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34 The Golden Pince-Nez from The Return of Sherlock · Sherlock Holmes

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Speaker 1: The Adventure of the Golden Passnay, When I look at
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Speaker 1: the three massive manuscript volumes which contain our work for
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Speaker 1: the year eighteen ninety four, I confess that it is
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Speaker 1: very difficult for me, out of such a wealth of material,
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Speaker 1: to select the cases which are most interesting in themselves
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Speaker 1: and at the same time most conducive to a display
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Speaker 1: of those peculiar powers for which my friend was famous.
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Speaker 1: As I turn over the pages, I see my notes
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Speaker 1: upon the repulsive story of the Red Leech and the
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Speaker 1: terrible death of Crosby the Banker. Here also I find
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Speaker 1: an account of the Adulton tragedy and the singular contents
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Speaker 1: of the ancient British barrow. The famous smith Mortimer's succession
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Speaker 1: case comes also within this period, and so does the
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Speaker 1: tracking and arrest of Huay the Boulevard Assassin, an exploit
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Speaker 1: which won for homes, an autograph letter of thanks from
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Speaker 1: the French President, and the Order of the Legion of Honor.
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Speaker 1: Each of these would furnish a narrative, but on the
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Speaker 1: whole I am of opinion that none of them unite
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Speaker 1: so many singular points of interest as the episode of
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Speaker 1: Yoxley Old Place, which includes not only the lamentable death
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Speaker 1: of young Willoughby Smith, but also those subsequent developments which
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Speaker 1: threw so curious a light upon the causes of the crime.
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Speaker 1: It was a wild, tempestuous night towards the close of November.
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Speaker 1: Holmes and I sat together in silence all the evening.
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Speaker 1: He engaged with a powerful lens, deciphering the remains of
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Speaker 1: the original inscription upon a palimpsest eye deep in a
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Speaker 1: recent treatise upon surgery. Outside, the wind howled down Baker Street,
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Speaker 1: while the rain beat feat against the windows. It was
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Speaker 1: strange there in the very depths of the town, with
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Speaker 1: ten miles of man's handiwork on every side of us,
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Speaker 1: to feel the iron grip of nature, bound to be
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Speaker 1: conscious that to the huge elemental forces, all London was
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Speaker 1: no more than the mole hills that dot the fields.
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Speaker 1: I walked to the window and looked out on the
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Speaker 1: deserted street. The occasional lamps gleamed on the expanse of
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Speaker 1: muddy road and shining pavement. A single cab was splashing
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Speaker 1: its way from the Oxford Street end. Well, Watson, it's
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Speaker 1: as well we have not to turn out to night,
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Speaker 1: said Holmes, laying aside his lens and rolling up the palimpsest.
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Speaker 1: I've done enough for one sitting. It is trying work
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Speaker 1: for the eyes. So far as I can make out,
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Speaker 1: it is nothing more exciting than an abbey's accounts dating
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Speaker 1: from the second half of the fifteenth century. Hello, Hello, Hello,
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Speaker 1: what's this? Amid the droning of the wind, there had
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Speaker 1: come the stamping of a horse's hoofs, and the long
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Speaker 1: grind of a wheel as it rasped against the curb.
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Speaker 1: The cab which I had seen, had pulled up at
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Speaker 1: our door. What can he want? I ejaculated as a
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Speaker 1: man stepped out of it. Want he wants us, and we,
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Speaker 1: my poor Watson, want overcoats and cravats and goloshes and
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Speaker 1: every aid that man ever invented to fight the weather.
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Speaker 1: Wait a bit, though, there's the cab off again. There's hope.
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Speaker 1: Yet he'd have kept it if he had wanted us
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Speaker 1: to come. Run down, my dear fellow and open the door,
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Speaker 1: for all virtuous folk have been long in bed. When
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Speaker 1: the light of the hall lamp fell upon our midnight visitor,
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Speaker 1: I had no difficulty in recognizing him. It was young
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Speaker 1: Stanley Hopkins, a promising detective, in whose career Homes had
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Speaker 1: several times shown a very practical interest. Is he in?
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Speaker 1: He asked eagerly. Come up, my dear sir, said Holmes's
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Speaker 1: voice from above. I hope you have no designs upon
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Speaker 1: us on such a night as this. The detective mounted
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Speaker 1: the stairs, and our lamp gleamed upon his shining waterproof.
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Speaker 1: I helped him out of it, while Holmes knocked a
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Speaker 1: blaze out of the logs in the grate. Now, my
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Speaker 1: dear Hopkins, draw up and warm your toes, said he.
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Speaker 1: Here's a cigar, and the doctor has a prescription containing
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Speaker 1: hot water and a lemon, which is good medicine on
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Speaker 1: a night like this. It must be something important which
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Speaker 1: has brought you out in such a gale. It is indeed,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes, I've had a bustling afternoon. I promise you.
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Speaker 1: Did you see anything of the Yoxley case in the
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Speaker 1: latest editions. I've seen nothing later than the fifteenth century
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Speaker 1: to day. Well, it was only a paragraph, and all
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Speaker 1: wrong at that, so you've not missed anything. I haven't
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Speaker 1: let the grass grow under my feet. It's down in Kent,
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Speaker 1: seven miles from Chatham and three from the railway line
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Speaker 1: I was wired for at three fifteen, reached Yoxley Old
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Speaker 1: Place at five conducted my investigation was back at Charing
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Speaker 1: Cross by the last train, and straight to you by cab,
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Speaker 1: which means I suppose that you are not quite clear
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Speaker 1: about your case. It means that I can make neither
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Speaker 1: head nor tail of it. So far as I can see,
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Speaker 1: it is just as tangled a business as ever I handled.
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Speaker 1: And yet at first it seemed so simple that one
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Speaker 1: couldn't go wrong. There's no motive, mister Holmes. That's what
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Speaker 1: bothers me. I can't put my hand on a motive.
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Speaker 1: He's a man dead, there's no denying that. But so
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Speaker 1: far as I can see, no reason on earth why
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Speaker 1: any one should wish him harm. Holmes lit his cigar
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Speaker 1: and leaned back in his chair. Let us hear about it,
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Speaker 1: said he. I've got my facts pretty clear, said Stanley Hopkins.
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Speaker 1: All I want now is to know what they all mean.
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Speaker 1: The story, so far as I can make it out,
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Speaker 1: is like this. Some years ago this country house, Yoxley
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Speaker 1: Old Place, was taken by an elderly man who gave
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Speaker 1: the name of Professor Korham. He was an invalid keeping
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Speaker 1: his bed half the time and the other half hobbling
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Speaker 1: round the house with a stick or being pushed about
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Speaker 1: the grounds by the gardener in a bath chair. He
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Speaker 1: was well liked by the few neighbors who called upon him,
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Speaker 1: and he has the reputation down there of being a
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Speaker 1: very learned man. His household used to consist of an
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Speaker 1: elderly housekeeper, Missus Marker, and of a maid, Susan Tarlton.
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Speaker 1: They have both been with him since his arrival, and
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Speaker 1: they seem to be women of excellent character. The professor
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Speaker 1: is writing a learned book, and he found it necessary
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Speaker 1: about a year ago to engage a secretary. The first
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Speaker 1: two that he tried were not success it, but the third,
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Speaker 1: mister Willoughby Smith, a very young man straight from university,
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Speaker 1: seems to have been just what his employer wanted. His
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Speaker 1: work consisted in writing all the morning to the Professor's dictation,
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Speaker 1: and he usually spent the evening in hunting up references
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Speaker 1: and passages which bore upon the next day's work. This
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Speaker 1: Willoughby Smith has nothing against him, either as a boy
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Speaker 1: at Uppingham or as a young man at Cambridge. I
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Speaker 1: have seen his testimonials and from the first. He was
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Speaker 1: a decent, quiet, hard working fellow, with no weak spot
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Speaker 1: in him at all. And yet this is the lad
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Speaker 1: who has met his death this morning in the Professor's study,
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Speaker 1: under circumstances which can point only to murder. The wind
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Speaker 1: howled and screamed at the windows. Holmes and I drew
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Speaker 1: closer to the fire, while the young inspectors slowly and
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Speaker 1: point by point developed his singular narrative. If you were
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Speaker 1: to search all England said he, I don't suppose you
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Speaker 1: could find a household more self contained or freer from
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Speaker 1: outside influences. Whole weeks would pass and not one of
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Speaker 1: them go past the garden gate. The professor was buried
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Speaker 1: in his work and existed for nothing else. Young Smith
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Speaker 1: knew nobody in the neighborhood, and lived very much as
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Speaker 1: his employer did. The two women had nothing to take
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Speaker 1: them from the house. Mortimer, the gardener who wheels the
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Speaker 1: bath chair, is an army pensioner, an old crimean man
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Speaker 1: of excellent character. He does not live in the house,
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Speaker 1: but in a three roomed cottage at the other end
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Speaker 1: of the garden. Those are the only people that you
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Speaker 1: would find within the grounds of Yoxley. Old place at
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Speaker 1: the same time. The gate of the garden is a
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Speaker 1: hundred yards from the main London to Cham road. It
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Speaker 1: opens with a latch and there is nothing to prevent
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Speaker 1: any one from walking in. Now I will give you
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Speaker 1: the evidence of Susan Tarlton, who was the only person
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Speaker 1: who can say anything positive about the matter. It was
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Speaker 1: in the forenoon between eleven and twelve. She was engaged
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Speaker 1: at the moment in hanging some curtains in the upstairs
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Speaker 1: front bedroom. Professor Korham was still in bed, for when
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Speaker 1: the weather is bad he seldom rises before midday. The
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Speaker 1: housekeeper was busied with some work in the back of
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Speaker 1: the house. Willoughby Smith had been in his bedroom, which
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Speaker 1: he uses as a sitting room, but the maid heard
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Speaker 1: him at that moment pass along the passage and descend
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Speaker 1: to the study immediately below her. She did not see him,
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Speaker 1: but she says that she could not be mistaken in
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Speaker 1: his quick, firm tread. She did not hear the study
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Speaker 1: door close, but a minute or so later there was
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Speaker 1: a dreadful cry in the room below. It was a wild,
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Speaker 1: hoarse scream, so strange and unnatural that it might have
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Speaker 1: come either from a man or a woman. At the
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Speaker 1: same instant, there was a heavy thud which shook the
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Speaker 1: old house, and then all was silent. The maid stood
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Speaker 1: petrified for a moment, and then, recovering her courage, she
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Speaker 1: ran downstairs. The study door was shut, and she opened it.
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Speaker 1: Inside young mister Willoughby Smith was stretched upon the floor.
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Speaker 1: At first she could see no injury, but as she
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Speaker 1: tried to raise him, she saw that blood was pouring
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Speaker 1: from the under side of his neck. It was pierced
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Speaker 1: by a very small, but very deep wound which had
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Speaker 1: divided the carotid artery. The instrument with which the injury
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Speaker 1: had been inflicted lay upon the carpet beside him. It
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Speaker 1: was one of those small sealing wax knives to be
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Speaker 1: found on old fashioned writing tables, with an ivory handle
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Speaker 1: and a stiff blade. It was part of the fittings
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Speaker 1: of the professor's own desk. At first, the maid thought
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Speaker 1: that young Smith was already dead, but on pouring some
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Speaker 1: water from the caraffe over his forehead, he opened his
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Speaker 1: eyes for an instant. The professor he murmured it was she.
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Speaker 1: The maid is prepared to swear that those were the
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Speaker 1: exact words. He tried desperately to say something else, and
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Speaker 1: he held his right hand up in the air. Then
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Speaker 1: he fell back dead. In the meantime, the housekeeper had
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Speaker 1: also arrived upon the scene, but she was just too
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Speaker 1: late to catch the young man's dying words. Leaving Susan
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Speaker 1: with the body, she hurried to the professor's room. He
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Speaker 1: was sitting up in bed, horribly agitated, for he had
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Speaker 1: heard enough to convince him that something terrible had occurred.
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Speaker 1: Missus Marker is prepared to swear that the Professor was
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Speaker 1: still in his night clothes, and indeed it was impossible
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Speaker 1: for him to dress without the help of Mortimer, whose
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Speaker 1: orders were to come at twelve o'clock. The professor declares
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Speaker 1: that he heard the distant cry, but that he knows
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Speaker 1: nothing more. He can give no explanation of the young
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Speaker 1: man's last words. The professor it was she, but imagines
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Speaker 1: that they were the outcome of delirium. He believes that
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Speaker 1: Willoughby Smith had not an enemy in the world, and
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Speaker 1: can give no reason for the crime. His first action
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Speaker 1: was to send Mortimer, the gardener for the local police.
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Speaker 1: A little later, the Chief Constable sent for me. Nothing
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Speaker 1: was moved before I got there, and strict orders were
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Speaker 1: given that no one should walk upon the paths leading
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Speaker 1: to the house. It was a splendid chance of putting
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Speaker 1: your theories into practice, mister Sherlock Holmes. There was really
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Speaker 1: nothing wanting except, mister Sherlock Holmes, said my companion, with
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Speaker 1: a somewhat bitter smile. Well, let us hear about it.
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Speaker 1: What sort of a job did you make of it?
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Speaker 1: I must ask you, first, mister Holmes, to glance at
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Speaker 1: this rough plan, which will give you a general idea
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Speaker 1: of the position of the professor's study and the various
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Speaker 1: points of the case. It will help you in following
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Speaker 1: my investigation. He unfolded the rough chart and he laid
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Speaker 1: it across Holmes's knee. I rose, and, standing behind Holmes,
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Speaker 1: studied it over his shoulder. It is very rough, of course,
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Speaker 1: and it only deals with the points which seem to
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Speaker 1: me to be essential. All the rest you will see
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Speaker 1: later for yourself. Now, first of all, presuming that the
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Speaker 1: assassin entered the house, how did he or she come in?
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Speaker 1: Undoubtedly by the garden path and the back door, from
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Speaker 1: which there is direct access to the study. Any other
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Speaker 1: way would have been exceedingly complicated. The escape must have
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Speaker 1: also been made along that line. For of the two
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Speaker 1: other exits from the room, one was blocked by Susan
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Speaker 1: as she ran downstairs, and the other leads straight to
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Speaker 1: the professor's bedroom. I therefore directed my attention at once
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Speaker 1: to the garden path, which was saturated with recent rain
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Speaker 1: and would certainly show any footmarks. My examination showed me
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Speaker 1: that I was dealing with a cautious and expert criminal.
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Speaker 1: No footmarks were to be found on the path. There
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Speaker 1: could be no question, however, that some one had passed
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Speaker 1: along the grass border which lines the path, and that
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Speaker 1: he had done so in order to avoid leaving a track.
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Speaker 1: I could not find anything in the nature of a
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Speaker 1: distinct impression, but the grass was trodden down, and some
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Speaker 1: one had undoubtedly passed. It could only have been the murderer,
14:49
Speaker 1: since neither the gardener nor any one else had been
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Speaker 1: there that morning, and the rain had only begun during
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Speaker 1: the night. One moment said Holmes, where does this math
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Speaker 1: lead to to the road? How long is it? A
15:04
Speaker 1: hundred yards or so? At the point where the path
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Speaker 1: passes through the gate, you could surely pick up the tracks. Unfortunately,
15:13
Speaker 1: the path was tiled at that point well on the
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Speaker 1: road itself. No, it was all trodden into maya tut tut. Well,
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Speaker 1: then these tracks upon the grass, were they coming or going?
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Speaker 1: It was impossible to say. There was never any outline.
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Speaker 1: A large foot or a small you could not distinguish.
15:35
Speaker 1: Holmes gave an ejaculation of impatience. It has been pouring
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Speaker 1: rain and blowing a hurrican ever since, said he. It
15:42
Speaker 1: will be harder to read now than that palimpsest. Well, well,
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Speaker 1: it can't be helped. What did you do, Hopkins, after
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Speaker 1: you had made certain that you had made certain of nothing?
15:54
Speaker 1: I think I made certain of a good deal, mister Holmes.
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Speaker 1: I knew that someone had entered the house cautiously from without.
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Speaker 1: I next examined the corridor. It is lined with coconut matting,
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Speaker 1: and had taken no impression of any kind. This brought
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Speaker 1: me into the study itself. It is a scantily furnished room.
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Speaker 1: The main article is a large writing table with a
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Speaker 1: fixed bureau. This bureau consists of a double column of
16:21
Speaker 1: drawers with a central small cupboard between them. The drawers
16:26
Speaker 1: were open, the cupboard locked. The draws, it seems, were
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Speaker 1: always open, and nothing of value was kept in them.
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Speaker 1: There were some papers of importance in the cupboard, but
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Speaker 1: there were no signs that this had been tampered with,
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Speaker 1: and the professor assures me that nothing was missing. It
16:43
Speaker 1: is certain that no robbery has been committed. I come
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Speaker 1: now to the body of the young man. It was
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Speaker 1: found near the bureau and just to the left of it,
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Speaker 1: as marked upon that chart. The stab was on the
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Speaker 1: right side of the neck and from behind forward, so
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Speaker 1: that it is almost impossible that it could have been
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Speaker 1: self inflicted, unless he fell upon the knife, said Holmes, exactly.
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Speaker 1: The idea crossed my mind. But we found the knife
17:15
Speaker 1: some feet away from the body, so that seems impossible. Then,
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Speaker 1: of course there are the man's own dying words. And
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Speaker 1: finally there was this very important piece of evidence, which
17:25
Speaker 1: was found clasped in the dead man's right hand. From
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Speaker 1: his pocket, Stanley Hopkins drew a small paper packet. He
17:33
Speaker 1: unfolded it and disclosed a golden pans neigh with two
17:37
Speaker 1: broken ends of black silk cord dangling from the end
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Speaker 1: of it. Willoughby Smith had excellent sight, he added, there
17:45
Speaker 1: can be no question that this was snatched from the
17:48
Speaker 1: face or the person of the assassin. Sherlock Holmes took
17:53
Speaker 1: the glasses into his hand and examined them with the
17:56
Speaker 1: utmost attention and interest. He held them on his nose,
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Speaker 1: endeavored to read through them, went to the window and
18:03
Speaker 1: stared up the street with them, looked at the most
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Speaker 1: minutely in the full light of the lamp, and finally,
18:09
Speaker 1: with a chuckle, seated himself at the table and wrote
18:12
Speaker 1: a few lines upon a sheet of paper, which she
18:15
Speaker 1: tossed across to Stanley Hopkins. That's the best I can
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Speaker 1: do for you, said he. It may prove to be
18:22
Speaker 1: of some use. The astonished detective read the note aloud.
18:28
Speaker 1: It ran as follows. Wanted a woman of good address,
18:32
Speaker 1: attired like a lady. She has a remarkably thick nose,
18:36
Speaker 1: with eyes which are set close upon either side of it.
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Speaker 1: She has a puckered forehead, appearing expression, and probably rounded shoulders.
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Speaker 1: There are indications that she has had recourse to an
18:48
Speaker 1: optician at least twice during the last few months. As
18:52
Speaker 1: her glasses are of remarkable strength, and as opticians are
18:56
Speaker 1: not very numerous, there should be no difficulty in tracing.
19:01
Speaker 1: Holmes smiled at the astonishment of Hopkins, which must have
19:05
Speaker 1: been reflected upon my features. Surely my deductions are simplicity itself,
19:11
Speaker 1: said he. It would be difficult to name any articles
19:14
Speaker 1: which afford a finer field for inference than a pair
19:17
Speaker 1: of glasses, especially so remarkable a pair as these, that
19:22
Speaker 1: they belong to a woman. I infer from their delicacy,
19:25
Speaker 1: and also, of course from the last words of the
19:28
Speaker 1: dying man as to her being a person of refinement
19:32
Speaker 1: and well dressed. They are, as you perceive, handsomely mounted
19:35
Speaker 1: in solid gold, and it is inconceivable that any one
19:39
Speaker 1: who wore such glasses could be slatternly. In other respects,
19:44
Speaker 1: you will find that the clips are too wide for
19:46
Speaker 1: your nose, showing that the lady's nose was very broad
19:49
Speaker 1: at the base. This sort of nose is usually a
19:53
Speaker 1: short and coarse one. But there is a sufficient number
19:57
Speaker 1: of exceptions to prevent me from being dogmatic or from
20:00
Speaker 1: insisting upon this point in my description. My own face
20:05
Speaker 1: is a narrow one, and yet I find that I
20:07
Speaker 1: cannot get my eyes into the center, nor near the center,
20:10
Speaker 1: of these glasses. Therefore, the lady's eyes are set very
20:14
Speaker 1: near to the sides of the nose. You will perceive, Watson,
20:18
Speaker 1: that the glasses are concave and of unusual strength. A
20:23
Speaker 1: lady whose vision has been so extremely contracted all her
20:26
Speaker 1: life is sure to have the physical characteristics of such vision,
20:31
Speaker 1: which are seen in the forehead, the eyelids, and the shoulders. Yes,
20:37
Speaker 1: I said, I can follow each of your arguments. I confess, however,
20:41
Speaker 1: that I am unable to understand how you arrive at
20:44
Speaker 1: the double visit to the optician. Holmes took the glasses
20:49
Speaker 1: in his hand. You will perceive he said that the
20:52
Speaker 1: clips are lined with tiny bands of cork to soften
20:55
Speaker 1: the pressure upon the nose. One of these is discolored
20:58
Speaker 1: and worn to some light extent, but the other is new.
21:04
Speaker 1: Evidently one has fallen off and been replaced. I should
21:08
Speaker 1: judge that the older of them has not been there
21:10
Speaker 1: more than a few months. They exactly correspond. So I
21:15
Speaker 1: gather that the lady went back to the same establishment
21:18
Speaker 1: for the second by George. It's marvelous, cried Hopkins, in
21:22
Speaker 1: an ecstasy of admiration to think that I had all
21:26
Speaker 1: that evidence in my hand and never knew it. I
21:30
Speaker 1: had intended, however, to go the round of the London opticians.
21:33
Speaker 1: Of course, you would meanwhile have you anything more to
21:36
Speaker 1: tell us about the case. Nothing, mister Holmes. I think
21:40
Speaker 1: that you know as much as I do now, probably more.
21:45
Speaker 1: We have had inquiries made as to any stranger seen
21:48
Speaker 1: on the country roads or at the railway station. We
21:51
Speaker 1: have heard of none. What beats me is the utter
21:55
Speaker 1: want of all object in the crime, not a ghost
21:59
Speaker 1: of a motive. Can anyone suggest ah there? I am
22:03
Speaker 1: not in a position to help you, but I suppose
22:06
Speaker 1: you want us to come out to morrow. If it
22:09
Speaker 1: is not asking too much, mister Holmes, There's a train
22:12
Speaker 1: from charing Cross to Chatham at six in the morning,
22:15
Speaker 1: and we should be at Yoxley Old Place between eight
22:18
Speaker 1: and nine. Then we shall take it. Your case has
22:22
Speaker 1: certainly some features of great interest, and I shall be
22:25
Speaker 1: delighted to look into it. Well, it's nearly one and
22:29
Speaker 1: we had best get a few hours sleep. I dare
22:32
Speaker 1: say you can manage all right on the sofa in
22:34
Speaker 1: front of the fire. I'll light my spirit lamp and
22:38
Speaker 1: give you a cup of coffee before we start. The
22:44
Speaker 1: gale had blown itself out next day, but it was
22:48
Speaker 1: a bitter morning. When we started upon our journey. We
22:52
Speaker 1: saw the cold winter sun rise over the dreary marshes
22:55
Speaker 1: of the Thames and the long, sullen reaches of the river,
22:59
Speaker 1: which I shall i'll ever associate with our pursuit of
23:02
Speaker 1: the Anderman Islander in the earlier days of our career.
23:06
Speaker 1: After a long and weary journey, we are lighted at
23:09
Speaker 1: a small station some miles from Chatham. While a horse
23:13
Speaker 1: was being put into a trap at the local inn,
23:15
Speaker 1: we snatched a hurried breakfast, and so we were all
23:19
Speaker 1: ready for business when we at last arrived at Yoxley
23:22
Speaker 1: Old Place. A constable met us at the garden gate. Well, Wilson,
23:28
Speaker 1: any news, no, sir, nothing, no reports of any stranger scene,
23:33
Speaker 1: no sir. Down at the station. They are certain that
23:36
Speaker 1: no stranger either came or went yesterday. Have you had
23:40
Speaker 1: inquiries made at inns and lodgings, Yes, sir, there is
23:45
Speaker 1: no one that we cannot account for. Well, it's only
23:48
Speaker 1: a reasonable walk to Chatham. Anyone might stay there or
23:52
Speaker 1: take a train without being observed. This is the garden
23:56
Speaker 1: path of which I spoke, mister Holmes. I'll pledge my
23:59
Speaker 1: word there was no mark on it yesterday. On which
24:02
Speaker 1: side were the marks on the grass? This side, sir,
24:05
Speaker 1: This narrow margin of grass between the path and the
24:08
Speaker 1: flower bed. I can't see the traces now, but they
24:11
Speaker 1: were clear to me. Then. Yes, yes, someone has passed along,
24:15
Speaker 1: said Holmes, stooping over the grass border. Our lady must
24:19
Speaker 1: have picked her steps carefully, must she not, since on
24:23
Speaker 1: the one side she would leave a track on the path,
24:26
Speaker 1: and on the other an even clearer one on the
24:29
Speaker 1: soft bed. Yes, sir, she must have been a cool hand.
24:34
Speaker 1: I saw an intent look pass over Holmes's face. You
24:38
Speaker 1: say that she must have come back this way, Yes, sir,
24:42
Speaker 1: There is no other on this strip of grass, certainly,
24:46
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, Hm, it was a very remarkable performance. Very remarkable. Well,
24:54
Speaker 1: I think we have exhausted the path. Let us go farther.
24:58
Speaker 1: This garden door is usually a kept open. I suppose
25:02
Speaker 1: then this visitor had nothing to do but to walk in,
25:05
Speaker 1: the idea of murder was not in her mind, or
25:08
Speaker 1: she would have provided herself with some sort of weapon
25:12
Speaker 1: instead of having to pick this knife off the writing table.
25:15
Speaker 1: She advanced along this corridor, leaving no traces upon the
25:19
Speaker 1: cocoanut matting. Then she found herself in this study. How
25:24
Speaker 1: long was she there? We have no means of judging,
25:28
Speaker 1: not more than a few minutes, Sir, I forgot to
25:31
Speaker 1: tell you that missus Marker, the housekeeper, had been in
25:34
Speaker 1: there tidying not very long before, about a quarter of
25:38
Speaker 1: an hour. She says, well, that gives us a limit.
25:42
Speaker 1: Our lady enters this room and what does she do?
25:45
Speaker 1: She goes over to the writing table. What for? Not
25:49
Speaker 1: for anything in the drawers. If there had been anything
25:52
Speaker 1: worth her taking, it would surely have been locked up. No,
25:55
Speaker 1: it was for something in that wooden bureau. Hullo, what
26:00
Speaker 1: is that scratch upon the face of it? Just hold
26:03
Speaker 1: a match, Watson, Why did you not tell me of this? Hopkins?
26:08
Speaker 1: The mark, which he was examining, began upon the brass
26:11
Speaker 1: work on the right hand side of the keyhole and
26:14
Speaker 1: extended for about four inches where it had scratched the
26:18
Speaker 1: varnish from the surface. I noticed it, mister Holmes, but
26:22
Speaker 1: you'll always find scratches round a key hole. This is recent,
26:27
Speaker 1: quite recent. See how the brass shines where it is cut.
26:32
Speaker 1: An old scratch would be the same color as the surface.
26:36
Speaker 1: Look at it through my lens. There's the varnish too.
26:40
Speaker 1: Like earth. On each side of a furrow is missus Marker.
26:44
Speaker 1: There a sad faced elderly woman came into the room.
26:49
Speaker 1: Did you dust this bureau yesterday morning? Yes, sir? Did
26:54
Speaker 1: you notice this scratch? No, sir, I did not. I
26:58
Speaker 1: am sure you did not, for a duster would have
27:00
Speaker 1: swept away these shreds of varnish. Who has the key
27:04
Speaker 1: of this bureau? The professor keeps it on his watch chain.
27:08
Speaker 1: Is it a simple key, No, sir, it is a
27:11
Speaker 1: Chubb's key. Very good, Missus Marker. You can go now.
27:15
Speaker 1: We are making a little progress. Our lady enters the room,
27:20
Speaker 1: advances to the bureau, and either opens it or tries
27:23
Speaker 1: to do so. While she is thus engaged, Young Willoughby
27:27
Speaker 1: Smith enters the room. In her hurry to withdraw the key,
27:32
Speaker 1: she makes this scratch upon the door. He seizes her,
27:36
Speaker 1: and she, snatching up the nearest object, which happens to
27:39
Speaker 1: be this knife, strikes at him in order to make
27:42
Speaker 1: him let go his hold. The blow is a fatal one.
27:46
Speaker 1: He falls, and she escapes, either with or without. The
27:49
Speaker 1: object for which she has come is Susan the maid.
27:52
Speaker 1: There could any one have got away through that door
27:57
Speaker 1: after the time that you heard the cry? Susan no, sir,
28:00
Speaker 1: it is impossible. Before I got down the stair, i'd
28:03
Speaker 1: have seen any one in the passage. Besides, the door
28:06
Speaker 1: never opened, or I would have heard it. That settles
28:09
Speaker 1: this exit. Then, no doubt, the lady went out the
28:12
Speaker 1: way she came. I understand that this other passage leads
28:16
Speaker 1: only to the professor's room. There is no exit that way. No, sir,
28:22
Speaker 1: we shall go down it and make the acquaintance of
28:24
Speaker 1: the professor. Hello, Hopkins, this is very important, very important. Indeed,
28:31
Speaker 1: the professor's corridor is also lined with cocoanut matting. Well, sir,
28:36
Speaker 1: what of it. Don't you see any bearing upon the case. Well, well,
28:40
Speaker 1: I don't insist upon it. No doubt I am wrong,
28:44
Speaker 1: And yet it seems to me to be suggestive. Come
28:47
Speaker 1: with me and introduce me. We passed down the passage,
28:52
Speaker 1: which was of the same length as that which led
28:55
Speaker 1: to the garden. At the end was a short flight
28:58
Speaker 1: of steps ending in a door. Our guide knocked and
29:01
Speaker 1: then ushered us into the professor's bedroom. It was a
29:05
Speaker 1: very large chamber, lined with innumerable volumes which had overflowed
29:11
Speaker 1: from the shelves and lay in piles in the corners,
29:15
Speaker 1: or were stacked all round at the base of the cases.
29:19
Speaker 1: The bed was in the center of the room, and
29:22
Speaker 1: in it, propped up with pillows, was the owner of
29:26
Speaker 1: the house. I have seldom seen a more remarkable looking person.
29:32
Speaker 1: It was a gaunt, aquiline face which was turned towards us,
29:35
Speaker 1: with piercing dark eyes, which lurked in deep hollows under
29:39
Speaker 1: overhung and tufted brows. His hair and beard were white,
29:45
Speaker 1: save that the latter was curiously stained with yellow. Around
29:48
Speaker 1: his mouth, a cigarette glowed amid the tangle of white hair,
29:54
Speaker 1: and the air of the room was feted with stale
29:56
Speaker 1: tobacco smoke. As he held out his hand to Holmes,
30:01
Speaker 1: I perceived that it was also stained with yellow nicotine.
30:06
Speaker 1: A smoker, mister Holmes said, he speaking in well chosen
30:10
Speaker 1: English with a curious, little mincing accent. Pray, take a cigarette,
30:16
Speaker 1: and you, sir, I can recommend them, for I have
30:20
Speaker 1: them especially prepared by Ionides of Alexandria. He sends me
30:25
Speaker 1: a thousand at a time, and I grieve to say
30:28
Speaker 1: that I have to arrange for a fresh supply every fortnight. Bad, sir,
30:33
Speaker 1: very bad. But an old man has few pleasures. Tobacco
30:38
Speaker 1: and my work. That is all that is left to me.
30:43
Speaker 1: Holmes had lit a cigarette and was shooting little, darting
30:46
Speaker 1: glances all over the room. Tobacco and my work, but
30:51
Speaker 1: now only tobacco. The old man exclaimed, alas, what a
30:56
Speaker 1: fatal interruption. Who could have foreseen such a terrible catastrophe?
31:01
Speaker 1: So estimable a young man. I assure you that, after
31:05
Speaker 1: a few months training he was an admirable assistant. What
31:10
Speaker 1: do you think of the matter, mister Holmes, I have
31:13
Speaker 1: not yet made up my mind. I shall indeed be
31:16
Speaker 1: indebted to you if you can throw a light where
31:19
Speaker 1: all is so dark to us, to a poor bookworm
31:22
Speaker 1: and invalid like myself, such a blow as paralyzing, I
31:26
Speaker 1: seem to have lost the faculty of thought. But you
31:30
Speaker 1: are a man of action, You are a man of affairs.
31:34
Speaker 1: It is part of the every day routine of your life.
31:38
Speaker 1: You can preserve your balance in every emergency. We are fortunate, indeed,
31:42
Speaker 1: in having you at our side. Holmes was pacing up
31:47
Speaker 1: and down one side of the room whilst the old
31:50
Speaker 1: professor was talking. I observed that he was smoking with
31:54
Speaker 1: extraordinary rapidity. It was evident that he shared our host's
31:58
Speaker 1: liking for the friends Alexandrian cigarettes. Yes, sir, it is
32:04
Speaker 1: a crushing blow, said the old man. That is my
32:08
Speaker 1: magnum opus, the pile of papers on the side table. Yonder,
32:12
Speaker 1: it is my analysis of the documents found in the
32:15
Speaker 1: Coptic monasteries of Syria and Egypt, a work which will
32:20
Speaker 1: cut deep at the very foundation of revealed religion. With
32:24
Speaker 1: my enfeebled health, I do not know whether I shall
32:27
Speaker 1: ever be able to complete it, now that my assistant
32:30
Speaker 1: has been taken from me. Dear me, mister Holmes, why
32:35
Speaker 1: you are even a quicker smoker than I am myself?
32:39
Speaker 1: Holmes smiled. I am a connoisseur, said he, taking another
32:45
Speaker 1: cigarette from the box is fourth and lighting it from
32:48
Speaker 1: the stub of that which he had finished. I will
32:51
Speaker 1: not trouble you with any lengthy cross examination, Professor Korum,
32:56
Speaker 1: since I gather that you were in bed at the
32:58
Speaker 1: time of the crime and could know nothing about it.
33:03
Speaker 1: I would only ask this, what do you imagine that
33:06
Speaker 1: this poor fellow meant by his last words, the professor
33:12
Speaker 1: it was she? The professor shook his head. Susan is
33:17
Speaker 1: a country girl, said he, And you know the incredible
33:21
Speaker 1: stupidity of that class. I fancy that the poor fellow
33:24
Speaker 1: murmured some incoherent, delirious words, and that she twisted them
33:29
Speaker 1: into this meaningless message. I see you have no explanation
33:35
Speaker 1: yourself of the tragedy. Possibly an accident. Possibly I only
33:41
Speaker 1: breathe it among ourselves a suicide. Young men have their
33:46
Speaker 1: hidden troubles, some affair of the heart, perhaps which we
33:50
Speaker 1: have never known. It is a more probable supposition than murder.
33:56
Speaker 1: But the eye glasses, ah, I am only a student,
34:01
Speaker 1: a man of dreams. I cannot explain the practical things
34:05
Speaker 1: of life. But still we are aware, my friend, that
34:08
Speaker 1: love gages may take strange shapes by all means. Take
34:12
Speaker 1: another cigarette. It is a pleasure to see anyone appreciate them.
34:16
Speaker 1: So a fan, a glove glasses, who knows what article
34:21
Speaker 1: may be carried as a token or treasured When a
34:24
Speaker 1: man puts an end to his life, this gentleman speaks
34:28
Speaker 1: our footsteps in the grasp. But after all, it is
34:31
Speaker 1: easy to be mistaken on such a point as to
34:35
Speaker 1: the knife. It might well be thrown far from the
34:38
Speaker 1: unfortunate man as he fell. It is possible that I
34:42
Speaker 1: speak as a child, But to me it seems that
34:45
Speaker 1: Willoughby Smith has met his fate by his own hand.
34:51
Speaker 1: Homes seemed struck by the theory thus put forward, and
34:54
Speaker 1: he continued to walk up and down for some time,
34:58
Speaker 1: lost in thought and assuming cigarette after cigarette. Tell me,
35:03
Speaker 1: Professor Korum, he said, at last, what is in that
35:07
Speaker 1: cupboard in the bureau? Nothing that would help a thief? Family, papers,
35:13
Speaker 1: letters from my poor wife, diplomas of universities which have
35:17
Speaker 1: done me honor. Here is the key. You can look
35:19
Speaker 1: for yourself. Holmes picked up the key and looked at
35:23
Speaker 1: it for an instant, then handed it back. No, I
35:27
Speaker 1: hardly think it would help me, said he. I should
35:30
Speaker 1: prefer to go quietly down to your garden and turn
35:34
Speaker 1: the whole matter over in my head. There is something
35:37
Speaker 1: to be said for the theory of suicide which you
35:40
Speaker 1: have put forward. We must apologize for having intruded upon you,
35:44
Speaker 1: Professor Korum, and I promise that we won't disturb you
35:47
Speaker 1: until after lunch at two o'clock. We will come again
35:52
Speaker 1: and report to you anything which may have happened in
35:54
Speaker 1: the interval. Holmes was curiously distray, and we woreked up
36:00
Speaker 1: and down the garden path for some time in silence.
36:04
Speaker 1: Have you a clue? I asked at last. It depends
36:08
Speaker 1: upon those cigarettes that I smoked, said he. It is
36:11
Speaker 1: possible that I am utterly mistaken the cigarettes. Will show me,
36:16
Speaker 1: my dear Holmes, I exclaimed, how on earth? Well, well,
36:20
Speaker 1: you may see for yourself. If not, there's no harm done.
36:24
Speaker 1: Of course, we always have the optician clue to fall
36:26
Speaker 1: back upon, but I take a short cut when I
36:29
Speaker 1: can get it. Ah, here is the good missus Marker.
36:33
Speaker 1: Let us enjoy five minutes of instructive conversation with her.
36:38
Speaker 1: I may have remarked before that Holmes had when he
36:41
Speaker 1: liked a peculiarly ingratiating way with women, and that he
36:46
Speaker 1: very readily established terms of confidence with them. In half
36:50
Speaker 1: the time which he had named, he had captured the
36:53
Speaker 1: housekeeper's good will and was chatting with her as if
36:56
Speaker 1: he had known her for years. Yes, mister Holmes, tis
37:00
Speaker 1: as you say, sir. He does smoke something terrible all
37:03
Speaker 1: day and sometimes all night. Sir, I've seen that room
37:06
Speaker 1: of a morning. Well, sir, you'd a thought it was
37:08
Speaker 1: a London fog. Poor young mister Smith. He was a
37:12
Speaker 1: smoker also, but not as bad as the Professor his health. Well,
37:17
Speaker 1: I don't know that it's better nor worse for the smoking, ah,
37:21
Speaker 1: said Holmes. But it kills the appetite. Well, I don't
37:24
Speaker 1: know about that, Sir. I suppose the Professor eats hardly anything. Well,
37:29
Speaker 1: he is variable. I'll say that for him. I'll wager
37:33
Speaker 1: he took no breakfast this morning and won't face his
37:36
Speaker 1: lunch after all the cigarettes I saw him consume. Well,
37:40
Speaker 1: you're out there, sir, as it happens. For he ate
37:42
Speaker 1: a remarkable big breakfast this morning. I don't know when
37:46
Speaker 1: I've known him make a better one, and he's ordered
37:48
Speaker 1: a good dish of cutlets for his lunch. I'm surprised myself,
37:52
Speaker 1: for since I came into that room yesterday and saw
37:55
Speaker 1: young mister Smith lying there on the floor, I couldn't
37:58
Speaker 1: bear to look at food. Well, it takes all sorts
38:01
Speaker 1: to make a world, and the Professor hasn't let it
38:04
Speaker 1: take his appetite away. We loitered the morning away in
38:08
Speaker 1: the garden. Stanley Hopkins had gone down to the village
38:13
Speaker 1: to look into some rumors of a strange woman who
38:15
Speaker 1: had been seen by some children on the Chatham Road
38:18
Speaker 1: the previous morning. As to my friend all his usual
38:23
Speaker 1: energy seemed to have deserted him. I had never known
38:26
Speaker 1: him handle a case in such a half hearted fashion.
38:30
Speaker 1: Even the news brought back by Hopkins that he had
38:33
Speaker 1: found the children and that they had undoubtedly seen a
38:36
Speaker 1: woman exactly corresponding with Holmes's description, and wearing either spectacles
38:41
Speaker 1: or eyeglasses, failed to rouse any sign of keen interest.
38:46
Speaker 1: He was more attentive when Susan, who waited upon us
38:49
Speaker 1: at lunch, volunteered the information that she believed mister Smith
38:53
Speaker 1: had been out for a walk yesterday morning, and that
38:56
Speaker 1: he had only returned half an hour before the tragedy occurred.
39:01
Speaker 1: I could not myself see the bearing of this incident,
39:04
Speaker 1: but I clearly perceived that Holmes was weaving it into
39:07
Speaker 1: the general scheme which he had formed in his brain.
39:11
Speaker 1: Suddenly he sprang from his chair and glanced at his watch.
39:15
Speaker 1: Two o'clock. Gentlemen said he we must go up and
39:19
Speaker 1: have it out with our friend, the professor. The old
39:23
Speaker 1: man had just finished his lunch, and certainly his empty
39:26
Speaker 1: dish bore evidence to the good appetite with which the
39:29
Speaker 1: housekeeper had credited him. He was indeed a weird figure.
39:33
Speaker 1: As he turned his white mane and his glowing eyes
39:36
Speaker 1: towards us. The eternal cigarette smoldered in his mouth. He
39:41
Speaker 1: had been dressed and was seated in an arm chair
39:43
Speaker 1: by the fire. Well, mister Holmes, have you solved this mystery? Yet?
39:50
Speaker 1: He shoved the large tin of cigarettes, which stood on
39:52
Speaker 1: a table beside him, towards my companion. Holmes stretched out
39:57
Speaker 1: his hand at the same moment, and between them they
40:00
Speaker 1: tipped the box over the edge. For a minute or two,
40:04
Speaker 1: we were all on our knees retrieving stray cigarettes from
40:08
Speaker 1: impossible places. When we rose again, I observed Holmes's eyes
40:13
Speaker 1: were shining and his cheeks tinged with color. Only at
40:17
Speaker 1: a crisis have I seen those battle signals flying? Yes,
40:22
Speaker 1: said he, I have solved it. Stanley Hopkins, and I
40:27
Speaker 1: stared in amazement. Something like a sneer quivered over the
40:31
Speaker 1: gaunt features of the old professor. Indeed in the garden. No, here, here,
40:38
Speaker 1: when this instant you are surely joking, mister Sherlock Holmes.
40:43
Speaker 1: You compel me to tell you that this is too
40:45
Speaker 1: serious a matter to be treated in such a fashion.
40:48
Speaker 1: I have forged and tested every link of my chain.
40:51
Speaker 1: Professor Korham and I am sure that it is sound
40:55
Speaker 1: what your motives are, or what exact parts you play
40:58
Speaker 1: in this strange business. I am not yet able to say.
41:02
Speaker 1: In a few minutes, I shall probably hear it from
41:04
Speaker 1: your own lips. Meanwhile, I will reconstruct what is past
41:08
Speaker 1: for your benefit, so that you may know the information
41:11
Speaker 1: which I still require. A lady yesterday entered your study.
41:17
Speaker 1: She came with the intention of possessing herself of certain
41:20
Speaker 1: documents which were in your bureau. She had a key
41:24
Speaker 1: of her own. I have had an opportunity of examining yours,
41:28
Speaker 1: and I do not find that slight discoloration which the
41:31
Speaker 1: scratch made upon the varnish would have produced. You were
41:35
Speaker 1: not an accessory therefore, and she came so far as
41:39
Speaker 1: I can read the evidence without your knowledge, to rob you.
41:43
Speaker 1: The professor blew a cloud from his lips. This is
41:47
Speaker 1: most interesting and instructive, said he have you no more
41:51
Speaker 1: to add. Surely, having traced this lady so far, you
41:54
Speaker 1: can also say what has become of her. I will
41:57
Speaker 1: endeavor to do so. In the first first place, she
42:00
Speaker 1: was seized by your secretary and stabbed him in order
42:04
Speaker 1: to escape this catastrophe. I am inclined to regard as
42:08
Speaker 1: an unhappy accident, for I am convinced that the lady
42:12
Speaker 1: had no intention of inflicting so grievous an injury. An
42:16
Speaker 1: assassin does not come unarmed. Horrified by what she had done,
42:22
Speaker 1: she rushed wildly away from the scene of the tragedy.
42:26
Speaker 1: Unfortunately for her, she had lost her glasses in the scuffle,
42:30
Speaker 1: and as she was extremely short sighted, she was really
42:32
Speaker 1: helpless without them. She ran down a corridor which she
42:36
Speaker 1: imagined to be that by which she had come. Both
42:40
Speaker 1: were lined with cocoanut matting, and it was only when
42:43
Speaker 1: it was too late that she understood that she had
42:46
Speaker 1: taken the wrong passage, and that her retreat was cut
42:49
Speaker 1: off behind her. What was she to do? She could
42:53
Speaker 1: not go back, She could not remain where she was.
42:56
Speaker 1: She must go on. She went on. She mounted a stair,
43:01
Speaker 1: pushed open a door, and found herself in your room.
43:07
Speaker 1: The old man sat with his mouth open, staring wildly
43:11
Speaker 1: at Holmes. Amazement and fear were stamped upon his expressive features. Now,
43:18
Speaker 1: with an effort, he shrugged his shoulders and burst into
43:20
Speaker 1: insincere laughter. All very fine, mister Holmes, said he. But
43:26
Speaker 1: there is one little floor in your splendid theory. I
43:29
Speaker 1: was myself in my room and I never left it
43:31
Speaker 1: during the day. I am aware of that, Professor Kreham.
43:36
Speaker 1: And you mean to say that I could lie upon
43:38
Speaker 1: that bed and not be aware that a woman had
43:41
Speaker 1: entered my room. I never said so. You were aware
43:45
Speaker 1: of it. You spoke with her, You recognized her, You
43:50
Speaker 1: aided her to escape. Again, the professor burst into high
43:55
Speaker 1: keyed laughter. He had risen to his feet, and his
43:59
Speaker 1: eyes glowed like embers. You are mad, he cried, You
44:02
Speaker 1: are talking insanely. I helped her to escape. Where is
44:07
Speaker 1: she now? She is there, said Holmes, and he pointed
44:12
Speaker 1: to a high bookcase in the corner of the room.
44:16
Speaker 1: I saw the old man throw up his arms. A
44:19
Speaker 1: terrible convulsion passed over his grim face, and he fell
44:22
Speaker 1: back in his chair. At the same instant, the bookcase
44:26
Speaker 1: at which Holmes pointed swung round upon a hinge, and
44:29
Speaker 1: a woman rushed out into the room. You are right,
44:33
Speaker 1: she cried, in a strange foreign voice. You are right.
44:36
Speaker 1: I am here. She was brown with the dust and
44:40
Speaker 1: draped with the cobwebs which had come from the walls
44:43
Speaker 1: of her hiding place. Her face, too, was streaked with grime,
44:48
Speaker 1: and at the best she could never have been handsome,
44:50
Speaker 1: for she had the exact physical characteristics which Holmes had divined,
44:54
Speaker 1: with in addition a long and obstinate chin. What with
44:59
Speaker 1: her natural blindness, and what with a change from dark
45:03
Speaker 1: to light, she stood as one dazed, blinking about her
45:06
Speaker 1: to see where and who we were. And yet in
45:10
Speaker 1: spite of all these disadvantages, there was a certain nobility
45:14
Speaker 1: in the woman's bearing, a gallantry in the defiant chin
45:19
Speaker 1: and in the upraised head which compelled something of respect
45:23
Speaker 1: and admiration. Stanley Hopkins had laid his arm upon her
45:28
Speaker 1: arm and claimed her as his prisoner, but she waved
45:31
Speaker 1: him aside gently, and yet with an overmastering dignity which
45:35
Speaker 1: compelled obedience. The old man lay back in his chair
45:39
Speaker 1: with a twitching face, and stared at her with brooding eyes. Yes, sir,
45:45
Speaker 1: I am your prisoner, she said. From where I stood,
45:49
Speaker 1: I could hear everything, and I know that you have
45:52
Speaker 1: learned the truth. I confess it all. It was I
45:56
Speaker 1: who killed the young man. But you are right, you
46:00
Speaker 1: who say it was an accident. I did not even
46:03
Speaker 1: know that it was a knife which I held in
46:05
Speaker 1: my hand, for in my despair I snatched anything from
46:10
Speaker 1: the table and struck at him to make him let
46:12
Speaker 1: me go. It is the truth that I tell, madam,
46:17
Speaker 1: said Holmes. I am sure that it is the truth.
46:21
Speaker 1: I fear that you are far from well. She had
46:24
Speaker 1: turned a dreadful color, the more ghastly under the dark
46:28
Speaker 1: dust streaks upon her face. She seated herself on the
46:31
Speaker 1: side of the bed. Then she resumed. I have only
46:36
Speaker 1: a little time here, she said, But I would have
46:39
Speaker 1: you to know the whole truth. I am this man's wife.
46:43
Speaker 1: He is not an Englishman, he is a Russian. His
46:48
Speaker 1: name I will not tell. For the first time, the
46:51
Speaker 1: old man stirred. God bless you, Anna, he cried, God
46:56
Speaker 1: bless you. She cast a look of the deepest dis
47:00
Speaker 1: in his direction. Why should you cling so hard to
47:03
Speaker 1: that wretched life of yours, Sergius said she. It has
47:08
Speaker 1: done harm to many and good to none, not even
47:11
Speaker 1: to yourself. However, it is not for me to cause
47:14
Speaker 1: the frail thread to be snapped before God's time. I
47:18
Speaker 1: have enough already upon my soul since I crossed the
47:22
Speaker 1: threshold of this cursed house. But I must speak, or
47:27
Speaker 1: I shall be too late, I have said, gentlemen, that
47:30
Speaker 1: I am this man's wife. He was fifty and I
47:35
Speaker 1: a foolish girl of twenty. When we married. It was
47:39
Speaker 1: in a city of Russia, a university. I will not
47:43
Speaker 1: name the place. God bless you, Anna, murmured the old
47:47
Speaker 1: man again. We were reformers, revolutionists near lists, you understand,
47:55
Speaker 1: he and I and many more. Then there came a
47:58
Speaker 1: time of trouble. A police officer killed, many were arrested.
48:03
Speaker 1: Evidence was wanted, and in order to save his own
48:07
Speaker 1: life and to earn a great reward, my husband betrayed
48:11
Speaker 1: his own wife and his companions. Yes, we were all
48:15
Speaker 1: arrested upon his confession. Some of us found our way
48:19
Speaker 1: to the gallows, and some to Siberia. I was among
48:23
Speaker 1: these last. But my term was not for life. My
48:26
Speaker 1: husband came to England with his ill gotten gains and
48:29
Speaker 1: has lived in quiet ever since, knowing well that if
48:33
Speaker 1: the Brotherhood knew where he was, not a week could
48:37
Speaker 1: pass before justice would be done. The old man reached
48:41
Speaker 1: out a trembling hand and helped himself to a cigarette.
48:45
Speaker 1: I am in your hands, Anna, said he. You were
48:49
Speaker 1: always good to me. I have not yet told you
48:52
Speaker 1: the height of his villainy, said she among our comrades
48:57
Speaker 1: of the order, there was one who was the friend
48:59
Speaker 1: of my heart. He was noble, unselfish, loving all that
49:05
Speaker 1: my husband was not. He hated violence. We were all guilty,
49:11
Speaker 1: if that is guilt, but he was not. He wrote
49:14
Speaker 1: forever dissuading us from such a course. These letters would
49:18
Speaker 1: have saved him, So with my diary, in which from
49:22
Speaker 1: day to day I had entered both my feelings towards
49:25
Speaker 1: him and the view which each of us had taken.
49:30
Speaker 1: My husband found and kept both diary and letters. He
49:35
Speaker 1: hid them, and he tried hard to swear away the
49:38
Speaker 1: young man's life. In this he failed. But Alexis was
49:43
Speaker 1: sent a convict to Siberia, where now, at this moment
49:47
Speaker 1: he works in a salt mine. Think of that, you, villain,
49:51
Speaker 1: Hugh Villain. Now now, at this very moment, Alexis, a
49:57
Speaker 1: man whose name you are not worthy to speak, works
49:59
Speaker 1: and live like a slave. And yet I have your
50:02
Speaker 1: life in my hands, and I let you go. You
50:08
Speaker 1: were always a noble woman, Anna, said the old man,
50:12
Speaker 1: puffing at his cigarette. She had risen, but she fell
50:16
Speaker 1: back again with a little cry of pain. I must finish,
50:21
Speaker 1: she said, when my term was over, I set myself
50:26
Speaker 1: to get the diary and letters, which, if sent to
50:28
Speaker 1: the Russian government, would procure my friend's release. I knew
50:33
Speaker 1: that my husband had come to England. After months of searching,
50:37
Speaker 1: I discovered where he was. I knew that he still
50:41
Speaker 1: had the diary for when I was in Serbia. I
50:44
Speaker 1: had a letter from him, once reproaching me and quoting
50:47
Speaker 1: some passages from its pages. Yet I was sure that
50:51
Speaker 1: with his revengeful nature, he would never give it to
50:55
Speaker 1: me of his own free will. I must get it
50:57
Speaker 1: for myself. With this object, I engaged an agent from
51:02
Speaker 1: a private detective firm who entered my husband's house as
51:07
Speaker 1: a secretary. It was your second secretary, Sergius, the one
51:12
Speaker 1: who left you so hurriedly. He found that papers were
51:16
Speaker 1: kept in the cupboard, and he got an impression of
51:18
Speaker 1: the key. He would not go farther. He furnished me
51:22
Speaker 1: with the plan of the house, and he told me
51:25
Speaker 1: that in the forenoon the study was always empty, as
51:29
Speaker 1: the secretary was employed up here. So at last I
51:33
Speaker 1: took my courage in both hands and I came down
51:36
Speaker 1: to get the papers for myself. I succeeded, but at
51:41
Speaker 1: what cost. I had just taken the paper and was
51:46
Speaker 1: locking the cupboard when the young man seized me. I
51:50
Speaker 1: had seen him already that morning. He had met me
51:53
Speaker 1: on the road, and I had asked him to tell
51:55
Speaker 1: me where Professor Korum lived, not knowing that he was
51:59
Speaker 1: in his employ Exactly exactly, said Holmes. The secretary came
52:06
Speaker 1: back and told his employer of the woman he had met. Then,
52:11
Speaker 1: in his last breath, he tried to send a message
52:13
Speaker 1: that it was she, the she whom he had just
52:17
Speaker 1: discussed with him. You must let me speak, said the woman,
52:22
Speaker 1: in an imperative voice, and her face contracted as if
52:25
Speaker 1: in pain. When he had fallen, I rushed from the room,
52:29
Speaker 1: chose the wrong d'Or, and found myself in my husband's room.
52:35
Speaker 1: He spoke of giving me up. I showed him that
52:38
Speaker 1: if he did so, his life was in my hands.
52:41
Speaker 1: If he gave me to the law, I could give
52:44
Speaker 1: him to the brotherhood. It was not that I wished
52:47
Speaker 1: to live for my own sake, but it was that
52:50
Speaker 1: I desired to accomplish my purpose. He knew that I
52:54
Speaker 1: would do what I said, that his own fate was
52:57
Speaker 1: involved in mine. For that reason and for no other
53:01
Speaker 1: he shielded me. He thrust me into that dark hiding place,
53:06
Speaker 1: a relic of old days known only to himself. He
53:10
Speaker 1: took his meals in his own room, and so was
53:13
Speaker 1: able to give me part of his food. It was
53:16
Speaker 1: agreed that when the police left the house, I should
53:19
Speaker 1: slip away by night and come back no more. But
53:23
Speaker 1: in some way you have read our plans. She tore
53:27
Speaker 1: from the bosom of her dress a small packet. These
53:31
Speaker 1: are my last words, said she. Here is the packet
53:35
Speaker 1: which will save Alexis. I confide it to your honor
53:39
Speaker 1: and to your love of justice. Take it. You will
53:43
Speaker 1: deliver it at the Russian embassy. Now I have done
53:47
Speaker 1: my duty, and stop her, cried Holmes. He had bounded
53:52
Speaker 1: across the room and had wrenched a small file from
53:55
Speaker 1: her hand. Too late, she said, sinking back on the bed.
54:00
Speaker 1: Too late, I took the poison before I left my
54:03
Speaker 1: hiding place. My head swims. I am going. I charge you, sir,
54:10
Speaker 1: to remember the packet. A simple case, and yet in
54:18
Speaker 1: some ways an instructive one, Holmes remarked. As we traveled
54:22
Speaker 1: back to town. It hinged from the outset upon the
54:25
Speaker 1: pass Nez. But for the fortunate chance of the dying
54:29
Speaker 1: man having seized these, I am not sure that we
54:32
Speaker 1: could ever have reached our solution. It was clear to
54:36
Speaker 1: me from the strength of the glasses that the wearer
54:39
Speaker 1: must have been very blind and helpless when deprived of them.
54:43
Speaker 1: When you asked me to believe that she walked along
54:45
Speaker 1: a narrow strip of grass without once making a false step,
54:49
Speaker 1: I remarked, as you may remember, that it was a
54:52
Speaker 1: noteworthy performance. In my mind, I set it down as
54:56
Speaker 1: an impossible performance, save in the unlikely case that she
55:01
Speaker 1: had a second pair of glasses. I was forced therefore
55:05
Speaker 1: to consider seriously the hypothesis that she had remained within
55:08
Speaker 1: the house. On perceiving the similarity of the two corridors,
55:14
Speaker 1: it became clear that she might very easily have made
55:16
Speaker 1: such a mistake, and in that case it was evident
55:20
Speaker 1: that she must have entered the professor's room. I was
55:23
Speaker 1: keenly on the alert therefore, for whatever would bear out
55:27
Speaker 1: this supposition, and I examined the room narrowly for anything
55:32
Speaker 1: in the shape of a hiding place. The carpet seemed
55:35
Speaker 1: continuous and firmly nailed, so I dismissed the idea of
55:39
Speaker 1: a trap door. There might well be a recess behind
55:42
Speaker 1: the books. As you are aware, such devices are common
55:46
Speaker 1: in old libraries. I observed that books were piled on
55:50
Speaker 1: the floor at all other points, but that one bookcase
55:53
Speaker 1: was left clear. This then might be the door. I
55:58
Speaker 1: could see no marks to guide me me, but the
56:00
Speaker 1: carpet was of a dun color, which lends itself very
56:03
Speaker 1: well to examination. I therefore smoked a great number of
56:07
Speaker 1: those excellent cigarettes, and I dropped the ash all over
56:11
Speaker 1: the space in front of the suspected bookcase. It was
56:15
Speaker 1: a simple trick, but exceedingly effective. I then went downstairs
56:19
Speaker 1: and I ascertained, in your presence, Watson, without your perceiving
56:23
Speaker 1: the drift of my remarks, that Professor Qorham's consumption of
56:27
Speaker 1: food had increased, as one would expect when he is
56:30
Speaker 1: supplying a second person. We then ascended to the room again,
56:35
Speaker 1: when by upsetting the cigarette box, I obtained an excellent
56:39
Speaker 1: view of the floor, and was able to see quite
56:41
Speaker 1: clearly from the traces upon the cigarette ash that the
56:45
Speaker 1: prisoner had, in our absence, come out from her retreat. Well, Hopkins,
56:50
Speaker 1: here we are at Charing Cross, and I congratulate you
56:54
Speaker 1: on having brought your case to a successful conclusion. You
56:58
Speaker 1: are going to headquarters, no doubt, I think, Watson. You
57:02
Speaker 1: and I will drive together to the Russian Embassy.