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11 - The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet · Sherlock Holmes

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