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32 The Six Napoleons from The Return of Sherlock Hol · Sherlock Holmes

0:03
Speaker 1: The adventure of the Six Napoleons. It was no very
0:09
Speaker 1: unusual thing for mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard to look
0:12
Speaker 1: in upon us of an evening, and his visits were
0:15
Speaker 1: welcome to Sherlock Holmes, for they enabled him to keep
0:18
Speaker 1: in touch with all that was going on at the
0:20
Speaker 1: police headquarters. In return for the news which Lestrade would bring,
0:26
Speaker 1: Holmes was always ready to listen with attention to the
0:29
Speaker 1: details of any case upon which the detective was engaged,
0:33
Speaker 1: and was able, occasionally, without any active interference, to give
0:37
Speaker 1: some hint or suggestion drawn from his own vast knowledge
0:41
Speaker 1: and experience. On this particular evening, Lestrade had spoken of
0:46
Speaker 1: the weather and the newspapers. Then he had fallen silent,
0:51
Speaker 1: puffing thoughtfully at his cigar. Holmes looked keenly at him.
0:57
Speaker 1: Anything remarkable on hand, he asked, Oh, no, mister Holmes,
1:02
Speaker 1: nothing very particular. Then tell me about it. Lestrade laughed, Well,
1:08
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, there is no use denying that there is
1:12
Speaker 1: something on my mind. And yet it is such an
1:15
Speaker 1: absurd business that I hesitated to bother you about it.
1:19
Speaker 1: On the other hand, although it is trivial, it is
1:22
Speaker 1: undoubtedly queer and I know that you have a taste
1:25
Speaker 1: for all that is out of the common, but in
1:28
Speaker 1: my opinion it comes more in doctor Watson's line than ours. Disease,
1:33
Speaker 1: said I. Madness anyhow, and a queer madness too. You
1:40
Speaker 1: wouldn't think that there was any one living at this
1:42
Speaker 1: time of day who had such a hatred of Napoleon.
1:45
Speaker 1: The first that he would break any image of him
1:49
Speaker 1: that he could see. Holmes sank back in his chair.
1:53
Speaker 1: That's no business of mine, said he, exactly, That's what
1:57
Speaker 1: I said. But then when the man commits burglary in
2:00
Speaker 1: order to break images which are not his own, that
2:03
Speaker 1: brings it away from the doctor and on to the policeman.
2:07
Speaker 1: Holmes sat up again. Burglary, this is more interesting. Let
2:11
Speaker 1: me hear the details. Lestrade took out his official note
2:16
Speaker 1: book and refreshed his memory from its pages. The first
2:20
Speaker 1: case reported was four days ago, said he. It was
2:24
Speaker 1: at the shop of Morse Hudson, who has a place
2:27
Speaker 1: for the sale of pictures and statues in the Kennington Road.
2:31
Speaker 1: The assistant had left the front shop for an instant
2:34
Speaker 1: when he heard a crash, and hurrying in, he found
2:37
Speaker 1: a plaster bust of Napoleon which stood with several other
2:41
Speaker 1: works of art upon the counter, lying shivered into fragments.
2:46
Speaker 1: He rushed out into the road, but although several passers
2:50
Speaker 1: by declared that they had noticed a man run out
2:52
Speaker 1: of the shop, he could neither see anyone, nor could
2:55
Speaker 1: he find any means of identifying the rascal. It seemed
2:59
Speaker 1: to be one of those senseless acts of hooliganism which
3:03
Speaker 1: occur from time to time, and it was reported to
3:07
Speaker 1: the Constable on the beat. As such, the plaster cast
3:11
Speaker 1: was not worth more than a few shillings, and the
3:14
Speaker 1: whole affair appeared to be too childish for any particular investigation.
3:19
Speaker 1: The second case, however, was more serious and also more singular.
3:24
Speaker 1: It occurred only last night in Kennington Road and within
3:29
Speaker 1: a few hundred yards of Morse Hudson's shop. There lives
3:33
Speaker 1: a well known medical practitioner named Dr Barnico, who has
3:38
Speaker 1: one of the largest practices upon the south side of
3:41
Speaker 1: the Thames. His residence and principal consulting room is at
3:46
Speaker 1: Kennington Road, but he has a branch surgery and dispensary
3:50
Speaker 1: at Lower Brixton Road, two miles away. This Dr Barnico
3:55
Speaker 1: is an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon, and his house is
4:00
Speaker 1: full of books, pictures and relics of the French Emperor.
4:04
Speaker 1: Some little time ago he purchased from Bross Hudson two
4:08
Speaker 1: duplicate plaster casts of the famous head of Napoleon by
4:11
Speaker 1: the French sculptor Divine. One of these he placed in
4:16
Speaker 1: his hall in the house at Kennington Road, and the
4:19
Speaker 1: other on the mantelpiece of the surgery at Lower Brixton Well.
4:25
Speaker 1: When doctor Barnico came down this morning, he was astonished
4:28
Speaker 1: to find that his house had been burgled during the night,
4:31
Speaker 1: but that nothing had been taken save the plaster head
4:35
Speaker 1: from the hall. It had been carried out and had
4:39
Speaker 1: been dashed savagely against the garden wall, under which its
4:43
Speaker 1: splintered fragments were discovered. Holmes rubbed his hands. This is
4:49
Speaker 1: certainly very novel, said he. I thought it would please you,
4:54
Speaker 1: but I have not got to the end yet. Doctor
4:57
Speaker 1: Barnico was due at his surgery at twelve o'clock, and
5:01
Speaker 1: you can imagine his amazement when, on arriving there he
5:04
Speaker 1: found that the window had been opened in the night,
5:06
Speaker 1: and that the broken pieces of his second bust were
5:09
Speaker 1: strewn all over the room it had been smashed to
5:13
Speaker 1: atoms where it stood. In either case, were there any
5:16
Speaker 1: signs which could give us a clue as to the
5:18
Speaker 1: criminal or lunatic who had done the mischief. Now, mister Holmes,
5:23
Speaker 1: you have got the facts. They are singular, not to
5:27
Speaker 1: say grotesque, said Holmes. May I ask whether the two
5:32
Speaker 1: busts smashed in doctor Barnico's rooms were the exact duplicates
5:37
Speaker 1: of the one which was destroyed in morse Hudson's shop.
5:40
Speaker 1: They were taken from the same mold. Such a fact
5:44
Speaker 1: must tell against the theory that the man who breaks
5:46
Speaker 1: them is influenced by any general hatred of Napoleon. Considering
5:51
Speaker 1: how many hundreds of statues of the great Emperor must
5:54
Speaker 1: exist in London, it is too much to suppose such
5:57
Speaker 1: a coincidence as that amiscuous iconoclasts should chance to begin
6:02
Speaker 1: upon three specimens of the same bust. Well, I thought,
6:07
Speaker 1: as you do, said Lestrade. On the other hand, this
6:11
Speaker 1: morse Hudson is the purveyor of busts in that part
6:14
Speaker 1: of London, and these three were the only ones which
6:18
Speaker 1: had been in his shop for years. So, although as
6:22
Speaker 1: you say, there are many hundreds of statues in London.
6:25
Speaker 1: It is very probable that these three were the only
6:28
Speaker 1: ones in that district. Therefore, a local fanatic would begin
6:33
Speaker 1: with them. What do you think, doctor Watson, there are
6:37
Speaker 1: no limits to the possibilities of monomania, I answered. There
6:42
Speaker 1: is the condition which the modern French psychologists have called
6:45
Speaker 1: the day fix, which may be trifling in character and
6:50
Speaker 1: accompanied by complete sanity in every other way. A man
6:55
Speaker 1: who had read deeply about Napoleon, or who had possibly
6:58
Speaker 1: received some reditary family injury through the Great War, might
7:03
Speaker 1: conceivably form such an e day fix, and under its
7:08
Speaker 1: influence be capable of any fantastic outrage. That won't do,
7:13
Speaker 1: my dear Watson, said Holmes, shaking his head. For no
7:16
Speaker 1: amount of E day fix would enable your interesting monomaniac
7:19
Speaker 1: to find out where these busts were situated. Well, how
7:24
Speaker 1: do you explain it? I don't attempt to do so.
7:29
Speaker 1: I would only observe that there is a certain method
7:31
Speaker 1: in the gentleman's eccentric proceedings. For example, in doctor Barnico's hall,
7:37
Speaker 1: where a sound might arouse the family, the bust was
7:40
Speaker 1: taken outside before being broken, whereas in the surgery, where
7:44
Speaker 1: there was less danger of an alarm. It was smashed
7:48
Speaker 1: where it stood. The affair seems absurdly trifling, and yet
7:53
Speaker 1: I dare call nothing trivial when I reflect that some
7:56
Speaker 1: of my most classic cases have had the least promising
7:59
Speaker 1: commit You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of
8:03
Speaker 1: the Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by
8:07
Speaker 1: the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter
8:10
Speaker 1: upon a hot day. I can't afford, therefore, to smile
8:14
Speaker 1: at your three broken busts, Lestrade, and I shall be
8:17
Speaker 1: very much obliged to you if you will let me
8:20
Speaker 1: hear of any fresh development of so singular a chain
8:22
Speaker 1: of events. The development for which my friend had asked
8:28
Speaker 1: came in a quicker and an infinitely more tragic form
8:31
Speaker 1: than he could have imagined. I was still dressing in
8:34
Speaker 1: my bedroom next morning when there was a tap at
8:37
Speaker 1: the door and homes entered a telegram in his hand.
8:42
Speaker 1: He read it aloud, Come instantly, one hundred and thirty
8:46
Speaker 1: one Pitt Street, Kensington, Lestrade. What is it, then, I asked,
8:52
Speaker 1: don't know, maybe anything, but I suspect it is the
8:56
Speaker 1: sequel of the story of the Statues in that case
8:59
Speaker 1: our when the image breaker has begun operations in another
9:02
Speaker 1: quarter of London. There's coffee on the table, Watson and
9:06
Speaker 1: I have a cab at the door. In half an
9:09
Speaker 1: hour we had reached Pitt Street, a quiet little backwater
9:13
Speaker 1: just beside one of the briskest currents of London Life.
9:17
Speaker 1: Number one hundred and thirty one was one of a row,
9:20
Speaker 1: all flat chested, respectable and most unromantic dwellings. As we
9:25
Speaker 1: drove up we found the railings in front of the
9:27
Speaker 1: house lined by a curious crowd homes whistled by George.
9:33
Speaker 1: It's at tempted murder. At least, nothing less will hold
9:37
Speaker 1: the London message. Boy, there's a deed of violence indicated
9:41
Speaker 1: in that fellow's round shoulders and outstretched neck. What's this, Watson?
9:47
Speaker 1: The top steps swilled down and the other ones dry
9:50
Speaker 1: footsteps enough anyhow, Well, well, there's lestrade at the front window,
9:55
Speaker 1: and we shall soon know all about it. The official
9:59
Speaker 1: received us with a very grave face and showed us
10:02
Speaker 1: into a sitting room where an exceedingly unkempt and agitated
10:06
Speaker 1: elderly man clad in a flannel dressing gown was pacing
10:10
Speaker 1: up and down. He was introduced to us as the
10:13
Speaker 1: owner of the house, mister Horace Harker of the Central
10:17
Speaker 1: Press Syndicate. It's the Napoleon bust business, again, said lestrade.
10:22
Speaker 1: You seemed interested last night, mister Holmes, so I thought
10:26
Speaker 1: perhaps you would be glad to be present now that
10:28
Speaker 1: the affair has taken a very much graver turn. What
10:32
Speaker 1: has it turned to then? To murder? Mister Harker, Will
10:37
Speaker 1: you tell these gentlemen exactly what has occurred? The man
10:42
Speaker 1: in the dressing gown turned upon us with a most
10:44
Speaker 1: melancholy face. It's an extraordinary thing, said he. That all
10:49
Speaker 1: my life I have been collecting other people's news, and
10:53
Speaker 1: now that a real piece of news has come my
10:55
Speaker 1: own way, I am so confused and bothered that I
10:58
Speaker 1: can't put two words together. If I had come in
11:01
Speaker 1: here as a journalist, I should have interviewed myself and
11:04
Speaker 1: had two columns in every evening paper. As it is,
11:08
Speaker 1: I am giving away valuable copy by telling my story
11:11
Speaker 1: over and over to a string of different people, and
11:14
Speaker 1: I can make no use of it myself. However, I've
11:17
Speaker 1: heard your name, mister Sherlock Holmes, and if you'll only
11:20
Speaker 1: explain this queer business. I shall be paid for my
11:23
Speaker 1: trouble in telling you the story, Holmes sat down and listened.
11:28
Speaker 1: It all seems to center round that bust of Napoleon,
11:32
Speaker 1: which I bought for this very room about four months ago.
11:35
Speaker 1: I picked it up cheap from Harding Brothers, two doors
11:39
Speaker 1: from the High Street station. A great deal of my
11:42
Speaker 1: journalistic work is done at night, and I often write
11:45
Speaker 1: until the early morning. So it was to day I
11:49
Speaker 1: was sitting in my den, which is at the back
11:52
Speaker 1: of the top of the house, about three o'clock when
11:55
Speaker 1: I was convinced that I heard some sounds downstairs. I listened,
11:59
Speaker 1: but they were repeated, and I concluded that they came
12:02
Speaker 1: from outside. Then suddenly, about five minutes later, there came
12:07
Speaker 1: a most horrible yell, the most dreadful sound, mister Holmes,
12:11
Speaker 1: that ever I heard. It will ring in my ears
12:14
Speaker 1: as long as I live. I sat frozen with horror
12:17
Speaker 1: for a minute or two. Then I seized the poker
12:20
Speaker 1: and went downstairs. When I entered this room, I found
12:24
Speaker 1: the window wide open, and I at once observed that
12:27
Speaker 1: the bust was gone from the mantelpiece. Why any burglar
12:30
Speaker 1: should take such a thing passes my understanding, for it
12:34
Speaker 1: was only a plaster cast and of no real value. Whatever.
12:39
Speaker 1: You can see for yourself that any one going out
12:41
Speaker 1: through that open window could reach the front door step
12:44
Speaker 1: by taking a long stride. This was clearly what the
12:48
Speaker 1: burglar had done. So I went round and opened the door.
12:53
Speaker 1: Stepping out into the dark, I nearly fell over a
12:56
Speaker 1: dead man who was lying there. I ran back for
13:00
Speaker 1: a light, and there was the poor fellow, a great
13:02
Speaker 1: gash in his throat, and the whole place swimming in blood.
13:06
Speaker 1: He lay on his back, his knees drawn up, and
13:08
Speaker 1: his mouth horribly open. I shall see him in my dreams.
13:15
Speaker 1: I had just time to blow on my police whistle,
13:17
Speaker 1: and then I must have fainted, for I knew nothing
13:20
Speaker 1: more until I found the policeman standing over me in
13:23
Speaker 1: the hall well. Who was the murdered man, asked Holmes.
13:29
Speaker 1: There's nothing to show who he was, said, lestrade. You
13:33
Speaker 1: shall see the body at the mortuary, but we have
13:36
Speaker 1: made nothing of it up to now. He is a
13:39
Speaker 1: tall man, sunburned, very powerful, not more than thirty. He
13:44
Speaker 1: is poorly dressed, and yet does not appear to be
13:46
Speaker 1: a laborer. A horn handled clasp knife was lying in
13:50
Speaker 1: a pool of blood beside him. Whether it was the
13:53
Speaker 1: weapon which did the deed, or whether it belonged to
13:56
Speaker 1: the dead man, I do not know. There was no
13:59
Speaker 1: name on his cloth clothing, and nothing in his pocket
14:01
Speaker 1: save an apple, some string, a shillin map of London
14:06
Speaker 1: and a photograph. Here it is. It was evidently taken
14:11
Speaker 1: by a snapshot from a small camera. It represented an alert,
14:16
Speaker 1: sharp featured Simian man with thick eyebrows and a very
14:20
Speaker 1: peculiar projection of the lower part of the face, like
14:24
Speaker 1: the muzzle of a baboon. And what became of the bust,
14:29
Speaker 1: asked Holmes, After a careful study of this picture. We
14:33
Speaker 1: had news of it just before you came. It has
14:36
Speaker 1: been found in the front garden of an empty house
14:38
Speaker 1: in Campton House Road. It was broken into fragments. I'm
14:43
Speaker 1: going round to see it now, will you come? Certainly,
14:46
Speaker 1: I must just take one look round. He examined the
14:50
Speaker 1: carpet and the window. The fellow had either very long
14:54
Speaker 1: legs or was a most active man, said he. With
14:58
Speaker 1: an area beneath it was no clean feet to reach
15:01
Speaker 1: that window ledge and open that window. Getting back was
15:05
Speaker 1: comparatively simple. Are you coming with us to see the
15:08
Speaker 1: remains of your bust. Mister Harker, the disconsolate journalist had
15:13
Speaker 1: seated himself at a writing table. I must try and
15:17
Speaker 1: make something of it, said he, though I have no
15:20
Speaker 1: doubt that the first editions of the evening papers are
15:22
Speaker 1: out already with full details. It's like my luck. You'll
15:27
Speaker 1: remember when the stand fell at Doncaster Well. I was
15:30
Speaker 1: the only journalist in the stand, and my journal the
15:33
Speaker 1: only one that had no account of it, for I
15:36
Speaker 1: was too shaken to write it. And now I'll be
15:39
Speaker 1: too late with a murder done on my own doorstep.
15:44
Speaker 1: As we left the room, we heard his pen traveling
15:47
Speaker 1: shrilly over the full scap. The spot where the fragments
15:51
Speaker 1: of the bust had been found was only a few
15:54
Speaker 1: hundred yards away. For the first time our eyes rested
15:58
Speaker 1: upon this presentment of the great Emperor, which seemed to
16:02
Speaker 1: raise such frantic and destructive hatred in the mind of
16:05
Speaker 1: the unknown. It lay scattered in splintered shards upon the grass.
16:11
Speaker 1: Holmes picked up several of them and examined them carefully.
16:15
Speaker 1: I was convinced, from his intent face and his purposeful manner,
16:19
Speaker 1: that at last he was upon a clewe well asked Lestrade.
16:25
Speaker 1: Holmes shrugged his shoulders. We have a long way to go, yet,
16:29
Speaker 1: said he. And yet, and yet, well, we have some
16:34
Speaker 1: suggestive facts to act upon. The possession of this trifling
16:38
Speaker 1: bust was worth more in the eyes of this strange
16:41
Speaker 1: criminal than a human life. That is one point. Then
16:45
Speaker 1: there is the singular fact that he did not break
16:47
Speaker 1: it in the house or immediately outside the house. If
16:51
Speaker 1: to break it was his sole object, he was rattled
16:55
Speaker 1: and bustled by meeting this other fellow. He hardly knew
16:58
Speaker 1: what he was doing. Well, that's lightly enough, But I
17:02
Speaker 1: wish to call your attention very particularly to the position
17:05
Speaker 1: of this house in the garden of which the bust
17:08
Speaker 1: was destroyed. Lestrade looked about him. It was an empty house,
17:14
Speaker 1: so he knew that he would not be disturbed in
17:16
Speaker 1: the garden. Yes, but there is another empty house farther
17:20
Speaker 1: up the street, which he must have passed before he
17:23
Speaker 1: came to this one. Why did he not break it there?
17:27
Speaker 1: Since it is evident that every yard he carried it
17:30
Speaker 1: increased the risk of some one meeting him. I'll give
17:33
Speaker 1: it up, said Lestrade. Holmes pointed to the street lamp
17:38
Speaker 1: above our heads. He could see what he was doing here,
17:42
Speaker 1: and he could not there. That was his reason. By Jove,
17:46
Speaker 1: that's true, said the detective. Now that I come to
17:49
Speaker 1: think of it, Doctor Barnico's bust was broken not far
17:52
Speaker 1: from his red lamp. Well, mister Holmes, what are we
17:55
Speaker 1: to do with that fact? To remember it? To docket it?
18:00
Speaker 1: We may come on something later which will bear upon it.
18:03
Speaker 1: What steps do you propose to take now, Lestrade? The
18:07
Speaker 1: most practical way of getting at it, in my opinion,
18:10
Speaker 1: is to identify the dead man. There should be no
18:13
Speaker 1: difficulty about that. When we have found who he is
18:17
Speaker 1: and who his associates are, we should have a good
18:19
Speaker 1: start in learning what he was doing in Pitt Street
18:22
Speaker 1: last night and who it was who met him and
18:25
Speaker 1: killed him on the doorstep of mister Horace Harker. Don't
18:28
Speaker 1: you think so? No doubt? And yet it is not
18:32
Speaker 1: quite the way in which I should approach the case.
18:35
Speaker 1: What would you do, then? Oh? You must not let
18:37
Speaker 1: me influence you in any way. I suggest that you
18:41
Speaker 1: go on your line and I on mine. We can
18:44
Speaker 1: compare notes afterwards, and each will supplement the other. Very good,
18:49
Speaker 1: said Lestrade. If you are going back to Pitt Street,
18:53
Speaker 1: you might see mister Horace Harker. Tell him for me
18:56
Speaker 1: that I have quite made up my mind, and that
18:59
Speaker 1: it is certain that a dangerous, homicidal lunatic with Napoleonic
19:03
Speaker 1: delusions was in his house last night. It will be
19:07
Speaker 1: useful for his article. Lestrade stared, you don't seriously believe
19:13
Speaker 1: that Holmes smiled, don't I? Well, perhaps I don't, but
19:19
Speaker 1: I am sure that it will interest mister Horace Harker
19:23
Speaker 1: and the subscribers of this Central Press syndicate. Now, Watson,
19:28
Speaker 1: I think that we shall find that we have a
19:30
Speaker 1: long and rather complex day's work before us. I should
19:33
Speaker 1: be glad, Lestrade, if you could make it convenient to
19:36
Speaker 1: meet us at Baker Street at six o'clock this evening.
19:40
Speaker 1: Until then, I should like to keep this photograph found
19:43
Speaker 1: in the dead man's pocket. It is possible that I
19:46
Speaker 1: may have to ask your company and assistance upon a
19:49
Speaker 1: small expedition which will have to be undertaken to night,
19:53
Speaker 1: if my chain of reasoning should prove to be correct.
19:57
Speaker 1: Until then, good bye and good luck. Sherlock Holmes and
20:02
Speaker 1: I walked together to the High Street, where we stopped
20:05
Speaker 1: at the shop of Harding Brothers. Whence the bust had
20:08
Speaker 1: been purchased. A young assistant informed us that mister Harding
20:12
Speaker 1: would be absent until afternoon, and that he was himself
20:16
Speaker 1: a newcomer who could give us no information. Holmes's face
20:20
Speaker 1: showed his disappointment and annoyance. Well, well, we can't expect
20:24
Speaker 1: to have it all our own way, Watson, he said,
20:27
Speaker 1: At last, we must come back in the afternoon if
20:30
Speaker 1: mister Harding will not be here until then, I am,
20:33
Speaker 1: as you have no doubt, surmised, endeavoring to trace these
20:37
Speaker 1: busts to their source in order to find if there
20:40
Speaker 1: is not something peculiar which may account for their remarkable fate.
20:45
Speaker 1: Let us make for mister Morse Hudson of the Kennington
20:48
Speaker 1: Road and see if he can throw any light upon
20:51
Speaker 1: the problem. A drive of an hour brought us to
20:55
Speaker 1: the picture dealer's establishment. He was a small stout man
20:59
Speaker 1: with a red sand peppery manor yes, sir, on my
21:03
Speaker 1: very counter, sir, said he what we pay rates and
21:06
Speaker 1: taxes for? I dunno when any ruffian can come in
21:09
Speaker 1: and break one's goods, Yes, sir, it was I who
21:12
Speaker 1: sold doctor Barnico his two statues disgraceful, sir. A nihilist plot,
21:19
Speaker 1: that's what I make of it. No one but an
21:21
Speaker 1: anarchist would go about breaking statues red Republicans, That's what
21:26
Speaker 1: I call em. Who did I get the statues from?
21:28
Speaker 1: I don't see what that has to do with it. Well,
21:32
Speaker 1: if you really want to know, I got them from
21:33
Speaker 1: Gelder and Co. In Church Street's Stepney. They're a well
21:37
Speaker 1: known house in the trade and have been this twenty years.
21:40
Speaker 1: How many had I three? Two and one are three?
21:44
Speaker 1: Two of doctor Barnico's and one smashed in broad daylight
21:48
Speaker 1: on my own counter. Do I know that photograph? Now?
21:51
Speaker 1: I don't. Yes, I do, though, why it's Beppo. He
21:56
Speaker 1: was a kind of Italian piece workman who made himself
21:58
Speaker 1: useful in the shop. He could carve a bit and
22:01
Speaker 1: gild and frame and do odd jobs. The fellow left
22:05
Speaker 1: me last week, and I've heard nothing of him since. No.
22:08
Speaker 1: I don't know where he came from nor where he
22:10
Speaker 1: went to. I had nothing against him while he was here.
22:14
Speaker 1: He was gone two days before the bust was smashed. Well,
22:19
Speaker 1: that's all we could reasonably expect from Morse Hudson, said Holmes.
22:23
Speaker 1: As we emerged from the shop. We have this Beppo
22:27
Speaker 1: as a common factor both in Kennington and in Kensington,
22:32
Speaker 1: so that is worth a ten mile drive. Now, Watson,
22:36
Speaker 1: let us make for Gelder and Co of Stepney, the
22:39
Speaker 1: sauce and origin of the busts. I shall be surprised
22:43
Speaker 1: if we don't get some help down there. In rapid
22:47
Speaker 1: succession we passed through the fringe of fashionable London, hotel London,
22:53
Speaker 1: theatrical London, Literary London, commercial London, and finally maritime London,
22:59
Speaker 1: till we came to a riverside city of one hundred
23:02
Speaker 1: thousand souls, where the tenement houses swelter and reek with
23:07
Speaker 1: the outcasts of Europe. Here, in a broad thoroughfare, once
23:13
Speaker 1: the abode of wealthy city merchants, we found the sculpture
23:16
Speaker 1: works for which we searched. Outside was a considerable yard
23:20
Speaker 1: full of monumental masonry. Inside was a large room in
23:25
Speaker 1: which fifty workers were carving or molding. The manager, a
23:29
Speaker 1: big blonde German, received as Civilly and gave a clear
23:33
Speaker 1: answer to all Holmes's questions. A reference to his books
23:38
Speaker 1: showed that hundreds of casts had been taken from a
23:41
Speaker 1: marble copy of Devine's head of Napoleon, but that the
23:45
Speaker 1: three which had been sent to Morse Hudson a year
23:48
Speaker 1: or so before had been half of a batch of six,
23:53
Speaker 1: the other three being sent to Harding Brothers of Kensington.
23:57
Speaker 1: There was no reason why those six should be different
24:00
Speaker 1: from any of the other casts. He could suggest, no
24:03
Speaker 1: possible cause why anyone should wish to destroy them. In fact,
24:08
Speaker 1: he laughed at the idea. Their wholesale price was six shillings,
24:13
Speaker 1: but the retailer would get twelve or more. The cast
24:17
Speaker 1: was taken in two molds from each side of the face,
24:20
Speaker 1: and then these two profiles of plaster of Paris were
24:23
Speaker 1: joined together to make the complete bust. The work was
24:28
Speaker 1: usually done by Italians in the room we were in.
24:31
Speaker 1: When finished, the busts were put on a table in
24:34
Speaker 1: the passage to dry and afterwards stored. That was all
24:39
Speaker 1: he could tell us. But the production of the photograph
24:43
Speaker 1: had a remarkable effect upon the manager. His face flushed
24:47
Speaker 1: with anger and his brows knotted over his blue Teutonic eyes.
24:53
Speaker 1: As a rascal, he cried, Yes, indeed, I know him
24:56
Speaker 1: very well. This has always been a respectable steapyablishment, and
25:01
Speaker 1: the only time that we have ever had the police in.
25:03
Speaker 1: It was over this very fellow. It was more than
25:06
Speaker 1: a year ago now he knifed another Italian in the street.
25:11
Speaker 1: And then he came to the works with the police
25:13
Speaker 1: on his heels, and he was taken here. Beppo was
25:18
Speaker 1: his name, his second name. I never knew. Serve me
25:22
Speaker 1: right for engaging a man with such a face. But
25:26
Speaker 1: he was a good workman, one of the best. What
25:30
Speaker 1: did he get? The man lived, and he got off
25:33
Speaker 1: with a year. I have no doubt he is out now,
25:37
Speaker 1: but he has not dared to show his nose. Here.
25:39
Speaker 1: We have a cousin of his here, and I dare
25:42
Speaker 1: say he could tell you where he is. No, no,
25:45
Speaker 1: cried Holmes. Not a word to the cousin. Not a word.
25:48
Speaker 1: I beg you. The matter is very important, and the
25:52
Speaker 1: father I go with it, the more important it seems
25:54
Speaker 1: to grow. When you referred in your ledger to the
25:58
Speaker 1: sale of those casts, I observed that the date was
26:02
Speaker 1: June the third of last year. Could you give me
26:05
Speaker 1: the date when Beppo was arrested? I could tell you
26:09
Speaker 1: roughly by as a paylist. The manager answered yes. He continued,
26:15
Speaker 1: after some turning over of pages. He was paid last
26:18
Speaker 1: on May twentieth. Thank you, said Holmes, I don't think
26:23
Speaker 1: that I need intrude upon your time and patience any more.
26:27
Speaker 1: With a last word of caution that he should say
26:29
Speaker 1: nothing as to our researches, we turned our faces westward
26:33
Speaker 1: once more. The afternoon was far advanced before we were
26:39
Speaker 1: able to snatch a hasty luncheon at a restaurant. A
26:43
Speaker 1: news bill at the entrance announced Kensington Outrage murder by
26:48
Speaker 1: a madman, and the contents of the paper showed that
26:51
Speaker 1: mister Horace Harker had got his account into print. After all,
26:56
Speaker 1: two columns were occupied with a highly sensational and flowery
27:00
Speaker 1: rendering of the whole incident. Holmes propped it against the
27:04
Speaker 1: Cruetz stand and read it while he ate Once or
27:08
Speaker 1: twice he chuckled. This is all right, Watson said, he
27:12
Speaker 1: listen to this. It is satisfactory to know that there
27:16
Speaker 1: can be no difference of opinion upon this case. Since
27:19
Speaker 1: mister Lestrade, one of the most experienced members of the
27:23
Speaker 1: official force, and mister Sherlock Holmes, the well known consulting expert,
27:28
Speaker 1: have each come to the conclusion that the grotesque series
27:32
Speaker 1: of incidents which have ended in so tragic a fashion
27:36
Speaker 1: arise from lunacy rather than from deliberate crime. No explanation
27:42
Speaker 1: save mental aberration, can cover the facts. The press, Watson,
27:46
Speaker 1: is a most valuable institution, if only you know how
27:50
Speaker 1: to use it. And now, if you have quite finished,
27:55
Speaker 1: we will hark back to Kensington and see what the
27:57
Speaker 1: manager of Harding Brothers has to say on the matter.
28:02
Speaker 1: The founder of that great emporium proved to be a brisk,
28:05
Speaker 1: crisp little person, very dapper and quick, with a clear
28:08
Speaker 1: head and a ready tongue. Yes, sir, I have already
28:11
Speaker 1: read the account in the evening papers. Mister Horace Harker
28:14
Speaker 1: is a customer of ours. We supplied him with the
28:16
Speaker 1: bust some months ago. We ordered three busts of that
28:20
Speaker 1: sort from Geldre and Coe of Stepney. They're all sold
28:23
Speaker 1: now to whom, oh I dare say, By consulting our
28:27
Speaker 1: sales book, we could very easily tell you, Yes, we
28:30
Speaker 1: have the entries here, one to mister Harker, you see,
28:34
Speaker 1: and one to mister Josiah Brown of Laburnum Lodge, Laburnham Vale, Chiswick,
28:39
Speaker 1: and one to mister Sandiford of lower Grove Road. Reading. No,
28:45
Speaker 1: I have never seen this face which you show me
28:47
Speaker 1: in the photograph. You would hardly forget it, would you, sir?
28:49
Speaker 1: For I have seldom seen an ugliar? Have we any
28:52
Speaker 1: Italians on the staff? Yes, sir, we have several among
28:56
Speaker 1: our work people and cleaners. I dare say they might
29:00
Speaker 1: get a peep at that sales book if they wanted to.
29:03
Speaker 1: There is no particular reason for keeping a watch upon
29:06
Speaker 1: that book. Well, well, it's a very strange business, and
29:09
Speaker 1: I hope that you will let me know if anything
29:11
Speaker 1: comes of your inquiries. Holmes had taken several notes during
29:16
Speaker 1: mister Harding's evidence, and I could see that he was
29:19
Speaker 1: thoroughly satisfied by the turn which affairs were taking. He
29:23
Speaker 1: made no remark, however, save that unless we hurried, we
29:27
Speaker 1: should be late for our appointment with Lestrade. Sure enough,
29:31
Speaker 1: when we reached Baker Street, the detective was already there,
29:35
Speaker 1: and we found him pacing up and down in a
29:37
Speaker 1: fever of impatience. His look of importance showed that his
29:42
Speaker 1: day's work had not been in vain well. He asked,
29:48
Speaker 1: what luck, mister Holmes. We have had a very busy day,
29:52
Speaker 1: and not entirely a wasted one, my friend explained. We
29:56
Speaker 1: have seen both the retailers and also the wholesale manufact
30:01
Speaker 1: I can trace each of the busts now from the
30:03
Speaker 1: beginning the busts, cried Lestrade. Well, well, you have your
30:08
Speaker 1: own methods, mister Sherlock Holmes, and it is not for
30:10
Speaker 1: me to say a word against them. But I think
30:13
Speaker 1: I have done a better day's work than you. I
30:15
Speaker 1: have identified the dead man you don't say so, and
30:20
Speaker 1: found a course for the crime splendid. We have an
30:23
Speaker 1: inspector who makes a specialty of Saffron Hill and the
30:26
Speaker 1: Italian quarter. Well, this dead man had some Catholic emblem
30:31
Speaker 1: round his neck, and that, along with his color, made
30:35
Speaker 1: me think he was from the South. Inspector Hill knew
30:38
Speaker 1: him the moment he caught sight of him. His name
30:41
Speaker 1: is Pietro Venucci from Naples, and he is one of
30:44
Speaker 1: the greatest cutthroats in London. He's connected with the Mafia, which,
30:49
Speaker 1: as you know, is a secret political society enforcing its
30:53
Speaker 1: decrees by murder. Now you see how the affair begins
30:57
Speaker 1: to clear up. The other fellow is probably an Italian
31:01
Speaker 1: also and a member of the mafia. He's broken the
31:04
Speaker 1: rules in some fashion. Pietro is set upon his track.
31:08
Speaker 1: Probably the photograph we found in his pocket is the
31:11
Speaker 1: man himself, So that he may not knife the wrong person.
31:15
Speaker 1: He dogs the fellow, he sees him enter a house,
31:18
Speaker 1: he waits outside for him, and in the scuffle he
31:21
Speaker 1: receives his own death wound. How is that, mister Sherlock Holmes?
31:27
Speaker 1: Holmes clapped his hands approvingly. Excellent, Lestrade, excellent, he cried,
31:33
Speaker 1: But I didn't quite follow your explanation of the destruction
31:36
Speaker 1: of the busts. The busts. You never can get those
31:40
Speaker 1: busts out of your head. After all, that is nothing
31:44
Speaker 1: petty larceny six months at the most. It is the
31:48
Speaker 1: murder that we're really investigating. And I tell you that
31:51
Speaker 1: I am gathering all the threads into my hands. And
31:56
Speaker 1: the next stage is a very simple one. I shall
31:59
Speaker 1: go down with hill to the Italian Quarter, find the
32:02
Speaker 1: man whose photograph we have got, and arrest him on
32:05
Speaker 1: the charge of murder. Will you come with us? I
32:09
Speaker 1: think not. I fancy we can attain our end in
32:13
Speaker 1: a simpler way. I can't say for certain, because it
32:16
Speaker 1: all depends, well, it all depends upon a factor which
32:20
Speaker 1: is completely outside our control. But I have great hopes.
32:24
Speaker 1: In fact, the betting is exactly two to one that
32:28
Speaker 1: if you will come with us to night, I shall
32:30
Speaker 1: be able to help you to lay him by the
32:32
Speaker 1: heels in the Italian Quarter. No I fancy Chiswick is
32:38
Speaker 1: an address which is more likely to find him if
32:41
Speaker 1: you will come with me to Chiswick to night, Lestrade,
32:43
Speaker 1: I promise I'll go to the Italian Quarter with you
32:45
Speaker 1: to morrow, and no harm will be done by the delay.
32:50
Speaker 1: And now I think that a few hours sleep would
32:52
Speaker 1: do us all good, for I do not propose to
32:54
Speaker 1: leave before eleven o'clock, and it is unlikely that we
32:58
Speaker 1: shall be back before morning. You'll dine with us, Lestrade,
33:02
Speaker 1: and then you are welcome to the sofa until it's
33:05
Speaker 1: time for us to start. In the meantime, Watson, I
33:08
Speaker 1: should be glad if you would ring for an express messenger,
33:12
Speaker 1: for I have a letter to send, and it is
33:14
Speaker 1: important that it should go at once. Holmes spent the
33:19
Speaker 1: evening in rummaging among the files of the old daily
33:22
Speaker 1: papers with which one of our lumber rooms was packed.
33:26
Speaker 1: When at last he descended, it was with triumph in
33:30
Speaker 1: his eyes. But he said nothing to either of us
33:33
Speaker 1: as to the result of his researches. For my own part,
33:37
Speaker 1: I had followed step by step the methods by which
33:40
Speaker 1: he had traced the various windings of this complex case.
33:44
Speaker 1: And though I could not yet perceive the goal which
33:46
Speaker 1: we would reach, I understood clearly that Holmes expected this
33:50
Speaker 1: grotesque criminal to make an attempt upon the two remaining busts,
33:55
Speaker 1: one of which I remembered was at Chiswick. No doubt
33:59
Speaker 1: the object of our jurney was to catch him in
34:01
Speaker 1: the very act, and I could not but admire the
34:05
Speaker 1: cunning with which my friend had inserted a wrong clue
34:07
Speaker 1: in the evening paper, so as to give the fellow
34:10
Speaker 1: the idea that he could continue his scheme with impunity.
34:14
Speaker 1: I was not surprised when Holmes suggested that I should
34:17
Speaker 1: take my revolver with me. He had himself picked up
34:21
Speaker 1: the loaded hunting crop, which was his favorite weapon. A
34:26
Speaker 1: four wheeler was at the door at eleven, and in
34:29
Speaker 1: it we drove to a spot at the other side
34:32
Speaker 1: of Hammersmith Bridge. Here the cabman was directed to wait.
34:37
Speaker 1: A short walk brought us to a secluded road fringed
34:40
Speaker 1: with pleasant houses, each standing in its own grounds in
34:45
Speaker 1: the light of a street lamp. We read Laburnum villa
34:48
Speaker 1: upon the gate post of one of them. The occupants
34:51
Speaker 1: had evidently retired to rest, for all was dark save
34:55
Speaker 1: for a fan light over the hall door, which shared
34:58
Speaker 1: a single blurred circle under the garden path. The wooden
35:02
Speaker 1: fence which separated the grounds from the road, threw a
35:05
Speaker 1: dense black shadow upon the inner side. And here it
35:09
Speaker 1: was that we crouched. I fear that you'll have a
35:13
Speaker 1: long wait, Holmes whispered. We may thank our stars that
35:17
Speaker 1: it is not raining. I don't think we can even
35:20
Speaker 1: venture to smoke to pass the time. However, it's a
35:23
Speaker 1: two to one chance that we get something to pay
35:26
Speaker 1: us for our trouble. It proved, however, that our vigil
35:30
Speaker 1: was not to be so long as Holmes had led
35:32
Speaker 1: us to fear, And it ended in a very sudden
35:35
Speaker 1: and singular fashion. In an instant, without the least sound
35:40
Speaker 1: to warn us of his coming. The garden gate swung open,
35:43
Speaker 1: and a lithe dark figure as swift and active as
35:46
Speaker 1: an ape, rushed up the garden path. We saw it
35:50
Speaker 1: whisk past the light thrown from over the door, and
35:53
Speaker 1: disappear against the black shadow of the house. There was
35:57
Speaker 1: a long pause, during which we held our breath, and
36:01
Speaker 1: then a very gentle, creaking sound came to our ears.
36:05
Speaker 1: The window was being opened. The noise ceased, and again
36:09
Speaker 1: there was a long silence. The fellow was making his
36:12
Speaker 1: way into the house. We saw the sudden flash of
36:16
Speaker 1: a dark lantern inside the room. What he sought was
36:20
Speaker 1: evidently not there, for again we saw the flash through
36:23
Speaker 1: another blind and then through another. Let us get to
36:27
Speaker 1: the open window. We will nab him as he climbs out,
36:30
Speaker 1: Lestrade whispered, But before we could move, the man had
36:35
Speaker 1: emerged again. As we came out into the glimmering patch
36:38
Speaker 1: of light, we saw that he carried something white under
36:41
Speaker 1: his arm. He looked stealthily all round him. The silence
36:46
Speaker 1: of the deserted street reassured him. Turning his back upon us.
36:50
Speaker 1: He laid down his burden, and the next instant there
36:53
Speaker 1: was the sound of a sharp tap, followed by a
36:56
Speaker 1: clatter and rattle. The man was so intent upon what
37:00
Speaker 1: he was doing that he never heard our steps. As
37:04
Speaker 1: we stole across the grass plot with the bound of
37:08
Speaker 1: a tiger, Holmes was on his back, and an instant
37:12
Speaker 1: later Lestrade and I had him by either wrist, and
37:15
Speaker 1: the handcuffs had been fastened. As we turned him over,
37:19
Speaker 1: I saw a hideous, sallow face with writhing, furious features
37:24
Speaker 1: glaring up at us, and I knew that it was
37:26
Speaker 1: indeed the man of the photograph whom we had secured,
37:31
Speaker 1: But it was not our prisoner to whom Holmes was
37:33
Speaker 1: giving his attention. Squatted on the doorstep, he was engaged
37:37
Speaker 1: in most carefully examining that which the man had brought
37:41
Speaker 1: from the house. It was a bust of Napoleon, like
37:45
Speaker 1: the one which we had seen that morning, and it
37:48
Speaker 1: had been broken into similar fragments. Carefully Holmes held each
37:52
Speaker 1: separate chard to the light, but in no way did
37:56
Speaker 1: it differ from any other shattered piece of plaster. He
38:00
Speaker 1: had just completed his examination when the hall lights flew up,
38:04
Speaker 1: the door opened, and the owner of the house, a jovial,
38:07
Speaker 1: rotund figure in shirt and trousers, presented himself, mister Josiah Brown,
38:12
Speaker 1: I suppose, said Holmes, Yes, sir, and you no doubt
38:16
Speaker 1: our mister Sherlock Holmes. I had the note which you
38:19
Speaker 1: sent by the express messenger, and I did exactly what
38:22
Speaker 1: you told me. We locked every door on the inside
38:25
Speaker 1: and awaited developments. Well, I'm very glad to see that
38:28
Speaker 1: you have got the rascal. I hope, gentlemen, that you
38:31
Speaker 1: will come in and have some refreshment. However, Lestrade was
38:35
Speaker 1: anxious to get his man into safe quarters, so within
38:38
Speaker 1: a few minutes our cab had been summoned, and we
38:41
Speaker 1: were all four upon our way to London. Not a
38:45
Speaker 1: word would our captives say. But he glared at us
38:48
Speaker 1: from the shadow of his matted hair, and once, when
38:52
Speaker 1: my hand seemed within his reach, he snapped at it
38:55
Speaker 1: like a hungry wolf. We stayed long enough at the
38:58
Speaker 1: police station to learn that a search of his clothing
39:01
Speaker 1: revealed nothing save a few shillings and a long sheath knife,
39:06
Speaker 1: the handle of which bore copious traces of recent blood.
39:11
Speaker 1: That's all right, said Lestrade, as we parted. Hill knows
39:15
Speaker 1: all these gentry, and he will give a name to him.
39:18
Speaker 1: You'll find that my theory of the mafia will work
39:21
Speaker 1: out all right. But I'm sure I am exceedingly obliged
39:25
Speaker 1: to you, mister Holmes, for the workman like way in
39:27
Speaker 1: which you laid hands upon him. I don't quite understand
39:31
Speaker 1: it all yet. I fear it is rather too late
39:35
Speaker 1: an hour for explanations, said Holmes. Besides, there are one
39:40
Speaker 1: or two details which are not finished off, and it
39:43
Speaker 1: is one of those cases which are worth working out
39:45
Speaker 1: to the very end. If you will come round once
39:49
Speaker 1: more to my rooms at six o'clock to morrow, I
39:51
Speaker 1: think I shall be able to show you that even
39:53
Speaker 1: now you have not grasped the entire meaning of this business,
39:57
Speaker 1: which presents some features which make it app original in
40:01
Speaker 1: the history of crime. If ever I permit you to
40:05
Speaker 1: chronicle any more of my little problems, Watson, I foresee
40:08
Speaker 1: that you will enliven your pages by an account of
40:11
Speaker 1: the singular adventure of the Napoleonic busts. When we met
40:17
Speaker 1: again next evening, Lestrade was furnished with much information concerning
40:22
Speaker 1: our prisoner. His name, it appeared, was Beppo, the second
40:26
Speaker 1: name unknown. He was a well known ne'er do well
40:30
Speaker 1: among the Italian colony. He had once been a skillful
40:33
Speaker 1: sculptor and had earned an honest living, But he had
40:37
Speaker 1: taken to evil courses, and had twice already been in jail,
40:41
Speaker 1: once for a petty theft, and once, as we had
40:44
Speaker 1: already heard, for stabbing a fellow countryman. He could talk English,
40:49
Speaker 1: perfectly well. His reasons for destroying the busts were still unknown,
40:54
Speaker 1: and he refused to answer any questions upon the subject.
40:58
Speaker 1: But the police had discovered that these same busts might
41:02
Speaker 1: very well have been made by his own hands, since
41:05
Speaker 1: he was engaged in this class of work at the
41:07
Speaker 1: establishment of Gelder and co. To all this information, much
41:12
Speaker 1: of which we already knew, Holmes listened with polite attention.
41:17
Speaker 1: But I, who knew him so well, could clearly see
41:20
Speaker 1: that his thoughts were elsewhere, and I detected a mixture
41:25
Speaker 1: of mingled uneasiness and expectation beneath that mask which he
41:29
Speaker 1: was wont to assume. At last, he started in his
41:32
Speaker 1: chair and his eyes brightened. There had been a ring
41:36
Speaker 1: at the bell. A minute later we heard steps upon
41:39
Speaker 1: the stairs, and an elderly, red faced man with grizzled
41:42
Speaker 1: side whiskers was ushered in. In his right hand, he
41:46
Speaker 1: carried an old fashioned carpet bag, which he placed upon
41:50
Speaker 1: the table. Is mister Sherlock Holmes, here, my friend bowed
41:55
Speaker 1: and smiled. Mister Sandiford of reading, I suppose, said he yes, sir,
42:00
Speaker 1: I fear that I am a little late. But the
42:03
Speaker 1: trains were awkward. You wrote me about a bust that
42:06
Speaker 1: is in my possession. Exactly, I have your letter here.
42:11
Speaker 1: You said, I desire to possess a copy of Divine's Napoleon,
42:15
Speaker 1: and am prepared to pay you ten pounds for the
42:18
Speaker 1: one which is in your possession. Is that right? Certainly?
42:24
Speaker 1: I was very much surprised at your letter, for I
42:26
Speaker 1: could not imagine how you knew that I owned such
42:29
Speaker 1: a thing. Of course you must have been surprised, but
42:33
Speaker 1: the explanation is very simple. Mister Harding of Harding Brothers
42:37
Speaker 1: said that they had sold you their last copy, and
42:40
Speaker 1: he gave me your address. Oh that was it? Was it?
42:44
Speaker 1: Did he tell you what I paid for it? No?
42:47
Speaker 1: He did not. Well, I am an honest man, though
42:51
Speaker 1: not a very rich one. I only gave fifteen shillings
42:55
Speaker 1: for the bust, and I think you ought to know
42:58
Speaker 1: that before I take ten pounds from you. I am
43:02
Speaker 1: sure the scruple does you, honor, mister Sandiford. But I
43:05
Speaker 1: have named that price, so I intend to stick to it. Well,
43:09
Speaker 1: it is very handsome of you, mister Holmes. I brought
43:12
Speaker 1: the bust up with me as you asked me to do.
43:15
Speaker 1: Here it is he opened his bag, and at last
43:18
Speaker 1: we saw placed upon our table a complete specimen of
43:21
Speaker 1: that bust which we had already seen more than once
43:24
Speaker 1: in fragments. Holmes took a paper from his pocket and
43:28
Speaker 1: laid a ten pound note upon the table. You will
43:32
Speaker 1: kindly sign that paper, mister Sanderford, in the presence of
43:35
Speaker 1: these witnesses. It is simply to say that you transfer
43:38
Speaker 1: every possible righte that you ever had in the bust
43:41
Speaker 1: to me. I am a methodical man, you see, and
43:45
Speaker 1: you never know what turn events might take afterwards. Thank you,
43:49
Speaker 1: mister Sandyford. Here is your money, and I wish you
43:53
Speaker 1: a very good evening. When our visitor had disappeared, Sherlock
43:58
Speaker 1: Holmes's movements were so as to rivet our attention. He
44:03
Speaker 1: began by taking a clean white cloth from a drawer
44:06
Speaker 1: and laying it over the table. Then he placed his
44:09
Speaker 1: newly acquired bust in the center of the cloth. Finally,
44:14
Speaker 1: he picked up his hunting crop and struck Napoleon a
44:17
Speaker 1: sharp blow on the top of the head. The figure
44:20
Speaker 1: broke into fragments, and Homes bent eagerly over the shattered remains.
44:26
Speaker 1: Next instant, with a loud shout of triumph. He held
44:29
Speaker 1: up one splinter in which a round, dark object was
44:33
Speaker 1: fixed like a plum in a pudding. Gentlemen, he cried,
44:38
Speaker 1: let me introduce you to the famous black pearl of
44:42
Speaker 1: the borgers Lestrade and eyes sat silent for a moment,
44:48
Speaker 1: and then with a spontaneous impulse, we both broke at clapping,
44:52
Speaker 1: as at the well wrought crisis of a play. A
44:56
Speaker 1: flush of color sprang to Holmes's pale cheeks, and he
44:59
Speaker 1: bowed to us, like the master dramatist who receives the
45:03
Speaker 1: homage of his audience. It was at such moments that
45:07
Speaker 1: for an instant he ceased to be a reasoning machine
45:11
Speaker 1: and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause. The
45:16
Speaker 1: same singularly proud and reserved nature which turned away with
45:21
Speaker 1: disdain from popular notoriety, was capable of being moved to
45:25
Speaker 1: its depths by spontaneous wonder and praise from a friend. Yes, gentlemen,
45:32
Speaker 1: said he, it is the most famous pearl now existing
45:36
Speaker 1: in the world, and it has been my good fortune,
45:40
Speaker 1: by a connected chain of inductive reasoning, to trace it
45:43
Speaker 1: from the Prince of Colonna's bedroom at the Dacer Hotel,
45:46
Speaker 1: where it was lost to the interior of this the
45:50
Speaker 1: last of the six busts of Napoleon which were manufactured
45:53
Speaker 1: by Gilder and Co. Of Stepney. You will remember, Astrade,
45:58
Speaker 1: the sensation caused by the disappearance of this valuable jewel
46:02
Speaker 1: and the vain efforts of the London police to recover it.
46:06
Speaker 1: I was myself consulted upon the case, but I was
46:09
Speaker 1: unable to throw any light upon it. Suspicion fell upon
46:13
Speaker 1: the maid of the princess, who was an Italian, and
46:17
Speaker 1: it was proved that she had a brother in London,
46:20
Speaker 1: but we failed to trace any connection between them. The
46:24
Speaker 1: maid's name was Lucretia Venucci, and there is no doubt
46:28
Speaker 1: in my mind that this Pietro, who was murdered two
46:31
Speaker 1: nights ago was the brother. I have been looking up
46:34
Speaker 1: the dates in the old files of the paper, and
46:37
Speaker 1: I find that the disappearance of the pearl was exactly
46:41
Speaker 1: two days before the arrest of Beppo for some crime
46:44
Speaker 1: of violence, an event which took place in the factory
46:48
Speaker 1: of Gelder and Co. At the very moment when these
46:51
Speaker 1: busts were being made. Now you clearly see the sequence
46:56
Speaker 1: of events, though you see them, of course, in the inverse,
46:59
Speaker 1: all to the way in which they presented themselves to me.
47:04
Speaker 1: Beppo had the pearl in his possession. He may have
47:07
Speaker 1: stolen it from Pietro. He may have been Pietro's confederate.
47:11
Speaker 1: He may have been the go between of Pietro and
47:14
Speaker 1: his sister. It is of no consequence to us which
47:17
Speaker 1: is the correct solution. The main fact is that he
47:21
Speaker 1: had the pearl, and at that moment, when it was
47:23
Speaker 1: on his person, he was pursued by the police. He
47:27
Speaker 1: made for the factory in which he worked, and he
47:30
Speaker 1: knew that he had only a few minutes in which
47:32
Speaker 1: to conceal this enormously valuable prize, which would otherwise be
47:36
Speaker 1: found on him. When he was searched, six plaster casts
47:40
Speaker 1: of Napoleon were drying in the passage. One of them
47:44
Speaker 1: was still soft. In an instant, Beppo, a skillful workman,
47:48
Speaker 1: made a small hole in the wet plaster, dropped in
47:51
Speaker 1: the pearl, and with a few touches, covered over the aperture.
47:54
Speaker 1: Once more. It was an admirable hiding place. No one
47:59
Speaker 1: could possibly find it. But Beppo was condemned to a
48:03
Speaker 1: year's imprisonment, and in the meanwhile, his six busts were
48:07
Speaker 1: scattered over London. He could not tell which contained his treasure.
48:12
Speaker 1: Only by breaking them could he see. Even shaking would
48:16
Speaker 1: tell him nothing, for as the plaster was wet, it
48:19
Speaker 1: was probable that the pearl would adhere to it, as
48:22
Speaker 1: in fact it has done. Beppo did not despair, and
48:26
Speaker 1: he conducted his search with considerable ingenuity and perseverance. Through
48:31
Speaker 1: a cousin who works with Gelder, he found out the
48:33
Speaker 1: retail firms who had bought the busts. He managed to
48:37
Speaker 1: find employment with Morse Hudson, and in that way tracked
48:41
Speaker 1: down three of them. The pearl was not there. Then,
48:46
Speaker 1: with the help of some Italian employee, he succeeded in
48:49
Speaker 1: finding out where the other three busts had gone. The
48:52
Speaker 1: first was at Harker's. There he was dogged by his confederate,
48:57
Speaker 1: who held Beppo responsible for the loss of the pearl,
49:00
Speaker 1: and he stabbed him in the scuffle which followed. If
49:04
Speaker 1: he was his confederate, why should he carry his photograph,
49:07
Speaker 1: I asked, as a means of tracing him if he
49:10
Speaker 1: wished to inquire about him from any third person, that
49:14
Speaker 1: was the obvious reason. Well after the murder, I calculated
49:19
Speaker 1: that Beppo would probably hurry rather than delay his movements.
49:23
Speaker 1: He would fear that the police would read his secret,
49:26
Speaker 1: and so he hastened on before they should get ahead
49:28
Speaker 1: of him. Of course, I could not say that he
49:31
Speaker 1: had not found the pearl in Harker's bust. I had
49:35
Speaker 1: not even concluded for certain that it was the pearl.
49:38
Speaker 1: But it was evident to me that he was looking
49:40
Speaker 1: for something, since he carried the bust past the other
49:43
Speaker 1: houses in order to break it in the garden, which
49:46
Speaker 1: had a lamp overlooking it. Since Harker's bust was one
49:50
Speaker 1: in three, the chances were exactly as I told you,
49:54
Speaker 1: two to one against the pearl being inside it. There
49:58
Speaker 1: remained two busts, and it was obvious that he would
50:02
Speaker 1: go for the London one. First I warned the inmates
50:06
Speaker 1: of the house so as to avoid a second tragedy,
50:09
Speaker 1: and we went down with the happiest results. By that time,
50:14
Speaker 1: of course, I knew for certain that it was the
50:16
Speaker 1: Borgias pearl that we were after. The name of the
50:19
Speaker 1: murdered man linked the one event with the other. There
50:23
Speaker 1: only remained a single bust, the Reading one, and the
50:27
Speaker 1: pearl must be there. I bought it in your presence
50:30
Speaker 1: from the owner, and there it lies. We sat in
50:35
Speaker 1: silence for a moment. Well, said Lestrade. I've seen you
50:42
Speaker 1: handle a good many cases, mister Holmes, but I don't
50:45
Speaker 1: know that I ever knew a more workman like one
50:48
Speaker 1: than that. We're not jealous of you at Scotland Yard, no, sir,
50:52
Speaker 1: we are very proud of you. And if you come
50:55
Speaker 1: down to morrow, there's not a man from the oldest
50:58
Speaker 1: inspector to the youngest constable it wouldn't be glad to
51:02
Speaker 1: shake you by the hand. Thank you, said Holmes. Thank you,
51:09
Speaker 1: And as he turned away it seemed to me that
51:11
Speaker 1: he was more nearly moved by the softer human emotions
51:14
Speaker 1: than I had ever seen him. A moment later he
51:18
Speaker 1: was the cold and practical thinker once more. Put the
51:22
Speaker 1: pearl in the safe, Watson, said he, and get out
51:25
Speaker 1: the papers of the Conch Singleton forgery case. Good Bye, Lestrade.
51:30
Speaker 1: If any little problem comes your way, I shall be
51:33
Speaker 1: happy if I can to give you a hint or
51:35
Speaker 1: two as to its solution.