact that the crime was
13:32
Speaker 1: committed at two in the morning, and yet Peter Carey
13:35
Speaker 1: was fully dressed, suggested that he had an appointment with
13:38
Speaker 1: the murderer, which is borne out by the fact that
13:41
Speaker 1: a bottle of rum and two dirty glasses stood upon
13:44
Speaker 1: the table. Yes, said Holmes, I think that both inferences
13:49
Speaker 1: are permissible. Was there any other spirit but rum in
13:52
Speaker 1: the room? Yes? There was a tantalus containing brandy and
13:56
Speaker 1: whisky on the sea chest. It is of no importance
14:00
Speaker 1: to us, however, since the decanters were full and it
14:03
Speaker 1: had therefore not been used. For all that its presence
14:07
Speaker 1: has some significance, said Holmes. However, let us hear some
14:12
Speaker 1: more about the objects which do seem to you to
14:14
Speaker 1: bear upon the case. There was this tobacco pouch upon
14:19
Speaker 1: the table. What part of the table it lay in
14:22
Speaker 1: the middle. It was, of course seal skin, the straight
14:25
Speaker 1: haired skin, with a leather thong to bind it. Inside
14:29
Speaker 1: was pc on the flap. There was half an ounce
14:32
Speaker 1: of strong ship's tobacco in it. Excellent. What more, Stanley
14:37
Speaker 1: Hopkins drew from his pocket a drab covered notebook. The
14:41
Speaker 1: outside was rough and worn, the leaves discolored. On the
14:45
Speaker 1: first page were written the initials J H CHEN and
14:49
Speaker 1: the date eighteen eighty three. Holmes laid it on the
14:54
Speaker 1: table and examined it in his minute way, while Hopkins
14:58
Speaker 1: and I gazed over each shoulder. On the second page
15:02
Speaker 1: were the printed letters C P R, and then came
15:05
Speaker 1: several sheets of numbers. Another heading was Argentine, another Costa Rica,
15:12
Speaker 1: and another San Paolo, each with pages of signs and
15:17
Speaker 1: figures after it. What do you make of these? Asked Holmes.
15:23
Speaker 1: They appear to be lists of stock exchange securities. I
15:26
Speaker 1: thought that j h N were the initials of a broker,
15:29
Speaker 1: and that CPR may have been his client. Try Canadian
15:34
Speaker 1: Pacific Railway, said Holmes. Stanley Hopkins swore between his teeth
15:40
Speaker 1: and struck his thigh with his clenched hand. What a
15:43
Speaker 1: fool I have been, he cried. Of course, it is
15:47
Speaker 1: as you say, then, J H N are the only
15:50
Speaker 1: initials we have to solve. I have already examined the
15:54
Speaker 1: old stock exchange lists, and I can find no one
15:57
Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty three either in the house saw among
16:00
Speaker 1: the outside brokers whose initials correspond with these, Yet I
16:05
Speaker 1: feel that the clue is the most important one that
16:07
Speaker 1: I hold. You will admit, mister Holmes, that there is
16:10
Speaker 1: a possibility that these initials are those of the second
16:13
Speaker 1: person who was present, in other words, of the murderer.
16:18
Speaker 1: I would also urge that the introduction into the case
16:21
Speaker 1: of a document relating to large masses of valuable securities
16:25
Speaker 1: gives us, for the first time some indication of a
16:27
Speaker 1: motive for the crime. Sherlock Holmes's face showed that he
16:32
Speaker 1: was thoroughly taken aback by this new development. I must
16:35
Speaker 1: admit both your points, said he. I confess that this notebook,
16:40
Speaker 1: which did not appear at the inquest, modifies any views
16:43
Speaker 1: which I may have formed. I had come to a
16:46
Speaker 1: theory of the crime in which I can find no
16:48
Speaker 1: place for this. Have you endeavored to trace any of
16:52
Speaker 1: these securities here mentioned? Inquiries are now being made of
16:56
Speaker 1: the offices, but I fear that the complete register of
16:59
Speaker 1: these stockholders of these South American concerns is in South America,
17:04
Speaker 1: and that some weeks must elapse before we can trace
17:06
Speaker 1: the shares. Holmes had been examining the cover of the
17:10
Speaker 1: note book with his magnifying lens. Surely there is some
17:14
Speaker 1: discolouration here, said he, yes, sir, it is a blood stain.
17:19
Speaker 1: I told you that I picked the book off the floor.
17:22
Speaker 1: Was the blood stain above or below on the side
17:26
Speaker 1: next the boards, which proves, of course, that the book
17:29
Speaker 1: was dropped after the crime was committed. Exactly, mister Holmes.
17:33
Speaker 1: I appreciated that point, and I conjectured that it was
17:36
Speaker 1: dropped by the murderer in his hurried flight. It lay
17:39
Speaker 1: near the door. I suppose that none of these securities
17:44
Speaker 1: have been found among the property of the dead man. No, sir,
17:48
Speaker 1: have you any reason to suspect robbery? No, sir, nothing
17:52
Speaker 1: seemed to have been touched. Dear me, it is certainly
17:56
Speaker 1: a very interesting case. Then there was a knife, was
17:59
Speaker 1: there not? A sheath? Knife is still in its sheath.
18:03
Speaker 1: It lay at the feet of the dead man. Missus
18:06
Speaker 1: Carey has identified it as being her husband's property. Holmes
18:11
Speaker 1: was lost in thought for some time, well, said he
18:15
Speaker 1: At last, I suppose I shall have to come out
18:18
Speaker 1: and have a look at it. Stanley Hopkins gave a
18:21
Speaker 1: cry of joy, Thank you, sir. That will indeed be
18:24
Speaker 1: a weight off my mind. Holmes shook his finger at
18:28
Speaker 1: the inspector. It would have been an easier task a
18:31
Speaker 1: week ago, said he. But even now my visit may
18:34
Speaker 1: not be entirely fruitless. Watson. If you can spare the time,
18:38
Speaker 1: I should be very glad of your company. If you
18:41
Speaker 1: will call a four wheeler, Hopkins, we shall be ready
18:43
Speaker 1: to start for Forest Row in a quarter of an hour.
18:48
Speaker 1: Alighting at the small wayside station, we drove for some
18:52
Speaker 1: miles through the remains of widespread woods which were once
18:56
Speaker 1: part of that great forest which for so long held
18:59
Speaker 1: the Saxon invaders at bay, the impenetrable Wheeld for sixty
19:04
Speaker 1: years the bulwark of Britain. Vast sections of it had
19:09
Speaker 1: been cleared. For this is the seat of the first
19:12
Speaker 1: iron works of the country, and the trees have been
19:15
Speaker 1: felled to smelt the oar. Now the richer fields of
19:19
Speaker 1: the north have absorbed the trade, and nothing save these
19:23
Speaker 1: ravaged groves and great scars in the earth show the
19:27
Speaker 1: work of the past. Here, in a clearing upon the
19:31
Speaker 1: green slope of a hill stood a long, low stone house,
19:35
Speaker 1: approached by a curving drive running through the fields nearer
19:39
Speaker 1: the road, and surrounded on three sides by bushes was
19:43
Speaker 1: a small outhouse, one window and the door facing in
19:47
Speaker 1: our direction. It was the scene of the murder. Stanley
19:54
Speaker 1: Hopkins led us first to the house, where he introduced
19:57
Speaker 1: us to a haggard, gray haired woman, the widow of
20:01
Speaker 1: the murdered man, whose gaunt and deep lined face, with
20:05
Speaker 1: the furtive look of terror in the depths of her
20:08
Speaker 1: red rimmed eyes, told of the years of hardship and
20:11
Speaker 1: ill usage which she had endured with her. Was her daughter,
20:16
Speaker 1: a pale, fair haired girl, whose eyes blazed defiantly at us,
20:21
Speaker 1: and she told us that she was glad that her
20:23
Speaker 1: father was dead, and that she blessed the hand which
20:27
Speaker 1: had struck him down. It was a terrible household that
20:31
Speaker 1: Black Peter Carey had made for himself, and it was
20:34
Speaker 1: with a sense of relief that we found ourselves in
20:36
Speaker 1: the sunlight again and making our way along a path
20:40
Speaker 1: which had been worn across the fields by the feet
20:43
Speaker 1: of the dead man. The outhouse was the simplest of dwellings,
20:48
Speaker 1: wooden walled, shingle roofed, one window beside the door and
20:52
Speaker 1: one on the farther side. Stanley Hopkins drew the key
20:56
Speaker 1: from his pocket and had stooped to the lock. When
21:00
Speaker 1: he paused, with a look of attention and surprise upon
21:02
Speaker 1: his face. Some one has been tampering with it, he said.
21:07
Speaker 1: There could be no doubt of the fact. The woodwork
21:10
Speaker 1: was cut, and the scratches showed white through the paint,
21:14
Speaker 1: as if they had been that instant done. Holmes had
21:18
Speaker 1: been examining the window. Some one has tried to force this. Also,
21:22
Speaker 1: whoever it was, has failed to make his way in.
21:25
Speaker 1: He must have been a very poor burglar. This is
21:28
Speaker 1: a most extraordinary thing, said the inspector. I could swear
21:32
Speaker 1: that these marks were not here yesterday evening. Some curious
21:36
Speaker 1: person from the village, perhaps, I suggested, very unlikely. Few
21:41
Speaker 1: of them would dare to set foot in the grounds,
21:44
Speaker 1: far less try to force their way into the cabin.
21:47
Speaker 1: What do you think of it, mister Holmes, I think
21:50
Speaker 1: that fortune is very kind to us. You mean that
21:53
Speaker 1: the person will come again. It is very possible. He
21:56
Speaker 1: came expecting to find the door open. He tried to
21:59
Speaker 1: get in with the blade of a very small penknife.
22:02
Speaker 1: He could not manage it. What would he do? Come
22:06
Speaker 1: again next night with a more useful tool. So I
22:09
Speaker 1: should say it will be our fault if we are
22:12
Speaker 1: not there to receive him. Meanwhile, let me see the
22:15
Speaker 1: inside of the cabin. The traces of the tragedy had
22:19
Speaker 1: been removed, but the furniture within the little room still
22:23
Speaker 1: stood as it had been on the night of the crime.
22:27
Speaker 1: For two hours, with most intense concentration, Holmes examined every
22:31
Speaker 1: object in turn, but his face showed that his quest
22:35
Speaker 1: was not a successful one. Once only, he paused in
22:39
Speaker 1: his patient investigation. Have you taken anything off this shelf, Hopkins? No,
22:45
Speaker 1: I have moved nothing. Something has been taken. There is
22:49
Speaker 1: less dust in this corner of the shelf than elsewhere.
22:53
Speaker 1: It may have been a book lying on its side.
22:55
Speaker 1: It may have been a box. Well, well, I can
22:57
Speaker 1: do nothing more. Let us walk in these beautiful woods, Watson,
23:02
Speaker 1: and give a few hours to the birds and the flowers.
23:05
Speaker 1: We shall meet you here later, Hopkins, and see if
23:08
Speaker 1: we can come to closer quarters with the gentleman who
23:10
Speaker 1: has paid this visit in the night. It was past
23:14
Speaker 1: eleven o'clock when we formed our little ambuscade. Hopkins was
23:19
Speaker 1: for leaving the door of the hut open, but Holmes
23:22
Speaker 1: was of the opinion that this would rouse the suspicions
23:25
Speaker 1: of the stranger. The lock was a perfectly simple one,
23:29
Speaker 1: and only a strong blade was needed to push it back.
23:33
Speaker 1: Holmes also suggested that we should wait not inside the hut,
23:36
Speaker 1: but outside it, among the bushes which grew round the
23:39
Speaker 1: farther window. In this way we should be able to
23:42
Speaker 1: watch our man if he struck a light, and see
23:45
Speaker 1: what his object was. In this stealthy, nocturnal visit, it
23:50
Speaker 1: was a long and melancholy vigil, and yet brought with
23:53
Speaker 1: it something of the thrill which the hunter feels when
23:56
Speaker 1: he lies beside the water pool and waits for the
23:59
Speaker 1: coming of the thirsty beast of prey. What savage creature
24:04
Speaker 1: was it which might steal upon us out of the darkness.
24:07
Speaker 1: Was it a fierce tiger of crime, which could only
24:10
Speaker 1: be taken fighting hard with flashing fang and claw, Or
24:14
Speaker 1: would it prove to be some skulking jackal, dangerous only
24:18
Speaker 1: to the weak and unguarded. In absolute silence, we crouched
24:23
Speaker 1: amongst the bushes, waiting for whatever might come. At first,
24:28
Speaker 1: the steps of a few belated villages, or the sound
24:31
Speaker 1: of voices from the village, lightened our vigil. But one
24:34
Speaker 1: by one these interruptions died away, and an absolute stillness
24:39
Speaker 1: fell upon us, save for the chimes of the distant church,
24:43
Speaker 1: which told us of the progress of the night, and
24:46
Speaker 1: for the rustle and whisper of a fine rain falling
24:49
Speaker 1: amid the foliage which roofed us. In half past two
24:54
Speaker 1: had chimed. And it was the darkest hour which precedes
24:57
Speaker 1: the dawn when we all started as a low but
25:00
Speaker 1: sharp click came from the direction of the gate. Some
25:04
Speaker 1: one had entered the drive again. There was a long silence,
25:09
Speaker 1: and I had begun to fear that it was a
25:11
Speaker 1: false alarm, when a stealthy step was heard upon the
25:14
Speaker 1: other side of the hut, and a moment later a
25:18
Speaker 1: metallic scraping and clinking. The man was trying to force
25:22
Speaker 1: the lock. This time his skill was greater, or his
25:26
Speaker 1: tool was better, for there was a sudden snap and
25:29
Speaker 1: the creak of the hinges. Then a match was struck,
25:33
Speaker 1: and next instant the steady light from a candle filled
25:36
Speaker 1: the interior of the hut through the gauze curtain. Our
25:40
Speaker 1: eyes were all riveted upon the scene. Within the nocturnal
25:46
Speaker 1: visitor was a young man, frail and thin, with a
25:50
Speaker 1: black mustache, which intensified the deadly pallor of his face.
25:54
Speaker 1: He could not have been much above twenty years of age.
25:58
Speaker 1: I have never seen any human being appeared to be
26:00
Speaker 1: in such a pitiable fright, for his teeth were visibly chattering,
26:05
Speaker 1: and he was shaking in every limb. He was dressed
26:08
Speaker 1: like a gentleman in Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers, with a
26:12
Speaker 1: cloth cap upon his head. We watched him staring round
26:16
Speaker 1: with frightened eyes. Then he laid the candle end upon
26:20
Speaker 1: the table and disappeared from our view into one of
26:23
Speaker 1: the corners. He returned with a large book, one of
26:27
Speaker 1: the log books, which formed a line upon the shelves.
26:30
Speaker 1: Leaning on the table, he rapidly turned over the leaves
26:33
Speaker 1: of this volume until he came to the entry which
26:36
Speaker 1: he sought. Then, with an angry gesture of his clenched hand,
26:40
Speaker 1: he closed the book, replaced it in the corner, and
26:43
Speaker 1: put out the light. He had hardly turned to leave
26:47
Speaker 1: the hut when Hopkins's hand was on the fellow's collar,
26:50
Speaker 1: and I heard his loud gasp of terror as he
26:52
Speaker 1: understood that he was taken. The candle was re lit,
26:56
Speaker 1: and there was our wretched captive. Shivering and cowering in
27:00
Speaker 1: the grasp of the detective, he sat down upon the
27:03
Speaker 1: sea chest and looked helplessly from one of us to
27:06
Speaker 1: the other. Now, my fine fellow, said Stanley Hopkins. Who
27:11
Speaker 1: are you and what you want here? The man pulled
27:15
Speaker 1: himself together and faced us with an effort at self composure.
27:20
Speaker 1: You are detectives, I suppose, said he You imagine I
27:24
Speaker 1: am connected with the death of Captain Peter Carey. I
27:27
Speaker 1: assure you that I am innocent. We'll see about that,
27:31
Speaker 1: said Hopkins. First of all, what is your name? It
27:34
Speaker 1: is John Hopley Nelligan. I saw Holmes and Hopkins exchange
27:39
Speaker 1: a quick glance. What are you doing here? Can I
27:42
Speaker 1: speak confidentially? No, certainly not. Why should I tell you?
27:48
Speaker 1: If you have no answer, it may go badly with
27:50
Speaker 1: you at the trial. The young man winced, Well, I
27:55
Speaker 1: will tell you, he said, Why should I not? And
27:58
Speaker 1: yet I hate to think of this old scandal gaining
28:01
Speaker 1: a new lease of life. But did you ever hear
28:04
Speaker 1: of Dawson and Nelligan? I could see from Hopkins's face
28:08
Speaker 1: that he never had. But Holmes was keenly interested. You
28:13
Speaker 1: mean the West Country bankers said he they failed for
28:16
Speaker 1: a million, ruined half the county families of Cornwall, and
28:20
Speaker 1: Nelligan disappeared exactly. Nelligan was my father. At last, we
28:27
Speaker 1: were getting something positive, and yet it seemed a long
28:30
Speaker 1: gap between an absconding banker and Captain Peter Carey. Pinned
28:35
Speaker 1: against the wall with one of his own harpoons. We
28:39
Speaker 1: all listened intently to the young man's words. It was
28:43
Speaker 1: my father who was really concerned Dawson had retired. I
28:48
Speaker 1: was only ten years of age at the time, but
28:51
Speaker 1: I was old enough to feel the shame and horror
28:53
Speaker 1: of it all. It has always been said that my
28:56
Speaker 1: father stole all the securities and fled. It is not true.
29:01
Speaker 1: It was his belief that if he were given time
29:04
Speaker 1: in which to realize them, all would be well, and
29:07
Speaker 1: every creditor paid in full. He started in his little
29:11
Speaker 1: yacht for Norway just before the warrant was issued for
29:15
Speaker 1: his arrest. I can remember that last night, when he
29:18
Speaker 1: bade farewell to my mother, he left us a list
29:22
Speaker 1: of the securities he was taking, and he swore that
29:25
Speaker 1: he would come back with his honor cleared, and that
29:27
Speaker 1: none who had trusted him would suffer well. No word
29:32
Speaker 1: was ever heard from him again. Both the yacht and
29:35
Speaker 1: he vanished utterly. We believed, my mother and I, that
29:39
Speaker 1: he and it, with the securities that he had taken
29:42
Speaker 1: with him, were at the bottom of the sea. We
29:45
Speaker 1: had a faithful friend, however, who is a business man,
29:49
Speaker 1: and it was he who discovered some time ago that
29:52
Speaker 1: some of the securities which my father had with him
29:55
Speaker 1: had reappeared on the London market. You can imagine our amazement.
30:01
Speaker 1: I spent months in trying to trace them, and at last,
30:04
Speaker 1: after many doubtings and difficulties, I discovered that the original
30:08
Speaker 1: seller had been Captain Peter Carey, the owner of this hut. Naturally,
30:13
Speaker 1: I made some inquiries about the man. I found that
30:16
Speaker 1: he had been in command of a whaler which was
30:19
Speaker 1: due to return from the Arctic seas at the very
30:22
Speaker 1: time when my father was crossing to Norway. The autumn
30:26
Speaker 1: of that year was a stormy one, and there was
30:28
Speaker 1: a long succession of southerly gales. My father's yacht may
30:32
Speaker 1: well have been blown to the north and there met
30:34
Speaker 1: by Captain Peter Carey's ship. If that were so, what
30:39
Speaker 1: had become of my father? In any case, if I
30:44
Speaker 1: could prove from Peter Carey's evidence how these securities came
30:47
Speaker 1: on the market. It would be a proof that my
30:49
Speaker 1: father had not sold them, and that he had no
30:52
Speaker 1: view to personal profit when he took them. I came
30:57
Speaker 1: down to Sussex with the intention of seeing the captain,
31:00
Speaker 1: but it was at this moment that his terrible death occurred.
31:04
Speaker 1: I read at the inquest a description of his cabin
31:08
Speaker 1: in which it stated that the old log books of
31:10
Speaker 1: his vessel were preserved in it. It struck me that
31:13
Speaker 1: if I could see what occurred in the month of
31:15
Speaker 1: August eighteen eighty three on board the Sea Unicorn, I
31:19
Speaker 1: might settle the mystery of my father's fate. I tried
31:23
Speaker 1: last night to get at these log books, but was
31:25
Speaker 1: unable to open the door. To night, I tried again
31:29
Speaker 1: and succeeded, but I find that the pages which deal
31:32
Speaker 1: with that month have been torn from the book. It
31:36
Speaker 1: was at that moment I found myself a prisoner in
31:38
Speaker 1: your hands? Is that all? Asked Hopkins. Yes, that is all.
31:45
Speaker 1: His eyes shifted as he said it. You have nothing
31:49
Speaker 1: else to tell us, he hesitated, No, there is nothing.
31:55
Speaker 1: You have not been here before last night. No, then,
31:59
Speaker 1: how do you account for that, cried Hopkins as he
32:03
Speaker 1: held up the damning note book with the initials of
32:06
Speaker 1: our prisoner on the first leaf and the blood stain
32:09
Speaker 1: on the cover. The wretched man collapsed. He sank his
32:13
Speaker 1: face in his hands and trembled all over. Where did
32:17
Speaker 1: you get it? He groaned? I did not know. I
32:21
Speaker 1: thought I had lost it at the hotel. That is enough,
32:24
Speaker 1: said Hopkins sternly. Whatever else you have to say, you
32:28
Speaker 1: must say in court. You will walk down with me
32:30
Speaker 1: now to the police station. Well, mister Holmes, I am
32:34
Speaker 1: very much obliged to you and to your friend for
32:37
Speaker 1: coming down to help me. As it turns out, your
32:40
Speaker 1: presence was unnecessary, and I would have brought the case
32:43
Speaker 1: to this successful issue without you. But none the less,
32:46
Speaker 1: I am grateful rooms have been reserved for you at
32:49
Speaker 1: the bramble Tie Hotel so we can all walk down
32:52
Speaker 1: to the village together. Well, Watson, what do you think
32:57
Speaker 1: of it? Asked Holmes as we traveled back next morning.
33:01
Speaker 1: I can see that you are not satisfied. Oh, yes,
33:04
Speaker 1: my dear Watson, I am perfectly satisfied. At the same time,
33:08
Speaker 1: Stanley Hopkins's methods do not commend themselves to me. I
33:13
Speaker 1: am disappointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better
33:17
Speaker 1: things from him. One should always look for a possible
33:20
Speaker 1: alternative and provide against it. It is the first rule
33:24
Speaker 1: of criminal investigation. What then, is the alternative the line
33:29
Speaker 1: of investigation which I have myself been pursuing. It may
33:33
Speaker 1: give us nothing, I cannot tell, but at least I
33:37
Speaker 1: shall follow it to the end. Several letters were waiting
33:41
Speaker 1: for homes at Baker Street. He snatched one of them up,
33:45
Speaker 1: opened it and burst out into a triumphant chuckle of laughter. Excellent, Watson,
33:51
Speaker 1: the alternative develops. Have you telegraph forms. Just write a
33:55
Speaker 1: couple of messages for me, Sumner Shipping Agent, Ratcliff Highway.
34:00
Speaker 1: Send three men on to arrive ten to morrow morning. Basil.
34:06
Speaker 1: That's my name in those parts. The other is Inspector
34:11
Speaker 1: Stanley Hopkins, forty six Lord Street, Brixton, Come breakfast to
34:17
Speaker 1: morrow at nine thirty important wire. If unable to come,
34:21
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. There, Watson, this infernal case has haunted me
34:26
Speaker 1: for ten days. I hereby banish it completely from my presence.
34:32
Speaker 1: To morrow, I trust we shall hear the last of
34:34
Speaker 1: it for ever sharp at the hour named Inspector Stanley
34:40
Speaker 1: Hopkins appeared and we sat down together to the excellent
34:43
Speaker 1: breakfast which missus Hudson had prepared. The young detective was
34:47
Speaker 1: in high spirits at his success. You really think that
34:50
Speaker 1: your solution must be correct, asked Holmes. I could not
34:55
Speaker 1: imagine a more complete case. It did not seem to
34:58
Speaker 1: me conclusive. You astonish me, mister Holmes. What more could
35:02
Speaker 1: one ask for? Does your explanation cover every point? Undoubtedly?
35:09
Speaker 1: I find that young Nelligan arrived at the Bramble Tieh
35:12
Speaker 1: Hotel on the very day of the crime. He came
35:15
Speaker 1: on the pretense of playing golf. His room was on
35:18
Speaker 1: the ground floor, and he could get out when he liked.
35:22
Speaker 1: That very night he went down to Woodman's Lee, saw
35:25
Speaker 1: Peter Carey at the hut, quarreled with him, and killed
35:28
Speaker 1: him with the harpoon. Then, horrified by what he had done,
35:33
Speaker 1: he fled out of the hut, dropping the note book
35:36
Speaker 1: which he had brought with him in order to question
35:38
Speaker 1: Peter Carey about these different securities. You may have observed
35:41
Speaker 1: that some of them were marked with ticks, and the
35:43
Speaker 1: others the great majority were not. Those which are ticks
35:47
Speaker 1: have been traced on the London market, but the others
35:49
Speaker 1: presumably were still in the possession of Carey, and young Nelligan,
35:54
Speaker 1: according to his own account, was anxious to recover them
35:57
Speaker 1: in order to do the right thing by his father creditors.
36:01
Speaker 1: After his flight, he did not dare to approach the
36:04
Speaker 1: hut again for some time, but at last he forced
36:07
Speaker 1: himself to do so in order to obtain the information
36:10
Speaker 1: which he needed. Surely that is all simple and obvious,
36:15
Speaker 1: Holmes smiled and shook his head. It seems to me
36:18
Speaker 1: to have only one drawback, Hopkins, and that is it
36:22
Speaker 1: is intrinsically impossible. Have you tried to drive a harpoon
36:27
Speaker 1: through a body? No? Tut tut, my dear sir, You
36:32
Speaker 1: must really pay attention to these details. My friend Watson
36:37
Speaker 1: could tell you that I spent a whole morning in
36:39
Speaker 1: that exercise. It is no easy matter and requires a
36:43
Speaker 1: strong and practiced arm. But this blow was delivered with
36:47
Speaker 1: such violence that the head of the weapon sank deep
36:50
Speaker 1: into the wall. Do you imagine that this anemic youth
36:55
Speaker 1: was capable of so frightful an assault? Is he the
36:59
Speaker 1: man who hobnobbed in rum and water with black Peter
37:03
Speaker 1: in the dead of night. Was it his profile that
37:06
Speaker 1: was seen on the blind two nights before? No, No, Hopkins,
37:11
Speaker 1: it is another and more formidable person for whom we
37:14
Speaker 1: must seek. The detective's face had grown longer and longer
37:19
Speaker 1: during Holmes's speech. His hopes and his ambitions were all
37:23
Speaker 1: crumbling about him, but he would not abandon his position
37:27
Speaker 1: without a struggle. You can't deny that Nelligan was present
37:31
Speaker 1: that night, mister Holmes. The book will prove that. I
37:34
Speaker 1: fancy that I have enough evidence to satisfy a jury,
37:38
Speaker 1: even if you were able to pick a hole in it. Besides,
37:41
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, I have laid my hand upon my man
37:44
Speaker 1: as to this terrible person of yours. Where is he?
37:48
Speaker 1: I rather fancy that is he on the stair, said
37:51
Speaker 1: Holmes serenely. I think, Watson, that you would do well
37:55
Speaker 1: to put that revolver where you can reach it. He
37:59
Speaker 1: rose and laid a written paper upon a side table.
38:03
Speaker 1: Now we are ready, said he. There had been some
38:08
Speaker 1: talking in gruff voices outside, and now missus Hudson opened
38:12
Speaker 1: the door to say that there were three men inquiring
38:15
Speaker 1: for Captain Basil. Show them in one by one, said Holmes.
38:22
Speaker 1: The first who entered was a little ribston pippin of
38:24
Speaker 1: a man with ruddy cheeks and fluffy white side whiskers.
38:29
Speaker 1: Holmes had drawn a letter from his pocket. What name,
38:33
Speaker 1: he asked, James Lancaster. I am sorry, Lancaster, but the
38:38
Speaker 1: berth is full. Here is half a sovereign for your trouble.
38:43
Speaker 1: Just step into this room and wait there for a
38:45
Speaker 1: few minutes. The second man was a long, dried up
38:49
Speaker 1: creature with lank hair and sallow cheeks. His name was
38:53
Speaker 1: Hugh Pattins. He also received his dismissal, his half sovereign,
38:58
Speaker 1: and the order to wait. The third applicant was a
39:01
Speaker 1: man of remarkable appearance. A fierce bull dog face was
39:06
Speaker 1: framed in a tangle of hair and beard, and two
39:09
Speaker 1: bold dark eyes gleamed behind the cover of thick tufted
39:12
Speaker 1: overhung eyebrows. He saluted and stood sailor fashion, turning his
39:18
Speaker 1: cap round in his hands. Your name, asked Holmes, Patrick
39:24
Speaker 1: Cairns HARPOONA yes, sir, twenty six voyages dundee. I suppose, yes, sir,
39:33
Speaker 1: and ready to start with an exploring ship? Yes, sir,
39:38
Speaker 1: what wages eight pounds a month? Could you start at once?
39:43
Speaker 1: As soon as I get my quit. Have you your papers? Yes, sir,
39:49
Speaker 1: He took a sheaf of worn and greasy forms from
39:52
Speaker 1: his pocket. Holmes glanced over them and returned them. You
39:56
Speaker 1: are just the man I want, said he. Here's the
39:59
Speaker 1: agreement on the side table. If you sign it, the
40:02
Speaker 1: whole matter will be settled. The seaman lurched across the
40:06
Speaker 1: room and took up the pen. Shall I sign here,
40:10
Speaker 1: he asked, stooping over the table. Holmes leaned over his
40:14
Speaker 1: shoulder and passed both hands over his neck. This will do,
40:18
Speaker 1: said he. I heard a click of steel and a
40:22
Speaker 1: bellow like an enraged bull. The next instant, Holmes and
40:26
Speaker 1: the seamen were rolling on the ground together. He was
40:29
Speaker 1: a man of such gigantic strength that, even with the
40:33
Speaker 1: handcuffs which Holmes had so deftly fastened upon his wrists,
40:36
Speaker 1: he would have very quickly overpowered my friend, had Hopkins
40:40
Speaker 1: and I not rushed to his rescue. Only when I
40:43
Speaker 1: pressed the cold muzzle of the revolver to his temple
40:47
Speaker 1: did he at last understand that resistance was vain. We
40:51
Speaker 1: lashed his ankles with cord and rose breathless from the struggle.
40:55
Speaker 1: I must really apologize, Hopkins, said Sherlock Holmes. I fear
41:00
Speaker 1: that the scrambled eggs are cold. However, you will enjoy
41:03
Speaker 1: the rest of your breakfast all the better, will you, not,
41:06
Speaker 1: for the thought that you have brought your case to
41:08
Speaker 1: a triumphant conclusion. Stanley Hopkins was speechless with amazement. I
41:15
Speaker 1: don't know what to say, mister Holmes, he blurted out
41:17
Speaker 1: at last, with a very red face. It seems to
41:20
Speaker 1: me that I have been making a fool of myself
41:22
Speaker 1: from the beginning. I understand now what I should never
41:26
Speaker 1: have forgotten. That I am the pupil and you are
41:28
Speaker 1: the master. Even now I see what you have done,
41:32
Speaker 1: but I don't know how you did it or what
41:34
Speaker 1: it signifies. Well, well, said Holmes, good humoredly. We all
41:39
Speaker 1: learn by experience, and your lesson this time is that
41:42
Speaker 1: you should never lose sight of the alternative. You were
41:45
Speaker 1: so absorbed in the young Nelligan that you could not
41:48
Speaker 1: spare a thought to Patrick Keirns, the true murderer of
41:52
Speaker 1: Peter Carey. The hoarse voice of the seamen broke in
41:56
Speaker 1: on our conversation. See here, master said he. I make
42:01
Speaker 1: no complaint of being man handled in this fashion, But
42:04
Speaker 1: I would have you call things by their right names.
42:07
Speaker 1: You say I'm murdered Peter Carey, I say I killed
42:10
Speaker 1: Peter Carey, and has all the difference. Maybe you don't
42:13
Speaker 1: believe what I say. Maybe you think I'm just slingin
42:16
Speaker 1: you a yarn. Not at all, said Holmes. Let us
42:20
Speaker 1: hear what you have to say. That's soon told, and
42:24
Speaker 1: by the lad every word of it is truth. I
42:27
Speaker 1: knew Black Peter, and when he pulled out his knife,
42:30
Speaker 1: I whipped a harpoon through him sharp, for I knew
42:33
Speaker 1: that it was him or me. That's how he died.
42:35
Speaker 1: You can call it murder anyhow. I'd as soon die
42:39
Speaker 1: with a rope round my neck as with Black Peter's
42:41
Speaker 1: knife in my heart. How came you there, asked Holmes.
42:46
Speaker 1: I'll tell you it from the beginning. Jest set me
42:49
Speaker 1: up a little so as I can speak easy. It
42:52
Speaker 1: was in eighty three that it happened. August of that year.
42:57
Speaker 1: Peter Carey was master of the Sea Unicorn, and I
43:00
Speaker 1: was spare HARPOONA. We were coming out of the ice
43:04
Speaker 1: pack on our way home with head winds and a
43:06
Speaker 1: weak southerly gale, when we picked up a little craft
43:10
Speaker 1: that had been blown north. There was one man on her,
43:13
Speaker 1: a landsman. The crew had thought she would found her
43:17
Speaker 1: and had made for the Norwegian coast in the dinghy.
43:21
Speaker 1: I guess they were all drowned. Well, we took him
43:25
Speaker 1: on board, this man, and he and the skipper had
43:27
Speaker 1: some long talks in the cabin. All the baggage we
43:31
Speaker 1: took off with him was one tin box. So far
43:34
Speaker 1: as I know. The man's name was never mentioned, and
43:37
Speaker 1: on the second night he disappeared as if he had
43:40
Speaker 1: never been. That was given out that he had either
43:43
Speaker 1: thrown himself overboard or fallen overboard in the heavy weather
43:47
Speaker 1: that we were having. Only one man knew what had
43:51
Speaker 1: happened to him, and that was me, For with my
43:55
Speaker 1: own eyes I saw the skipper tip up his heels
43:57
Speaker 1: and put him over the rail in the middle watch
44:00
Speaker 1: a dark night two days before we sighted the Shetland lights. Well,
44:06
Speaker 1: I kept my knowledge to myself and waited to see
44:09
Speaker 1: what would come of it. When we got back to Scotland,
44:12
Speaker 1: it was easily hushed up and nobody asked any questions.
44:16
Speaker 1: A stranger died by accident, and it was nobody's business
44:19
Speaker 1: to inquire. Shortly after Peter Carey gave up the sea,
44:24
Speaker 1: and it was long years before I could find where
44:27
Speaker 1: he was. I guessed that he had done the deed
44:30
Speaker 1: for the sake of what was in that tin box,
44:33
Speaker 1: and that he could afford now to pay me well
44:35
Speaker 1: for keeping my mouth shut. I found out where he
44:39
Speaker 1: was through a salor man that had met him in London,
44:42
Speaker 1: and down I went to squeeze him. The first night,
44:46
Speaker 1: he was reasonable enough and was ready to give me
44:49
Speaker 1: what would make me free of the sea for life.
44:52
Speaker 1: We were to fix it all. Two nights later, when
44:56
Speaker 1: I came, I found him three parts drunk and in
44:59
Speaker 1: a vile temper. We sat down and we drank, and
45:02
Speaker 1: we yarned about old times. But the more he drank,
45:05
Speaker 1: the less I liked the look on his face. I
45:08
Speaker 1: spotted that hardpoon on the wall, and I thought I
45:11
Speaker 1: might need it before I was through. Then at last
45:15
Speaker 1: he broke out at me, spitting and cursing, with murder
45:18
Speaker 1: in his eyes and a great clasp knife in his hand.
45:22
Speaker 1: He had not time to get it from the sheath
45:24
Speaker 1: before I had the hardpoon through him. Heaven's what a
45:28
Speaker 1: yell he gave, and his face gets between me and
45:31
Speaker 1: my sleep. I stood there with his blood splashing round me,
45:36
Speaker 1: and I waited for a bit, but all was quiet,
45:41
Speaker 1: so I took heart once more. I looked round and
45:45
Speaker 1: there was the ten box on the shelf. I had
45:48
Speaker 1: as much right to it as Peter Carey, anyhow, so
45:51
Speaker 1: I took it with me and left the hut like
45:54
Speaker 1: a fool. I left my backy pouch on the table.
45:59
Speaker 1: Now I'll tell you the queerest part of the story.
46:02
Speaker 1: I had hardly got outside the hat when I heard
46:04
Speaker 1: someone coming, and I hid among the bushes. A man
46:08
Speaker 1: came slinking along, went into the hat, gave a cry
46:12
Speaker 1: as if he had seen a ghost, and legged it
46:14
Speaker 1: as hard as he could run till he was out
46:16
Speaker 1: of sight. Who he was or what he wanted is
46:20
Speaker 1: more than I can tell. For my part, I walked
46:24
Speaker 1: ten miles, got a train at Cambridge Wells, and so
46:26
Speaker 1: reached London, and no one the wiser well. When I
46:30
Speaker 1: came to examine the box, I found there was no
46:33
Speaker 1: money in it, and nothing but papers that I would
46:35
Speaker 1: not dare to sell. I had lost my hold on
46:39
Speaker 1: Black Peter and was stranded in London without a shilling.
46:43
Speaker 1: There was only my trade left. I saw these advertisements
46:47
Speaker 1: about harpooners and high wages. So I went to the
46:50
Speaker 1: shipping agents and they sent me here. That's all I know.
46:56
Speaker 1: And I say again that if I killed Black Peter,
46:59
Speaker 1: the law should give me thanks for I saved them
47:02
Speaker 1: the price of a hempen rope. A very clear statement,
47:06
Speaker 1: said Holmes, rising and lighting his pipe. I think, Hopkins,
47:11
Speaker 1: that you should lose no time in conveying your prisoner
47:14
Speaker 1: to a place of safety. This room is not well
47:17
Speaker 1: adapted for a cell, and mister Patrick Cairns occupies too
47:22
Speaker 1: large a proportion of our carpet. Mister Holmes, said Hopkins,
47:27
Speaker 1: I do not know how to express my gratitude even now.
47:31
Speaker 1: I do not understand how you attained this result, simply
47:35
Speaker 1: by having the good fortune to get the right clue
47:38
Speaker 1: from the beginning. It is very possible if I had
47:41
Speaker 1: known about this note book, it might have led away
47:44
Speaker 1: my thoughts as it did yours. But all I heard
47:48
Speaker 1: pointed in the one direction. The amazing strength, the skill
47:52
Speaker 1: in the use of the harpoon, the rum and water,
47:55
Speaker 1: the seal skin tobacco pouch with the coarse tobacco. All
47:59
Speaker 1: these points to a seaman, and one who had been
48:02
Speaker 1: a whaler. I was convinced that the initials p C
48:06
Speaker 1: upon the pouch were a coincidence and not those of
48:09
Speaker 1: Peter Carey, since he seldom smoked and no pipe was
48:13
Speaker 1: found in his cabin. You remember that I asked whether
48:17
Speaker 1: whiskey and brandy were in the cabin. You said they were.
48:21
Speaker 1: How many landsmen are there who would drink rum when
48:23
Speaker 1: they could get these other spirits? Yes? I was certain
48:27
Speaker 1: it was a seaman. And how did you find him?
48:31
Speaker 1: My dear sir? The problem had become a very simple one.
48:35
Speaker 1: If it were a seaman, it could only be a
48:37
Speaker 1: seaman who had been with him on the Sea Unicorn.
48:41
Speaker 1: So far as I could learn, he had sailed in
48:43
Speaker 1: no other ship. I spent three days in Wiring to Dundee,
48:48
Speaker 1: and at the end of that time I had ascertained
48:50
Speaker 1: the names of the crew of the Sea Unicorn. In
48:52
Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three, when I found Patrick Keirns among the harpooners,
48:58
Speaker 1: my research was nearing its end. I argued that the
49:02
Speaker 1: man was probably in London and that he would desire
49:05
Speaker 1: to leave the country for a time. I therefore spent
49:09
Speaker 1: some days in the East End devised an Arctic expedition
49:13
Speaker 1: put forth tempting terms for harpooners who would serve under
49:16
Speaker 1: Captain Basel, and behold the result. Wonderful, cried Hopkins. Wonderful.
49:25
Speaker 1: You must obtain the release of young Nellighan as soon
49:27
Speaker 1: as possible, said Holmes. I confess that I think you
49:31
Speaker 1: owe him some apology. The tin box must be returned
49:35
Speaker 1: to him. But of course the securities which Peter Carey
49:38
Speaker 1: has sold are lost for ever. There's the cab, Hopkins,
49:42
Speaker 1: and you can remove your man if you want me
49:45
Speaker 1: for the trial. My address and that of Watson will
49:49
Speaker 1: be somewhere in Norway. I'll send particulars later