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11 The Beryl Coronet from The Adventures of Sherlock · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The Beryl Coronet, Holmes said, I, as I stood one
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Speaker 1: morning in our bow window looking down the street, here
0:11
Speaker 1: is a madman coming along. It seems rather sad that
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Speaker 1: his relatives should allow him to come out alone. My
0:18
Speaker 1: friend rose lazily from his arm chair and stood with
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Speaker 1: his hands in the pockets of his dressing gown, looking
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Speaker 1: over my shoulder. It was a bright, crisp February morning,
0:29
Speaker 1: and the snow of the day before still lay deep
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Speaker 1: upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the winter sun. Down
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Speaker 1: the center of Baker Street, it had been plowed into
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Speaker 1: a brown, crumbly band by the traffic, but at either
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Speaker 1: side and on the heaped up edges of the footpaths,
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Speaker 1: it still lay as white as when it fell. The
0:50
Speaker 1: gray pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but was still
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Speaker 1: dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer passengers than usual. Indeed,
0:59
Speaker 1: from the direction of the Metropolitan station, no one was coming.
1:03
Speaker 1: Who saved the single gentleman whose eccentric conduct had drawn
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Speaker 1: my attention. He was a man of about fifty tall,
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Speaker 1: portly and imposing, with a massive, strongly marked face and
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Speaker 1: a commanding figure. He was dressed in a somber yet
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Speaker 1: rich style in black frockcoat, shining hat, neat brown gaiters,
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Speaker 1: and well cut pearl gray trousers. Yet his actions were
1:28
Speaker 1: in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress and features,
1:32
Speaker 1: for he was running hard with occasional little springs, such
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Speaker 1: as a weary man gives who is little accustomed to
1:39
Speaker 1: set any tax upon his legs. As he ran, he
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Speaker 1: jerked his hands up and down, waggled his head, and
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Speaker 1: writhed his face into the most extraordinary contortions. What on
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Speaker 1: earth can be the matter with him? I asked? He
1:53
Speaker 1: is looking up at the numbers of the houses. I
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Speaker 1: believe that he is coming here, said Holmes, rubbing his hand.
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Speaker 1: And here, yes, I rather think he is coming to
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Speaker 1: consult me professionally. I think that I recognize his symptoms. Ha,
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Speaker 1: Did I not tell you? As he spoke, the man,
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Speaker 1: puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and pulled at
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Speaker 1: our bell until the whole house resounded with the clanging.
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Speaker 1: A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing,
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Speaker 1: still gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief
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Speaker 1: and despair in his eyes that our smiles were turned
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Speaker 1: in an instant to horror. And pity. For a while
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Speaker 1: he could not get his words out, but swayed his
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Speaker 1: body and plucked at his hair, like one who has
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Speaker 1: been driven to the extreme limits of his reason. Then,
2:44
Speaker 1: suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against
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Speaker 1: the wall with such force that we both rushed upon
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Speaker 1: him and tore him away to the center of the room.
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Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy chair, and,
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Speaker 1: sitting beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him
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Speaker 1: in the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well.
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Speaker 1: How to employ You have come to me to tell
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Speaker 1: your story, have you not, said he? You are fatigued
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Speaker 1: with your haste. Pray, wait until you have recovered yourself,
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Speaker 1: and then I shall be most happy to look into
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Speaker 1: any little problem which you may submit to me. The
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Speaker 1: man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest,
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Speaker 1: fighting against his emotion. Then he passed his handkerchief over
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Speaker 1: his brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face
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Speaker 1: towards us. No doubt you will think me mad, said he.
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Speaker 1: I see that you have had some great trouble, responded Holmes.
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Speaker 1: God knows I have a trouble which is enough to
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Speaker 1: unsee my reason. So sudden and so terrible is it
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Speaker 1: public disgrace I might have faced, although I am a
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Speaker 1: man whose character has not yet borne a stain. Private
3:55
Speaker 1: affliction also is the lot of every man. But the
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Speaker 1: two coming together and in so rightful a form, have
4:01
Speaker 1: been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is
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Speaker 1: not I alone. The very noblest in the land may
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Speaker 1: suffer unless some way be found out of this horrible affair.
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Speaker 1: Pray compose yourself, sir, said Holmes, and let me have
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Speaker 1: a clear account of who you are and what it
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Speaker 1: is that has befallen you. My name, answered our visitor,
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Speaker 1: is probably familiar to your ears. I am Alexander Holder
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Speaker 1: of the banking firm of Holder, and Stephenson of thread
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Speaker 1: Needle Street. The name was indeed well known to us
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Speaker 1: as belonging to the senior partner in the second largest
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Speaker 1: private banking concern in the city of London. What could
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Speaker 1: have happened then, to bring one of the foremost citizens
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Speaker 1: of London to this most pitiable pass. We waited all
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Speaker 1: curiosity until with another effort, he braced himself to tell
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Speaker 1: his story. I feel that time is of value, said he.
5:00
Speaker 1: That is why I hastened here when the police inspectors
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Speaker 1: suggested that I should secure your co operation, I came
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Speaker 1: to Baker Street by the underground and hurried from there
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Speaker 1: on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this snow.
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Speaker 1: That is why I was so out of breath, for
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Speaker 1: I am a man who takes very little exercise. I
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Speaker 1: feel better now, and I will put the facts before
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Speaker 1: you as shortly and yet as clearly as I can.
5:27
Speaker 1: It is of course well known to you that in
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Speaker 1: a successful banking business, as much depends upon our being
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Speaker 1: able to find remunerative investments for our funds, as upon
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Speaker 1: our increasing our connection and the number of our depositors.
5:41
Speaker 1: One of our most lucrative means of laying out money
5:44
Speaker 1: is in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable.
5:49
Speaker 1: We have done a good deal in this direction during
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Speaker 1: the last few years, and there are many noble families
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Speaker 1: to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security
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Speaker 1: of their pictures, libraries or plate. Yesterday morning, I was
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Speaker 1: seated in my office at the bank when a card
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Speaker 1: was brought in to me by one of the clerks.
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Speaker 1: I started when I saw the name, for it was
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Speaker 1: that of none other than well perhaps even to you,
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Speaker 1: I had better say no more than that it was
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Speaker 1: a name which is a household word all over the earth,
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Speaker 1: one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England.
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Speaker 1: I was overwhelmed by the honor, and attempted, when he
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Speaker 1: entered to say so, But he plunged at once into
6:30
Speaker 1: business with the air of a man who wishes to
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Speaker 1: hurry quickly through a disagreeable task. Mister Holders said he,
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Speaker 1: I have been informed that you are in the habit
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Speaker 1: of advancing money the firm. Do so when the security
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Speaker 1: is good. I answered, it is absolutely essential to me,
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Speaker 1: said he, that I should have fifty thousand pounds at once.
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Speaker 1: I could, of course borrow so trifling a sum ten
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Speaker 1: times over from my friends, but I much prefer to
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Speaker 1: make it a matter of business, and to carry out
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Speaker 1: that business myself. In my position, you can readily understand
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Speaker 1: that it is unwise to place oneself under obligations. For
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Speaker 1: How long? May I ask? Do you want this sum?
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Speaker 1: I asked, next Monday. I have a large sum due
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Speaker 1: to me, and I shall then most certainly repay what
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Speaker 1: you advance, with whatever interest you think it right to charge.
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Speaker 1: But it is very essential to me that the money
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Speaker 1: should be paid at once. I should be happy to
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Speaker 1: advance it without further parley from my own private purse,
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Speaker 1: said I, were it not that the strain would be
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Speaker 1: rather more than it could bear. If, on the other hand,
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Speaker 1: I am to do it in the name of the firm,
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Speaker 1: then in justice to my partner, I must insist that,
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Speaker 1: even in your case, every business like precaution should be taken.
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Speaker 1: I should much prefer to have it, so, said he,
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Speaker 1: raising up a square black Morocco case which he had
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Speaker 1: laid beside his chair. You have doubtless heard of the
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Speaker 1: Beryl coronet, one of the most precious public possessions of
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Speaker 1: the Empire, said I precisely. He opened the case, and there,
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Speaker 1: embedded in soft flesh colored velvet lay the magnificent piece
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Speaker 1: of jewelry which he had named. There are thirty nine
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Speaker 1: enormous beryls, said he, and the price of the gold
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Speaker 1: chasing is incalculable. The lowest estimate would put the worth
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Speaker 1: of the coronet at double the sum which I have asked.
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Speaker 1: I am prepared to leave it with you as my security.
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Speaker 1: I took the precious case into my hands and looked
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Speaker 1: in some perplexity from it. To my illustrious client. You
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Speaker 1: doubt its value, he asked, not at all. I only
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Speaker 1: doubt the propriety of my leaving it. You may set
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Speaker 1: your mind at rest about that. I should not dream
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Speaker 1: of doing so were it not absolutely certain that I
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Speaker 1: should be able in four days to reclaim it. It
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Speaker 1: is a pure matter to reform. Is the security sufficient,
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Speaker 1: am Paul? You understand, mister Holder, that I am giving
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Speaker 1: you a strong proof of the confidence which I have
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Speaker 1: in you, founded upon all that I have heard of you.
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Speaker 1: I rely upon you not only to be discreet and
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Speaker 1: to refrain from all gossip upon the matter, but above
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Speaker 1: all to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution, because
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Speaker 1: I need not say that a great public scandal will
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Speaker 1: be caused if any harm were to befall it. Any
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Speaker 1: injury to it would be almost as serious as its
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Speaker 1: complete loss, for there are no Beryls in the world
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Speaker 1: to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them.
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Speaker 1: I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and
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Speaker 1: I shall call for it in person on Monday morning.
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Speaker 1: Seeing that my client was anxious to leave, I said
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Speaker 1: no more, but calling for my cashier, I ordered him
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Speaker 1: to pay over fifty thousand pound notes when I was
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Speaker 1: alone one more. However, with the precious case lying upon
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Speaker 1: the table in front of me, I could not but
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Speaker 1: think with some misgivings, of the immense responsibility which it
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Speaker 1: entailed upon me. There could be no doubt that, as
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Speaker 1: it was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue
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Speaker 1: if any misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted
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Speaker 1: having ever consented to take charge of it. However, it
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Speaker 1: was too late to alter the matter now, so I
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Speaker 1: locked it up in my private safe and turned once
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Speaker 1: more to my work. When evening came, I felt that
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Speaker 1: it would be an imprudence to leave so precious a
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Speaker 1: thing in the office behind me. Banker's safes have been
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Speaker 1: forced before now, and why should not mind be? If so,
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Speaker 1: how terrible would be the position in which I should
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Speaker 1: find myself. I determined therefore that for the next few
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Speaker 1: days I would carry the case backwards and forwards with me,
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Speaker 1: so that it might never be really out of my breach.
10:58
Speaker 1: With this intention, I called a cab and drove out
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Speaker 1: to my house at Stretham, carrying the duel with me.
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Speaker 1: I did not breathe freely until I had taken it
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Speaker 1: upstairs and locked it in the bureau of my dressing room.
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Speaker 1: And now a word as to my household, mister Holmes,
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Speaker 1: for I wish you to thoroughly understand the situation. My
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Speaker 1: groom and my page sleep out of the house and
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Speaker 1: may be set aside. Altogether. I have three maid servants
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Speaker 1: who have been with me a number of years, and
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Speaker 1: whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy Parr,
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Speaker 1: the second waiting maid, has only been in my service
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Speaker 1: a few months. She came with an excellent character, however,
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Speaker 1: and has always given me satisfaction. She's a very pretty
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Speaker 1: girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about
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Speaker 1: the place. That is the only drawback which we have
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Speaker 1: found to her. But we believe her to be a
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Speaker 1: thoroughly good girl in every way. So much for the servants.
12:02
Speaker 1: My family itself is so small that it will not
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Speaker 1: take me long to describe it. I am a widower
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Speaker 1: and have an only son, Arthur. He has been a
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Speaker 1: disappointment to me, mister Holmes, a grievous disappointment. I have
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Speaker 1: no doubt that I am myself to blame. People tell
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Speaker 1: me that I have spoiled him. Very likely I have.
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Speaker 1: When my dear wife died, I felt that he was
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Speaker 1: all I had to love. I could not bear to
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Speaker 1: see the smile fade, even for a moment, from his face.
12:32
Speaker 1: I have never denied him a wish. Perhaps it would
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Speaker 1: have been better for both of us had I been sterner,
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Speaker 1: but I meant it for the best. It was naturally
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Speaker 1: my intention that he should succeed me in my business.
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Speaker 1: But he was not of a business turn. He was wild, wayward,
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Speaker 1: and to speak the truth, I could not trust him
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Speaker 1: in the handling of large sums of money. When he
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Speaker 1: was young, he became a member of an aristocratic club,
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Speaker 1: and there, having charming manners, he was soon the intimate
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Speaker 1: of a number of men with long purses and expensive habits.
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Speaker 1: He learned to play heavily at cards, and to squander
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Speaker 1: money on the turf, until he had again and again
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Speaker 1: to come to me and implore me to give him
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Speaker 1: an advance upon his allowance, that he might settle his
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Speaker 1: debts of honor. He tried more than once to break
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Speaker 1: away from the dangerous company which he was keeping, but
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Speaker 1: each time the influence of his friend, Sir George Burnwell
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Speaker 1: was enough to draw him back again. And indeed I
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Speaker 1: could not wonder that such a manner, Sir George Burnwell
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Speaker 1: should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently
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Speaker 1: brought him to my house, and I have found myself
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Speaker 1: that I could hardly resist the fascination of his manner.
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Speaker 1: He is older than Arthur, a man of the world
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Speaker 1: to his finger tips, one who has been everywhere, seen everything,
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Speaker 1: a brilliant talker, and a man of great personal beauty.
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Speaker 1: Yet when I think of him in cold blood, far
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Speaker 1: away from the glamor of his present, I'm convinced, from
14:02
Speaker 1: his cynical speech and the look which I have caught
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Speaker 1: in his eyes, that he is one who should be
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Speaker 1: deeply distrusted. So I think, and so too thinks my
14:12
Speaker 1: little Mary, who has a woman's quick insight into character.
14:18
Speaker 1: And now there is only she to be described. She
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Speaker 1: is my niece. But when my brother died five years
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Speaker 1: ago and left her alone in the world, I adopted
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Speaker 1: her and have looked upon her ever since as my daughter.
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Speaker 1: She is a sunbeam in my house, sweet, loving, beautiful,
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Speaker 1: and wonderful manager and housekeeper. Yet as tender and quiet
14:39
Speaker 1: and gentle as a woman could be. She is my
14:42
Speaker 1: right hand. I do not know what I could do
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Speaker 1: without her. In only one matter has she ever gone
14:48
Speaker 1: against my wishes. Twice my boy has asked her to
14:51
Speaker 1: marry him, for he loves her devotedly, but each time
14:56
Speaker 1: she has refused him. I think that if anyone could
14:59
Speaker 1: have drawn him into the right path, it would have
15:01
Speaker 1: been she, and that his marriage might have changed his
15:04
Speaker 1: whole life. But now, alas it is too late for
15:09
Speaker 1: ever too late. Now, mister Holmes, you know the people
15:13
Speaker 1: who live under my roof, and I shall continue with
15:16
Speaker 1: my miserable story. When we were taking coffee in the
15:21
Speaker 1: drawing room that night after dinner, I told Arthur and
15:24
Speaker 1: Mary my experience and of the precious treasure which we
15:27
Speaker 1: had under our roof, suppressing only the name of my client,
15:33
Speaker 1: Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee. Had, I
15:35
Speaker 1: am sure, left the room, but I cannot swear that
15:39
Speaker 1: the door was closed. Mary and Arthur were much interested
15:43
Speaker 1: and wished to see the famous coronet, but I thought
15:46
Speaker 1: it better not to disturb it. Where have you put it?
15:50
Speaker 1: Asked Arthur in my own bureau. Well, I hope to
15:54
Speaker 1: goodness the house won't be burgled during the night. Said he.
15:58
Speaker 1: It is locked up. I answered, oh, any old key
16:01
Speaker 1: will fit that burero. When I was a youngster, I
16:04
Speaker 1: have opened it myself with the key of the box
16:06
Speaker 1: from cupboard. He often had a wild way of talking,
16:09
Speaker 1: so that I thought little of what he had said.
16:12
Speaker 1: He followed me to my room. However, that night with
16:15
Speaker 1: a very grave face. Look here, Dad said he with
16:18
Speaker 1: his eyes cast down. Can you let me have two
16:20
Speaker 1: hundred pounds? No I cannot, I answered sharply. I have
16:25
Speaker 1: been far too generous with you in money matters. You
16:28
Speaker 1: have been very kind, said he. But I must have
16:31
Speaker 1: this money or else I can never show my face
16:33
Speaker 1: inside the club again. And a very good thing too,
16:37
Speaker 1: I cried, yes, But you would not have me leave it.
16:40
Speaker 1: A dishonored man said he. I could not bear the disgrace.
16:45
Speaker 1: I must raise the money in some way, and if
16:48
Speaker 1: you will not let me have it, then I must
16:49
Speaker 1: try other means. I was very angry, for this was
16:53
Speaker 1: the third demand during the month. You shall not have
16:57
Speaker 1: a farthing from me, I cried, on which he bowed
17:00
Speaker 1: and left the room without another word. When he was gone,
17:04
Speaker 1: I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my treasure was safe,
17:07
Speaker 1: and locked it again. Then I started to go round
17:11
Speaker 1: the house to see that all was secure, a duty
17:14
Speaker 1: which I usually leave to Mary, but which I thought
17:16
Speaker 1: it well to perform myself that night. As I came
17:20
Speaker 1: down the stairs, I saw Mary herself at the side
17:22
Speaker 1: window of the hall, which she closed and fastened as
17:25
Speaker 1: I approached. Tell me, Dad said she looking, I thought
17:30
Speaker 1: a little disturbed. Did you give Lucy the maid leave
17:33
Speaker 1: to go out tonight? Certainly not. She came in just
17:37
Speaker 1: now by the back door. I have no doubt that
17:40
Speaker 1: she has only been to the side gate to see someone,
17:43
Speaker 1: but think that it is hardly safe and should be stopped.
17:47
Speaker 1: You must speak to her in the morning, or I
17:49
Speaker 1: will if you prefer it. Are you sure that everything
17:52
Speaker 1: is fastened? Quite sure, Dad? Then good night. I kissed
17:57
Speaker 1: her and went to my bedroom, where I was soon
17:59
Speaker 1: a sleep. I am endeavoring to tell you everything, mister Holmes,
18:03
Speaker 1: which may have any bearing upon the case. But I
18:07
Speaker 1: beg that you will question me upon any point which
18:09
Speaker 1: I do not make clear. On the contrary, your statement
18:13
Speaker 1: is singularly lucid. I come to a part of my
18:16
Speaker 1: story now in which I should wish to be particularly so.
18:21
Speaker 1: I am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety
18:24
Speaker 1: in my mind tended, no doubt to make me even
18:26
Speaker 1: less so than usual. About two in the morning, then
18:29
Speaker 1: I was awakened by some sound in the house. It
18:33
Speaker 1: is ceased ere. I was wide awake, but it had
18:37
Speaker 1: left an impression behind it, as though a window had
18:39
Speaker 1: gently closed somewhere. I lay listening with all my ears. Suddenly,
18:45
Speaker 1: to my horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps
18:48
Speaker 1: moving softly in the next room. I slipped out of bed,
18:51
Speaker 1: all palpitating with fear, and peeped round the corner of
18:54
Speaker 1: my dressing room door. Arthur. I screamed, you villain, you thief,
19:00
Speaker 1: how dare you touch that coronet? The gas was half
19:04
Speaker 1: up as I had left it, and my unhappy boy,
19:06
Speaker 1: dressed only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside
19:09
Speaker 1: the light, holding the coronet in his hands. He appeared
19:13
Speaker 1: to be wrenching at it or bending it with all
19:16
Speaker 1: his strength. At my cry, he dropped it from his
19:19
Speaker 1: grasp and turned as pale as death. I snatched it
19:22
Speaker 1: up and examined it. One of the gold corners with
19:26
Speaker 1: three of the beryls in it was missing, you blackguard.
19:29
Speaker 1: I shouted beside myself with rage. You have destroyed it,
19:32
Speaker 1: You have dishonored me forever. Where are the jewels you
19:36
Speaker 1: have stolen? Stolen? He cried, Yes, you thief, I roared,
19:41
Speaker 1: shaking him by the shoulder. There are none missing. There
19:44
Speaker 1: cannot be any missing, said he. There are three missing,
19:47
Speaker 1: and you know where they are. Must I call you
19:50
Speaker 1: a liar as well as a thief. Did I not
19:53
Speaker 1: see you trying to tear off another piece? You have
19:57
Speaker 1: called me names enough, said he. I will not stand
19:59
Speaker 1: it any longer. I shall not say another word about
20:02
Speaker 1: this business. Since you have chosen to insult me. I
20:05
Speaker 1: will leave your house in the morning and make my
20:08
Speaker 1: own way in the world. You shall leave it in
20:12
Speaker 1: the name of the police, I cried, half mad with
20:15
Speaker 1: grief and rage. I shall have this matter probe to
20:18
Speaker 1: the bottom. You shall learn nothing from me, said he,
20:24
Speaker 1: with a passion such as I should not have thought
20:26
Speaker 1: was in his nature. If you choose to call the police,
20:30
Speaker 1: let them find what they can. By this time the
20:33
Speaker 1: whole house was astir, for I had raised my voice
20:37
Speaker 1: in my anger. Mary was the first to rush into
20:41
Speaker 1: my room, and at the sight of the coronet and
20:43
Speaker 1: of Arthur's face. She read the whole story, and with
20:47
Speaker 1: a scream, fell down senseless on the ground. I sent
20:51
Speaker 1: the housemaid for the police and put the investigation into
20:55
Speaker 1: their hands at once. When the inspector and a constable
20:59
Speaker 1: entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with his
21:02
Speaker 1: arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to
21:05
Speaker 1: charge him with theft. I answered that it had ceased
21:09
Speaker 1: to be a private matter, but had become a public one,
21:13
Speaker 1: since the ruined coronet was national property. I was determined
21:17
Speaker 1: that the law should have its way in everything at least,
21:20
Speaker 1: said he. You will not have me arrested at once.
21:24
Speaker 1: It would be to your advantage as well as mine
21:27
Speaker 1: if I might leave the house for five minutes, that
21:30
Speaker 1: you might get away, or perhaps that you may conceal
21:34
Speaker 1: what you have stolen, said I, and then, realizing the
21:38
Speaker 1: dreadful position in which I was placed, I implored him
21:42
Speaker 1: to remember that not only my honor, but that of
21:45
Speaker 1: one who was far greater than I, was at stake,
21:48
Speaker 1: and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would
21:51
Speaker 1: convulse the nation. He might averted all if he would
21:54
Speaker 1: but tell me what he had done with the three
21:56
Speaker 1: missing stones. You may as well fail. This's the matter,
22:00
Speaker 1: said I. You have been caught in the act, and
22:03
Speaker 1: no confession could make your guilt more. Heenus. If you
22:07
Speaker 1: but make such reparation as is in your power by
22:10
Speaker 1: telling us where the beryls are, all shall be forgiven
22:13
Speaker 1: and forgotten. Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,
22:17
Speaker 1: he answered, turning away from me with a sneer. I
22:20
Speaker 1: saw that he was too hardened for any words of
22:23
Speaker 1: mine to influence him. There was but one way for it.
22:27
Speaker 1: I called in the inspector and gave him into custody.
22:32
Speaker 1: The search was made at once, not only of his person,
22:34
Speaker 1: but of his room and of every portion of the
22:37
Speaker 1: house where he could possibly have concealed the gems. But
22:40
Speaker 1: no trace of them could be found, Nor would the
22:43
Speaker 1: wretched boy open his mouth. For all our persuasions and
22:46
Speaker 1: our threats. This morning he was removed to a cell,
22:50
Speaker 1: and I, after going through all the police formalities, have
22:54
Speaker 1: hurried round to you to implore you to use your
22:57
Speaker 1: skill in unraveling the matter. The police have openly confessed
23:01
Speaker 1: that they can at present make nothing of it. You
23:05
Speaker 1: may go to any expense which you think necessary. I
23:08
Speaker 1: have already offered a reward of a thousand pounds. My god,
23:13
Speaker 1: what shall I do? I've lost my honor, my gems,
23:17
Speaker 1: and my son in one night. Oh what shall I do?
23:22
Speaker 1: He put a hand on either side of his head
23:24
Speaker 1: and rocked himself to and fro, droning to himself like
23:28
Speaker 1: a child whose grief has got beyond words. Sherlock Holm
23:33
Speaker 1: sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted
23:37
Speaker 1: and his eyes fixed upon the fire. Do you receive
23:40
Speaker 1: much company? He asked, None save my partner with his family,
23:46
Speaker 1: and an occasional friend of Arthur's, Sir George Burnwell, has
23:50
Speaker 1: been several times lately, but no one else, I think.
23:54
Speaker 1: Do you go out much in society? Arthur? Does Mary
23:59
Speaker 1: and I stay at her home when neither of us
24:02
Speaker 1: care for it? That is unusual in a young girl.
24:06
Speaker 1: She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not
24:10
Speaker 1: so very young. She is four and twenty. This matter,
24:14
Speaker 1: from what you say, seems to have been a shock
24:16
Speaker 1: to her. Also terrible. She is even more affected than I.
24:22
Speaker 1: You have neither of you any doubt as to your
24:24
Speaker 1: son's guilt? How can we have? When I saw him
24:28
Speaker 1: with my own eyes, with the coronet in his hands.
24:31
Speaker 1: I hardly consider that a conclusive proof. Was the remainder
24:36
Speaker 1: of the coronet at all injured? Yes, it was twisted.
24:41
Speaker 1: Do you not think then that he might have been
24:43
Speaker 1: trying to straighten it? God bless you. You are doing
24:47
Speaker 1: what you can for him and for me, But it
24:49
Speaker 1: is too heavy a task. What was he doing there
24:53
Speaker 1: at all? If his purpose were innocent, why did he
24:55
Speaker 1: not say so precisely? And if he were guilty, why
25:00
Speaker 1: did he not invent a lie? His silence appears to
25:03
Speaker 1: me to cut both ways. There are several singular points
25:07
Speaker 1: about the case. What did the police think of the
25:11
Speaker 1: noise which awoke you from your sleep? They considered that
25:14
Speaker 1: it might be caused by Arthur's closing his bedroom door,
25:18
Speaker 1: a likely story, as if a man bent on felony
25:21
Speaker 1: would slam the door so as to awake a household.
25:25
Speaker 1: What did they say, then, of the disappearance of these gems?
25:30
Speaker 1: They are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture
25:33
Speaker 1: in the hope of finding them. Have they thought of
25:37
Speaker 1: looking outside the house? Yes? They have shown extraordinary energy.
25:41
Speaker 1: The whole garden has already been minutely examined. Now my
25:46
Speaker 1: dear sir, said Holmes, is it not obvious to you
25:50
Speaker 1: now that this matter really strikes very much deeper than
25:53
Speaker 1: either you or the police were at first inclined to think.
25:56
Speaker 1: It appeared to you to be a simple case. To me,
25:59
Speaker 1: it seems exceedingly complex. Consider what is involved by your theory.
26:06
Speaker 1: You suppose that your son came down from his bed,
26:09
Speaker 1: went at great risk to your dressing room, opened your bureau,
26:13
Speaker 1: took out your coronet, broke off by main force a
26:16
Speaker 1: small portion of it, went off to some other place,
26:19
Speaker 1: concealed three gems out of the thirty nine with such
26:22
Speaker 1: skill that nobody can find them, and then returned with
26:25
Speaker 1: the other thirty six into the room in which he
26:28
Speaker 1: exposed himself to the greatest danger of being discovered. I
26:33
Speaker 1: ask you, now, is such a theory tenable? But what
26:38
Speaker 1: are there is there? Cried the banker, with a gesture
26:41
Speaker 1: of despair. If his motives were innocent, why does he
26:44
Speaker 1: not explain them? It is our task to find that out,
26:49
Speaker 1: replied Holmes. So now, if you please, mister Holder, we
26:52
Speaker 1: will set off for Stretum together and devote an hour
26:56
Speaker 1: to glancing a little more closely into details. My friend
27:01
Speaker 1: insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition, which I
27:05
Speaker 1: was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy
27:08
Speaker 1: were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened.
27:13
Speaker 1: I confess that the guilt of the banker's son appeared
27:16
Speaker 1: to me to be as obvious as it did to
27:17
Speaker 1: his unhappy father. But still I had such faith in
27:21
Speaker 1: Holmes's judgment that I felt that there must be some
27:25
Speaker 1: grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with
27:28
Speaker 1: the accepted explanation. He hardly spoke a word the whole
27:32
Speaker 1: way out to the southern suburb, but sat with his
27:35
Speaker 1: chin upon his breast and his hat drawn over his eyes,
27:39
Speaker 1: sunk in the deepest thought. Our client appeared to have
27:43
Speaker 1: taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which
27:46
Speaker 1: had been presented to him, and he even broke into
27:49
Speaker 1: a desultrate chat with me over his business affairs. A
27:53
Speaker 1: short railway journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank,
27:57
Speaker 1: The modest residence of the great Finance Fairbank was a
28:03
Speaker 1: good sized square house of white stone, standing back a
28:06
Speaker 1: little from the road. A double carriage sweep with a
28:10
Speaker 1: snow clad lawn stretched down in front the two large
28:13
Speaker 1: iron gates which closed the entrance. On the right side
28:17
Speaker 1: was a small wooden thicket which led into a narrow
28:20
Speaker 1: path between two neat hedges, stretching from the road to
28:23
Speaker 1: the kitchen door and forming the tradesman's entrance. On the
28:28
Speaker 1: left ran a lane which led to the stables, and
28:31
Speaker 1: was not itself within the grounds at all, being a
28:34
Speaker 1: public though little used thoroughfare. Holmes left us standing at
28:38
Speaker 1: the door and walked slowly all round the house, across
28:42
Speaker 1: the front, down the tradesman's path, and so round by
28:45
Speaker 1: the garden behind into the stable lane. So long was
28:49
Speaker 1: he that mister Holder and I went into the dining
28:52
Speaker 1: room and waited by the fire until he should return.
28:57
Speaker 1: We were sitting there in silence when the door opened
29:00
Speaker 1: and a young lady came in. She was rather above
29:03
Speaker 1: the middle height, slim, with dark hair and eyes which
29:07
Speaker 1: seemed the darker against the absolute pallor of her skin.
29:12
Speaker 1: I do not think that I have ever seen such
29:14
Speaker 1: deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too were bloodless,
29:19
Speaker 1: but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept
29:23
Speaker 1: silently into the room. She impressed me with a greater
29:25
Speaker 1: sense of her grief than the banker had done in
29:28
Speaker 1: the morning, And it was the more striking in her
29:31
Speaker 1: as she was evidently a woman of strong character with
29:34
Speaker 1: immense capacity for self restraint. Disregarding my presence, she went
29:40
Speaker 1: straight to her uncle and passed her hand over his
29:43
Speaker 1: head with a sweet womanly caress. You have given orders
29:48
Speaker 1: that Arthur should be liberated, have you not dared? She asked? No, No,
29:52
Speaker 1: my girl, The matter must be probed to the bottom.
29:55
Speaker 1: But I am so sure that he is innocent. You
29:58
Speaker 1: know what women's instincts are. I know that he has
30:01
Speaker 1: done no harm, and that you will be sorry for
30:04
Speaker 1: having acted so harshly. Why is he silent then, if
30:08
Speaker 1: he is innocent, who knows? Perhaps because he was so
30:12
Speaker 1: angry that you should suspect him. How could I help
30:15
Speaker 1: suspecting him when I actually saw him with the coronet
30:18
Speaker 1: in his hand. Oh, but he had only picked it
30:21
Speaker 1: up to look at it. Oh, do do take my
30:24
Speaker 1: word for it that he is innocent. Let the matter
30:26
Speaker 1: drop and say no more. It is dreadful to think
30:29
Speaker 1: of our dear Arthur in prison. I shall never let
30:33
Speaker 1: it drop until the gems are found. Never, Mary, your
30:36
Speaker 1: affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences
30:39
Speaker 1: to me. Far from hushing the thing up, I have
30:43
Speaker 1: brought a gentleman down from London to inquire more deeply
30:45
Speaker 1: into it. This gentleman, she asked, facing round to me, No,
30:50
Speaker 1: his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He
30:54
Speaker 1: is round in the stable lane. Now the stable lane,
30:59
Speaker 1: she raised her dark ey eyebrows. What can he hope
31:01
Speaker 1: to find there? Ah, this, I suppose is he I trust, sir,
31:06
Speaker 1: that you will succeed in proving what I feel sure
31:09
Speaker 1: is the truth that my cousin Arthur is innocent of
31:12
Speaker 1: this crime. I fully share your opinion, and I trust
31:16
Speaker 1: with you that we may prove it, returned Holmes, going
31:19
Speaker 1: back to the mat to knock the snow from his shoes.
31:23
Speaker 1: I believe I have the honor of addressing Miss Mary holder.
31:27
Speaker 1: Might I ask you a question or two? Pray do, sir,
31:30
Speaker 1: if it may help to clear this horrible affair up.
31:34
Speaker 1: You heard nothing yourself last night, nothing until my uncle
31:38
Speaker 1: here began to speak loudly. I heard that, and I
31:41
Speaker 1: came down. You shut up the windows and doors the
31:44
Speaker 1: night before? Did you fasten all the windows. Yes, were
31:48
Speaker 1: they all fastened this morning? Yes, you have a maid
31:53
Speaker 1: who has a sweetheart. I think that you remarked your
31:56
Speaker 1: uncle last night that she had been out to see him. Yes,
32:00
Speaker 1: and she was the girl who waited in the drawing room,
32:03
Speaker 1: and who may have heard Uncle's remarks about the coronet.
32:06
Speaker 1: I see you infer that she may have gone out
32:09
Speaker 1: to tell her sweetheart, and that the two may have
32:12
Speaker 1: planned the robbery. But what is the good of all
32:15
Speaker 1: these vague theories, cried the banker impatiently, when I have
32:18
Speaker 1: told you that I saw Arthur with the coronet in
32:21
Speaker 1: his hands. Wait a little, mister Holder, We must come
32:25
Speaker 1: back to that. About this girl, Missholder, you saw her
32:28
Speaker 1: return by the kitchen door, I presume yes. When I
32:33
Speaker 1: went to see if the door was fastened for the night,
32:34
Speaker 1: I met her slipping in. I saw the man too,
32:38
Speaker 1: in the gloom. Do you know him? Oh? Yes, he
32:41
Speaker 1: is the greengrocer who brings our vegetables round. His name
32:45
Speaker 1: is Francis Prosper. He stood, said Holmes, to the left
32:49
Speaker 1: of the door, that is to say, farther up the
32:52
Speaker 1: path than is necessary to reach the door. Yes he did,
32:56
Speaker 1: and he is a man with a wooden leg. Something
32:59
Speaker 1: like fear sprang up in the young lady's expressive black eyes.
33:03
Speaker 1: Why you are like a magician, said she. How do
33:06
Speaker 1: you know that? She smiled, but there was no answering
33:10
Speaker 1: smile in Holmes's thin, eager face. I should be very
33:14
Speaker 1: glad now to go upstairs, said he. I shall probably
33:17
Speaker 1: wish to go over the outside of the house again.
33:21
Speaker 1: Perhaps I had better take a look at the lower
33:23
Speaker 1: windows before I go up. He walked swiftly round from
33:27
Speaker 1: one to the other, pausing only at the large one
33:30
Speaker 1: which looked from the hall on the stable lane. This
33:33
Speaker 1: he opened and made a very careful examination of the
33:36
Speaker 1: sill with his powerful magnifying lens. Now we shall go upstairs,
33:42
Speaker 1: said he. At last, the banker's dressing room was a
33:47
Speaker 1: plainly furnished little chamber with a gray carpet, a large bureau,
33:51
Speaker 1: and a long mirror. Holmes went to the bureau first
33:55
Speaker 1: and looked hard at the lock which key was used
33:58
Speaker 1: to open it. He asked, that which my son himself
34:02
Speaker 1: indicated that of the cupboard of the lumber room. Have
34:06
Speaker 1: you it here? That is it on the dressing table,
34:10
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. It
34:14
Speaker 1: is a noiseless lock, said he. It is no wonder
34:17
Speaker 1: that it did not wake you. This case, I presume
34:21
Speaker 1: contains the coronet. We must have a look at it.
34:25
Speaker 1: He opened the case, and taking out the diadem, he
34:28
Speaker 1: laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen
34:32
Speaker 1: of the jeweler's art, and the thirty six stones were
34:35
Speaker 1: the finest that I have ever seen. At one side
34:38
Speaker 1: of the coronet was a crooked, cracked edge where a
34:41
Speaker 1: corner holding three gems had been torn away. Now, mister Holder,
34:46
Speaker 1: said Holmes, here is the corner which corresponds to that
34:50
Speaker 1: which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I beg that
34:53
Speaker 1: you will break it off? I should not dream of trying,
34:57
Speaker 1: said he. Then I will. Holmes suddenly bent his strength
35:02
Speaker 1: upon it, but without result. I feel it give a little,
35:06
Speaker 1: said he. But though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers,
35:10
Speaker 1: it would take me all my time to break it.
35:13
Speaker 1: An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do
35:16
Speaker 1: you think would happen if I did break it, mister Holder?
35:19
Speaker 1: There would be a noise like a pistol shot. Do
35:23
Speaker 1: you tell me that all this happened within a few
35:25
Speaker 1: yards of your bed, and that you heard nothing of it.
35:28
Speaker 1: I do not know what to think. It is all
35:31
Speaker 1: dark to me, but perhaps it may grow lighter as
35:34
Speaker 1: we go. What do you think, miss Holder? I confess
35:38
Speaker 1: that I still share my uncle's perplexity. Your son had
35:41
Speaker 1: no shoes or slippers on when you saw him. He
35:44
Speaker 1: had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt. Thank you.
35:49
Speaker 1: We have certainly been favored with extraordinary luck during this inquiry,
35:53
Speaker 1: and it will be entirely our own fault if we
35:56
Speaker 1: do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your omission,
36:00
Speaker 1: mister Holder, I shall now continue my investigations outside. He
36:06
Speaker 1: went alone, at his own request, for he explained that
36:09
Speaker 1: any unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For
36:14
Speaker 1: an hour or more he was at work, returning at
36:18
Speaker 1: last with his feet heavy with snow and his features
36:21
Speaker 1: as inscrutable as ever. I think that I have seen
36:25
Speaker 1: now all that there is to see, mister Holder said he.
36:29
Speaker 1: I can serve you best by returning to my rooms.
36:33
Speaker 1: But the gems, mister Holmes, where are they? I cannot tell?
36:38
Speaker 1: The banker wrung his hands. I shall never see them again,
36:42
Speaker 1: he cried, And my son, you give me hopes my
36:48
Speaker 1: opinion is in no way altered. Then, for God's sake,
36:51
Speaker 1: what was this dark business which was acted in my
36:54
Speaker 1: house last night? If you can call upon me at
36:58
Speaker 1: my Baker Street rooms tomorrow morning between nine and ten,
37:01
Speaker 1: I shall be happy to do what I can to
37:03
Speaker 1: make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte
37:07
Speaker 1: blanche to act for you, provided only that I get
37:10
Speaker 1: back the gems, and that you place no limit on
37:14
Speaker 1: the sum I may draw. I would give my fortune
37:18
Speaker 1: to have them back very good. I shall look into
37:21
Speaker 1: the matter between this and then good bye. It is
37:24
Speaker 1: just possible that I may have to come over here
37:26
Speaker 1: again before evening. It was obvious to me that my
37:30
Speaker 1: companion's mind was now made up about the case, although
37:34
Speaker 1: what his conclusions were was more than I could even
37:37
Speaker 1: dimly imagine. Several times during our homeward journey I endeavored
37:42
Speaker 1: to sound him upon that point, but he always glided
37:46
Speaker 1: away to some other topic, until at last I gave
37:49
Speaker 1: it over in despair. It was not yet three when
37:54
Speaker 1: we found ourselves in our little room once more. He
37:58
Speaker 1: hurried to his chamber and was down again in a
38:00
Speaker 1: few minutes, dressed as a common loafer, with his collar
38:05
Speaker 1: turned up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and
38:09
Speaker 1: his worn boots. He was a perfect sample of the class.
38:14
Speaker 1: I think that this should do, said he, glancing into
38:17
Speaker 1: the glass about the fireplace. I only wish that you
38:20
Speaker 1: would come with me, Watson, but I fear that it
38:23
Speaker 1: won't do. I may be on the trail in this matter,
38:26
Speaker 1: or I may be following a willow the wisp, but
38:29
Speaker 1: I shall soon know which it is. I hope that
38:32
Speaker 1: I shall be back in a few hours. He cut
38:36
Speaker 1: a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard,
38:39
Speaker 1: sandwiged it between two rounds of bread, and thrusting this
38:42
Speaker 1: rude meal in his pocket, he started off upon his expedition.
38:49
Speaker 1: I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently
38:53
Speaker 1: in excellent spirits. Swinging an old elastic sided boot in
38:57
Speaker 1: his hand. He chucked it down into a corner and
39:00
Speaker 1: helped himself to a cup of tea. I only looked
39:04
Speaker 1: in as I passed, said he. I am going right
39:06
Speaker 1: on where too, Oh, to the other side of the
39:09
Speaker 1: west end. It may be some time before I get back.
39:12
Speaker 1: Don't wait up for me in case I should be late.
39:16
Speaker 1: How are you getting on, oh, so so nothing to
39:18
Speaker 1: complain of. I've been out to Stretum since I saw
39:22
Speaker 1: you last, but I did not call at the house.
39:25
Speaker 1: It is a very sweet little problem, and I would
39:28
Speaker 1: not have missed it for a good deal. However, I
39:31
Speaker 1: must not sit gossiping here, but must get these disreputable
39:35
Speaker 1: clothes off and return to my highly respectable self. I
39:40
Speaker 1: could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons
39:43
Speaker 1: for satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled,
39:48
Speaker 1: and there was even a touch of color upon his
39:50
Speaker 1: sallow cheeks. He hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later
39:54
Speaker 1: I heard the slam of the hall door, which told
39:58
Speaker 1: me that he was off once more upon his genial hunt.
40:02
Speaker 1: I waited until midnight, but there was still no sign
40:04
Speaker 1: of his return, so I retired to my room. It
40:09
Speaker 1: was no uncommon thing for him to be away for
40:11
Speaker 1: days and nights on end when he was hot upon
40:13
Speaker 1: as scent, so that his lateness caused me no surprise.
40:18
Speaker 1: I do not know at what hour he came in,
40:20
Speaker 1: but when I came down to breakfast in the morning,
40:22
Speaker 1: there he was, with a cup of coffee in one
40:24
Speaker 1: hand and a paper in the other as fresh and
40:27
Speaker 1: trim as possible. You will excuse my beginning without you,
40:31
Speaker 1: Watson said he. But you remember that our client has
40:35
Speaker 1: rather an early appointment this morning. Why it is after
40:39
Speaker 1: nine now, I answered, I should not be surprised if
40:43
Speaker 1: that were he. I thought I heard a ring. It
40:47
Speaker 1: was indeed, our friend, the financier. I was shocked by
40:51
Speaker 1: the change which had come over him, for his face,
40:54
Speaker 1: which was naturally of a broad and massive mold, was
40:57
Speaker 1: now pinched and fallen in, while his hair seemed to
41:01
Speaker 1: be at least a shade whiter. He entered with a
41:04
Speaker 1: weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than his
41:08
Speaker 1: violence of the morning before, and he dropped heavily into
41:12
Speaker 1: the arm chair, which I pushed forward for him. I
41:15
Speaker 1: do not know what I have done to be so
41:17
Speaker 1: severely tried, said he. Only two days ago I was
41:22
Speaker 1: a happy and prosperous man, without a care in the world.
41:26
Speaker 1: Now I am left to a lonely and dishonored age.
41:29
Speaker 1: One sorrow comes close upon the heels of another. My
41:33
Speaker 1: niece Mary has deserted me, deserted you. Yes, her bed
41:39
Speaker 1: this morning had not been slept in her room was empty,
41:42
Speaker 1: and a note lay for me upon the hall table.
41:45
Speaker 1: I had said to her last night, in sorrow and
41:48
Speaker 1: not in anger, that if she had married my boy,
41:51
Speaker 1: all might have been well with him. Perhaps it was
41:54
Speaker 1: thoughtless of me to say so. It is to that
41:57
Speaker 1: remark that she refers in this note. My dearest uncle,
42:01
Speaker 1: I feel that I have brought this trouble upon you,
42:05
Speaker 1: and that if I had acted differently, this terrible misfortune
42:08
Speaker 1: might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in
42:12
Speaker 1: my mind ever again be happy under your roof, and
42:16
Speaker 1: I feel that I must leave you forever. Do not
42:20
Speaker 1: worry about my future, for that is provided for. And
42:23
Speaker 1: above all, do not search for me, for it will
42:26
Speaker 1: be fruitless labor and an ill service to me in
42:30
Speaker 1: life or in death. I am, ever, your loving Mary.
42:35
Speaker 1: What could she mean by that note, mister Holmes? Do
42:38
Speaker 1: you think it points to suicide? No? No, nothing of
42:42
Speaker 1: the kind. It is perhaps the best possible solution. I trust,
42:47
Speaker 1: mister Holder, that you are nearing the end of your troubles.
42:51
Speaker 1: Ha you say so, you've heard something, mister Holmes, You've
42:55
Speaker 1: learnt something. Where are the gems? You would not think
42:59
Speaker 1: a thousand pounds apiece an excessive sum for them. I
43:04
Speaker 1: would pay ten, that would be unnecessary. Three thousand will
43:08
Speaker 1: cover the matter, and there is a little reward. I
43:11
Speaker 1: fancy have you your check book? Here is a pen.
43:16
Speaker 1: Better make it out for four thousand pounds. With a
43:19
Speaker 1: dazed face, the banker made out the required check. Holmes
43:23
Speaker 1: walked over to his desk, took out a little triangular
43:27
Speaker 1: piece of gold with three gems in it, and threw
43:30
Speaker 1: it down upon the table with a shriek of joy.
43:34
Speaker 1: Our client clutched it up. You have it, he gasped.
43:37
Speaker 1: I am saved, I am saved. The reaction of joy
43:42
Speaker 1: was as passionate as his grief had been, and he
43:45
Speaker 1: hugged his recovered gems to his bosom. There is one
43:49
Speaker 1: other thing you owe, mister holder, said Sherlock Holmes, rather sternly.
43:55
Speaker 1: Oh he caught up a pen. Name the sum, and
43:58
Speaker 1: I will pay it. Oh, the debt is not to me.
44:02
Speaker 1: You owe a very humble apology to that noble lad
44:05
Speaker 1: your son, who has carried himself in this matter, as
44:08
Speaker 1: I should be proud to see my own son do
44:11
Speaker 1: should I have a chance to have one. Then it
44:15
Speaker 1: was not Arthur who took them. I told you yesterday,
44:19
Speaker 1: and I repeat today that it was not. You are
44:23
Speaker 1: sure of it, then, let us hurry to him at
44:26
Speaker 1: once to let him know that the truth is known.
44:30
Speaker 1: He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up,
44:34
Speaker 1: I had an interview with him, and, finding that he
44:37
Speaker 1: would not tell me the story, I told it to him,
44:40
Speaker 1: on which he had to confess that I was right,
44:44
Speaker 1: and to add the very few details which were not
44:46
Speaker 1: yet quite clear to me. Your news this morning, however,
44:50
Speaker 1: may open his lips. For Heaven's sake. Tell me then,
44:54
Speaker 1: what is this extraordinary mystery? I will do so, and
44:58
Speaker 1: I will show you the steps by which I reached it.
45:02
Speaker 1: And let me say to you first that it is
45:04
Speaker 1: hardest for me to say and for you to bear.
45:07
Speaker 1: There has been an understanding between Sir George Burnwell and
45:11
Speaker 1: your niece Mary. They have now fled together, My Mary. Impossible,
45:18
Speaker 1: It is unfortunately more than possible. It is certain neither
45:23
Speaker 1: you nor your son knew the true character of this
45:25
Speaker 1: man when you admitted him into your family circle. He
45:29
Speaker 1: is one of the most dangerous men in England, a
45:32
Speaker 1: ruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart.
45:36
Speaker 1: Or conscience. Your niece knew nothing of such men. When
45:41
Speaker 1: he breathed his vows to her, as he had done
45:43
Speaker 1: to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she
45:46
Speaker 1: alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what
45:51
Speaker 1: he said. But at last she became his tool, and
45:55
Speaker 1: was in the habit of seeing him nearly every evening.
45:58
Speaker 1: I cannot and I will not believe it, cried the
46:01
Speaker 1: banker with an ashen face. I will tell you then,
46:04
Speaker 1: what occurred in your house that night, Your niece, when
46:08
Speaker 1: you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped
46:12
Speaker 1: down and talked to her lover through the window which
46:14
Speaker 1: leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right
46:19
Speaker 1: through the snow, so long had he stood there. She
46:22
Speaker 1: told him of the coronet. He is wicked, lust for
46:26
Speaker 1: gold kindled at the news, and he bent her to
46:29
Speaker 1: his will. I have no doubt that she loved you.
46:33
Speaker 1: But there are women in whom the love of a
46:34
Speaker 1: lover extinguishes all other loves, and I think that she
46:38
Speaker 1: must have been one. She had hardly listened to his
46:42
Speaker 1: instructions when she saw you coming downstairs, on which she
46:46
Speaker 1: closed the window rapidly and told you about one of
46:49
Speaker 1: the servants escapade with her wooden legged lover, which was
46:53
Speaker 1: all perfectly true. Your boy Arthur went to bed after
46:58
Speaker 1: his interview with you, but he slept badly on account
47:01
Speaker 1: of his uneasiness about his club debts. In the middle
47:06
Speaker 1: of the night, he heard a soft tread pass his door,
47:09
Speaker 1: so he rose, and, looking out, was surprised to see
47:12
Speaker 1: his cousin walking very stealthily along the passage until she
47:17
Speaker 1: disappeared into your dressing room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad
47:22
Speaker 1: slipped on some clothes and waited there in the dark
47:25
Speaker 1: to see what would come of this strange affair. Presently
47:29
Speaker 1: she emerged from the room again, and in the light
47:32
Speaker 1: of the passage lamp, your son saw that she carried
47:35
Speaker 1: the precious coronet in her hands. She passed down the stairs,
47:39
Speaker 1: and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and slipped behind
47:43
Speaker 1: the curtain near your door, whence he could see what
47:46
Speaker 1: passed in the hall beneath. He saw her stealthily open
47:50
Speaker 1: the window, hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom,
47:54
Speaker 1: and then closing it once more, hurry back to her room,
47:58
Speaker 1: passing quite close to where he stood, hid behind the
48:00
Speaker 1: curtain as long as she was on the scene, he
48:04
Speaker 1: could not take any action without a horrible exposure of
48:07
Speaker 1: the woman whom he loved. But the instant she was gone,
48:11
Speaker 1: he realized how crushing a misfortune this would be for you,
48:15
Speaker 1: and how all important it was to set it right.
48:18
Speaker 1: He rushed down, just as he was in his bare feet,
48:21
Speaker 1: opened the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran
48:24
Speaker 1: down the lane, where he could see a dark figure
48:27
Speaker 1: in the moonlight. Sir George Burnwell tried to get away,
48:31
Speaker 1: but Arthur caught him, and there was a struggle between them,
48:34
Speaker 1: your lad tugging at one side of the coronet and
48:37
Speaker 1: his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son
48:41
Speaker 1: struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then
48:44
Speaker 1: something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had
48:48
Speaker 1: the coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window,
48:52
Speaker 1: ascended to your room, and had just observed that the
48:55
Speaker 1: coronet had been twisted in the struggle, and was endeavoring
48:59
Speaker 1: to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene. Is
49:03
Speaker 1: it possible, gasped the banker. You then roused his anger
49:08
Speaker 1: by calling him names at a moment when he felt
49:10
Speaker 1: that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not
49:14
Speaker 1: explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who
49:18
Speaker 1: certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took
49:23
Speaker 1: the more chivalrous view, however, and preserved her secret. And
49:27
Speaker 1: that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw
49:30
Speaker 1: the coronet. Cried, mister Holder, Oh my god, what a
49:34
Speaker 1: blind fool I've been, and is asking to be allowed
49:38
Speaker 1: to go out for five minutes. The dear fellow wanted
49:41
Speaker 1: to see if the missing piece were at the scene
49:43
Speaker 1: of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him. I
49:48
Speaker 1: at once went very carefully round it to observe if
49:51
Speaker 1: there were any traces in the snow which might help me.
49:55
Speaker 1: I knew that none had fallen since the evening before,
49:58
Speaker 1: and also that there had been a wrong frost. To
50:01
Speaker 1: preserve impressions, I passed along the tradesman's path, but found
50:05
Speaker 1: it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it, however,
50:10
Speaker 1: at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman
50:12
Speaker 1: had stood and talked with a man whose round impression
50:16
Speaker 1: on one side showed that he had a wooden leg.
50:21
Speaker 1: I could even tell that they had been disturbed for
50:23
Speaker 1: the woman had run back swiftly to the door, as
50:27
Speaker 1: was shown by the deep toe and light heel marks,
50:30
Speaker 1: while wooden leg had waited a little and then had
50:33
Speaker 1: gone away. I thought at the time that this might
50:37
Speaker 1: be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had
50:39
Speaker 1: already spoken to me, and inquiry showed that it was so.
50:45
Speaker 1: I passed round the garden without seeing anything more than
50:48
Speaker 1: random tracks, which I took to be the police. But
50:51
Speaker 1: when I got into the stable lane, a very long
50:54
Speaker 1: and complex story was written in the snow. In front
50:57
Speaker 1: of me. There was a double line of tracks of
51:00
Speaker 1: a booted man, and a second double line, which I
51:04
Speaker 1: saw with delight, belonged to a man with naked feet.
51:09
Speaker 1: I was at once convinced from what you had told
51:12
Speaker 1: me that the latter was your son. The first had
51:16
Speaker 1: walked both ways, but the other had run swiftly, and
51:20
Speaker 1: as his tread was marked in places over the depression
51:23
Speaker 1: of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed
51:26
Speaker 1: after the other. I followed them up and found that
51:30
Speaker 1: they led to the hall window, where boots had worn
51:33
Speaker 1: all the snow away while waiting. Then I walked to
51:37
Speaker 1: the other end, which was one hundred yards or more
51:39
Speaker 1: down the lane, I saw where boots had faced round,
51:43
Speaker 1: where the snow was cut up as though there had
51:46
Speaker 1: been a struggle, and finally where a few drops of
51:49
Speaker 1: blood had fallen, to show me that I was not mistaken.
51:53
Speaker 1: Boots had then run down the lane, and another little
51:56
Speaker 1: smudge of blood showed that it was he who had
51:59
Speaker 1: been hurt. When he came to the high road. At
52:02
Speaker 1: the other end, I found that the pavement had been cleared,
52:06
Speaker 1: so there was an end to that clue. On entering
52:10
Speaker 1: the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the sill
52:13
Speaker 1: and framework of the hall window with my lens, and
52:16
Speaker 1: I could at once see that some one had passed out.
52:20
Speaker 1: I could distinguish the outline of an in step where
52:24
Speaker 1: the wet foot had been placed in coming in. I
52:27
Speaker 1: was then beginning to be able to form an opinion
52:30
Speaker 1: as to what had occurred. A man had waited outside
52:33
Speaker 1: the window. Some one had brought in the gems. The
52:38
Speaker 1: deed had been overseen by your son. He had pursued
52:41
Speaker 1: the thief, had struggled with him. They had tugged at
52:45
Speaker 1: the coronet, their united strength, causing injuries which neither alone
52:50
Speaker 1: could have effected. He had returned with the prize, but
52:54
Speaker 1: had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent.
52:57
Speaker 1: So far I was clear. The question now was who
53:01
Speaker 1: was the man and who was it brought him the coronet?
53:06
Speaker 1: It is an old maxim of mine that when you
53:08
Speaker 1: have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
53:14
Speaker 1: the truth. Now I knew that it was not you
53:18
Speaker 1: who had brought it down, so there only remained your
53:21
Speaker 1: niece and the maids. But if it were the maids,
53:24
Speaker 1: why should your son allow himself to be accused in
53:27
Speaker 1: their place? There could be no possible reason, as he
53:31
Speaker 1: loved his cousin. However, there was an excellent explanation why
53:35
Speaker 1: he should retain her secret, the more so as the
53:39
Speaker 1: secret was a disgraceful one. When I remembered that you
53:43
Speaker 1: had seen her at that window, and how she had
53:45
Speaker 1: fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture became a certainty.
53:52
Speaker 1: And who could it be? Who was her confederate? A lover? Evidently?
53:57
Speaker 1: For who else could outweigh the love and grind attitude
54:00
Speaker 1: which she must feel to you. I knew that you
54:03
Speaker 1: went out little, and that your circle of friends was
54:06
Speaker 1: a very limited one. But among them was Sir George Burnwell.
54:11
Speaker 1: I had heard of him before as being a man
54:13
Speaker 1: of evil reputation among women. It must have been he
54:17
Speaker 1: who wore those boots and retained the missing gems. Even
54:22
Speaker 1: though he knew that Arthur had discovered him, he might
54:25
Speaker 1: still flatter himself that he was safe, For the lad
54:28
Speaker 1: could not say a word without compromising his own family. Well,
54:33
Speaker 1: your own good sense will suggest what measures I took. Next,
54:37
Speaker 1: I went in the shape of a loafer to Sir
54:39
Speaker 1: George's house, managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet,
54:44
Speaker 1: learned that his master had cut his head the night before,
54:47
Speaker 1: and finally, at the expense of six shillings, made all
54:51
Speaker 1: shore by buying a pair of his cast off shoes.
54:56
Speaker 1: With these I journeyed down to Stretum and saw that
54:59
Speaker 1: they exactly fitted the tracks. I saw an ill dressed
55:04
Speaker 1: vagabond in the lane yesterday evening, said mister Holder. Precisely
55:09
Speaker 1: it was I. I found that I had my man,
55:12
Speaker 1: so I came home and changed my clothes. It was
55:16
Speaker 1: a delicate part which I had to play then, for
55:18
Speaker 1: I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert
55:21
Speaker 1: scandal and I knew that so astute a villain would
55:25
Speaker 1: see that our hands were tied in the matter. I
55:28
Speaker 1: went and saw him. At first, of course he denied everything,
55:33
Speaker 1: but when I gave him every particular that had occurred,
55:36
Speaker 1: he tried to bluster and took down a life preserver
55:40
Speaker 1: from the wall. I knew my man, however, and I
55:43
Speaker 1: clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike.
55:47
Speaker 1: Then he became a little more reasonable. I told him
55:50
Speaker 1: that we would give him a price for the stones.
55:52
Speaker 1: He held a thousand pounds apiece that brought out the
55:57
Speaker 1: first signs of grief. He had shown. Why dash it all?
56:00
Speaker 1: Said he I've let them go at six hundred for
56:02
Speaker 1: the three. I soon managed to get the address of
56:06
Speaker 1: the receiver who had them on, promising him that there
56:09
Speaker 1: would be no prosecution. Off, I said to him, And
56:12
Speaker 1: after much chaffering, I got our stones out a thousand apiece.
56:17
Speaker 1: Then I looked in upon your son, told him that
56:20
Speaker 1: all was right, and eventually got to my bed about
56:23
Speaker 1: two o'clock. After what I may call a really hard
56:26
Speaker 1: day's work, a day which has saved England from a
56:30
Speaker 1: great public scandal, said the banker, rising, Sir, I cannot
56:35
Speaker 1: find words to thank you. But you will not find
56:38
Speaker 1: me ungrateful for what you have done. Your skill has
56:41
Speaker 1: indeed exceeded all that I ever heard of it. And
56:45
Speaker 1: now I must fly to my dear boy to apologize
56:48
Speaker 1: to him for the wrong which I have done him.
56:51
Speaker 1: As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it
56:53
Speaker 1: goes to my heart. Not even your skill can inform
56:57
Speaker 1: me where she is now. I think that we may
57:00
Speaker 1: safely say, returned Holmes, that she is wherever Sir George
57:05
Speaker 1: Burnwell is. It is equally certain too, that whatever her
57:10
Speaker 1: sins are, they will soon receive a more than sufficient punishment.