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Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Part 1 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Classic Adventure Library

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A case of identity, my dear fellow, said Sherlock Holmes,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: as we sat on either side of the fire in
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: his lodgings at Baker Street. Life is infinitely stranger than
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: anything which the mind of man could invent. We would
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: not dare to conceive the things which are really mere
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: cross purposes, the wonderful chains of events working through generations
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: and leading to the most utra results. It would make
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: all fiction, with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions, most stale
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: and unprofitable. And yet I am not convinced of it,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: I answered. The cases which come to light in the
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: papers are, as a rule bald enough and vulgar enough.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: We have in our police reports realism pushed to its
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: extreme limits, and yet the result is it must be
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: confessed neither fascinating nor artistic. A certain selection and discretion
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: must be used in producing a realistic effect. Remarked Holmes.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: This is wanting in the police report, where more stress
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: is laid perhaps upon the platitudes of the magistrate, than
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: upon the details, which to an observer contain the vital
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: essence of the whole matter depend upon it. There is
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: nothing so unnatural as the commonplace. I smiled and shook
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: my head. I can quite understand your thinking, so I said.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Of course, in your position of unofficial adviser and helper
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: to everybody who is absolutely puzzled throughout the three continents,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: you are brought in contact with all that is strange
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: and bizarre. But here I picked up the morning paper
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: from the ground. Let us put it to a practical test.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Here is the first heading upon which I come, A
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: husband's cruelty to his wife. There is half a column
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: of print, but I know without reading it that it
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of course
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the bruise,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of writers could
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: invent nothing more crude. Indeed, your example is an unfortunate
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: one for your argument, said Holmes, taking the paper and
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: glancing his eye down it. This is the Dundas separation case.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: And as it happens, I was engaged in clearing up
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: some small points in connection with it. The husband was
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: a teetotaler, and there was no other woman, And the
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: habit of winding up every meal by taking out his
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which you
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: will allow is not an action likely to occur to
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: the imagination of the average story teller. Take a pinch
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: of snuff, doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: you in your example. He held out his snuff box
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: of old gold with a great amethyst in the center
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: of the lid. Its splendor was in such contrast to
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: his homely ways and simple life that I could not
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: help commenting upon it, Ah said he. I forgot that
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: I had not seen you for some weeks. It is
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia, in return
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: for my assistance in the case of the irene Adler
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: papers and the ring. I asked, glancing at a remarkable
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: brilliant which sparkled upon his finger. It was from the
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: reigning family of Holland. Though the matter in which I
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: it even to you, who have been good enough to
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: chronicle one or two of my little problems. And have
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: you any on hand just now? I asked, with interest,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: of interest. They are important, you understand, without being interesting. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: I have found that it is usually in unimportant matters
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: that there is a field for the observation and for
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: the quick analysis of cause and effect, which gives the
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: be the simpler, for the bigger the crime, the more obvious.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: As a rule is the motive. In these cases. Save
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: for one rather intricate matter, which has been referred to
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: me from Marseilles, there is nothing which presents any features
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  Speaker 1: of interest. It is possible, however, that I may have
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: something better before or very many minutes are over, for
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: this is one of my clients, or I am much mistaken.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: He had risen from his chair and was standing between
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: the parted blinds, gazing down into the dull, neutral tinted
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: London street. Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on
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  Speaker 1: the pavement opposite there stood a large woman with a
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  Speaker 1: heavy fur boa round her neck and a large curling
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  Speaker 1: red feather in a broad brimmed hat, which was tilted
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  Speaker 1: in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her ear.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: From under this great panoply, she peeped up in a nervous,
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  Speaker 1: hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated backward
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  Speaker 1: and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove buttons. Suddenly,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves the bank,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: clang of the bell. I have seen those symptoms before,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: said Holmes, throwing his cigarette into the fire. Oscillation upon
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the pavement always means an affair de cours. She would
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: like advice, but she is not sure that the matter
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: is not too delicate for communication. And yet even here
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously wronged
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: by a man, she no longer oscillates, and the usual
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: symptom is a broken bell wire. Here we may take
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: it that there is a love matter, but that the
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  Speaker 1: maiden is not so much angry as perplexed or grieved.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: But here she comes in person to resolve our doubts.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: As he spoke, there was a tap at the door,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: and the boy in buttons entered to announce miss Mary Sutherland,
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: while the lady herself loomed behind his small black figure,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: like a full sailed merchantman behind a tiny pilot boat.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes welcomed her with the easy courtesy for which
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  Speaker 1: he was remarkable, and having closed the door and bowed
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: her into an arm chair, he looked her over in
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  Speaker 1: the minute and yet abstracted fashion which was peculiar to him.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Do you not find? He said, that with your short sight,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: it is a little trying to do so much typewriting.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: I did it first, she answered, but now I know
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  Speaker 1: where the letters are without looking. Then, suddenly realizing the
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: full purport of his words, she gave a violent start
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: and looked up with fear and astonishment upon her broad,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: good humored face. You've heard about me, mister Holmes, she cried. Else,
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: how could you know all that? Never mind, said Holmes, laughing,
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  Speaker 1: it is my business to know things. Perhaps I have
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: trained myself to see what others overlook. If not, why
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: should you come to consult me. I came to you, sir,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: because I heard of you from missus Ethridge, whose husband
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: you found so easy when the police and ever one
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: had given him up for dead. Oh, mister Holmes, I
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: wish you would do as much for me. I'm not rich,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: but still I have a hundred a year in my
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: own right, besides the little that I make by the machine,
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: and I would give it all to know what has
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: become of mister Hosmer Angel. Why did you come away
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: to consult me in such a hurry, asked Sherlock Holmes,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: with his finger tips together and his eyes to the ceiling. Again,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: A startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Miss Mary Sutherland. Yes, I did bang out of the house,
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  Speaker 1: she said, for it made me angry to see the
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: easy way in which mister Windebank, that is my father,
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  Speaker 1: took it all. He would not go to the police,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: and he would not go to you, and so at last,
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  Speaker 1: as he would do nothing and kept on saying that
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  Speaker 1: there was no harm done. It made me mad, and
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  Speaker 1: I just on with my things and came right away
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  Speaker 1: to you. Your father, said Holmes, your stepfather, surely, since
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: the name is different, Yes, my stepfather, I call him father,
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  Speaker 1: though it sounds funny too, for he is only five
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  Speaker 1: years and two months older than myself. And your mother
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  Speaker 1: is alive. Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I
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  Speaker 1: wasn't best pleased mister Holmes when she married again so
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: soon after father's death, and a man who was nearly
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: fifteen years younger than herself. Father was a plumber in
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  Speaker 1: the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidy business
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  Speaker 1: behind him, which mother carried on with mister Hardy, the foreman.
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  Speaker 1: But when mister Windebank came he made her sell the business,
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  Speaker 1: for he was very superior, being a traveler in wines.
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  Speaker 1: They got forty seven hundred pounds for the good will
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  Speaker 1: and interest, which wasn't near as much as father could
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  Speaker 1: have got he had been alive. I had expected to
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: see Sherlock Holmes impatient under this rambling and inconsequential narrative,
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: but on the contrary, he had listened with the greatest
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  Speaker 1: concentration of attention. Your own little income, he asked, does
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  Speaker 1: it come out of the business. Oh no, sir, it
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  Speaker 1: is quite separate and was left me by my uncle
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  Speaker 1: ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand, stock paying
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  Speaker 1: four and a half percent. Two thousand, five hundred pounds
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  Speaker 1: was the amount. But I can only touch the interest.
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  Speaker 1: You interest me extremely, said Holmes. And since you draw
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  Speaker 1: so large a sum as a hundred a year with
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: what you earn into the bargain, you no doubt travel
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  Speaker 1: a little and indulge yourself in every way. I believe
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  Speaker 1: that a single lady can get on very nicely upon
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: an income of about sixty pounds. I could do with
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  Speaker 1: much less than that, mister Holmes. But you understand that
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: as long as I live at home, I don't wish
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  Speaker 1: to be a burden to them, and so they have
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  Speaker 1: the use of the money just while I am staying
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  Speaker 1: with them. Of course, that is only just for the time.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Windebank draws my interest every quarter and pays it
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  Speaker 1: over to mother. And I find that I can do
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  Speaker 1: pretty well with what I earn at typewriting. It brings
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: me twopence a sheet, and I can often do from
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  Speaker 1: fifteen to twenty sheets in a day. You have made
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  Speaker 1: your position very clear to me, said Holmes. This is
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: my friend, doctor Watson, before whom you can speak as
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  Speaker 1: freely as before myself. Kindly tell us now all about
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  Speaker 1: your connection with mister Hosmer. Angel A flush stole over
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Miss Sutherland's face, and she picked nervously at the fringe
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: of her jacket. I met him first at the gas
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: fitter's ball. She said they used to send Father tickets
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  Speaker 1: when he was alive, and then afterwards they remembered us
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: and sent them to mother. Mister Windebank did not wish
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: us to go. He never did wish us to go anywhere.
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  Speaker 1: He would get quite mad if I wanted so much
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: as to join a Sunday school treat. But this time
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: I was set on going, and I would go. For
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: what right had he to prevent? He said the folk
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: were not fit for us to know when all father's
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: friends were to be there. And he said that I
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: had nothing fit to wear when I had my purple plush,
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: that I had never so much as taken out of
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do, he
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: went off to France upon the business of the firm.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: But we went, Mother and I with mister Hardy, who
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: used to be our foreman, and it was there I
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: met mister Hosmer angel. I suppose, said Holmes, that when
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: mister Windebank came back from France, he was very annoyed
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: at your having gone to the oh well. He was
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: very good about it. He laughed, I remembered, and shrugged
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: his shoulders and said there was no use denying anything
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: to a woman, for she would have her way. I see, then,
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: at the Gasford's ball, you met, as I understand, a
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  Speaker 1: gentleman called mister Hosemer Angel. Yes, sir, I met him
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: that night, and he called next day to ask if
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: we had got home all safe. And after that we
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: had met him, that is to say, mister Holmes, I
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: met him twice for walks. But after that Father came
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: back again, and mister Hosmer Angel could not come to
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: the house anymore. No, Well, you know Father didn't like
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: anything of the sort. He wouldn't have any visitors if
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: he could help it. And he used to say that
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: a woman should be happy in her own family circle.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: But then, as I used to say to mother, a
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: woman wants her own circle to begin with. And I
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: had not got mine yet. But how about mister Hosmer Angel.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: Did he make no attempt to see you?
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: Well?
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Father was going off to France again in a week,
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: and Hosmer wrote and said that it would be safer
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: and better not to see each other until he had gone.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: We could write in the meantime, and he used to
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: write every day. I took the letters in in the morning,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: so there was no need for father to know. Were
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: you engaged to the gentleman at this time? Oh, yes,
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: mister Holmes, we were engaged after the first walk that
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: we took, Holsmer Mister Angel was a cashier in an
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: office in Leadenhall Street. And what office. That's the worst
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: of it, mister Holmes. I don't know where did he live?
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Then he slept on the premises, and you don't know
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: his address, no, except that it was Leadenhall Street. Where
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: did you address your letters? Then to the Luddenhall Street
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: post Office to be left till called for. He said
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: that if they were sent to the office, he would
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: be chafed by all the other clerks about having letters
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: from a lady. So I offered to typewrite them like
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: he did his, but he wouldn't have that, for he
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: said that when I wrote them they seemed to come
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: from me, but when they were typewritten, he always felt
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: that the machine had come between us. That will just
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: show you how fond he was of me, mister Holmes,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: and the little things that he would think of. It
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: was most suggestive, said Holmes. It has long been an
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: most important. Can you remember any other little things about
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: mister Hosmer Angel. He was a very shy man, mister Holmes.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: He would rather walk with me in the evening than
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: in the daylight, for he said that he hated to
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: be conspicuous, very retiring, and gentlemanly. He won even his
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: when he was young, he told me, and it had
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: left him with a weak throat and a hesitating, whispering
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: fashion of speech. He was always well dressed, very neat
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: and plain, but his eyes were weak, just as mine are,
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: and he wore tinted glasses against the glare. Well, and
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: what happened when mister Windebank, your stepfather returned to France.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Mister Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: that we should marry before father came back. He was
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: in dreadful earnest and made me swear with my hands
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: on the testament that whatever happened, I would always be
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: true to him. Mother said he was quite right to
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: make me swear, and that it was a sign of
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: his passion. Mother was all in his favor from the
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: first and was even fonder of him than I was. Then,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: when they talked of marrying within the week, I began
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: to ask about Father, but they both said, never to
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: mind about Father, but just to tell him afterwards, and
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Mother said she would make it all right with him.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: I didn't quite like that, mister Holmes. It seemed funny
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: that I should ask his leave, as he was only
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: a few years older than me. But I didn't want
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: to do anything on the sly, so I wrote to
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: Father at Bordeaux, where the company has its French offices.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: But the letter came back to me on the very
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: morning of the wedding. It missed him then, yes, sir,
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: for he had started to England just before it arrived. Huh,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: that was unfortunate. Your wedding was arranged then for the Friday.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Was it to be in church, Yes, sir, but very quietly.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: It was to be at Saint Savior's near King's Cross,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the Saint
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: Pancras hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: as there were two of us he put us both
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: into it and stepped himself into a four wheeler, which
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: happened to be the only other cab in the street.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: We got to the church first, and when the four
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: wheeler drove up, we waited for him to step out,
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: but he never did, and when the cabman got down
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: from the box and looked, there was no one there.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: The cabman said that he could not imagine what had
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: become of him, for he had seen him get in
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: with his own eyes. That was last Friday, mister Holmes,
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: and I have never seen or heard anything since then
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: to throw any light upon what became of him. It
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: said Holmes. Oh no, sir, he was too good and
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: kind to leave me. So why all the morning he
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: was saying to me that whatever happened I was to
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: be true, and that even if something quite unforeseen occurred
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: to separate us, I was always to remember that I
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: was pledged to him, and that he would claim his
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: pledge sooner or later. It seemed strange talk for a
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: wedding morning, But what has happened since gives a meaning
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: to it. Most certainly it does your own opinion is
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: then that some unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him. Yes, sir,
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: I believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: would not have talked so. And then I think that
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: what he foresaw happened, But you have no notion as
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: to what it could have been. None. One more question?
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: How did your mother take the matter? She was angry
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: and said that I was never to speak of the
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: matter again. And your father did you tell him? Yes?
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: And he seemed to think with me that something had happened,
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: and that I should hear of Hosmer again, As he said,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: doors of the church and then leaving? Now, if he
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: had borrowed my money, or if he had married me
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: and got my money settled on him, there might be
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: some reason. But Hosemer was very independent about money, and
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: what could have happened? And why could he not write? Oh?
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: It drives me half mad to think of it, and
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: I can't sleep a wink at night. She pulled a
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: heavily into it. I shall glance into the case for you,
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: said Holmes, rising, and I have no doubt that we
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: shall reach some definite result. Let the weight of the
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: matter rest upon me now, and do not let your
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: mind dwell upon it. Further, above all, try to let
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: mister Hosmer Angel vanish from your memory as he has
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: done from your life. Then you don't think I'll see
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: him again? I fear not. Then what has happened to him?
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: You will leave that question in my hand. I should
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: like an accurate description of him, and any letters of
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: his which you can spare. I advertised for him in
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: last Saturday's chronicle, said she Here is the slip, and
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: here are four letters from him. Thank you, and your
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: address thirty one Lyons Place, Camberwell, mister Angel's address you
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: never had. I understand. Where is your father's place of business?
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: He travels for Westhouse and Marbank, the Great Claret importers
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: of Fenchurch Street. Thank you. You have made your statement
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: very clearly. You will leave the papers here and remember
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: the advice which I have given you. Let the whole
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: incident be a sealed book and do not allow it
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: to affect your life. You are very kind, mister Holmes,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: but I cannot do that. I shall be true to Hosmer.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: He shall find me ready when he comes back. For
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: all the preposterous and the vacuous face, there was something
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: noble in the simple faith of our visitor which compelled
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: the table and went her way, with a promise to
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: come again whenever she might be summoned. Sherlock Holmes sat
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: silent for a few minutes, with his finger tips still
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: took down from the rack the old and oily clay pipe,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: which was to him as a counselor, and having lit it,
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: he leaned back in his chair, with the thick blue
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: cloud wreathed spinning up from him, and a look of
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: infinite languor upon his face. Quite an interesting study that maiden,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: he observed. I found her more interesting than her little problem,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: which by the way, is rather a trite one. You
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: will find parallel cases if you consult my index in
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: andover in seventy seven, and there was something of the
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: sort at the Hague last year old, as is the
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: idea However, there were one or two details which were
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: new to me, But the maiden herself was most instructive.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: You appeared to read a good deal upon her, which
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: was quite invisible to me, I remarked, not invisible but unnoticed. Watson,
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: you did not know where to look, and so you
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: missed all that was important. I can never bring you
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumbnails,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Now what did you gather from that woman's appearance? Describe
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: it well? She had a slate colored, broad brimmed straw
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: hat with a feather of a brickish red. Her jacket
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: was black, with black beads sewn upon it and a
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her dress was brown,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: rather darker than coffee color, with a little purple plush
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were grayish and
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: didn't observe. She had small, round hanging gold earrings, and
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: her general air of being fairly well to do in
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: a vulgar, comfortable, easy going way. Sherlock Holmes clapped his
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: hands softly together and chuckled upon my word, Watson, you
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: are coming along wonderfully. You have really done very well. Indeed,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: it is true that you have missed everything of importance,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: but you have hit upon the method, and you have
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: a quick eye for color. Never trust to general impressions,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details. My first glance
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: is always at a woman's sleeve. In a man, it
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: is perhaps better first to take the knee of the trouser.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: As you observe, this woman had plushed upon her sleeves,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: which is a most useful material for showing traces. The
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: double line a little above the wrist, where the typewritist
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: presses against the table was beautifully defined. The sewing machine
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: of the hand type leaves a similar mark, put only
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: on the left arm and on the right of it
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: broadest part. As this was, I then glanced at her face, and,
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: observing the dint of a pince nez at either side
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: of her nose, I ventured a remark upon short sight
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: and typewriting, which seemed to surprise her. It surprised me,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: but surely it was obvious. I was then much surprised
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: and interested on glancing down to observe that, though the
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: boots which she was wearing were not unlike each other,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: they were really odd ones, the one having a slightly
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: decorated toe cap and the other a plain one. One
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: was buttoned only in the two lower buttons out of five,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: and the other at the first, third and fifth. Now,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: when you see that a young lady, otherwise neatly dressed,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: has come away from home with odd boots half buttoned,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: it is no great deduction to say that she came
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: away in a hurry. And what else? I asked, keenly
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: interested as I always was, by my friend's incisive reasoning.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: I noted in passing that she had written a note
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: before leaving home. But after being fully dressed, you observed
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: that her right glove was torn at the forefinger. But
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: you did not apparently see that both glove and finger
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: were stained with violet ink. She had written in a
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: been this morning, or the mark would not remain clear
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: upon the finger. All this is amusing, though rather alimentary,
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: But I must go back to business. Watson, would you
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: mind reading me the advertised description of mister Hosmer Angel.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: I held the little printed slip to the light, missing
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: it said, on the morning of the fourteenth a gentleman
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: named Hosmer Angel, about five feet seven inches in height,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: the center, bushy black side, whiskers and mustache, tinted glasses,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: slight infirmity of speech was dressed when last scene in
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: black frock coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: chain and gray Harris tweed trousers with brown gaiters over
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: a last excited boots known to have been employed in
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: an office in Leadenhall Street. Anybody bringing that will do,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: said Holmes. As to the letters, he canntinued glancing over them.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: They are a very commonplace. Absolutely no clue in them
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: to mister Angel, say that he quotes Balzac once. There
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: is a remarkable point, however, which will no doubt strike you.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: They are typewritten, I remarked. Not only that, but the
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: signature is typewritten. Look at the neat little Hosmer Angel.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: At the bottom there is a date you see, but
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is rather vague. The
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: point about the signature is very suggestive. In fact, we
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: may call it conclusive. Of what, my dear fellow, is
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: it possible you do not see how strongly it bears
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: upon the case. I cannot say that I do unless
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: it were that he wished to be able to deny
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: signature if an action for breach of promise were instituted. No,
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: that was not the point. However, I shall write two
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: letters which should settle the matter. One is to affirm
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: in the city, the others to the young lady's stepfather,
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: mister Windebank, asking him whether he can meet us here
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: at six o'clock tomorrow evening. It is just as well
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: that we should do business with the male relatives, and now, doctor,
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: we can do nothing until the answers to those letters come,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: so we may put our little problem upon the shelf
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: for the interim. I had had so many reasons to
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: believe in my friend's subtle powers of reasoning and extraordinary
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: energy and action, that I felt that he must have
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanor with
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: which he treated the singular mystery which he had been
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: called upon to fathom once. Only had I known him
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: to fail in the case of the King of Bohemia
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: and of the Irene Adler photograph. But when I looked
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: back to the weird business of the Sign of four,
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: and the extraordinary circumstances connected with the study in Scarlet,
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: I felt the it would be a strange tangle, indeed,
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: which he could not unravel. I left him then, still
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: puffing at his black clay pipe, with the conviction that
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: when I came again on the next evening, I would
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: find that he held in his hands all the clues
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: which would lead up to the identity of the disappearing
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: bridegroom of Miss Mary Sutherland. A professional case of great
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: gravity was engaging my own attention at the time, and
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the whole of next day I was busy at the
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: six o'clock that I found myself free and was able
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: to spring into a hansom and drive to Baker Street,
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: half afraid that I might be too late to assist
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: at the denoument of the little mystery, I found Sherlock
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Holmes alone, however, half asleep, with his long, thin form
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: curled up in the recesses of his arm chair. A
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: formidable ray of bottles and test tubes with the pungent,
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: cleanly smell of hydrochloric acid. Told me that he had
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: spent his day in the chemical work which was so
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: dear to him. Well have you solved it, I asked
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: as I entered. Yes, it was the bisulfate of Burta. No. No,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: the mystery, I cried, Oh that I thought of the
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: salt that I have been working upon. There was never
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: any mystery in the matter, though, as I said yesterday,
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: some of the details are of interest. The only drawback
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: is that there is no law I fear that can
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: touch the scoundrel. Who was he then? And what was
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: his object in deserting Miss Sutherland? The question was hardly
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: out of my mouth, and Holmes had not yet opened
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: his lips to reply when we heard a heavy footfall
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: in the passage and a tap at the door. This
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: is the girl's stepfather, mister James Windeby, said Holmes. He
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: has written to me to say that he would be
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: here at six. Come in. The man who entered was
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: a sturdy, middle sized fellow, some thirty years of age,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: clean shaven and sallow skinned, with a bland insinuating manner
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating gray eyes.
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: He shot a questioning glance at each of us, placed
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: his shiny top hat upon the sideboard, and with a
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: slight bow, sidled down into the nearest chair. Good evening,
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: mister James Windebank, said Holmes. I think that this typewritten
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: letter is from you, in which you made an appointment
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: with me for six o'clock. Yes, sir, I am afraid
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: that I am a little late, but I am not
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: miss Sutherland has troubled you about this little matter, for
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: I think it is far better not to wash linen
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: of the sort in public. It was quite against my
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: wishes that she came. But she is a very excitable,
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: not easily controlled when she has made up her mind.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: On a point of course, I did not mind you
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: so much, as you are not connected with the official police.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: But it is not pleasant to have a family misfortune
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless expense,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: for how could you possibly find this hosemer Angel. On
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: the contrary, said Holmes quietly, I have every reason to
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: believe that I will succeed in discovering mister Hosemer Angel.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: Mister Windebank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: I am delighted to hear it, he said. It is
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: a curious thing, remarked Holmes, that a typewriter has really
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting, unless they
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: are quite new. No two of them write exactly alike.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: Some letters get more worn than others, and somewhere only
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: on one side. Now you remark in this note of yours,
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: mister Windebank, that in every case there is some little
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: slurring over of the e and a slight defect in
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: the tale of the R. There are fourteen other characteristics,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: but those are the most obvious. We do all our
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: correspondence with this machine at the office, and no doubt
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: it is a little worn, our visitor answered, glancing keenly
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: at Holmes with his bright little eyes. And now I
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: will show you what is really a very interesting study,
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: mister Windebank. Holmes continued, I think of writing another little
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: monograph some of these days, and the typewriter and its
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: relation to crime. It is a subject to which I
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: have devoted some little attention. I have here four letters
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: which purpot to come from the missing man. They are
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: all type written in each case. Not only are the
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: ease slurred and the r's tail less. But you will observe,
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: other fourteen characteristics to which I have alluded are there
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: as well. Mister Windebank sprang out of his chair and
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: picked up his hat. I cannot waste time over this
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: sort of fantastic talk, mister Holmes, he said. If you
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: can catch the man, catch him, then let me know
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: when you have done it. Certainly, said Holmes, stepping over
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: and turning the key in the door. I let you
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: know then that I have caught him. What where, shouted
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: mister Windebank, turning white to his lips and glancing about
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: him like a rat in a trap. Oh it won't do,
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: really it won't, said Holmes suavely. There is no possible
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: getting out of it, mister Windebank. It is quite too transparent.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: And it was a very bad compliment when you said
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: that it was impossible for me to solve so simple
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: a question. That's right, Sit down and let us talk
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: it over. Our visitor collapsed into a chair with a
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: ghastly face and a glitter of moisture on his brow.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: It's it's not actionable, he stammered. I am very much
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: afraid that it is not. But between ourselves, Windebank, it
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: a petty way as ever came before me. Now let
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: me just run over the course of events, and you
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: will contradict me if I go wrong. The man sat
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: huddled up in his chair with his head sunk upon
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: his breast, like one who was utterly crushed. Holmes stuck
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: his feet up on the corner of the mantelpiece, and
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: leaning back, with his hands in his pockets, began talking
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: rather to himself, as it seemed, than to us. The
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: man married a woman very much older than himself for
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: her money, said he, and he enjoyed the use of
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: the money of the daughter as long as she lived
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: with them. It was a considerable sum for people in
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: their position, and the loss of it would have made
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: and warm hearted in her ways, so that it was
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: evident that, with her fair personal advantages and her little income,
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: she would not be allowed to remain single long. Now
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: her marriage would mean, of course, the loss of one
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: hundred a year. So what does her stepfather do to
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: prevent it? He takes the obvious course of keeping her
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: at home and forbidding her to seek the company of
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: people her own age. But soon he found that that
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: would not answer forever. She became restive, insisted upon her rights,
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: and finally announced her positive intention of going to a
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: certain ball. What does her clever stepfather do?
• 37:57
  Speaker 3: Then?
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: He conceives an idea more creditable to his head than
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: to his heart. With the connivance and assistance of his wife,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: he disguised himself, covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses,
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: masked the face with a mustache, and a pair of
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice into an insinuating whisper,
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: and doubly secure on account of the girl's short sight,
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: he appears as mister Hosmer Angel and keeps off other
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: lovers by making love himself. It was only a joke
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: at first, groaned our visitor. We never thought that she
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: would have been so carried away. Very likely not, However,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: that may be the young lady was very decidedly carried away,
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: and having quite made up her mind that her stepfather
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: was in France, the suspicion of treachery never for an
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: instant entered her mind. She was flattered by the gentleman's attentions,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: and the effect was increased by the loudly expressed admired
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: of her mother. Then mister Angel began to call for
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: it was obvious that the matter should be pushed as
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: far as it would go if a real effect were
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: to be produced. There were meetings and an engagement which
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: would finally secure the girl's affections from turning towards any
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: one else. But the deception could not be kept up forever.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: These pretended journeys to France were rather cumbrous. The thing
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: to do was clearly to bring the business to an
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: end in such a dramatic manner that it would leave
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and prevent
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: her from looking upon any other suitor for some time
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: to come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a testament,
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening.
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: On the very morning of the wedding. James Windebank wished
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: miss Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: so uncertain as to his fate, that for ten years
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: to come, at any rate, she would not listen to
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: another man. As far as the church door he brought her,
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: and then as he could go no farther he conveniently
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: vanished away by the old trick of stepping in at
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: one door of a four wheeler and out at the other.
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: I think that was the chain of events. Mister Windebank,
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: had been talking, and he rose from his chair now
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: with a cold sneer upon his pale face. It may
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: be so, or it may not, mister Holmes, said he.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: But if you are so very sharp, you ought to
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: be sharp enough to know that it is you who
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: are breaking the law now and not me. I have
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: done nothing actionable from the first. But as long as
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: you keep that door locked, you lay yourself open to
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: an action for assault and illegal constraint. The law cannot,
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: as you say, touch you, said Holmes, unlocking and throwing
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: open the door. Yet there never was a man who
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: deserved punishment. More. If the young lady has a brother
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: or a friend, he ought to lay a whip across
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: your shoulders. By jove, he continued, flushing up at the
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: sight the bitter sneer upon the man's face. It is
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: not part of my duties to my client. But here's
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: a hunting crop handy, and I think I shall just
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: treat myself to He took two swift steps to the whip,
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: but before he could grasp it, there was a wild
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: clatter of steps upon the stairs. The heavy hall door banged,
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: and from the window we could see mister James Windebank
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: running at the top of his speed down the road.
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: There's a cold blooded scoundrel, said Holmes, laughing as he
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: threw himself down into his chair once more. That fellow
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: will rise from crime to crime until he does something very,
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: very bad and ends on a gallows. The case has,
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: in some respects been not entirely devoid of interest. I
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning,
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: I remarked, Well, of course, it was obvious from the
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: first that this mister Hosmer Angel must have some strong
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: object for his curious conduct, and it was equally clear
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: that the only man who really profited by the incident,
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: as far as we could see, was the stepfather. Then,
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: the fact that the two men were never together, but
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: that the one always appeared when the other was away,
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: was suggestive. So were the tinted spectacles and the curious voice,
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers.
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: My suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: typewriting his signature, which of course inferred that his handwriting
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: was so familiar to her that she would recognize even
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: the smallest sample of it. You see, all these isolated facts,
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same direction,
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: And how did you verify them? Having once spotted my man,
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: it was easy to get corroboration. I knew the firm
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: for which this man worked. Having taken the printed description,
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: I eliminated everything from it which could be the result
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: of disguise, the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: sent it to the firm with a request that they
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: would inform me whether it answered to the description of
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: any of their travelers. I had already noticed the peculiarities
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: of the typewriter, and I wrote to the man himself
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: at his business address, asking him if he would come
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: here as I expected. His reply was typewritten and revealed
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: the same trivial the characteristic defects. The same post brought
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: me a letter from west House and Marbank of Fenchurch Street,
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: to say that the description tallied in every respect with
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: that of their employee, James Windebank. Voila too, and Miss Sutherland,
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: if I tell her, she will not believe me. You
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: may remember the old Persian saying there is danger for
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: whoso snatches a delusion from a woman. There is as
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: knowledge of the world.
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: A scandal in Bohemia, Sections one through three. Section one
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: to Shulack Holmes, she is always the woman. I have
• 44:44
  Speaker 2: seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In
• 44:48
  Speaker 2: her eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: It was not that he felt any emotion akin to
• 44:58
  Speaker 2: love for Irene. All emotions, and that one particularly were
• 45:05
  Speaker 2: abhorrent to his cold precise but admirably balanced mind. He was,
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: that the world has seen. But as a lover he
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: would have placed himself in a false position. He never
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: spoke of the softer passions, save with the jibe and
• 45:29
  Speaker 2: a sneer. There were admirable things for the observer, excellent
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions. But
• 45:40
  Speaker 2: for the trained reasoner, to admit such intrusions into his
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a
• 45:50
  Speaker 2: distracting factor which might throw a doubt on all his
• 45:54
  Speaker 2: mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument or a crab
• 46:00
  Speaker 2: in one of his own high power lenses would not
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: such as his. And yet there was but one woman
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler,
• 46:17
  Speaker 2: of dubious and questionable memory. I have seen little of
• 46:22
  Speaker 2: Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us away from each other.
• 46:27
  Speaker 2: My own complete happiness and the home centered interests which
• 46:32
  Speaker 2: rise up around the man who first finds himself master
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: of his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb all my attentions.
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: While Holmes who loathed every form of society with his
• 46:47
  Speaker 2: whole bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street,
• 46:55
  Speaker 2: buried among his old books, and altering from weak tweak
• 46:59
  Speaker 2: between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drugs, and
• 47:05
  Speaker 2: the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still,
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: following out these clues and clearing up those mysteries which
• 47:26
  Speaker 2: had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From
• 47:31
  Speaker 2: time to time I heard some vague account of his doings,
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the
• 47:39
  Speaker 2: trip off murder, of his clearing up of the singular
• 47:44
  Speaker 2: tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Tricomalee, and finally of
• 47:50
  Speaker 2: the mission which he had accomplished so delicately and successfully
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: for the reigning family of Holland. On these signs of
• 48:01
  Speaker 2: his activity, however, which I merely shared with all the
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: reachers of the Daily Press, I knew little of my
• 48:09
  Speaker 2: former friend and companion. One night, it was on the
• 48:14
  Speaker 2: twentieth of March eighteen eighty eight. I was returning from
• 48:19
  Speaker 2: a journey to a patient, for I had now returned
• 48:23
  Speaker 2: to civil practice. When my way led me through Baker Street.
• 48:28
  Speaker 2: As I passed the well remembered door, which must always
• 48:32
  Speaker 2: be associated in my mind with my woeing and with
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: the dark incidents of the stoty in Scarlet, I was
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again and
• 48:45
  Speaker 2: to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. His
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: rooms were brilliantly lit, and even as I looked up,
• 48:54
  Speaker 2: I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a
• 48:59
  Speaker 2: dark silhouett against the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly,
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands
• 49:11
  Speaker 2: clasped behind him. To me, who knew his every mood
• 49:15
  Speaker 2: and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story.
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: He was at work again. He had risen out of
• 49:23
  Speaker 2: his drug created dreams, and was hot upon the scent
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: of some new problem. I rang the bell and was
• 49:31
  Speaker 2: shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: part my own. His manner was not effusive, it seldom was,
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: but he was glad, I think to see me, with
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly eye. He
• 49:48
  Speaker 2: waved me an armchair, threw across his taste of cigars,
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: and indicated a spirit case and a guess a gene
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: in the corner. Then he stood before for the fire
• 50:00
  Speaker 2: and looked me over in his singular introspective fashion. Wedlock
• 50:07
  Speaker 2: suits you. He remarked, I think, Watson, that you have
• 50:11
  Speaker 2: put on seven and a half pounds since I saw
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: you seven. I answered, indeed, I should have thought a
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: little more, just a trifle more. I fancy Watson, And
• 50:24
  Speaker 2: in practice again I observed you did not tell me
• 50:28
  Speaker 2: that you intended to go into harness. Then how do
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: you know I see it? I deduce it? How do
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: I know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately?
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: And that you have a most clumsy and careless servant girl,
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: My dear Holmes said I, this is too much. You
• 50:48
  Speaker 2: would certainly have been burned had you lived a few
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: centuries ago. It is true that I had a country
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful mess.
• 50:59
  Speaker 2: But as I have changed my clothes, I can't imagine
• 51:02
  Speaker 2: how you deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is
• 51:05
  Speaker 2: encouragible and my wife has given her notice. But there
• 51:10
  Speaker 2: again I felt to see how you work it out.
• 51:14
  Speaker 2: He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands together.
• 51:19
  Speaker 2: It is simplicity itself, said he. My eyes tell me
• 51:23
  Speaker 2: that on the inside of your left shoe, just where
• 51:26
  Speaker 2: the firelight strikes it, the leather is scourged by six
• 51:31
  Speaker 2: almost parallel cuts. Obviously they have been caused by someone
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: who has very careless scraped around the edges of the
• 51:41
  Speaker 2: souls in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence,
• 51:46
  Speaker 2: you see my double deduction, that you have been out
• 51:51
  Speaker 2: in vile weather, and that you have a particularly malignant
• 51:56
  Speaker 2: boot slitting specimen of the London slavey as to your practice,
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: if a gentleman walks into my room smelling of iodorn,
• 52:07
  Speaker 2: with a black mark of nitrate of silver upon his
• 52:12
  Speaker 2: right forefinger and a budge on the right side of
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: his top hat to show where he has secreted his stethoscope,
• 52:22
  Speaker 2: I must be dull. Indeed, if I did not pronounce
• 52:26
  Speaker 2: him to be an active member of the medical profession,
• 52:30
  Speaker 2: I could not help laughing at the ease with which
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: he examined his process of deduction. When I hear you
• 52:38
  Speaker 2: give your reasons, I remark, the thing always appears to
• 52:42
  Speaker 2: me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily
• 52:46
  Speaker 2: do it myself. Though at each successive instance of your reasoning,
• 52:51
  Speaker 2: I am baffled until you explain your process. And yet
• 52:56
  Speaker 2: I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.
• 52:59
  Speaker 2: Quite so, he answered, lighting a cigarette and throwing himself
• 53:03
  Speaker 2: down into an armchair. You see, but you do not observe.
• 53:08
  Speaker 2: The distinction is here. For example, you have frequently seen
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: Frequently how often, well, some hundred times. Then how many
• 53:21
  Speaker 2: are there? How many? I don't know. Quite so you
• 53:25
  Speaker 2: have not observed, and yet you have seen. That is
• 53:30
  Speaker 2: just my point. Now I know that there are seventeen steps,
• 53:36
  Speaker 2: because I have both seen and observed. By the way,
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: Since you are interested in these little problems, and since
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: you have been good enough to chronicle one or two
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: of my trifling experiences, you may be interested in this.
• 53:52
  Speaker 2: He threw over a sheet of thick, pink tinted notepaper
• 53:56
  Speaker 2: which had been lying upon the table. It came by
• 54:01
  Speaker 2: the last post, said, He read it aloud. The note
• 54:05
  Speaker 2: was undated and without either signature or address. There will
• 54:11
  Speaker 2: call upon you to night at a quarter to eight o'clock,
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: it said a gentleman who desires to consult you upon
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: a matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services
• 54:25
  Speaker 2: to one of the royal houses of Europe have shown
• 54:29
  Speaker 2: that you are one who may safely be trusted with
• 54:34
  Speaker 2: matters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated.
• 54:41
  Speaker 2: This account of you will have from all quarters received,
• 54:46
  Speaker 2: but in your chamber then at that hour, And do
• 54:50
  Speaker 2: not take it amiss if your visitor wears a mask.
• 54:54
  Speaker 2: This is indeed a mystery, I remarked, what do you
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: imagine that it means? I have no data? Yet? It
• 55:02
  Speaker 2: is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.
• 55:07
  Speaker 2: Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead
• 55:12
  Speaker 2: of theories to suit facts. But the note itself, what
• 55:16
  Speaker 2: do you deduce from it? I certainly examined the writing
• 55:20
  Speaker 2: and the paper upon which it was written. The man
• 55:23
  Speaker 2: who wrote it was presumably well to do, I remarked,
• 55:26
  Speaker 2: endeavoring to imitate my companion's process. Such paper could not
• 55:31
  Speaker 2: be bought under half a crown a packet. It is
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: peculiarly strong and stiff, peculiar. That is the very word,
• 55:41
  Speaker 2: said Holmes. It is not an English paper at all.
• 55:44
  Speaker 2: Hold it up to the light. I did sew and
• 55:48
  Speaker 2: saw a large E with a small G, a P
• 55:52
  Speaker 2: and a large G with a small T woven into
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: the texture of the paper. What do you make of that,
• 56:01
  Speaker 2: asked Holmes. The name of the maker, no doubt, or
• 56:05
  Speaker 2: his monogram, rather not at all. The G with a
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: small T stands for Gesselchecht, which is German for company.
• 56:15
  Speaker 2: It is a customary contraction like our co. P, of
• 56:20
  Speaker 2: course stands for paper. Now for the eg that us
• 56:26
  Speaker 2: glance at our continual gazetteer. He took down a heavy
• 56:31
  Speaker 2: brown volume from his shelves, glow Eglos. Here we are Igoria.
• 56:39
  Speaker 2: It is in a German speaking country in Bohemia, not
• 56:44
  Speaker 2: far from Carlsbad, remarkably as being the scene of the
• 56:50
  Speaker 2: death of Woenstein, and for its numerous glass factories and
• 56:56
  Speaker 2: paper mills. Ha ha, my boy, what do you make
• 57:00
  Speaker 2: of that? His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a
• 57:04
  Speaker 2: great blue triumphant cloud from his cigarette. The paper was
• 57:08
  Speaker 2: made in Bohemia, I said, precisely. And the man who
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: wrote the note is a German do you know the
• 57:16
  Speaker 2: particular contraction of the sentence This account of you we
• 57:20
  Speaker 2: have from all quarters received. A Frenchman or Russian could
• 57:25
  Speaker 2: not have written that. It is the German who is
• 57:28
  Speaker 2: so uncounterrous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: discover what is wanted by this German who writes upon
• 57:39
  Speaker 2: Bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing his face.
• 57:45
  Speaker 2: And here he comes, if I am not mistaken, to
• 57:47
  Speaker 2: resolve all our doubts. As he spoke, there's the sharp
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: sound of horses hoofs and the grating wheels against the curb,
• 57:55
  Speaker 2: followed by a sharp pull at the bell. Holmes, whistled
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: by the sound, said he yes, He continued, glancing out
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: of the window. A nice little bragman and a pair
• 58:08
  Speaker 2: of beauties one hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money
• 58:12
  Speaker 2: in this case, Watson, if there is nothing else, I
• 58:17
  Speaker 2: think that I had better go, Holmes, not a bit, doctor,
• 58:21
  Speaker 2: Stay where you are. I am lost without my boswell,
• 58:26
  Speaker 2: and that promises to be interesting. It would be a
• 58:30
  Speaker 2: pity to miss it. But your client never mind him.
• 58:34
  Speaker 2: I may want your help, and so may he. Here
• 58:37
  Speaker 2: he comes, Sit down, in that armchair, doctor, and give
• 58:41
  Speaker 2: us your best attention. A slow and heavy step which
• 58:46
  Speaker 2: had been heard upon the stairs and in the passage,
• 58:51
  Speaker 2: paused immediately outside the door. Then there was a loud
• 58:56
  Speaker 2: and authoritative come, said Holmes. A man entered, who could
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: hardly have been less than six feet six inches in height,
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: with the chest and limbers of a hercules. His dress
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: was rich with a richness which would in England be
• 59:18
  Speaker 2: looked upon as a kin to bad taste. Heavy bands
• 59:23
  Speaker 2: of astrakan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of
• 59:29
  Speaker 2: his double breasted coat, while the deep blue coat which
• 59:35
  Speaker 2: was thrown over his shoulders was lined with flame colored
• 59:40
  Speaker 2: silk and secured at the neck with a brooch which
• 59:45
  Speaker 2: consisted of a single flaming burial. Boots which extended halfway
• 59:51
  Speaker 2: up his calls, and which were trimmed at the tops
• 59:56
  Speaker 2: with rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence,
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 2: which was suggested by the whole appearance. He carried a
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 2: broad brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 2: the upper part of his face, extending down the past
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 2: the cheek bones of black vizard mask, which he had
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 2: apparently adjusted that very moment, for his hand was still
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 2: raised to it as he entered from the lower part
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 2: of the face. He appeared to be a man of
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 2: strong character, with a thick, hanging lip and a long,
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 2: straight chin, suggestive of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 2: You had my note, he asked, with a deep, harsh
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 2: voice and a strongly marked German accent. I told you
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 2: that I would call. He looked from one to the
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 2: other of us, as if uncertain which to address. Pray,
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 2: take a seat, said Holmes. This is my friend and
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 2: calling doctor Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 2: me in my cases, whom have I the honor to address.
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 2: You may address me as Count von Cram, a Bohemian nobleman.
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 2: I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 2: of honor and discretion, whom I may trust with a
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 2: matter of the most extreme importance. If not, I should
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 2: much prefer to communicate with you alone. I rose to go,
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 2: but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 2: back into my chair. It is both or none, said he.
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 2: You may see before this gentleman, anything which you may
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 2: say to me. The Count shrugged, his broad shoulders. Then
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 2: I must begin, said he, by binding you both to
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 2: absolute secrecy for two years. At the end of that time,
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 2: the matter will be of no importance at present. It
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 2: is too much to say that it is of such
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 2: weight it may have an influence upon European history, I promise,
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: said Holmes. And I you may excuse this mask, counted
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 2: our strange visitor. The august person who employs me wishes
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 2: his agent to be unknown to you. And I may
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 2: confess at once that the title by which I have
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 2: just called myself is not exactly my own. I was
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 2: aware of it, said Holmes dryly. The circumstances are of
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 2: great delicacy, and every precaution has to be taken to
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 2: quench what might grow to be an immense scandal, and
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 2: seriously compromise one of the ranging families of Europe. To
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 2: speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House of Amstein,
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 2: hereditary kings of Bohemia. I was also aware of that,
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 2: murmured Holmes, setting himself down in his armchair, closing his eyes.
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 2: Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the lugid,
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 2: longing figure of the man who had been no doubt
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 2: depicted to him as the most insensitive reasoner, a most
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 2: energetic agent in Europe. Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 2: looked impatiently at his gigantic client. If your majesty would
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 2: condescend to state your case, he remarked, I should be
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 2: better able to advise you. The man sprang from his
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 2: chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation. Then,
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 2: with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 2: his face and hurled it upon the ground. You are right,
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 2: he cried, I am the king. Why should I attempt
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 2: to conceal it? Why do you murmured Holmes. Your Majesty
• 1:04:02
  Speaker 2: had not spoken before I was aware that I was
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 2: addressing William Gotstrich Sigmund van Armstrom, Grand Duke of Cassel
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 2: Flacine and hereditary King of Bohemia. But you can understand,
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 2: said our strange visitor, sitting down once more, and passing
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 2: his hand over his high white forehead. You can understand
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 2: that I am not accustomed to doing such business in
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 2: my own person, that I could not confide it to
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 2: an agent without putting myself in his power. I have
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 2: come incognito from pregou from the purpose of consulting you.
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 2: Then pray consult said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more.
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 2: The facts are briefly these. Some five years ago, during
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 2: a lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 2: the well known adventurous Irene Adler. The name is no
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 2: doubt familiar to you. Kindly look her up in my index,
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 2: doctor murmured Holmes, without opening his eyes. For many years
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 2: he had adopted a system of docking all paragraphs concerning
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 2: men and things, so that it was difficult to name
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 2: a subject or a person on which he could not
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 2: at once furnish information. In this case, I found her
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 2: biography sandwiched in between that of Hebrew rabbi and that
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 2: of staff commander, who had written a monograph upon the
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 2: deep seafishes. Let me see, said Holmes. Hum born in
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 2: New Jersey in the year in eighteen fifty eight contreta
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 2: hum Let's call Prima Donna in real opera of Warsaw.
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 2: Yes retired from the operatic stage. Ha living in London.
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 2: Quite so, your majesty, as I understand, become entangled with
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 2: this young person, wrote her some comprising letters, and is
• 1:06:18
  Speaker 2: now desirous of getting these letters back psisely so, But
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 2: how was there a secret marriage? None? No legal papers
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 2: or certificates. None. Then I failed to follow your majesty.
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 2: If this young person should produce her letters from blackmailing
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 2: or other purposes, how is she to prove their authenticity?
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 2: There is writing, poo pooh forgery, my private notepaper, stolen,
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 2: my own seal, imitated my photograph, but we were both
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 2: in the photograph. Oh dear, that is very bad. Your
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 2: Majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion. I was mad, insane.
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 2: You have compromised yourself. Seriously, I was only crown prince
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 2: then I was young. I am but thirty. Now it
• 1:07:16
  Speaker 2: must be recovered. We have tried and failed. Your Majesty
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 2: must pay. It must be bold. She will not sell stolen.
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 2: Then five attempts have been made, twice burglars in my pay,
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 2: ransacked her house once, we diverted her luggage when she
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 2: traveled twice. She had been waylaid. There has been no result,
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 2: no sign of it, absolutely none. Holmes left. It is
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 2: quite a pretty little problem, said he, but a very
• 1:07:50
  Speaker 2: serious one to me, returned the King reproachfully, very indeed,
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 2: what does she propose to do with the photograph to
• 1:07:59
  Speaker 2: ruin me? But how I am about to be married?
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 2: So I have heard to Claudiaulorman Vlna Saxey Monteguyn, second
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 2: daughter of the King of Scandinavia. You may know that
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 2: strict principles of her family, she is herself the very
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 2: soul of delicacy. A shadow of a doubt as to
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 2: my conduct would bring the matter to an end. And
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 2: Irene Acler threatens to send him a photograph, and she
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 2: will do it. I know that she will do it.
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 2: You do not know her, but she has a soul
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 2: of steel. She has the faith of the most beautiful
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 2: of woman and the mind of the most resolute of men.
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 2: Rather than I should marry another woman, there are no
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 2: lengths to which she would not go none. You are
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 2: sure that she has not sent it yet. I am sure?
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 2: And why because she has said that she would send
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 2: it on the day when the patrol, though was publicly proclaimed,
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 2: that would be next Monday. Oh, then we have three
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 2: days yet, said Holmes, with a own. That is very fortunate,
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 2: as I have one or two matters of importance to
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 2: look into just at present. Your majesty will of course
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 2: stay in London for the present. Certainly you will find
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 2: me at the long Ram under the name of the
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 2: Count Vaughan Kram. Then I shall drop you a line
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 2: to let you know how we progress. Pray do so
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 2: I shall be our anxiety. Then that's too money you have,
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 2: Catti blanche. Absolutely I tell you that I would give
• 1:09:45
  Speaker 2: one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 2: photograph and for the present expenses. The King took a
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 2: heavy chamos leather bag from under his cloak and laid
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 2: it on the table. There are three hundred pounds in
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 2: a gold and seven hundred in notes, he said. Holmes
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 2: gribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his notebook and
• 1:10:09
  Speaker 2: handed it to him. And Mademoiselle's address, he asked, is
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 2: Browny Lodge, Supritim Avenue, Saint John's Wood. Holmes took a
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 2: note of it. What other question? Said? He was to
• 1:10:24
  Speaker 2: photograph a cabinet. It was then good night you, your majesty,
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 2: and I trust that we shall soon have some good
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 2: news for you. And good night Watson, he added, as
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 2: the wheels of the Royal Brogham rolled down the street.
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 2: If you will be good enough to call tomorrow afternoon
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 2: at three o'clock. I should like to chat this little
• 1:10:50
  Speaker 2: matter over with you. End of Section one, Section two.
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 2: At three o'clock precisely, I was at Baker Street, but
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 2: Holmes had not yet returned. The landlady informed me that
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 2: he had left the house shortly after eight o'clock in
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 2: the morning. I sat down beside the fire, however, with
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 2: the intention of awaiting him, however long he might be.
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 2: I was already deeply interested in his inquiry, for though
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 2: it was surrounded by none of the grim and strange
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 2: features which were associated with the two crimes which I
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 2: have already recorded, still the nature of the case and
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 2: the exalted station of his client gave it a character
• 1:11:46
  Speaker 2: of its own. Indeed, apart from the nature of the
• 1:11:50
  Speaker 2: investigation which my friend had on hand, there was something
• 1:11:55
  Speaker 2: in his masterly grasp of a situation and seen incisive reasoning,
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 2: which made it a pleasure to me to study his
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 2: system of work and to follow the quick, subtle methods
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 2: by which he distinguished the most inextractable mysteries. So accustomed
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 2: was I to his invariable success, that the very possibility
• 1:12:24
  Speaker 2: of his felling had ceased to enter into my head.
• 1:12:29
  Speaker 2: It was close upon four before the door opened, and
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 2: a drunken looking groom, ill kept and sighed, whiskered, with
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 2: an inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room.
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 2: Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 2: the use of disguises, I had to look three times
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 2: before I was certain that it was indeed, he was
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 2: a nod. He vanished into the bedroom. Whence he emerged
• 1:13:04
  Speaker 2: in five minutes, two suited and respectable as of old.
• 1:13:11
  Speaker 2: Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 2: legs in front of the fire, and laughing heartily for
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 2: some minutes. Well really, he cried, and then he choked
• 1:13:25
  Speaker 2: and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back,
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 2: limp and helpless in the chair. What is it? It's quite
• 1:13:32
  Speaker 2: too funny. I am sure you could never guess how
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 2: I employed my morning or what I ended by doing.
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine. I suppose that you have been watching
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 2: the habits and perhaps the house of Miss Irene Adler
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 2: quite so, but the sequel was rather unusual. I will
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 2: tell you, however. I left the house a little after
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 2: eight o'clock this morning, in the character of a groom
• 1:14:02
  Speaker 2: out of walk. There is a wonderful sympathy and freemasonry
• 1:14:08
  Speaker 2: among horsey men. But one of them and you will
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 2: know all that there is snow. I soon found Broughtney Launch.
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 2: It is a basu villa with a garden at the back,
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 2: but built on it front right up to the road.
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 2: Two stories chirp lock to the door, large sitting room
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 2: on the right side, well furnished with long windows almost
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 2: to the floor, and those prosperous English window fasteners which
• 1:14:44
  Speaker 2: a child could open behind. There was nothing remarkable save
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 2: the passage window could be reached from the top of
• 1:14:54
  Speaker 2: the cook hill. I walked round it and examined it
• 1:15:00
  Speaker 2: moly from every point of view, but without nothing anything
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 2: else of interest. I then lodged down the street and found,
• 1:15:09
  Speaker 2: as I expected, that there was a news in a
• 1:15:13
  Speaker 2: lane which runs down by one wall of the garden.
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 2: I went the ostler's hand in rubbing down their houses,
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 2: and received in exchange two pence a glass of half
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 2: and half, two fills of shagged tobacco, and as much
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 2: information as I could desire about miss Adler, to say
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 2: nothing of half a dozen other people in the neighborhood
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 2: in whom I was not in the least interested by,
• 1:15:45
  Speaker 2: whose biographies I was compelled to listen to. And what
• 1:15:50
  Speaker 2: if I re nadler, I asked, Oh, she has turned
• 1:15:54
  Speaker 2: all the men's heads down in that part. She is
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 2: the daintiest thing under a boone on the planet, so
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 2: say the Suprentine News to a man. She lives quietly,
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 2: things at concerts, drives out at five every day and
• 1:16:14
  Speaker 2: returns at seven shop for dinner. Seldom goes out at
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 2: other times except when she sings. Has only one male visitor,
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 2: but a good deal of him. He is dark, handsome
• 1:16:27
  Speaker 2: and dashing. Never calls less than once a day, and
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 2: often twice. He is mister Godfrey Norton of the Inner Temple,
• 1:16:40
  Speaker 2: see the advantages of a cabman as a confident. They
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 2: have driven him home a dozen of times from Serpentine News,
• 1:16:49
  Speaker 2: and knew all about him. When I had listened to
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 2: all they had to tell, I begun to walk up
• 1:16:57
  Speaker 2: and down near bryany Lord once more, and to think
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 2: over my plan of campaign. This goldfray nor In was
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 2: evidently an important factor in the matter. He was a lawyer.
• 1:17:13
  Speaker 2: That sounded ominous. What was the relation between them, and
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 2: what the object of his repeated visits. Was she his client,
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 2: friend or his mistress. If the former, she had probably
• 1:17:31
  Speaker 2: transferred the photograph to his keeping. If the later, it
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 2: was less likely. On the issue of this question deepened
• 1:17:41
  Speaker 2: whether I should continue my work at Briny Lodge or
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 2: turned my attention to the gentleman's chambers in the temple.
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 2: It was a delicate point, and it wanted the field
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 2: of my inquiry. I fear that I bore you with
• 1:17:59
  Speaker 2: the details, but I have to let you see my
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 2: little difficulties. If you are to understand the situation. I
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 2: am following you closely, I answered. I was still balancing
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 2: the matter in my mind when a handsome cab drove
• 1:18:16
  Speaker 2: up to a briny lodge and a gentleman sprang out.
• 1:18:21
  Speaker 2: He was a remarkably handsome man, dark aquiline and mustached,
• 1:18:27
  Speaker 2: evidently the man of whom I have heard. He appeared
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 2: to be in a great hurry, shouted to the cabman
• 1:18:37
  Speaker 2: to wait, and brushed past the maid, who opened the
• 1:18:41
  Speaker 2: door with the air of a man who was thoroughly
• 1:18:45
  Speaker 2: at home. He was in the house about half an hour,
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 2: and I could catch glimpses of him in the windows
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 2: of the sitting room, pacing up and down, talking excitedly,
• 1:18:59
  Speaker 2: and waving his arms of her. I could see nothing.
• 1:19:03
  Speaker 2: Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than before. As
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 2: he stepped up into the cab, he pulled a gold
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 2: wash from his pocket and looked at it earnestly. Drive
• 1:19:17
  Speaker 2: like the devil, he shouted, first to cross on Hungres
• 1:19:21
  Speaker 2: in ragged streak, and then to the Church of Saint
• 1:19:24
  Speaker 2: Monica in Edgar Road. Half a guinea if you do
• 1:19:28
  Speaker 2: it in twenty minutes away they went, and I was
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 2: just wondering whether I should not do well to follow them,
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 2: when up the lane came a neat little Landeau the coachman,
• 1:19:42
  Speaker 2: with his coat only half buttoned and his tie under
• 1:19:47
  Speaker 2: his ear, while all the tags of his harness were
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 2: sticking out of the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before
• 1:19:56
  Speaker 2: she shot out of the hall door, and it I
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 2: only caught a glimpse of her at the moment, but
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 2: she was a lovely woman with a face that a
• 1:20:07
  Speaker 2: man might die for the Church of Saint Monica, John,
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 2: she cried, And half a sovereign if you reach it
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 2: in twenty minutes this was quite too good to lose, Watson.
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 2: I was just balancing whether I should run for it
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 2: or whether I should perch behind her landeau. When a
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 2: cab came through the street. The driver looked twice at
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 2: such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he
• 1:20:34
  Speaker 2: could object. The Church of Saint Monica, said I and
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 2: half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 2: It was twenty five minutes to twelve, and of course
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 2: it was clear enough what was in the wind. My
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 2: cabby drove fast. I don't think I ever drove faster.
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 2: But the others were there before us, the cab and
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 2: the land you with their steaming horses, or in front
• 1:21:01
  Speaker 2: of the door. When I arrived, I paid the man
• 1:21:04
  Speaker 2: and hurried into the church. There was not a soul
• 1:21:08
  Speaker 2: there save the two whom I had followed, and a
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 2: surpliced clergyman who seemed to be expostulating with them. They
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 2: were all three standing in a nord in front of
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 2: the altar. I longed up the side a stile, like
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 2: any other idler who has dropped into a church. Suddenly,
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 2: to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 2: me and Godfrey Norton came, running as hard as he
• 1:21:41
  Speaker 2: could toward me. Hey, he cried, you'll do Come? Come what? Then?
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 2: I asked, come on, come only three minutes or it
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 2: won't be legal. I was half dragged up to the altar,
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 2: and before I knew where I was, I found myself
• 1:21:59
  Speaker 2: mumbling respe answers which were whispered in my ear, and
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 2: vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and generally
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 2: assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler Spinster
• 1:22:14
  Speaker 2: to God Freignole in Bachelor. It was all done in
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 2: an instant, and there was the gentleman thanking me on
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 2: the one side and the lady on the other, while
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 2: the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was the
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 2: most preposterous position in which I ever found in my life,
• 1:22:35
  Speaker 2: and it was the thought of it that startled me
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 2: into laughing. Just now seems that there had been some
• 1:22:43
  Speaker 2: informality about the license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to
• 1:22:49
  Speaker 2: marry them without a witness of some sort, and that
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 2: my lucky appearance saved the bridegroom from having to sully
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 2: out to the streets in search of a best man.
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 2: The bride gave me a sovereign and I mean to
• 1:23:06
  Speaker 2: weigh on my watch chain in memory of the occasion.
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 2: That is a very unexpected turn of affairs, said I.
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 2: And what then, Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced.
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 2: It looked as if the pair might take an immediate departure,
• 1:23:26
  Speaker 2: and so necessity very prompt and energetic mentures on my part.
• 1:23:33
  Speaker 2: At the church door, however, they separated, he driving back
• 1:23:38
  Speaker 2: to the temple, and she to her own house. I
• 1:23:41
  Speaker 2: shall drive out into the pocket five as usual, she said,
• 1:23:45
  Speaker 2: as she left him. I heard no more. They drove
• 1:23:49
  Speaker 2: away in different directions, and I went off to make
• 1:23:53
  Speaker 2: my own arrangements, which are some cold beef and a
• 1:23:57
  Speaker 2: glass of beer, he answered, ringing the bell. I have
• 1:24:02
  Speaker 2: been too busy to think of food, and I am
• 1:24:05
  Speaker 2: likely to be booster still this evening. By the way, doctor,
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 2: I shall want your co operation. I shall be delighted.
• 1:24:16
  Speaker 2: You don't mind breaking the law, not in the least,
• 1:24:20
  Speaker 2: nor running a chance of arrest, not in a good cause. Oh,
• 1:24:25
  Speaker 2: the case is excellent. Then I am your man. I
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 2: was sure that I might rely on you. But what
• 1:24:32
  Speaker 2: do you wish? When Miss Turner has brought in the tray.
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 2: I will make it clear to you now, he said,
• 1:24:39
  Speaker 2: as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that our
• 1:24:44
  Speaker 2: landlady had provided. I must discuss it while I eat,
• 1:24:48
  Speaker 2: for I have not much time. It is nearly five now.
• 1:24:52
  Speaker 2: In two hours we must be on the scene of action.
• 1:24:56
  Speaker 2: Miss Irene or Madame rather return from her drive. At seven.
• 1:25:03
  Speaker 2: We must be at Bryany launch to meet her. And
• 1:25:07
  Speaker 2: what then? You leave that to me? I have already
• 1:25:10
  Speaker 2: arranged what is to occur. There is only one point
• 1:25:13
  Speaker 2: on which I must insist. You must not interfere. Come.
• 1:25:18
  Speaker 2: What may you understand? I am to be neutral, to
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 2: do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small unpleasantness.
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 2: Do not join in it. It will end in my
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 2: being conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards.
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 2: The sitting room window will be open. You are to
• 1:25:41
  Speaker 2: station yourself close to that open window. Yes, you are
• 1:25:45
  Speaker 2: to watch me, for I have been visible to you. Yes.
• 1:25:50
  Speaker 2: I When I raise my hand so you will throw
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 2: into the room what I give you to throw, and
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 2: will at the same time raise the cry of fire.
• 1:26:03
  Speaker 2: You quite follow me entirely. It is nothing more formidable,
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 2: he said, taking a long cigar shaped row from his pocket.
• 1:26:15
  Speaker 2: It is an ordinary plumber's smoke rocket, fitted with a
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 2: cap at either end to make it self lighting. Your
• 1:26:24
  Speaker 2: task is confined to that when you raise your cry
• 1:26:29
  Speaker 2: of fire, it will be taken up by quite a
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 2: number of people. You may then walk to the end
• 1:26:38
  Speaker 2: of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten minutes.
• 1:26:42
  Speaker 2: I hope that I have made myself clear. I am
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 2: to remain neutral, to get near the window to watch you,
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 2: and at your signal to throw this object, than to
• 1:26:52
  Speaker 2: raise the cry of fire, and to wait you at
• 1:26:57
  Speaker 2: the corner of the street precise then you may entirely
• 1:27:03
  Speaker 2: rely on me. That is excellent. I think perhaps it
• 1:27:09
  Speaker 2: is almost time that I prepare for the new role
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 2: I have to play. He disappeared into his bedroom and
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 2: returned in a few minutes in the character of an
• 1:27:22
  Speaker 2: amiable and simple minded non conformist clergyman. His broad black hat,
• 1:27:30
  Speaker 2: his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and
• 1:27:36
  Speaker 2: general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as
• 1:27:42
  Speaker 2: mister John Hare alone could have equalled. It is not
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 2: merely that Holmes changed his costume, his expression, his manner,
• 1:27:52
  Speaker 2: his very soul seemed to vary every fresh part that
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 2: he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as
• 1:28:02
  Speaker 2: science lost an acute reasoner when he became a specialist Inclme.
• 1:28:08
  Speaker 2: It was a quarta pass six when we left Baker Street,
• 1:28:12
  Speaker 2: and it still wanted ten minutes to the hour when
• 1:28:16
  Speaker 2: we found ourselves in Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk,
• 1:28:23
  Speaker 2: and the laps were just being lightened as we paced
• 1:28:27
  Speaker 2: up and down in front of Briny Lodge, waiting for
• 1:28:32
  Speaker 2: the coming of its occupant. The house was just such
• 1:28:37
  Speaker 2: as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes's securent description,
• 1:28:44
  Speaker 2: but the locally appeared to be less private than I expected.
• 1:28:49
  Speaker 2: On the contrary, for a small street in a quiet neighborhood,
• 1:28:53
  Speaker 2: it was remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 2: dressed men smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors
• 1:29:05
  Speaker 2: grinder with his will, two guardsmen who were flirting with
• 1:29:11
  Speaker 2: a nurse girl, and several well dressed young men who
• 1:29:15
  Speaker 2: were laughing up and down with cigars in their mouths.
• 1:29:21
  Speaker 2: You see, remarked Holmes, as we pass to and fro
• 1:29:25
  Speaker 2: in front of the house. This marriage rather simplifies matters.
• 1:29:30
  Speaker 2: The photograph becomes a double edged weapon. Now, the chances
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 2: are that she would be as averse to its being
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 2: seen by mister Godfrey Norton as our client is to
• 1:29:44
  Speaker 2: coming to the eyes of his princess. Now the question
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 2: is where are we to find the photograph?
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 4: Where?
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 2: Indeed, it is most unlikely that she carries it about
• 1:29:57
  Speaker 2: with her. It is cabinet sized, too large for easy
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 2: concealment about a woman's dress. She knows that the king
• 1:30:05
  Speaker 2: is capable of having her waylaid and searched. Two attempts
• 1:30:11
  Speaker 2: of the sort have already been made. We may take
• 1:30:14
  Speaker 2: it then, that she does not carry it about with her.
• 1:30:17
  Speaker 2: Where then her banker or her lawyer. There is that
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 2: double possibility, But I am inclined to think neither. Women
• 1:30:26
  Speaker 2: are naturally secretive, and they like to do their own secreting.
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 2: Why should she have it over to anyone else? She
• 1:30:37
  Speaker 2: could trust her own guardsmanship, but she could not tell
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 2: what indirect or political influence might be brought to bear
• 1:30:47
  Speaker 2: upon a business man. Besides, remember that she had resolved
• 1:30:52
  Speaker 2: to use it within a few days. It must be
• 1:30:55
  Speaker 2: where she can lay her hands upon it. It must
• 1:30:58
  Speaker 2: be in her own house. But it has twice been
• 1:31:02
  Speaker 2: burgled saw. They did not know how to look. But
• 1:31:08
  Speaker 2: how will you look? I will not look what then?
• 1:31:13
  Speaker 2: I will get her to show me, But she will refuse.
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 2: She will not be able to. But I hear the
• 1:31:20
  Speaker 2: rumble of wheels. It is her carriage. Now carry out
• 1:31:25
  Speaker 2: my orders to the letter. As he spoke, the gleam
• 1:31:29
  Speaker 2: of the side lights of a carriage came round the
• 1:31:34
  Speaker 2: curve of the avenue. It was a smart little ladueu
• 1:31:39
  Speaker 2: which rattled up to the door of grimy lodge. As
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 2: it pulled up, one of the loafing's men at that
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 2: corner dashed forward to open the door in the hope
• 1:31:54
  Speaker 2: of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by another
• 1:31:58
  Speaker 2: loafer who had had rushed up with the same intention.
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 2: A fierce corarel broke out, which was increased by the
• 1:32:08
  Speaker 2: two godsmen, who took sides with one of the longers,
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 2: and by the scissors grinder, who was equally hot upon
• 1:32:19
  Speaker 2: the other side. A blow was struck, and in an
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 2: instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage was
• 1:32:27
  Speaker 2: the center of a little law of flourish and struggling
• 1:32:31
  Speaker 2: men who struck savagely at each other with their fists
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 2: and sticks. Homes dashed into the crowd to protect the lady,
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 2: but just as he reached her, he gave a cry
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 2: and dropped to the ground, with the blood running freely
• 1:32:49
  Speaker 2: down his face. At his fall, the guardsmen took their
• 1:32:54
  Speaker 2: heels in one direction and the longers in the other,
• 1:32:58
  Speaker 2: while a number of better dressed people who had watched
• 1:33:03
  Speaker 2: the suffice without taking part in it, crowded in to
• 1:33:07
  Speaker 2: help the lady and to attend to the injured man.
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 2: Irene Adler, as I will still call her, had hurried
• 1:33:16
  Speaker 2: up the steps, but she stood at the top with
• 1:33:20
  Speaker 2: her superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall,
• 1:33:25
  Speaker 2: looking back into the street. Is the poor gentleman much hurt?
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 2: She asked? He is dead, cried several voices. No, no,
• 1:33:36
  Speaker 2: there's life in him, shouted another. But he'll be gone
• 1:33:39
  Speaker 2: before you can get him to hospital. Here's a brave fellow,
• 1:33:44
  Speaker 2: said a woman. They would have got the lady's person
• 1:33:47
  Speaker 2: watch if it hadn't been for him. They were again,
• 1:33:51
  Speaker 2: and a rough one too. Ah, he's breathing now. He
• 1:33:55
  Speaker 2: can't lie here in the streets. May we bring him in,
• 1:33:57
  Speaker 2: marm surely, bring him into the sitting room. There's a
• 1:34:02
  Speaker 2: comfortable sofa. This way, please slowly and solemnly. He was
• 1:34:07
  Speaker 2: born into the Rhymery Lodge and laid into the principal room,
• 1:34:13
  Speaker 2: while I still observed the proceedings from my host. By
• 1:34:18
  Speaker 2: the window, the lamps had been lit, but the blinds
• 1:34:22
  Speaker 2: had been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as
• 1:34:27
  Speaker 2: he lay upon the couch. I do not know whether
• 1:34:30
  Speaker 2: he was seized with compunction at that moment for the
• 1:34:35
  Speaker 2: part he was playing. But I know that I never
• 1:34:38
  Speaker 2: felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life than
• 1:34:43
  Speaker 2: when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was conspiring,
• 1:34:49
  Speaker 2: or the grace and kindliness with which she waited upon
• 1:34:53
  Speaker 2: the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest
• 1:34:58
  Speaker 2: treachery to Holmes to draw back now from the part
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 2: which he had entrusted to me. I hardened my heart
• 1:35:07
  Speaker 2: and took the smoke rocket from under my ulster. After all,
• 1:35:12
  Speaker 2: I thought, we are not injuring her. We are but
• 1:35:15
  Speaker 2: preventing her from injuring another. Holmes had sat up upon
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 2: the couch, and I saw him mention like a man
• 1:35:23
  Speaker 2: who is in need of air. A maid rushed across
• 1:35:27
  Speaker 2: the thrave opened the window. At the same instant I
• 1:35:31
  Speaker 2: saw him raise his hand, and at the signal, I
• 1:35:35
  Speaker 2: tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of fire.
• 1:35:39
  Speaker 2: The word was no sooner out of my mouth than
• 1:35:43
  Speaker 2: the whole crowd of spectators, well dressed and ill, gentlemen,
• 1:35:49
  Speaker 2: oysters and servant maids, joined in the general shriek of fire.
• 1:35:56
  Speaker 2: Thick clouds of smoke curled through the room and out
• 1:36:00
  Speaker 2: those open windows. I caught a glimpse of rushing fingers,
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 2: and a moment later the voice of Holmes from within,
• 1:36:08
  Speaker 2: assuring them that it was a false alarm. Slipping through
• 1:36:12
  Speaker 2: the shouting crowd, I made my way to the corner
• 1:36:15
  Speaker 2: of the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to
• 1:36:18
  Speaker 2: find my friend's arm in mine and to get away
• 1:36:22
  Speaker 2: from the scene of uproar. He walked swiftly and in
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 2: silence for some few minutes until we had turned down
• 1:36:32
  Speaker 2: on one of the quiet streets which led towards the
• 1:36:37
  Speaker 2: Edguar road. You did it very nicely, doctor, he remarked,
• 1:36:42
  Speaker 2: Nothing could have been better. It is all right. You
• 1:36:46
  Speaker 2: have the photograph. I knew where it is, and how
• 1:36:50
  Speaker 2: did you find out? She showed me as I told
• 1:36:53
  Speaker 2: you she would. I am still in the dark. I
• 1:36:58
  Speaker 2: do wish to make a mystery, said he, laughing. The
• 1:37:01
  Speaker 2: matter was perfectly simple. You are, of course, saw that
• 1:37:06
  Speaker 2: everyone in the street was an accomplice. They were all
• 1:37:10
  Speaker 2: engaged for the evening. I guessed as much. Then when
• 1:37:16
  Speaker 2: the row broke out, I had a little moist red
• 1:37:19
  Speaker 2: paint in the palm of my hand. I rushed forward,
• 1:37:23
  Speaker 2: fell down, clapped my hand to my face, and became
• 1:37:26
  Speaker 2: a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick that also
• 1:37:32
  Speaker 2: I could fathom. Then they carried me in. She was
• 1:37:36
  Speaker 2: bound to have me in what else could she do,
• 1:37:40
  Speaker 2: And into her sitting room, which was the very room
• 1:37:44
  Speaker 2: which I suspected it lay between that and her bedroom,
• 1:37:48
  Speaker 2: and I was determined to see which. They laid me
• 1:37:53
  Speaker 2: on a couch. I motioned for air. They were compelled
• 1:37:57
  Speaker 2: to open the window. And you chance, how did that
• 1:38:02
  Speaker 2: help you? It was all important. When a woman thinks
• 1:38:06
  Speaker 2: that her house is on fire, her instinct is at
• 1:38:09
  Speaker 2: once to rush to the thing which she values most.
• 1:38:13
  Speaker 2: It is a perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have more
• 1:38:18
  Speaker 2: than once taken advantage of it. In the case of
• 1:38:22
  Speaker 2: the Darlington substitution, scandal. It was of use to me,
• 1:38:27
  Speaker 2: and also in the Arnsworth Castle business. A married woman
• 1:38:34
  Speaker 2: grabs at her baby, an unmarried one reaches for her
• 1:38:37
  Speaker 2: jewelry box. Now it was clear to me that our
• 1:38:41
  Speaker 2: lady of today had nothing in the house more precious
• 1:38:46
  Speaker 2: to her than what we are in quest of. She
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 2: would rush to secure it. The alarm of the fire
• 1:38:52
  Speaker 2: was admiringly done. The smoke and shouting were enough to
• 1:38:56
  Speaker 2: shake nerves of steel. She responded, beautifully. The photograph is
• 1:39:02
  Speaker 2: in a recuse behind a slighting panel, just above the
• 1:39:06
  Speaker 2: right bell pull. She was there in an instant, and
• 1:39:11
  Speaker 2: I caught a glimpse of it as she half drew
• 1:39:14
  Speaker 2: it out. When I cried out that it was a
• 1:39:16
  Speaker 2: false alarm, she replaced it, glancing at the rocket, rushed
• 1:39:21
  Speaker 2: from the room, and I have not seen her since
• 1:39:25
  Speaker 2: I rose, and, making my excuses, escaped from the house.
• 1:39:30
  Speaker 2: I hesitated whether to attempt to secure the photograph at once,
• 1:39:36
  Speaker 2: but the coachman had come in, and as he was
• 1:39:39
  Speaker 2: watching me narrowly, it seemed safer to wait a little
• 1:39:44
  Speaker 2: over Precipitates may ruin all. And now I asked, our
• 1:39:51
  Speaker 2: quest is practically finished, I shall call with the King
• 1:39:55
  Speaker 2: tomorrow and with you, if you care to come with us,
• 1:40:00
  Speaker 2: we will be showed into the sitting room to wait
• 1:40:04
  Speaker 2: for the lady. But it is probable that when she
• 1:40:07
  Speaker 2: comes she may find neither us nor the photograph. It
• 1:40:12
  Speaker 2: might be a satisfaction to his Majesty to regain it
• 1:40:16
  Speaker 2: with his own hands. And when will you call? At
• 1:40:19
  Speaker 2: eight in the morning, she will not be up, so
• 1:40:23
  Speaker 2: that we shall have a clear field. Besides, we must
• 1:40:28
  Speaker 2: be prompt, for this marriage may mean a complete change
• 1:40:32
  Speaker 2: in her life and habits. I must wire to the
• 1:40:36
  Speaker 2: King without delay. We had reached Baker Street and had
• 1:40:40
  Speaker 2: stopped at the door. He was searching his pockets for
• 1:40:44
  Speaker 2: the key, when someone passing said good night, mister Sherlock Holmes.
• 1:40:50
  Speaker 2: There were several people on the pavement at the time,
• 1:40:54
  Speaker 2: but the greeting appeared to come from a slim youth
• 1:40:59
  Speaker 2: in an oath there who had hurried by. I've heard
• 1:41:02
  Speaker 2: that voice before, said Holmes, starting down the dimly lit street. No,
• 1:41:08
  Speaker 2: I wonder who the deuce that could have been? And
• 1:41:13
  Speaker 2: of section two, Section three. I slept at Baker Street
• 1:41:17
  Speaker 2: that night, and we were engaged upon our toast and
• 1:41:21
  Speaker 2: coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed
• 1:41:24
  Speaker 2: into the room. You have really got it, he cried,
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 2: grasping Sherlock Holmes by either shoulder or looking eagerly into
• 1:41:32
  Speaker 2: his face. Not yet, but you have hopes. I have hopes.
• 1:41:36
  Speaker 2: Then come, I am all impatience to be gone. We
• 1:41:40
  Speaker 2: must have a cab. No, my brogham is waiting. Then
• 1:41:44
  Speaker 2: that will simplify matters. We descended and started off at
• 1:41:48
  Speaker 2: once More for Bombay Lodge. Ireen Adler is married, remarked
• 1:41:53
  Speaker 2: Holmes married when yesterday? But to whom? To an English
• 1:41:59
  Speaker 2: lawyer Knowlton. But she could not love him. I am
• 1:42:03
  Speaker 2: in hopes that she does, and why in hopes, because
• 1:42:07
  Speaker 2: it would spare your Majesty all fear of future annoyance.
• 1:42:12
  Speaker 2: If the lady loves her husband, she does not love
• 1:42:15
  Speaker 2: your majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, then
• 1:42:20
  Speaker 2: there's no reason why she should interfere with your Majesty's plan.
• 1:42:24
  Speaker 2: It is true, and yet well I wish she had
• 1:42:27
  Speaker 2: been of my own station. What a queen she would
• 1:42:30
  Speaker 2: have made. He relapsed into a mood silence, which was
• 1:42:35
  Speaker 2: not broken until we drew up in Serpentine Avenue. The
• 1:42:40
  Speaker 2: door of primary lodge was open, and an elderly woman
• 1:42:45
  Speaker 2: stood up the steps. She watched us with a chardonic
• 1:42:50
  Speaker 2: eye as we stepped from the broadham Minister Sla Holmes,
• 1:42:55
  Speaker 2: I believe, said she I am, mister Holmes, answered my companionion,
• 1:43:00
  Speaker 2: looking at her with a questioning and rather startled gaze. Indeed,
• 1:43:06
  Speaker 2: my mistress told me that you were likely to call.
• 1:43:10
  Speaker 2: She left this morning with her husband by the five
• 1:43:13
  Speaker 2: point fifteen train from Charington Cross from the for the Continent.
• 1:43:19
  Speaker 2: What Shockholm staggered back with the charge in and swerprise
• 1:43:24
  Speaker 2: do you mean that she has left England? Never to return?
• 1:43:29
  Speaker 2: And the papers? Asked the king hoarsely, all is lost?
• 1:43:34
  Speaker 2: We shall see. He pushed past the servant and rushed
• 1:43:38
  Speaker 2: into the drawing room, followed by the King and myself.
• 1:43:43
  Speaker 2: The furniture was scattered about in every direction, with the
• 1:43:47
  Speaker 2: dismantled shelves and open drawers, as if the lady had
• 1:43:52
  Speaker 2: hurriedly ransacked them before her flight. Holmes rushed at the bellpool,
• 1:43:59
  Speaker 2: tore back a small sliding shudder, and plunging in his hand,
• 1:44:04
  Speaker 2: pulled out a photograph and a letter. The photograph was
• 1:44:08
  Speaker 2: of Irene Adler herself in evening dress. The letter was
• 1:44:13
  Speaker 2: superseded to Sherlock Holmes, yes Q to be left till
• 1:44:18
  Speaker 2: called for. My friend tore it open and we all
• 1:44:23
  Speaker 2: three read it together. It was dated midnight of the
• 1:44:26
  Speaker 2: preceding night, and ran in this way. My dear mister
• 1:44:32
  Speaker 2: Schilac Holmbs, you really did it well. You took me
• 1:44:36
  Speaker 2: in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had
• 1:44:40
  Speaker 2: not a suspicion. But then when I found how I
• 1:44:43
  Speaker 2: had betrayed myself, I began to think. I had been
• 1:44:47
  Speaker 2: warned against you months ago. I'd been told that if
• 1:44:51
  Speaker 2: the King employed an agent, it would certainly be you,
• 1:44:54
  Speaker 2: and your a tread had been given me. Yet with
• 1:44:58
  Speaker 2: all this, you may made me reveal what you wanted
• 1:45:02
  Speaker 2: to know. Even after I became suspicious, I found it
• 1:45:06
  Speaker 2: to think evil of such a dear, kind old clergyman.
• 1:45:10
  Speaker 2: But you know I have been trained as an actress myself.
• 1:45:15
  Speaker 2: Mail costoon is nothing new to me. I often take
• 1:45:20
  Speaker 2: advantage of the freedom which it gives. I sent John,
• 1:45:24
  Speaker 2: the coachman to watch you. Ran upstairs, got into my
• 1:45:29
  Speaker 2: walking clothes, as I called them, and came down just
• 1:45:33
  Speaker 2: as you departed. Well, I followed you to your door,
• 1:45:37
  Speaker 2: and so made sure that I was really an object
• 1:45:41
  Speaker 2: of interest to the celebrated mister Schrlocolm's. Then I rather
• 1:45:46
  Speaker 2: imprudently wished you good night and started for the temple
• 1:45:51
  Speaker 2: to see my husband. We thought the best resource was
• 1:45:56
  Speaker 2: flight when we pursued by so formidable and antagonist. So
• 1:46:02
  Speaker 2: you will find the nest empty when you call tomorrow.
• 1:46:07
  Speaker 2: As to the photograph, your client may rest in peace.
• 1:46:10
  Speaker 2: I love and am loved by a better man than he.
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 2: The King may do what he will without hindrance from
• 1:46:18
  Speaker 2: one who he has cruelly wronged. I keep it only
• 1:46:23
  Speaker 2: to safeguard myself and to preserve a weapon which will
• 1:46:28
  Speaker 2: always secure me from any steps which he might take
• 1:46:32
  Speaker 2: in the future. I leave a photograph which he might
• 1:46:36
  Speaker 2: care to possess, and I remain dear mister Sherlock Holmes,
• 1:46:42
  Speaker 2: very truly yours Irene Norton nee Adler. What a woman, Oh,
• 1:46:49
  Speaker 2: what a woman, cried the King of Bohemia, when we
• 1:46:52
  Speaker 2: had all three read this epistle. Did I not tell
• 1:46:56
  Speaker 2: you how quick and resolute she was? Would she not
• 1:46:59
  Speaker 2: have made and admirable queen? Is it not a pity
• 1:47:03
  Speaker 2: that she was not on my level? From what I
• 1:47:06
  Speaker 2: have seen of the lady, she seems indeed to be
• 1:47:09
  Speaker 2: on a very different level to you, Majesty, said Holmes coldly.
• 1:47:13
  Speaker 2: I am sorry that I have not been able to
• 1:47:16
  Speaker 2: bring your Majesty's business to a more successful conclusion. On
• 1:47:21
  Speaker 2: the contrary, my dear Sir, cried the King, nothing could
• 1:47:25
  Speaker 2: be more successful. I know that her word is inviolate.
• 1:47:29
  Speaker 2: The photograph is now as safe as if it were
• 1:47:32
  Speaker 2: in the fire. I am glad to hear your Majesty
• 1:47:35
  Speaker 2: say so. I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell
• 1:47:39
  Speaker 2: me in what way I can reward you this ring.
• 1:47:44
  Speaker 2: He slipped an emerald snake ringed from his finger and
• 1:47:49
  Speaker 2: held it out upon the palm of his hand. Your
• 1:47:52
  Speaker 2: Majesty has something which I should value even more highly,
• 1:47:57
  Speaker 2: said Holmes. You have but to name it the photograph.
• 1:48:01
  Speaker 2: The King stand at him in amazement. Irene's photograph, he cried, certainly,
• 1:48:07
  Speaker 2: if you wish it, I thank your Majesty, then there
• 1:48:11
  Speaker 2: is no more to be done in the matter. I
• 1:48:15
  Speaker 2: have the honor to wish you very good morning. He
• 1:48:18
  Speaker 2: bowed and turned away, without observing the hand which the
• 1:48:22
  Speaker 2: King had stretched out to him. He set off in
• 1:48:27
  Speaker 2: my company for his chambers. And that was how a
• 1:48:31
  Speaker 2: great scandal threatened to affect the Kingdom of Bohemia, and
• 1:48:36
  Speaker 2: how the best plans of mister Sherlock Holmes were beaten
• 1:48:39
  Speaker 2: by a woman's wit. He used to make mary over
• 1:48:43
  Speaker 2: the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him
• 1:48:47
  Speaker 2: do it of late. And when he speaks of Irene Adler,
• 1:48:51
  Speaker 2: or when he refers to her photograph, it is always
• 1:48:55
  Speaker 2: under the honorable title of the woman.
• 1:49:00
  Speaker 3: Of the Copper Beaches. To the man who loves art
• 1:49:04
  Speaker 3: for its own sake, remarked Sherlock Holmes, tossing aside the
• 1:49:08
  Speaker 3: advertisement sheet of the Daily Telegraph. It is frequently in
• 1:49:12
  Speaker 3: its least important and lowliest manifestations that the keenest pleasure
• 1:49:16
  Speaker 3: is to be derived. It is pleasant to me to
• 1:49:19
  Speaker 3: observe Watson, that you have so far grasped this truth.
• 1:49:23
  Speaker 3: That in these little records of our cases, which you
• 1:49:26
  Speaker 3: have been good enough to draw up, and I am
• 1:49:28
  Speaker 3: bound to say occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence
• 1:49:33
  Speaker 3: not so much to the many cause celebres and sensational
• 1:49:36
  Speaker 3: trials in which I have figured, but rather to those
• 1:49:39
  Speaker 3: incidents which may have been trivial in themselves, but which
• 1:49:42
  Speaker 3: have given room for those faculties of deduction and of
• 1:49:45
  Speaker 3: logical synthesis which I have made my special province. And yet,
• 1:49:51
  Speaker 3: said I, smiling, I cannot quite hold myself absolved from
• 1:49:55
  Speaker 3: the charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my records.
• 1:50:00
  Speaker 3: You have aired, perhaps he observed, taking up a glowing
• 1:50:03
  Speaker 3: cinder with the tongs, and lighting with it the long
• 1:50:06
  Speaker 3: cherrywood pipe, which was wont to replace his clay when
• 1:50:09
  Speaker 3: he was in a disputatious rather than a meditative mood.
• 1:50:13
  Speaker 3: You have aired, perhaps in attempting to put color and
• 1:50:16
  Speaker 3: life into each of your statements, instead of confining yourself
• 1:50:19
  Speaker 3: to the task of placing upon record that severe reasoning
• 1:50:23
  Speaker 3: from cause to effect, which is really the only notable
• 1:50:26
  Speaker 3: feature about the thing. It seems to me that I
• 1:50:30
  Speaker 3: have done you full justice in the matter, I remarked,
• 1:50:33
  Speaker 3: with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism
• 1:50:36
  Speaker 3: which I had more than once observed to be a
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 3: strong factor in my friend's singular character. No, it is
• 1:50:43
  Speaker 3: not selfishness or conceit, said he answering, as was his
• 1:50:47
  Speaker 3: wont my thoughts rather than my words? If I claim
• 1:50:51
  Speaker 3: full justice for my art. It is because it is
• 1:50:54
  Speaker 3: an impersonal thing, a thing beyond myself. Crime is common,
• 1:50:59
  Speaker 3: logic is Therefore it is upon the logic, rather than
• 1:51:03
  Speaker 3: upon the crime, that you should dwell. You have degraded
• 1:51:07
  Speaker 3: what should have been a course of lectures into a
• 1:51:09
  Speaker 3: series of tails. It was a cold morning of the
• 1:51:13
  Speaker 3: early spring, and we sat after breakfast, on either side
• 1:51:17
  Speaker 3: of a cheery fire in the old room at Baker Street.
• 1:51:20
  Speaker 3: A thick fog rolled down between the lines of dun
• 1:51:23
  Speaker 3: colored houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, shapeless
• 1:51:27
  Speaker 3: splurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. Our gas was lit
• 1:51:31
  Speaker 3: and shown on the white cloth and glimmer of china
• 1:51:34
  Speaker 3: and metal. For the table had not been cleared yet.
• 1:51:38
  Speaker 3: Sherlock Holmes had been silent all the morning, dipping continuously
• 1:51:42
  Speaker 3: into the advertisement columns of a succession of papers, until
• 1:51:46
  Speaker 3: at last, having apparently given up his search, he had
• 1:51:49
  Speaker 3: emerged in no very sweet temper to lecture me upon
• 1:51:53
  Speaker 3: my literary shortcomings. At the same time, he remarked, after
• 1:51:58
  Speaker 3: a pause during which he had sat puffing at his
• 1:52:01
  Speaker 3: long pipe and gazing down into the fire, you can
• 1:52:05
  Speaker 3: hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out
• 1:52:08
  Speaker 3: of those cases which you have been so kind as
• 1:52:11
  Speaker 3: to interest yourself in a fair proportion, do not treat
• 1:52:14
  Speaker 3: of crime in its legal sense at all. The small
• 1:52:17
  Speaker 3: matter in which I endeavored to help the King of Bohemia,
• 1:52:21
  Speaker 3: the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the problem connected
• 1:52:25
  Speaker 3: with the man with the twisted lip, and the incident
• 1:52:28
  Speaker 3: of the noble bachelor were all matters which are outside
• 1:52:31
  Speaker 3: the pale of the law. But in avoiding this sensational
• 1:52:35
  Speaker 3: I fear that you may have bordered on the trivial.
• 1:52:40
  Speaker 3: The end may have been so, I answered, but the
• 1:52:43
  Speaker 3: methods I hold to have been novel and of interest. Pshaw,
• 1:52:48
  Speaker 3: my dear fellow, What do the public, the great unobservant public,
• 1:52:52
  Speaker 3: who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or
• 1:52:55
  Speaker 3: a compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer
• 1:52:58
  Speaker 3: shades of analysis and a duct. But indeed, if you
• 1:53:02
  Speaker 3: are trivial, I cannot blame you, for the days of
• 1:53:05
  Speaker 3: the great cases are past. Man, or at least criminal man,
• 1:53:10
  Speaker 3: has lost all enterprise and originality. As to my own
• 1:53:14
  Speaker 3: little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an agency
• 1:53:18
  Speaker 3: for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to young
• 1:53:21
  Speaker 3: ladies from boarding schools. I think that I have touched
• 1:53:25
  Speaker 3: bottom at last. However, this note I had this morning
• 1:53:28
  Speaker 3: marks my zero point. I fancy read it. He tossed
• 1:53:33
  Speaker 3: a crumpled letter across to me. It was dated from
• 1:53:36
  Speaker 3: Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and ran, thus, dear
• 1:53:41
  Speaker 3: mister Holmes, I am very anxious to consult you as
• 1:53:44
  Speaker 3: to whether I should or should not accept a situation
• 1:53:48
  Speaker 3: which has been offered to me as governess. I shall
• 1:53:51
  Speaker 3: call at half past ten tomorrow if I do not,
• 1:53:53
  Speaker 3: inconvenience you yours faithfully, Violet Hunter, Do you know o
• 1:54:00
  Speaker 3: the young lady I asked, not I It is half
• 1:54:05
  Speaker 3: past ten now, yes, and I have no doubt that
• 1:54:09
  Speaker 3: is her ring. It may turn out to be of
• 1:54:12
  Speaker 3: more interest than you think. You remember that the affair
• 1:54:15
  Speaker 3: of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to be a mere
• 1:54:18
  Speaker 3: whim at first, developed into a serious investigation. It may
• 1:54:22
  Speaker 3: be so in this case also. Well, let us hope so.
• 1:54:27
  Speaker 3: But our doubts will very soon be solved. For here,
• 1:54:30
  Speaker 3: unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question.
• 1:54:35
  Speaker 3: As he spoke, the door opened and a young lady
• 1:54:38
  Speaker 3: entered the room. She was plainly but neatly dressed, with
• 1:54:42
  Speaker 3: a bright, quick face, freckled like a plubb's egg, and
• 1:54:46
  Speaker 3: with the brisk manner of a woman who has had
• 1:54:48
  Speaker 3: her own way to make in the world. You will
• 1:54:52
  Speaker 3: excuse my troubling you, I am sure, said she, as
• 1:54:55
  Speaker 3: my companion rose to greet her. But I have had
• 1:54:58
  Speaker 3: a very strange experience, and as I have no parents
• 1:55:01
  Speaker 3: or relations of any sort from whom I could ask advice,
• 1:55:04
  Speaker 3: I thought that perhaps you would be kind enough to
• 1:55:07
  Speaker 3: tell me what I should do. Pray, take a seat,
• 1:55:10
  Speaker 3: miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything that
• 1:55:13
  Speaker 3: I can to serve you. I could see that Holmes
• 1:55:16
  Speaker 3: was favorably impressed by the manner and speech of his
• 1:55:19
  Speaker 3: new client. He looked her over in his searching fashion,
• 1:55:22
  Speaker 3: and then composed himself with his lids drooping and his
• 1:55:26
  Speaker 3: finger tips together to listen to her story. I have
• 1:55:30
  Speaker 3: been a governess for five years, said she, in the
• 1:55:33
  Speaker 3: family of Colonel Spence Munroe. But two months ago the
• 1:55:37
  Speaker 3: colonel received an appointment at Halifax in Nova Scotia, and
• 1:55:41
  Speaker 3: took his children over to America with him. So that
• 1:55:43
  Speaker 3: I found myself without a situation. I advertised and I
• 1:55:48
  Speaker 3: answered advertisements, but without success. At last the little money
• 1:55:53
  Speaker 3: which I had saved began to run short, and I
• 1:55:56
  Speaker 3: was at my wits end as to what I should do.
• 1:55:59
  Speaker 3: There is a well known agency for governesses in the
• 1:56:01
  Speaker 3: West End called west Away's, and there I used to
• 1:56:05
  Speaker 3: call about once a week in order to see whether
• 1:56:07
  Speaker 3: anything had turned up which might suit me. West Away
• 1:56:11
  Speaker 3: was the name of the founder of the business, but
• 1:56:13
  Speaker 3: it is really managed by Miss Stoper. She sits in
• 1:56:17
  Speaker 3: her own little office, and the ladies who are seeking
• 1:56:19
  Speaker 3: employment wait in an ante room and are then shown
• 1:56:22
  Speaker 3: in one by one when she consults her ledgers and
• 1:56:25
  Speaker 3: sees whether she has anything which would suit them well.
• 1:56:29
  Speaker 3: When I called last week, I was shown into the
• 1:56:31
  Speaker 3: little office as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper
• 1:56:35
  Speaker 3: was not alone. A prodigiously stout man with a very
• 1:56:39
  Speaker 3: smiling face and a great heavy chin which rolled down
• 1:56:42
  Speaker 3: in fold upon fold over his throat, sat at her
• 1:56:45
  Speaker 3: elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose, looking
• 1:56:48
  Speaker 3: very earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in,
• 1:56:52
  Speaker 3: he gave quite a jump in his chair and turned
• 1:56:55
  Speaker 3: quickly to miss Stoper, that will do, said he. I
• 1:57:00
  Speaker 3: could not ask for anything better. Capital capital. He seemed
• 1:57:05
  Speaker 3: quite enthusiastic, and rubbed his hands together in the most
• 1:57:08
  Speaker 3: genial fashion. He was such a comfortable looking man that
• 1:57:12
  Speaker 3: it was quite a pleasure to look at him. You
• 1:57:16
  Speaker 3: are looking for a situation, miss, he asked, Yes, sir,
• 1:57:21
  Speaker 3: as governess, Yes, sir. And what salary do you ask?
• 1:57:28
  Speaker 3: I had four pounds a month in my last place
• 1:57:30
  Speaker 3: with Colonel Spence Monroe. Oh tut tut, sweating, rank sweating,
• 1:57:35
  Speaker 3: he cried, throwing his fat hands out into the air
• 1:57:38
  Speaker 3: like a man who is in a boiling passion. How
• 1:57:42
  Speaker 3: could any one offer so pitiful a sum to a
• 1:57:44
  Speaker 3: lady with such attractions and accomplishments. My accomplishments, sir, may
• 1:57:50
  Speaker 3: be less than you imagine, said I. A little French,
• 1:57:54
  Speaker 3: a little German, music and drawing. Tut tut, he cried.
• 1:57:59
  Speaker 3: This is all quite beside the question. The point is
• 1:58:02
  Speaker 3: have you or have you not the bearing and deportment
• 1:58:05
  Speaker 3: of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If
• 1:58:08
  Speaker 3: you have not, you are not fitted for the rearing
• 1:58:11
  Speaker 3: of a child who may some day play a considerable
• 1:58:14
  Speaker 3: part in the history of the country. But if you have,
• 1:58:17
  Speaker 3: why then how could any gentleman ask you to condescend
• 1:58:20
  Speaker 3: to accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me, madam,
• 1:58:25
  Speaker 3: would commence at one hundred pounds a year. You may imagine,
• 1:58:30
  Speaker 3: mister Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was, such
• 1:58:33
  Speaker 3: an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, however,
• 1:58:38
  Speaker 3: seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, opened
• 1:58:42
  Speaker 3: a pocket book and took out a note. It is
• 1:58:45
  Speaker 3: also my custom, said he, smiling in the most pleasant fashion,
• 1:58:49
  Speaker 3: until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid
• 1:58:52
  Speaker 3: the white creases of his face. To advance to my
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 3: young ladies half their salary beforehand, so that they may
• 1:58:59
  Speaker 3: meet in little expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.
• 1:59:04
  Speaker 3: It seemed to me that I had never met so
• 1:59:06
  Speaker 3: fascinating and so thoughtful a man, as I was already
• 1:59:10
  Speaker 3: in debt to my tradesman. The advance was a great convenience,
• 1:59:13
  Speaker 3: and yet there was something unnatural about the whole transaction,
• 1:59:17
  Speaker 3: which made me wish to know a little more before
• 1:59:19
  Speaker 3: I quite committed myself. May I ask where you live, sir,
• 1:59:24
  Speaker 3: said I. Hampshire, charming rural place the Copper Beaches, five
• 1:59:30
  Speaker 3: miles on the far side of Winchester. It is the
• 1:59:33
  Speaker 3: most lovely country, my dear young lady, and the dearest
• 1:59:36
  Speaker 3: old country house, and my duty, sir, I should be
• 1:59:41
  Speaker 3: glad to know what they would be. One child, one
• 1:59:45
  Speaker 3: dear little romper, just six years old. Oh, if you
• 1:59:49
  Speaker 3: could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper smack smack, smack,
• 1:59:52
  Speaker 3: three gone before you could wink. He leaned back in
• 1:59:55
  Speaker 3: his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again.
• 2:00:00
  Speaker 3: I was a little startled at the nature of the
• 2:00:02
  Speaker 3: child's amusement, but the father's laughter made me think that
• 2:00:05
  Speaker 3: perhaps he was joking. My soul duties? Then, I asked,
• 2:00:10
  Speaker 3: are to take charge of a single child? No, no,
• 2:00:14
  Speaker 3: not the soul, not the soul, my dear young lady,
• 2:00:17
  Speaker 3: he cried, Your duty would be, as I am sure
• 2:00:20
  Speaker 3: your good sense would suggest, to obey any little commands
• 2:00:23
  Speaker 3: my wife might give, provided always that they were such
• 2:00:27
  Speaker 3: commands as a lady might with propriety obey. You see
• 2:00:30
  Speaker 3: no difficulty, eh, I should be happy to make myself useful,
• 2:00:37
  Speaker 3: quite so and dressed now for example, we are fatty people,
• 2:00:42
  Speaker 3: you know, fatty but kind hearted if you were asked
• 2:00:46
  Speaker 3: to wear any dress which we might give you, you
• 2:00:48
  Speaker 3: would not object to our little whim. Eh no, said I,
• 2:00:52
  Speaker 3: considerably astonished at his words. Or to sit here or
• 2:00:57
  Speaker 3: sit there that would not be offensive to you, oh no,
• 2:01:04
  Speaker 3: Or to cut your hair quite short before you come
• 2:01:06
  Speaker 3: to us. I could hardly believe my ears. As you
• 2:01:11
  Speaker 3: may observe, mister Holmes, my hair is somewhat luxuriant, of
• 2:01:14
  Speaker 3: a rather peculiar tint of chestnut. It has been considered artistic.
• 2:01:19
  Speaker 3: I could not dream of sacrificing it in this offhand fashion.
• 2:01:25
  Speaker 3: I am afraid that that is quite impossible, said I.
• 2:01:28
  Speaker 3: He had been watching me eagerly out of his small eyes,
• 2:01:31
  Speaker 3: and I could see a shadow pass over his face
• 2:01:34
  Speaker 3: as I spoke. I am afraid that it is quite essential,
• 2:01:38
  Speaker 3: said he. It is a little fancy of my wife's
• 2:01:42
  Speaker 3: and lady's fancies, you know, Madam, ladies fancies must be consulted,
• 2:01:47
  Speaker 3: And so you won't cut your hair. No, sir, I
• 2:01:50
  Speaker 3: really could not, I answered firmly. Ah, very well, then
• 2:01:55
  Speaker 3: that quite settles the matter. It is a pity, because
• 2:01:59
  Speaker 3: in other respects you would really have done very nicely.
• 2:02:03
  Speaker 3: In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a
• 2:02:05
  Speaker 3: few more of your young ladies. The manageress had sat
• 2:02:10
  Speaker 3: all this while busy with her papers, without a word
• 2:02:13
  Speaker 3: to either of us. But she glanced at me now
• 2:02:16
  Speaker 3: with so much annoyance upon her face that I could
• 2:02:18
  Speaker 3: not help suspecting that she had lost a handsome commission
• 2:02:21
  Speaker 3: through my refusal. Do you desire your name to be
• 2:02:25
  Speaker 3: kept upon the books, she asked, if you please, Miss Stoper. Well,
• 2:02:31
  Speaker 3: really it seems rather useless since you refuse the most
• 2:02:34
  Speaker 3: excellent offers in this fashion, said she sharply, you can
• 2:02:38
  Speaker 3: heartily expect us to exert ourselves to find another such
• 2:02:42
  Speaker 3: opening for you. Good day to you, miss Hunter. She
• 2:02:46
  Speaker 3: struck a gong upon the table, and I was shown
• 2:02:48
  Speaker 3: out by the page. Well, mister Holmes. When I got
• 2:02:52
  Speaker 3: back to my lodgings and found little enough in the
• 2:02:55
  Speaker 3: cupboard and two or three bills upon the table, I
• 2:02:58
  Speaker 3: began to ask myself whether I had not done a
• 2:03:00
  Speaker 3: very foolish thing. After all, if these people had strange
• 2:03:04
  Speaker 3: fads and expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters, they
• 2:03:08
  Speaker 3: were at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. Very
• 2:03:12
  Speaker 3: few governesses in England are getting one hundred pounds a year. Besides,
• 2:03:17
  Speaker 3: what use was my hair to me? Many people are
• 2:03:20
  Speaker 3: improved by wearing it short, and perhaps I should be
• 2:03:24
  Speaker 3: among the number. Next day I was inclined to think
• 2:03:27
  Speaker 3: that I had made a mistake, and by the day
• 2:03:30
  Speaker 3: after I was sure of it. I had almost overcome
• 2:03:34
  Speaker 3: my pride so far as to go back to the
• 2:03:36
  Speaker 3: agency and inquire whether the place was still open. When
• 2:03:39
  Speaker 3: I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have
• 2:03:43
  Speaker 3: it here and I will read it to you the
• 2:03:46
  Speaker 3: Copper Beaches near Winchester. Dear miss Hunter. Miss Stoper has
• 2:03:52
  Speaker 3: very kindly given me your address, and I write from
• 2:03:55
  Speaker 3: here to ask you whether you have reconsidered your decision.
• 2:03:59
  Speaker 3: My life is very anxious that you should come, for
• 2:04:02
  Speaker 3: she has been much attracted by my description of you.
• 2:04:06
  Speaker 3: We are willing to give thirty pounds a quarter, or
• 2:04:09
  Speaker 3: one hundred twenty pounds a year, so as to recompense
• 2:04:12
  Speaker 3: you for any little inconvenience which our fads may cause you.
• 2:04:17
  Speaker 3: They are not very exacting. After all. My wife is
• 2:04:20
  Speaker 3: fond of a particular shade of electric blue, and would
• 2:04:24
  Speaker 3: like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning.
• 2:04:27
  Speaker 3: You need not, however, go to the expense of purchasing one,
• 2:04:31
  Speaker 3: as we have one belonging to my dear daughter Alice
• 2:04:34
  Speaker 3: now in Philadelphia, Which would I should think fit you
• 2:04:38
  Speaker 3: very well. Then, As to sitting here or there, or
• 2:04:42
  Speaker 3: amusing yourself in any manner, indicated that need cause you
• 2:04:46
  Speaker 3: no inconvenience. As regards your hair, it is no doubt
• 2:04:51
  Speaker 3: a pity, especially as I could not help remarking its
• 2:04:54
  Speaker 3: beauty during our short interview. But I am afraid that
• 2:04:58
  Speaker 3: I must remain firm upon this point, and I only
• 2:05:01
  Speaker 3: hope that the increased salary may recompense you for the loss.
• 2:05:05
  Speaker 3: Your duties as far as the child is concerned, are
• 2:05:08
  Speaker 3: very light. Now do try to come and I shall
• 2:05:11
  Speaker 3: meet you with a dogcart at Winchester. Let me know
• 2:05:15
  Speaker 3: your train. Yours faithfully, jeffro Rowcastle. That is the letter
• 2:05:21
  Speaker 3: which I have just received, mister Holmes, and my mind
• 2:05:24
  Speaker 3: is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however,
• 2:05:28
  Speaker 3: that before taking the final step, I should like to
• 2:05:30
  Speaker 3: submit the whole matter to your consideration. Well, miss Hunter,
• 2:05:35
  Speaker 3: if your mind is made up, that settles the question,
• 2:05:38
  Speaker 3: said Holmes, smiling. But you would not advise me to refuse.
• 2:05:45
  Speaker 3: I confess that it is not the situation which I
• 2:05:47
  Speaker 3: should like to see a sister of mine apply. For
• 2:05:51
  Speaker 3: What is the meaning of it all, mister Holmes, Ah,
• 2:05:54
  Speaker 3: I have no data. I cannot tell. Perhaps you have
• 2:05:58
  Speaker 3: yourself formed some opinion. Well, there seems to me to
• 2:06:02
  Speaker 3: be only one possible solution. Mister Rucastle seemed to be
• 2:06:06
  Speaker 3: a very kind, good natured man. Is it not possible
• 2:06:10
  Speaker 3: that his wife is a lunatic and that he desires
• 2:06:13
  Speaker 3: to keep the matter quiet for fear she should be
• 2:06:15
  Speaker 3: taken to an asylum? And that he humors her fancies
• 2:06:19
  Speaker 3: in every way in order to prevent an outbreak. That
• 2:06:23
  Speaker 3: is a possible solution. In fact, as matters stand, it
• 2:06:26
  Speaker 3: is the most probable one. But in any case, it
• 2:06:29
  Speaker 3: does not seem to be a nice household for a
• 2:06:31
  Speaker 3: young lady. But the money, mister Holmes, The money, well, yes,
• 2:06:37
  Speaker 3: of course the pay is good, too good. That is
• 2:06:41
  Speaker 3: what makes me uneasy. Why should they give you one
• 2:06:44
  Speaker 3: hundred and twenty pounds a year when they could have
• 2:06:46
  Speaker 3: their pick for forty pounds. There must be some strong
• 2:06:49
  Speaker 3: reason behind. I thought that if I told you the circumstances,
• 2:06:54
  Speaker 3: you would understand. Afterwards, if I wanted your help, I
• 2:06:57
  Speaker 3: should feel so much stronger if I felt that you
• 2:06:59
  Speaker 3: are at the back of me. Oh, you may carry
• 2:07:03
  Speaker 3: that feeling away with you. I assure you that your
• 2:07:06
  Speaker 3: little problem promises to be the most interesting which has
• 2:07:08
  Speaker 3: come my way for some months. There is something distinctly
• 2:07:12
  Speaker 3: novel about some of the features. If you should find
• 2:07:15
  Speaker 3: yourself in doubt or in danger, danger, what danger do
• 2:07:20
  Speaker 3: you foresee? Holmes shook his head gravely. It would cease
• 2:07:25
  Speaker 3: to be a danger if we could define it, said he.
• 2:07:28
  Speaker 3: But at any time, day or night, a telegram would
• 2:07:31
  Speaker 3: bring me down to your help. That is enough. She
• 2:07:36
  Speaker 3: rose briskly from her chair, with the anxiety all swept
• 2:07:39
  Speaker 3: from her face. I shall go down to Hampshire quite
• 2:07:42
  Speaker 3: easy in my mind. Now I shall write to mister
• 2:07:45
  Speaker 3: Rucastle at once, sacrifice my poor hair to night, and
• 2:07:49
  Speaker 3: start for Winchester tomorrow. With a few grateful words to Holmes,
• 2:07:53
  Speaker 3: she bade us both good night, and bustled off upon
• 2:07:56
  Speaker 3: her way. At least, said as we heard her quick
• 2:08:01
  Speaker 3: firm steps descending the stairs. She seems to be a
• 2:08:04
  Speaker 3: young lady who is very well able to take care
• 2:08:07
  Speaker 3: of herself, and she would need to be said Holmes gravely,
• 2:08:12
  Speaker 3: I am much mistaken. If we do not hear from
• 2:08:14
  Speaker 3: her before many days are past. It was not very
• 2:08:19
  Speaker 3: long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled. A fortnight went by,
• 2:08:23
  Speaker 3: during which I frequently found my thoughts turning in her
• 2:08:26
  Speaker 3: direction and wondering what strange side alley of human experience
• 2:08:30
  Speaker 3: this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual salary. The
• 2:08:35
  Speaker 3: curious conditions, the light duties all pointed to something abnormal,
• 2:08:40
  Speaker 3: though whether a fad or a plot, or whether the
• 2:08:42
  Speaker 3: man were a philanthropist or a villain, it was quite
• 2:08:45
  Speaker 3: beyond my powers to determine. As to Holmes, I observed
• 2:08:50
  Speaker 3: that he sat frequently for half an hour on end,
• 2:08:53
  Speaker 3: with knitted brows and an abstracted air, but he swept
• 2:08:57
  Speaker 3: the matter away with a wave of his hand. When
• 2:08:58
  Speaker 3: I mentioned it, data, data, data, he cried impatiently, I
• 2:09:04
  Speaker 3: can't make bricks without clay. And yet he would always
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 3: wind up by muttering that no sister of his should
• 2:09:10
  Speaker 3: ever have accepted such a situation. The telegram, which we
• 2:09:15
  Speaker 3: eventually received, came late one night, just as I was
• 2:09:18
  Speaker 3: thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down to
• 2:09:21
  Speaker 3: one of those all night chemical researches which he frequently
• 2:09:24
  Speaker 3: indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a
• 2:09:27
  Speaker 3: retort and a test tube at night, and find him
• 2:09:30
  Speaker 3: in the same position when I came down to breakfast
• 2:09:32
  Speaker 3: in the morning. He opened the yellow envelope and then,
• 2:09:36
  Speaker 3: glancing at the message, threw it across to me. Just
• 2:09:41
  Speaker 3: look up the trains in Bradshaw, said he, and turned
• 2:09:44
  Speaker 3: back to his chemical studies. The summons was a brief
• 2:09:49
  Speaker 3: and urgent one. Please be at the black Swan Hotel
• 2:09:53
  Speaker 3: at Winchester at midday tomorrow, it said, Do come. I
• 2:09:58
  Speaker 3: am at my wits end, hunter, Will you come with me?
• 2:10:03
  Speaker 3: Asked Holmes, glancing up. I should wish to just look
• 2:10:08
  Speaker 3: it up. Then there is a train at half past nine,
• 2:10:13
  Speaker 3: said I, glancing over my Bradshaw. It is due at
• 2:10:17
  Speaker 3: Winchester at eleven thirty. That will do very nicely. Then
• 2:10:21
  Speaker 3: perhaps I had better postpone my analysis of the acetones,
• 2:10:25
  Speaker 3: as we may need to be at our best in
• 2:10:26
  Speaker 3: the morning. By eleven o'clock the next day we were
• 2:10:31
  Speaker 3: well upon our way to the old English capital. Holmes
• 2:10:34
  Speaker 3: had been buried in the morning papers all the way down,
• 2:10:38
  Speaker 3: but after we had passed the Hampshire border. He threw
• 2:10:40
  Speaker 3: them down and began to admire the scenery. It was
• 2:10:44
  Speaker 3: an ideal spring day, a light blue sky flecked with
• 2:10:47
  Speaker 3: little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east.
• 2:10:52
  Speaker 3: The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was
• 2:10:55
  Speaker 3: an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge
• 2:10:58
  Speaker 3: to a man's energy. All over the countryside, away to
• 2:11:02
  Speaker 3: the rolling hills around Aldershot, the little red and gray
• 2:11:05
  Speaker 3: roofs of the farmsteadings peeped out from amid the light
• 2:11:08
  Speaker 3: green of the new foliage. Are they not fresh and beautiful?
• 2:11:13
  Speaker 3: I cried, with all the enthusiasm of a man fresh
• 2:11:16
  Speaker 3: from the fogs of Baker Street. But Holmes shook his
• 2:11:20
  Speaker 3: head gravely. Do you know, Watson? Said he that it
• 2:11:25
  Speaker 3: is one of the curses of a mind with a
• 2:11:27
  Speaker 3: turn like mine, that I must look at everything with
• 2:11:29
  Speaker 3: reference to my own special subject. You look at these
• 2:11:33
  Speaker 3: scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 3: look at them, and the only thought which comes to
• 2:11:38
  Speaker 3: me is a feeling of their isolation and of the
• 2:11:41
  Speaker 3: impunity with which crime may be committed. There, good Heavens,
• 2:11:46
  Speaker 3: I cried, who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads.
• 2:11:52
  Speaker 3: They always fill me with a certain horror. It is
• 2:11:55
  Speaker 3: my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest
• 2:11:59
  Speaker 3: and hilist alleys in London do not present a more
• 2:12:02
  Speaker 3: dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.
• 2:12:08
  Speaker 3: You horrify me, but the reason is very obvious. The
• 2:12:13
  Speaker 3: pressure of public opinion can do in the town what
• 2:12:15
  Speaker 3: the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile
• 2:12:19
  Speaker 3: that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud
• 2:12:22
  Speaker 3: of a drunkard's blow does not beget sympathy and indignation
• 2:12:26
  Speaker 3: among the neighbors. And then the whole machinery of justice
• 2:12:29
  Speaker 3: is ever so close that a word of complaint can
• 2:12:31
  Speaker 3: set it going. And there is but a step between
• 2:12:34
  Speaker 3: the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses,
• 2:12:39
  Speaker 3: each in its own fields, filled for the most part
• 2:12:42
  Speaker 3: with poor, ignorant folk who know little of the law.
• 2:12:45
  Speaker 3: Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness
• 2:12:49
  Speaker 3: which may go on year in year out in such places.
• 2:12:53
  Speaker 3: And none the wiser had this lady who appeals to
• 2:12:56
  Speaker 3: us for help gone to live in Winchester. I should
• 2:12:59
  Speaker 3: never have had a fear for her. It is the
• 2:13:02
  Speaker 3: five miles of country which makes the danger. Still, it
• 2:13:05
  Speaker 3: is clear that she is not personally threatened. No, if
• 2:13:10
  Speaker 3: she can come to Winchester to meet us, she can
• 2:13:12
  Speaker 3: get away. Quite so, she has her freedom. What can
• 2:13:17
  Speaker 3: be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation? I
• 2:13:22
  Speaker 3: have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would cover
• 2:13:26
  Speaker 3: the facts as far as we know them. But which
• 2:13:28
  Speaker 3: of these is correct can only be determined by the
• 2:13:31
  Speaker 3: fresh information which we shall no doubt find waiting for us. Well,
• 2:13:35
  Speaker 3: there is the tower of the cathedral, and we shall
• 2:13:38
  Speaker 3: soon learn all that miss Hunter has to tell. The
• 2:13:42
  Speaker 3: Black Swan is an inn of repute in the high Street,
• 2:13:45
  Speaker 3: at no distance from the station, and there we found
• 2:13:48
  Speaker 3: the young lady waiting for us. She had engaged a
• 2:13:51
  Speaker 3: sitting room, and our lunch awaited us upon the table.
• 2:13:55
  Speaker 3: I am so delighted that you have come, she said earnestly.
• 2:13:59
  Speaker 3: It is so very kind of you both. But indeed
• 2:14:02
  Speaker 3: I do not know what I should do. Your advice
• 2:14:05
  Speaker 3: will be altogether invaluable to me. Pray tell us what
• 2:14:09
  Speaker 3: has happened to you? I will do so, and I
• 2:14:13
  Speaker 3: must be quick, for I have promised mister Rowcastle to
• 2:14:15
  Speaker 3: be back before three. I got his leave to come
• 2:14:18
  Speaker 3: into town this morning, though he little knew for what purpose.
• 2:14:23
  Speaker 3: Let us have everything in its due order. Holmes thrust
• 2:14:27
  Speaker 3: his long, thin legs out towards the fire and composed
• 2:14:30
  Speaker 3: himself to listen. In the first place, I may say
• 2:14:35
  Speaker 3: that I have met on the whole with no actual
• 2:14:38
  Speaker 3: ill treatment. For mister and missus Rucastle, it is only
• 2:14:41
  Speaker 3: fair to them to say that. But I cannot understand them,
• 2:14:45
  Speaker 3: and I am not easy in my mind about them.
• 2:14:49
  Speaker 3: What can you not understand? There are reasons for their conduct,
• 2:14:54
  Speaker 3: but you shall have it all just as it occurred
• 2:14:58
  Speaker 3: when I came down. Mister rukes Castle met me here
• 2:15:01
  Speaker 3: and drove me in his dog cart to the copper beaches.
• 2:15:04
  Speaker 3: It is, as he said, beautifully situated. But it is
• 2:15:08
  Speaker 3: not beautiful in itself, for it is a large square
• 2:15:11
  Speaker 3: block of the house, whitewashed, but all stained and streaked
• 2:15:15
  Speaker 3: with damp and bad weather. There are grounds round it,
• 2:15:19
  Speaker 3: woods on three sides, and on the fourth a field
• 2:15:23
  Speaker 3: which slopes down to the Southampton high Road, which curves
• 2:15:26
  Speaker 3: past about a hundred yards from the front door. This
• 2:15:29
  Speaker 3: ground in front belongs to the house, but the woods
• 2:15:32
  Speaker 3: all round are part of Lord Southerton's preserves. A clump
• 2:15:36
  Speaker 3: of copper beaches immediately in front of the hall door
• 2:15:39
  Speaker 3: has given its name to the place. I was driven
• 2:15:43
  Speaker 3: over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever,
• 2:15:47
  Speaker 3: and was introduced by him that evening to his wife
• 2:15:49
  Speaker 3: and the child. There was no truth, mister Holmes in
• 2:15:53
  Speaker 3: the conjecture which seemed to us to be probable in
• 2:15:56
  Speaker 3: your rooms at Baker Street. Missus Rucastle is not mad.
• 2:16:01
  Speaker 3: I found her to be a silent, pale faced woman,
• 2:16:04
  Speaker 3: much younger than her husband, and not more than thirty,
• 2:16:07
  Speaker 3: I should think, while he can hardly be less than
• 2:16:10
  Speaker 3: forty five. From their conversation, I have gathered that they
• 2:16:14
  Speaker 3: have been married about seven years, that he was a widower,
• 2:16:18
  Speaker 3: and that his only child by the first wife was
• 2:16:20
  Speaker 3: the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mister Rucastle told
• 2:16:25
  Speaker 3: me in private that the reason why she had left
• 2:16:27
  Speaker 3: them was that she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother.
• 2:16:31
  Speaker 3: As the daughter could not have been less than twenty,
• 2:16:34
  Speaker 3: I can quite imagine that her position must have been
• 2:16:36
  Speaker 3: uncomfortable with her father's young wife. Missus Rucastle, seemed to
• 2:16:42
  Speaker 3: me to be colorless in mind as well as in feature.
• 2:16:46
  Speaker 3: She impressed me neither favorably nor the reverse. She was
• 2:16:49
  Speaker 3: a nonentity. It was easy to see that she was
• 2:16:53
  Speaker 3: passionately devoted both to her husband and to her little son.
• 2:16:57
  Speaker 3: Her light gray eyes wandered continually for from one to
• 2:17:00
  Speaker 3: the other, noting every little want and forestalling it if possible.
• 2:17:05
  Speaker 3: He was kind to her also in his bluff boisterous fashion,
• 2:17:09
  Speaker 3: and on the whole they seemed to be a happy couple.
• 2:17:13
  Speaker 3: And yet she had some secret sorrow. This woman. She
• 2:17:16
  Speaker 3: would often be lost in deep thought, with the saddest
• 2:17:19
  Speaker 3: look upon her face. More than once I have surprised
• 2:17:23
  Speaker 3: her in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was
• 2:17:27
  Speaker 3: the disposition of her child which weighed upon her mind.
• 2:17:30
  Speaker 3: For I have never met so utterly spoilt, in so
• 2:17:33
  Speaker 3: ill natured a little creature. He is small for his age,
• 2:17:38
  Speaker 3: with a head which is quite disproportionately large. His whole
• 2:17:42
  Speaker 3: life appears to be spent in an alternation between savage
• 2:17:45
  Speaker 3: fits of passion and gloomy intervals of sulking, giving pain
• 2:17:50
  Speaker 3: to any creature weaker than himself. Seems to be his
• 2:17:53
  Speaker 3: one idea of amusement, and he shows quite remarkable talent
• 2:17:57
  Speaker 3: in planning the capture of mice, little birds, and insects.
• 2:18:02
  Speaker 3: But I would rather not talk about the creature mister Holmes,
• 2:18:05
  Speaker 3: and indeed he has little to do with my story.
• 2:18:09
  Speaker 3: I am glad of all details, remarked my friend, whether
• 2:18:13
  Speaker 3: they seem to you to be relevant or not, I
• 2:18:17
  Speaker 3: shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one
• 2:18:20
  Speaker 3: unpleasant thing about the house which struck me at once
• 2:18:24
  Speaker 3: was the appearance and conduct of the servants. There are
• 2:18:28
  Speaker 3: only two. A man and his wife, Taller, for that
• 2:18:32
  Speaker 3: is his name, is a rough, uncouth man, with grizzled
• 2:18:35
  Speaker 3: hair and whiskers, and a perpetual smell of drink. Twice
• 2:18:39
  Speaker 3: since I have been with him he has been quite drunk,
• 2:18:42
  Speaker 3: and yet mister Rucastle seemed to take no notice of it.
• 2:18:46
  Speaker 3: His wife is a very tall and strong woman, with
• 2:18:48
  Speaker 3: a sour face, as silent as missus Rucastle, and much
• 2:18:52
  Speaker 3: less amiable. They are a most unpleasant couple. But fortunately
• 2:18:57
  Speaker 3: I spend most of my time in the nursery and
• 2:18:59
  Speaker 3: my room, which are next to each other in one
• 2:19:02
  Speaker 3: corner of the building. For two days after my arrival
• 2:19:06
  Speaker 3: at the Copper Beaches, my life was very quiet. On
• 2:19:09
  Speaker 3: the third Missus Rucastle came down just after breakfast and
• 2:19:13
  Speaker 3: whispered something to her husband. Oh yes, said he, turning
• 2:19:18
  Speaker 3: to me. We are very much obliged to you, miss Hunter,
• 2:19:21
  Speaker 3: for falling in with our whims so far as to
• 2:19:23
  Speaker 3: cut your hair. I assure you that it is not
• 2:19:26
  Speaker 3: detracted in the tiniest iota from your appearance. We shall
• 2:19:30
  Speaker 3: now see how the electric blue dress will become you.
• 2:19:33
  Speaker 3: You will find it laid out upon the bed in
• 2:19:35
  Speaker 3: your room, and if you will be so good as
• 2:19:37
  Speaker 3: to put it on, we should both be extremely obliged.
• 2:19:42
  Speaker 3: The dress which I found waiting for me was of
• 2:19:44
  Speaker 3: a peculiar shade of blue. It was of excellent material,
• 2:19:48
  Speaker 3: a sort of beige, but it bore unmistakable signs of
• 2:19:52
  Speaker 3: having been worn before. It could not have been a
• 2:19:55
  Speaker 3: better fit if I had been measured for it. Both
• 2:19:58
  Speaker 3: mister and Missus Rucas expressed a delight at the look
• 2:20:01
  Speaker 3: of it, which seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They
• 2:20:06
  Speaker 3: were waiting for me in the drawing room, which is
• 2:20:08
  Speaker 3: a very large room stretching along the entire front of
• 2:20:11
  Speaker 3: the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor.
• 2:20:16
  Speaker 3: A chair had been placed close to the central window,
• 2:20:18
  Speaker 3: with its back turned towards it. In this I was
• 2:20:22
  Speaker 3: asked to sit, and then mister Rucastle, walking up and
• 2:20:26
  Speaker 3: down on the other side of the room, began to
• 2:20:28
  Speaker 3: tell me a series of the funniest stories that I
• 2:20:31
  Speaker 3: have ever listened to. You cannot imagine how comical he was,
• 2:20:35
  Speaker 3: and I laughed until I was quite weary. Missus Rucastle, however,
• 2:20:40
  Speaker 3: who has evidently no sense of humor, never so much
• 2:20:43
  Speaker 3: as smiled, but sat with her hands in her lap
• 2:20:46
  Speaker 3: and a sad, anxious look upon her face. After an
• 2:20:50
  Speaker 3: hour or so, mister Rucastle suddenly remarked that it was
• 2:20:53
  Speaker 3: time to commence the duties of the day, and that
• 2:20:56
  Speaker 3: I might change my dress and go to Little Edward
• 2:20:58
  Speaker 3: in the nursery. Two days later, this same performance was
• 2:21:02
  Speaker 3: gone through under exactly similar circumstances. Again I changed my dress. Again,
• 2:21:08
  Speaker 3: I sat in the window, and again I laughed very
• 2:21:12
  Speaker 3: heartily at the funny stories of which my employer had
• 2:21:14
  Speaker 3: an immense repertoire, and which he told inimitably. Then he
• 2:21:19
  Speaker 3: handed me a yellow backed novel, and moving my chair
• 2:21:22
  Speaker 3: a little sideways that my own shadow might not fall
• 2:21:25
  Speaker 3: upon the page. He begged me to read aloud to him.
• 2:21:29
  Speaker 3: I read for about ten minutes, beginning in the heart
• 2:21:32
  Speaker 3: of a chapter, and then suddenly, in the middle of
• 2:21:35
  Speaker 3: a sentence, he ordered me to cease and to change
• 2:21:38
  Speaker 3: my dress. You can easily imagine, mister Holmes, how curious
• 2:21:43
  Speaker 3: I became as to what the meaning of this extraordinary
• 2:21:46
  Speaker 3: performance could possibly be. They were always very careful. I
• 2:21:50
  Speaker 3: observed to turn my face away from the window, so
• 2:21:53
  Speaker 3: that I became consumed with a desire to see what
• 2:21:56
  Speaker 3: was going on behind my back. At first it seemed
• 2:22:00
  Speaker 3: to be impossible, but I soon devised a means. My
• 2:22:04
  Speaker 3: hand mirror had been broken, so a happy thought seized me,
• 2:22:08
  Speaker 3: and I concealed a piece of the glass in my handkerchief.
• 2:22:12
  Speaker 3: On the next occasion, in the midst of my laughter,
• 2:22:15
  Speaker 3: I put my handkerchief up to my eyes and was able,
• 2:22:18
  Speaker 3: with a little management, to see all that there was
• 2:22:20
  Speaker 3: behind me. I confess that I was disappointed there was nothing,
• 2:22:26
  Speaker 3: at least that was my first impression. At the second glance, however,
• 2:22:30
  Speaker 3: I perceived that there was a man standing in the
• 2:22:32
  Speaker 3: Southampton road, a small bearded man in a gray suit,
• 2:22:36
  Speaker 3: who seemed to be looking in my direction. The road
• 2:22:40
  Speaker 3: is an important highway, and there are usually people there.
• 2:22:44
  Speaker 3: This man, however, was leaning against the railings which bordered
• 2:22:47
  Speaker 3: our field, and was looking earnestly up. I lowered my
• 2:22:51
  Speaker 3: handkerchief and glanced at missus Rowcastle, to find her eyes
• 2:22:55
  Speaker 3: fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing,
• 2:22:59
  Speaker 3: But but I am convinced that she had divined that
• 2:23:02
  Speaker 3: I had a mirror in my hand and had seen
• 2:23:04
  Speaker 3: what was behind me. She rose at once, jeoff row
• 2:23:10
  Speaker 3: said she there is an impertinent fellow upon the road
• 2:23:13
  Speaker 3: there who stares up at Miss Hunter. No friend of yours,
• 2:23:17
  Speaker 3: Miss Hunter, he asked, No, I know no one in
• 2:23:21
  Speaker 3: these parts. Dear me, how very impertinent. Kindly turn round
• 2:23:27
  Speaker 3: and motion to him to go away. Surely it would
• 2:23:30
  Speaker 3: be better to take no notice. No, no, we should
• 2:23:34
  Speaker 3: have him loitering here. Always kindly turn round and wave
• 2:23:38
  Speaker 3: him away like that. I did as I was told,
• 2:23:42
  Speaker 3: and at the same instant missus Rucastle drew down the blind.
• 2:23:46
  Speaker 3: That was a week ago, and from that time I
• 2:23:48
  Speaker 3: have not sat again in the window, nor have I
• 2:23:51
  Speaker 3: worn the blue dress. Nor seen the man in the road.
• 2:23:55
  Speaker 3: Pray continue, said Holmes. Your narrative promises to be a
• 2:23:59
  Speaker 3: most interesting one. You will find it rather disconnected, I fear,
• 2:24:05
  Speaker 3: and there may prove to be little relation between the
• 2:24:07
  Speaker 3: different incidents of which I speak. On the very first
• 2:24:10
  Speaker 3: day that I was at the Copper Beaches, mister Rucastle
• 2:24:13
  Speaker 3: took me to a small outhouse which stands near the
• 2:24:16
  Speaker 3: kitchen door. As we approached it, I heard the sharp
• 2:24:19
  Speaker 3: rattling of a chain and the sound as of a
• 2:24:22
  Speaker 3: large animal moving about. Look in here, said mister Rucastle,
• 2:24:27
  Speaker 3: showing me a slit between two planks. Is he not
• 2:24:30
  Speaker 3: a beauty? I looked through and was conscious of two
• 2:24:34
  Speaker 3: glowing eyes and of a vague figure huddled up in
• 2:24:37
  Speaker 3: the darkness. Don't be frightened, said my employer, laughing at
• 2:24:42
  Speaker 3: the start which I had given. It's only Carlo, my mastiff.
• 2:24:47
  Speaker 3: I call him mine, but really old Toller, my groom,
• 2:24:50
  Speaker 3: is the only man who can do anything with him.
• 2:24:53
  Speaker 3: We feed him once a day, and not too much thin,
• 2:24:56
  Speaker 3: so that he is always as keen as mustard. Taller
• 2:25:00
  Speaker 3: lets it loose every night. And God helped the trespasser
• 2:25:03
  Speaker 3: whom he lays his fangs upon. For goodness sake, don't
• 2:25:07
  Speaker 3: you ever, on any pretext set your foot over the
• 2:25:09
  Speaker 3: threshold at night, for it's as much as your life
• 2:25:12
  Speaker 3: is worth. The warning was no idle one for two
• 2:25:17
  Speaker 3: nights later. I happened to look out of my bedroom
• 2:25:19
  Speaker 3: window about two o'clock in the morning. It was a
• 2:25:22
  Speaker 3: beautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the
• 2:25:25
  Speaker 3: house was silvered over and almost as bright as day.
• 2:25:29
  Speaker 3: I was standing wrapped in the peaceful beauty of the
• 2:25:32
  Speaker 3: scene when I was aware that something was moving under
• 2:25:35
  Speaker 3: the shadow of the Copper Beaches. As it emerged into
• 2:25:38
  Speaker 3: the moonshine, I saw what it was. It was a
• 2:25:42
  Speaker 3: giant dog as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with
• 2:25:46
  Speaker 3: hanging jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones. It walked
• 2:25:51
  Speaker 3: slowly across the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon
• 2:25:54
  Speaker 3: the other side. That dreadful sentinel sent a chill to
• 2:25:58
  Speaker 3: my heart, which I do not think that in any
• 2:26:00
  Speaker 3: burglar could have done. And now I have a very
• 2:26:03
  Speaker 3: strange experience to tell you. I had, as you know,
• 2:26:07
  Speaker 3: cut off my hair in London, and I had placed
• 2:26:10
  Speaker 3: it in a great coil at the bottom of my trunk.
• 2:26:13
  Speaker 3: One evening, after the child was in bed, I began
• 2:26:16
  Speaker 3: to amuse myself by examining the furniture of my room
• 2:26:20
  Speaker 3: and by rearranging my own little things. There was an
• 2:26:23
  Speaker 3: old chest of drawers in the room, the two upper
• 2:26:26
  Speaker 3: ones empty and open, the lower one locked. I had
• 2:26:30
  Speaker 3: filled the first two with my linen, and as I
• 2:26:33
  Speaker 3: had still much to pack away, I was naturally annoyed
• 2:26:35
  Speaker 3: at not having the use of the third drawer. It
• 2:26:39
  Speaker 3: struck me that it might have been fastened by a
• 2:26:41
  Speaker 3: mere oversight. So I took out my bunch of keys
• 2:26:44
  Speaker 3: and tried to open it. The very first key fitted
• 2:26:47
  Speaker 3: to perfection, and I drew the drawer open. There was
• 2:26:51
  Speaker 3: only one thing in it, but I am sure that
• 2:26:53
  Speaker 3: you would never guess what it was. It was my
• 2:26:56
  Speaker 3: coil of hair. I took it up and examined it.
• 2:27:01
  Speaker 3: It was of the same peculiar tint and the same thickness.
• 2:27:06
  Speaker 3: But then the impossibility of the thing obtruded itself upon me.
• 2:27:10
  Speaker 3: How could my hair have been locked in the drawer.
• 2:27:13
  Speaker 3: With trembling hands, I undid my trunk, turned out the contents,
• 2:27:17
  Speaker 3: and drew from the bottom my own hair. I laid
• 2:27:20
  Speaker 3: the two tresses together, and I assure you that they
• 2:27:23
  Speaker 3: were identical? Was it not extraordinary puzzle? As I would,
• 2:27:29
  Speaker 3: I could make nothing at all of what it meant.
• 2:27:31
  Speaker 3: I returned the strange hair to the drawer, and I
• 2:27:34
  Speaker 3: said nothing of the matter to the rue Castles, as
• 2:27:36
  Speaker 3: I felt that I had put myself in the wrong
• 2:27:38
  Speaker 3: by opening a drawer which they had locked. I am
• 2:27:43
  Speaker 3: naturally observant, as you may have remarked, mister Holmes, and
• 2:27:46
  Speaker 3: I soon had a pretty good plan of the whole
• 2:27:48
  Speaker 3: house in my head. There was one wing, however, which
• 2:27:52
  Speaker 3: appeared not to be inhabited at all. A door which
• 2:27:55
  Speaker 3: faced that which led into the quarters of the tollers
• 2:27:58
  Speaker 3: opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked. One day, however,
• 2:28:04
  Speaker 3: as I ascended the stair, I met mister Rucastle coming
• 2:28:07
  Speaker 3: out through this door, his keys in his hand, and
• 2:28:11
  Speaker 3: a look on his face which made him a very
• 2:28:13
  Speaker 3: different person to the round, jovial man to whom I
• 2:28:16
  Speaker 3: was accustomed. His cheeks were red, his brow was all
• 2:28:20
  Speaker 3: crinkled with anger, and the veins stood out at his
• 2:28:22
  Speaker 3: temples with passion. He locked the door and hurried past
• 2:28:26
  Speaker 3: me without a word or a look. This aroused my curiosity,
• 2:28:31
  Speaker 3: so when I went out for a walk in the
• 2:28:33
  Speaker 3: grounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side
• 2:28:36
  Speaker 3: from which I could see the windows of this part
• 2:28:38
  Speaker 3: of the house. There were four of them in a row,
• 2:28:42
  Speaker 3: three of which were simply dirty, while the fourth was
• 2:28:45
  Speaker 3: shuddered up. They were evidently all deserted. As I strolled
• 2:28:50
  Speaker 3: up and down, glancing at them occasionally, mister Rucastle came
• 2:28:54
  Speaker 3: out to me, looking as merry and jovial as ever.
• 2:28:58
  Speaker 3: Ah said he you must not think me rude if
• 2:29:01
  Speaker 3: I passed you without a word, My dear young lady,
• 2:29:03
  Speaker 3: I was preoccupied with business matters. I assured him that
• 2:29:08
  Speaker 3: I was not offended by the way, said I. You
• 2:29:12
  Speaker 3: seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there,
• 2:29:15
  Speaker 3: and one of them has the shutters up. He looked surprised, and,
• 2:29:19
  Speaker 3: as it seemed to me a little startled at my remark.
• 2:29:23
  Speaker 3: Photography is one of my hobbies, said he, I have
• 2:29:26
  Speaker 3: made my dark room up there. But dear me, what
• 2:29:29
  Speaker 3: an observant young lady we have come upon. Who would
• 2:29:32
  Speaker 3: have believed it? Who would have ever believed it? He
• 2:29:36
  Speaker 3: spoke in a jesting tone, But there was no jest
• 2:29:39
  Speaker 3: in his eyes as he looked at me. I read
• 2:29:42
  Speaker 3: suspicion there, an annoyance, but no jest. Well, mister Holmes.
• 2:29:48
  Speaker 3: From the moment that I understood that there was something
• 2:29:51
  Speaker 3: about that suite of rooms which I was not to know,
• 2:29:54
  Speaker 3: I was all on fire to go over them. It
• 2:29:57
  Speaker 3: was not mere curiosity, though I have my share of that.
• 2:30:01
  Speaker 3: It was more a feeling of duty, a feeling that
• 2:30:03
  Speaker 3: some good might come from my penetrating to this place.
• 2:30:08
  Speaker 3: They talk of woman's instinct. Perhaps it was woman's instinct
• 2:30:12
  Speaker 3: which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there,
• 2:30:15
  Speaker 3: and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance
• 2:30:17
  Speaker 3: to pass the forbidden door. It was only yesterday that
• 2:30:21
  Speaker 3: the chance came. I may tell you that besides mister Rucastle,
• 2:30:26
  Speaker 3: both Taller and his wife find something to do in
• 2:30:28
  Speaker 3: these deserted rooms. And I once saw him carrying a
• 2:30:31
  Speaker 3: large black linen bag with him through the door. Recently
• 2:30:35
  Speaker 3: he has been drinking hard, and yesterday evening he was
• 2:30:38
  Speaker 3: very drunk, and when I came upstairs there was the
• 2:30:41
  Speaker 3: key in the door. I had no doubt at all
• 2:30:44
  Speaker 3: that he had left it there. Mister and missus Roucastle
• 2:30:48
  Speaker 3: were both downstairs, and the child was with them, so
• 2:30:51
  Speaker 3: that I had an admirable opportunity. I turned the key
• 2:30:55
  Speaker 3: gently in the lock, opened the door, and slipped through.
• 2:30:59
  Speaker 3: There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered
• 2:31:02
  Speaker 3: and uncarpeted, which turned at a right angle. At the
• 2:31:05
  Speaker 3: farther end. Round this corner were three doors in a line,
• 2:31:09
  Speaker 3: the first and third of which were open. They each
• 2:31:12
  Speaker 3: led into an empty room, dusty and cheerless, with two
• 2:31:16
  Speaker 3: windows in the one and one in the other, so
• 2:31:19
  Speaker 3: thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through them.
• 2:31:23
  Speaker 3: The center door was closed, and across the outside of
• 2:31:26
  Speaker 3: it had been fastened one of the broad bars of
• 2:31:28
  Speaker 3: an iron bed padlocked at one end to a ring
• 2:31:32
  Speaker 3: in the wall, and fastened at the other with stout cord.
• 2:31:36
  Speaker 3: The door itself was locked as well, and the key
• 2:31:39
  Speaker 3: was not there. This barricaded door corresponded clearly with the
• 2:31:43
  Speaker 3: shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the
• 2:31:47
  Speaker 3: glimmer from beneath it that the room was not in darkness.
• 2:31:51
  Speaker 3: Evidently there was a skylight which led in light from above.
• 2:31:55
  Speaker 3: As I stood in the passage, gazing at the sinister door,
• 2:31:58
  Speaker 3: and wondering what secret it might veil. I suddenly heard
• 2:32:01
  Speaker 3: the sound of steps within the room, and saw a
• 2:32:04
  Speaker 3: shadow pass backward and forward against the little slit of
• 2:32:07
  Speaker 3: dim light which shone out from under the door. A mad,
• 2:32:11
  Speaker 3: unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight mister Holmes.
• 2:32:14
  Speaker 3: My overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and I turned and
• 2:32:18
  Speaker 3: ran ran, as though some dreadful hand were behind me,
• 2:32:21
  Speaker 3: Clutching at the skirt of my dress, I rushed down
• 2:32:24
  Speaker 3: the passage, through the door and straight into the arms
• 2:32:27
  Speaker 3: of mister Rucastle, who was waiting outside. So said he, smiling.
• 2:32:33
  Speaker 3: It was you, then I thought that it must be
• 2:32:35
  Speaker 3: when I saw the door open. Oh I am so frightened,
• 2:32:39
  Speaker 3: I panted, my dear young lady. You cannot think how
• 2:32:44
  Speaker 3: caressing and soothing his manner was, and what has frightened you,
• 2:32:48
  Speaker 3: my dear young lady. But his voice was just a
• 2:32:53
  Speaker 3: little too coaxing. He overdid it. I was keenly on
• 2:32:57
  Speaker 3: my guard against him. I was foolish enough to go
• 2:33:00
  Speaker 3: into the empty wing, I answered. But it is so
• 2:33:03
  Speaker 3: lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was
• 2:33:06
  Speaker 3: frightened and ran out again. Oh it is so dreadfully
• 2:33:10
  Speaker 3: still in there. Only that, said, he looking at me keenly.
• 2:33:16
  Speaker 3: Why what did you think, I asked, Why do you
• 2:33:20
  Speaker 3: think that I locked this door? I am sure that
• 2:33:23
  Speaker 3: I do not know. It is to keep people out
• 2:33:27
  Speaker 3: who have no business there. Do you see? He was
• 2:33:31
  Speaker 3: still smiling in the most amiable manner. I am sure
• 2:33:35
  Speaker 3: if I had known well, then you know now, and
• 2:33:39
  Speaker 3: if you ever put your foot over that threshold again
• 2:33:42
  Speaker 3: here in an instant, the smile hardened into a grin
• 2:33:45
  Speaker 3: of rage, and he glared down at me with the
• 2:33:47
  Speaker 3: face of a demon. I'll throw you to the mastiff.
• 2:33:51
  Speaker 3: I was so terrified that I do not know what
• 2:33:54
  Speaker 3: I did. I suppose that I must have rushed past
• 2:33:56
  Speaker 3: him into my room. I remember nothing until I found
• 2:34:00
  Speaker 3: myself lying on my bed, trembling all over. Then I
• 2:34:03
  Speaker 3: thought of you, mister Holmes. I could not live there
• 2:34:06
  Speaker 3: longer without some advice. I was frightened of the house,
• 2:34:10
  Speaker 3: of the man, of the woman, of the servants, even
• 2:34:13
  Speaker 3: of the child. They were all horrible to me. If
• 2:34:17
  Speaker 3: I could only bring you down, all would be well.
• 2:34:20
  Speaker 3: Of course, I might have fled from the house, But
• 2:34:23
  Speaker 3: my curiosity was almost as strong as my fears. My
• 2:34:27
  Speaker 3: mind was soon made up. I would send you a wire.
• 2:34:31
  Speaker 3: I put on my hat and cloak, went down to
• 2:34:33
  Speaker 3: the office, which is about half a mile from the house,
• 2:34:37
  Speaker 3: and then returned feeling very much easier. A horrible doubt
• 2:34:41
  Speaker 3: came into my mind as I approached the door, lest
• 2:34:44
  Speaker 3: the dog might be loose. But I remembered that Toller
• 2:34:47
  Speaker 3: had drunk himself into a state of insensibility that evening,
• 2:34:50
  Speaker 3: and I knew that he was the only one in
• 2:34:52
  Speaker 3: the household who had any influence with the savage creature,
• 2:34:55
  Speaker 3: or who had venture to set him free. I slipped
• 2:34:59
  Speaker 3: in in safety and lay awake half the night in
• 2:35:01
  Speaker 3: my joy at the thought of seeing you. I had
• 2:35:05
  Speaker 3: no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester this morning,
• 2:35:09
  Speaker 3: but I must be back before three o'clock, for mister
• 2:35:11
  Speaker 3: and Missus Rowcastle are going on a visit and will
• 2:35:14
  Speaker 3: be away all the evening, so that I must look
• 2:35:16
  Speaker 3: after the child. Now I have told you all my adventures,
• 2:35:20
  Speaker 3: mister Holmes, and I should be very glad if you
• 2:35:22
  Speaker 3: could tell me what it all means, and above all,
• 2:35:25
  Speaker 3: what I should do. Holmes and I had listened spellbound
• 2:35:30
  Speaker 3: to this extraordinary story my friend rose now and paced
• 2:35:34
  Speaker 3: up and down the room, his hands in his pockets
• 2:35:37
  Speaker 3: and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face.
• 2:35:42
  Speaker 3: Is Toller still drunk? He asked? Yes, I heard his
• 2:35:46
  Speaker 3: wife tell Missus Rowcastle that she could do nothing with him.
• 2:35:50
  Speaker 3: That is well, and the roecastles go out to night.
• 2:35:54
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 2:35:56
  Speaker 3: Is there a cellar with a good strong lock, Yes,
• 2:35:59
  Speaker 3: the wall. You seem to me to have acted all
• 2:36:03
  Speaker 3: through this matter like a very brave and sensible girl.
• 2:36:06
  Speaker 3: Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could perform one
• 2:36:08
  Speaker 3: more feat? I should not ask it of you if
• 2:36:11
  Speaker 3: I did not think you quite an exceptional woman. I
• 2:36:15
  Speaker 3: will try. What is it? We shall be at the
• 2:36:19
  Speaker 3: Copper Beaches by seven o'clock, my friend and I. The
• 2:36:22
  Speaker 3: roof castles will be gone by that time, and Toller
• 2:36:25
  Speaker 3: will we hope, be incapable. There only remains Missus Toller,
• 2:36:29
  Speaker 3: who might give the alarm. If you could send her
• 2:36:32
  Speaker 3: into the cellar on some errand and then turn the
• 2:36:35
  Speaker 3: key upon her, you would facilitate matters immensely. I will
• 2:36:39
  Speaker 3: do it, excellent. We shall then look thoroughly into the affair.
• 2:36:45
  Speaker 3: Of course, there is only one feasible explanation. You have
• 2:36:49
  Speaker 3: been brought there to personate someone, and the real person
• 2:36:52
  Speaker 3: is imprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious as to
• 2:36:56
  Speaker 3: who this prisoner is. I have no doubt that it
• 2:36:59
  Speaker 3: is the doll, miss Alice Rucastle, if I remember right,
• 2:37:03
  Speaker 3: who was said to have gone to America. You were chosen, doubtless,
• 2:37:07
  Speaker 3: as resembling her in height, figure and the color of
• 2:37:10
  Speaker 3: her hair. Hers had been cut off, very possibly in
• 2:37:14
  Speaker 3: some illness through which she has passed, and so of
• 2:37:17
  Speaker 3: course yours had to be sacrificed. Also by a curious chance,
• 2:37:21
  Speaker 3: you came upon her tresses. The man in the road
• 2:37:25
  Speaker 3: was undoubtedly some friend of hers, possibly her fiancee, And
• 2:37:29
  Speaker 3: no doubt, as you wore the girl's dress and were
• 2:37:32
  Speaker 3: so like her, he was convinced, from your laughter whenever
• 2:37:35
  Speaker 3: he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture, that Miss
• 2:37:39
  Speaker 3: Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer desired
• 2:37:42
  Speaker 3: his attentions. The dog is let loose at night to
• 2:37:46
  Speaker 3: prevent him from endeavoring to communicate with her. So much
• 2:37:49
  Speaker 3: is fairly clear. The most serious point in the case
• 2:37:52
  Speaker 3: is the disposition of the child. What on earth has
• 2:37:57
  Speaker 3: that to do with it? I ejaculated my dear Watson, you,
• 2:38:01
  Speaker 3: as a medical man, are continually gaining light as to
• 2:38:04
  Speaker 3: the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents.
• 2:38:08
  Speaker 3: Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I
• 2:38:11
  Speaker 3: have frequently gained my first real insight into the character
• 2:38:15
  Speaker 3: of parents by studying their children. This child's disposition is
• 2:38:19
  Speaker 3: abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty's sake. And whether he derives
• 2:38:24
  Speaker 3: this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, or
• 2:38:28
  Speaker 3: from his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl
• 2:38:31
  Speaker 3: who is in their power. I am sure that you
• 2:38:34
  Speaker 3: are right, mister Holmes, cried our client. A thousand things
• 2:38:38
  Speaker 3: come back to me which make me certain that you
• 2:38:40
  Speaker 3: have hid it. Oh, let us lose not an instant
• 2:38:43
  Speaker 3: in bringing help to this poor creature. We must be circumspect,
• 2:38:48
  Speaker 3: for we are dealing with a very cunning man. We
• 2:38:51
  Speaker 3: can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we
• 2:38:54
  Speaker 3: shall be with you, and it will not be long
• 2:38:57
  Speaker 3: before we solve the mystery. We were as good as
• 2:39:00
  Speaker 3: our word, for it was just seven when we reached
• 2:39:03
  Speaker 3: the Copper Beaches, having put up our trap at a
• 2:39:06
  Speaker 3: wayside public house. The group of trees with their dark leaves,
• 2:39:10
  Speaker 3: shining like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun,
• 2:39:13
  Speaker 3: were sufficient to mark the house even had miss Hunter
• 2:39:16
  Speaker 3: not been standing smiling on the doorstep. Have you managed it?
• 2:39:21
  Speaker 3: Asked Holmes. A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs.
• 2:39:27
  Speaker 3: Pat is missus Toller in the cellar? Said she, Her
• 2:39:31
  Speaker 3: husband lies snoring on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys,
• 2:39:35
  Speaker 3: which are the duplicates of mister Rucastle's. You have done well, indeed,
• 2:39:40
  Speaker 3: cried Holmes, with enthusiasm. Now lead the way, and we
• 2:39:43
  Speaker 3: shall soon see the end of this black business. We
• 2:39:48
  Speaker 3: passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down
• 2:39:52
  Speaker 3: a passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade
• 2:39:55
  Speaker 3: which miss Hunter had described. Holmes cut the cord and
• 2:39:59
  Speaker 3: removed the transverse. Then he tried the various keys in
• 2:40:03
  Speaker 3: the lock, but without success. No sound came from within,
• 2:40:08
  Speaker 3: and at the silence, Holmes's face clouded over. I trust
• 2:40:12
  Speaker 3: that we are not too late, said he. I think,
• 2:40:16
  Speaker 3: miss Hunter, that we had better go in without you. Now, Watson,
• 2:40:19
  Speaker 3: put your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether
• 2:40:21
  Speaker 3: we cannot make our way in. It was an old,
• 2:40:25
  Speaker 3: rickety door and gave it once before our united strength
• 2:40:29
  Speaker 3: together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There
• 2:40:33
  Speaker 3: was no furniture save a little pallet bed, a small table,
• 2:40:37
  Speaker 3: and a basketful of linen. The skylight above was open
• 2:40:41
  Speaker 3: and the prisoner gone. There has been some villainy here,
• 2:40:46
  Speaker 3: said Holmes. This beauty has guessed Miss Hunter's intentions and
• 2:40:49
  Speaker 3: has carried his victim off. But how through the skylight?
• 2:40:55
  Speaker 3: We shall soon see how he managed it. He swung
• 2:40:58
  Speaker 3: himself up onto the room. Ah, yes, he cried, here's
• 2:41:03
  Speaker 3: the end of a long light ladder against the eaves.
• 2:41:06
  Speaker 3: That is how he did it. But it is impossible,
• 2:41:10
  Speaker 3: said miss Hunter. The latter was not there when the
• 2:41:12
  Speaker 3: Rooe castles went away. He has come back and done it.
• 2:41:17
  Speaker 3: I tell you that he is a clever and dangerous man.
• 2:41:21
  Speaker 3: I should not be very much surprised if this were
• 2:41:23
  Speaker 3: he whose step I hear now upon the stair. I think, Watson,
• 2:41:27
  Speaker 3: that it would be as well for you to have
• 2:41:29
  Speaker 3: your pistol ready. The words were hardly out of his
• 2:41:33
  Speaker 3: mouth before a man appeared at the door of the room,
• 2:41:36
  Speaker 3: a very fat and burly man with a heavy stick
• 2:41:39
  Speaker 3: in his hand. Miss Hunter screamed and shrunk against the
• 2:41:43
  Speaker 3: wall at the sight of him, but Sherlock Holms sprang
• 2:41:47
  Speaker 3: forward and confronted him. You villain, said he, where's your daughter?
• 2:41:52
  Speaker 3: The fat man cast his eyes round and then up
• 2:41:55
  Speaker 3: at the open skylight. It is for me to ask
• 2:41:59
  Speaker 3: you that, he shrieked. You thieves, spies and thieves. I
• 2:42:03
  Speaker 3: have caught you, have I You are in my power.
• 2:42:06
  Speaker 3: I'll serve you. He turned and clattered down the stairs
• 2:42:10
  Speaker 3: as hard as he could go. He's gone for the dog,
• 2:42:14
  Speaker 3: cried miss Hunter. I have my revolver, said I better
• 2:42:20
  Speaker 3: close the front door, cried Holmes, and we all rushed
• 2:42:23
  Speaker 3: down the stairs together. We had hardly reached the hall
• 2:42:26
  Speaker 3: when we heard the baying of a hound, and then
• 2:42:29
  Speaker 3: a scream of agony, with a horrible, worrying sound, which
• 2:42:32
  Speaker 3: it was dreadful to listen to. An elderly man with
• 2:42:36
  Speaker 3: a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out at
• 2:42:39
  Speaker 3: a side door. My god, he cried, some one has
• 2:42:43
  Speaker 3: loosed the dog. It's not been fed for two days. Quick, quick,
• 2:42:47
  Speaker 3: or it'll be too late. Holmes and I rushed out
• 2:42:51
  Speaker 3: and round the angle of the house, with Taller hurrying
• 2:42:54
  Speaker 3: behind us. There was the huge famished brute, its black
• 2:42:58
  Speaker 3: muzzle buried in rucastle throat while he writhed and screamed
• 2:43:02
  Speaker 3: upon the ground. Running up, I blew its brains out,
• 2:43:06
  Speaker 3: and it fell over, with its keen white teeth still
• 2:43:08
  Speaker 3: meeting in the great creases of his neck. With much labor,
• 2:43:12
  Speaker 3: we separated them and carried him, living but horribly mangled,
• 2:43:16
  Speaker 3: into the house. We laid him upon the drawing room sofa, and,
• 2:43:20
  Speaker 3: having dispatched the sobered Toller to bear the news to
• 2:43:23
  Speaker 3: his wife, I did what I could to relieve his pain.
• 2:43:28
  Speaker 3: We were all assembled round him when the door opened
• 2:43:31
  Speaker 3: and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room. Missus Toller cried,
• 2:43:36
  Speaker 3: Miss Hunter. Yes, miss mister Rucastle let me out when
• 2:43:41
  Speaker 3: he came back before he went up to you. Ah, miss,
• 2:43:44
  Speaker 3: it is a pity you didn't let me know what
• 2:43:46
  Speaker 3: you were planning for I would have told you that
• 2:43:48
  Speaker 3: your pains were wasted, ha, said Holmes, looking keenly at her.
• 2:43:53
  Speaker 3: It is clear that missus Toller knows more about this
• 2:43:56
  Speaker 3: matter than any one else. Yes, sir, I do, and
• 2:44:00
  Speaker 3: I am ready enough to tell what I know. Then pray,
• 2:44:04
  Speaker 3: sit down and let us hear it, for there are
• 2:44:06
  Speaker 3: several points on which I must confess that I am
• 2:44:08
  Speaker 3: still in the dark. I will soon make it clear
• 2:44:12
  Speaker 3: to you, said she, and i'd have done so before now,
• 2:44:15
  Speaker 3: if I could have got out from the cellar. If
• 2:44:18
  Speaker 3: there's police court business over this, you'll remember that I
• 2:44:21
  Speaker 3: was the one that stood your friend, and that I
• 2:44:23
  Speaker 3: was miss Alice's friend too. She was never happy at home.
• 2:44:27
  Speaker 3: Miss Alice wasn't from the time that her father married again.
• 2:44:32
  Speaker 3: She was slighted like and had no say in anything.
• 2:44:35
  Speaker 3: But it never really became bad for her until after
• 2:44:37
  Speaker 3: she met mister Fowler at a friend's house. As well
• 2:44:41
  Speaker 3: as I could learn, miss Alice had rights of her
• 2:44:43
  Speaker 3: own by will, but she was so quiet and patient
• 2:44:47
  Speaker 3: she was that she never said a word about them,
• 2:44:50
  Speaker 3: but just left everything in mister Rucastle's hands. He knew
• 2:44:54
  Speaker 3: he was safe with her. But when there was a
• 2:44:56
  Speaker 3: chance of a husband coming forward who would ask for
• 2:44:59
  Speaker 3: all that the law would give him, then her father
• 2:45:01
  Speaker 3: thought it time to put a stop on it. He
• 2:45:04
  Speaker 3: wanted her to sign a paper so that whether she
• 2:45:07
  Speaker 3: married or not, he could use her money. When she
• 2:45:10
  Speaker 3: wouldn't do it, he kept on worrying her until she
• 2:45:12
  Speaker 3: got brain fever. And for six weeks was at death's door.
• 2:45:17
  Speaker 3: Then she got better at last, all worn to a
• 2:45:20
  Speaker 3: shadow and with her beautiful hair cut off. But that
• 2:45:24
  Speaker 3: didn't make no change in her, young man, and he
• 2:45:26
  Speaker 3: stuck to her as true as man could be. Ah,
• 2:45:30
  Speaker 3: said Holmes. I think that what you have been good
• 2:45:32
  Speaker 3: enough to tell us makes the matter fairly clear, and
• 2:45:35
  Speaker 3: that I can deduce all that remains. Mister Rucastle, then
• 2:45:40
  Speaker 3: I presume took to this system of imprisonment, yes, sir,
• 2:45:45
  Speaker 3: and brought miss Hunter down from London in order to
• 2:45:47
  Speaker 3: get rid of the disagreeable persistence of mister Fowler. That
• 2:45:52
  Speaker 3: was it, sir. But mister Fowler, being a persevering man,
• 2:45:56
  Speaker 3: as a good sea man should be blockaded the house,
• 2:46:00
  Speaker 3: and having met you, succeeded by certain arguments, metallic or
• 2:46:04
  Speaker 3: otherwise in convincing you that your interests were the same
• 2:46:07
  Speaker 3: as his. Mister Fowler was a very kind spoken, free
• 2:46:12
  Speaker 3: handed gentleman, said missus Toller serenely, And in this way
• 2:46:17
  Speaker 3: he managed that your good man should have no want
• 2:46:20
  Speaker 3: of drink, and that a latter should be ready at
• 2:46:22
  Speaker 3: the moment when your master had gone out. You have it, sir,
• 2:46:26
  Speaker 3: just as it happened. I am sure we owe you
• 2:46:30
  Speaker 3: an apology, Missus Toller, said Holmes, for you have certainly
• 2:46:33
  Speaker 3: cleared up everything which puzzled us. And here comes the
• 2:46:37
  Speaker 3: country surgeon and Missus Rucastle. So I think, Watson, that
• 2:46:41
  Speaker 3: we had best escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester, as
• 2:46:44
  Speaker 3: it seems to me that our locust standy now is
• 2:46:47
  Speaker 3: rather a questionable one. And thus was solved the mystery
• 2:46:51
  Speaker 3: of the sinister house with the copper beaches in front
• 2:46:53
  Speaker 3: of the door. Mister Rucastle survived, but was always a
• 2:46:57
  Speaker 3: broken man, kept alive solely through the care of his
• 2:47:00
  Speaker 3: devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who
• 2:47:05
  Speaker 3: probably know so much of Roughcastle's past life that he
• 2:47:08
  Speaker 3: finds it difficult to part from them. Mister Fowler and
• 2:47:11
  Speaker 3: Miss Rucastle were married by special license in Southampton the
• 2:47:16
  Speaker 3: day after their flight, and he is now the holder
• 2:47:19
  Speaker 3: of a government appointment in the island of Mauritius. As
• 2:47:23
  Speaker 3: to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment,
• 2:47:28
  Speaker 3: manifested no further interest in her when once she had
• 2:47:30
  Speaker 3: ceased to be the center of one of his problems.
• 2:47:33
  Speaker 3: And she is now the head of a private school
• 2:47:36
  Speaker 3: at Walsall, where I believe that she has met with
• 2:47:39
  Speaker 3: considerable success. End of the Adventure of the Copper Beaches.
• 2:47:46
  Speaker 3: This concludes the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan.
• 2:47:50
  Speaker 4: Doyle, the Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb. Of all the
• 2:47:56
  Speaker 4: problems which have been submitted to my friend mister Sherlock
• 2:47:59
  Speaker 4: Holmes for solution during the years of our intimacy, there
• 2:48:03
  Speaker 4: were only two which I was the means of introducing
• 2:48:05
  Speaker 4: to his notice, that of mister Hatherley's Thumb and that
• 2:48:09
  Speaker 4: of Colonel Warburton's Madness. Of these, the latter may have
• 2:48:13
  Speaker 4: afforded a finer view for an acute and original observer,
• 2:48:16
  Speaker 4: but the other was so strange in its inception and
• 2:48:20
  Speaker 4: so dramatic in its details, that it may be the
• 2:48:22
  Speaker 4: more worthy of being placed upon record, even if it
• 2:48:25
  Speaker 4: gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of
• 2:48:28
  Speaker 4: reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story
• 2:48:33
  Speaker 4: has I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers,
• 2:48:36
  Speaker 4: but like all such narratives, its effect is much less
• 2:48:40
  Speaker 4: striking when set forth on block in a single half
• 2:48:42
  Speaker 4: column of print, than when the facts slowly evolve before
• 2:48:46
  Speaker 4: your own eyes, and the mystery clears gradually away, as
• 2:48:49
  Speaker 4: each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to
• 2:48:52
  Speaker 4: the complete truth. At the time, the circumstances made a
• 2:48:56
  Speaker 4: deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years
• 2:48:59
  Speaker 4: has hardly served to weaken the effect. It was in
• 2:49:03
  Speaker 4: the summer of eighty nine, not long after my marriage,
• 2:49:06
  Speaker 4: that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize.
• 2:49:09
  Speaker 4: I had returned to civil practice and had finally abandoned
• 2:49:12
  Speaker 4: homes in his baker's street rooms. Although I continually visited him,
• 2:49:16
  Speaker 4: and occasionally even persuaded him to forego his bohemian habits
• 2:49:20
  Speaker 4: so far as to come and visit us. My practice
• 2:49:23
  Speaker 4: had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at
• 2:49:26
  Speaker 4: no very great distance from Paddington's station, I got a
• 2:49:29
  Speaker 4: few patients from among the officials. One of these, whom
• 2:49:33
  Speaker 4: I had cured of a painful and lingering disease. Was
• 2:49:35
  Speaker 4: never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavoring to
• 2:49:39
  Speaker 4: send me on every sufferer over whom he might have
• 2:49:41
  Speaker 4: any influence. One morning, at a little before seven o'clock,
• 2:49:46
  Speaker 4: I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door
• 2:49:48
  Speaker 4: to announce that two men had come from Paddington and
• 2:49:51
  Speaker 4: were waiting in the consulting room. I dressed hurriedly, for
• 2:49:54
  Speaker 4: I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial,
• 2:49:58
  Speaker 4: and hastened downstairs. As I descended my old ally, the
• 2:50:02
  Speaker 4: guard came out of the room and closed the door
• 2:50:05
  Speaker 4: tightly behind him. I've got him in here, he whispered,
• 2:50:08
  Speaker 4: jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He's all right.
• 2:50:12
  Speaker 2: What is it?
• 2:50:12
  Speaker 4: Then, I asked, for his manner suggested that it was
• 2:50:14
  Speaker 4: some strange creature which he had caged up in my room.
• 2:50:18
  Speaker 4: It's a new patient, he whispered. I thought i'd bring
• 2:50:20
  Speaker 4: him round myself then he couldn't slip away. There. He
• 2:50:23
  Speaker 4: is all safe and sound. I must go now, doctor,
• 2:50:26
  Speaker 4: I have my duties just the same as you, and
• 2:50:29
  Speaker 4: off he went, this trusty toute, without even giving me
• 2:50:32
  Speaker 4: time to thank him. I entered my consulting room and
• 2:50:36
  Speaker 4: found a gentleman seated by the table. He was quietly
• 2:50:39
  Speaker 4: dressed in a suit of heather tweed, with a soft
• 2:50:41
  Speaker 4: cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books.
• 2:50:45
  Speaker 4: Round one of his hands. He had a handkerchief wrapped
• 2:50:47
  Speaker 4: which was mottled all over with blood stains. He was young,
• 2:50:51
  Speaker 4: not more than five and twenty, I should say, with
• 2:50:53
  Speaker 4: a strong masculine face, but he was exceedingly pale, and
• 2:50:57
  Speaker 4: gave me the impression of a man who was suffering
• 2:50:58
  Speaker 4: from some strong edgegitation which it took all his strength
• 2:51:02
  Speaker 4: of mind to control. I am sorry to knock you
• 2:51:04
  Speaker 4: up so early, doctor, he said, but I have had
• 2:51:06
  Speaker 4: a very serious accident during the night. I came in
• 2:51:09
  Speaker 4: by train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as
• 2:51:12
  Speaker 4: to where I might find a doctor, a worthy fellow
• 2:51:15
  Speaker 4: very kindly escorted me here. I gave the maid a card,
• 2:51:18
  Speaker 4: but I see that she has left it upon the
• 2:51:20
  Speaker 4: side table. I took it up and glanced at it.
• 2:51:23
  Speaker 4: Mister Victor Hatherley, Hydraulic Engineer, sixteen a Victoria's Street, third floor.
• 2:51:29
  Speaker 4: That was the name, style and abode of my morning visitor.
• 2:51:33
  Speaker 4: I regret that I have kept you waiting, said I,
• 2:51:35
  Speaker 4: sitting down in my library chair. You are fresh from
• 2:51:37
  Speaker 4: a night journey, I understand, which is in itself a
• 2:51:40
  Speaker 4: monotonous occupation. Oh my night could not be called monotonous,
• 2:51:44
  Speaker 4: said he, and laughed he laughed, very heartily, with a
• 2:51:48
  Speaker 4: high ringing note, leaning back in his chair and shaking
• 2:51:51
  Speaker 4: his sides. All my medical instincts rose up against that laugh.
• 2:51:55
  Speaker 4: Stop it, I cried, pull yourself together, and I poured
• 2:51:57
  Speaker 4: out some water from a caraffe. It was useless, however,
• 2:52:01
  Speaker 4: he was off in one of those hysterical outbursts which
• 2:52:03
  Speaker 4: come upon a strong nature when some great crisis is
• 2:52:06
  Speaker 4: over and gone. Presently, he came to himself once more,
• 2:52:10
  Speaker 4: very weary and pale looking. I have been making a
• 2:52:13
  Speaker 4: fool of myself, he gasped, Not at all, drink this.
• 2:52:16
  Speaker 4: I dashed some brandy into the water, and the color
• 2:52:19
  Speaker 4: began to come back to his bloodless cheeks. That's better,
• 2:52:22
  Speaker 4: said he. And now, doctor, perhaps you would kindly attend
• 2:52:25
  Speaker 4: to my thumb, or rather to the place where my
• 2:52:28
  Speaker 4: thumb used to be. He unwound the handkerchief and held
• 2:52:32
  Speaker 4: out his hand. It gave even my hardened nerves a
• 2:52:35
  Speaker 4: shudder to look at it. There were four protruding fingers
• 2:52:38
  Speaker 4: and a horrid red, spongy surface where the thumb should
• 2:52:41
  Speaker 4: have been. It had been hacked or torn right out
• 2:52:44
  Speaker 4: from the roots. Good heavens, I cried, this is a
• 2:52:47
  Speaker 4: terrible injury. It must have bled considerably, Yes, it did.
• 2:52:52
  Speaker 4: I fainted when it was done, and I think that
• 2:52:53
  Speaker 4: I must have been senseless for a long time. When
• 2:52:56
  Speaker 4: I came to, I found that it was still bleeding.
• 2:52:58
  Speaker 4: So I tied one end of my hands very tightly
• 2:53:00
  Speaker 4: round the wrist and braced it up with a twig. Excellent.
• 2:53:04
  Speaker 4: You should have been a surgeon. It is a question
• 2:53:06
  Speaker 4: of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own province.
• 2:53:10
  Speaker 4: This has been done, said I, examining the wound by
• 2:53:12
  Speaker 4: a very heavy and sharp instrument, a thing like a cleaver.
• 2:53:16
  Speaker 4: Said he, an accident, I presume by no means what
• 2:53:21
  Speaker 4: a murderous attack. Very murderous. Indeed, you horrify me. I
• 2:53:26
  Speaker 4: sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered
• 2:53:29
  Speaker 4: it over with cotton wadding and carbalized bandages. He lay
• 2:53:32
  Speaker 4: back without wincing, though he bit his lip from time
• 2:53:35
  Speaker 4: to time.
• 2:53:36
  Speaker 5: How is that?
• 2:53:37
  Speaker 2: I asked?
• 2:53:37
  Speaker 4: When I had finished capital between your brand and your bandage,
• 2:53:41
  Speaker 4: I feel a new man. I was very weak, but
• 2:53:44
  Speaker 4: I've had a good deal to go through. Perhaps you
• 2:53:47
  Speaker 4: had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently
• 2:53:49
  Speaker 4: trying to your nerves. Oh no, not now, I shall
• 2:53:52
  Speaker 4: have to tell my tale to the police, but between ourselves.
• 2:53:56
  Speaker 4: If it were not for the convincing evidence of this
• 2:53:58
  Speaker 4: wound of mine, I should be supper if they believed
• 2:54:01
  Speaker 4: my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and
• 2:54:04
  Speaker 4: I have not much in the way of proof with
• 2:54:06
  Speaker 4: which to back it up. And even if they believe me,
• 2:54:09
  Speaker 4: the clues which I can give them are so vague
• 2:54:11
  Speaker 4: that it is a question whether justice will be done,
• 2:54:14
  Speaker 4: ha cried I.
• 2:54:15
  Speaker 2: If it is.
• 2:54:16
  Speaker 4: Anything in the nature of a problem which you desired
• 2:54:18
  Speaker 4: to see solved, I should strongly recommend you come to
• 2:54:21
  Speaker 4: my friend, mister Sherlock Holmes before you go to the
• 2:54:24
  Speaker 4: official police. Oh I have heard of that fellow, answered
• 2:54:27
  Speaker 4: my visitor, and I should be very glad if he
• 2:54:29
  Speaker 4: would take the matter up, though of course I must
• 2:54:31
  Speaker 4: use the official police as well. Would you give me
• 2:54:34
  Speaker 4: an introduction to him? I'll do better. I'll take you
• 2:54:37
  Speaker 4: round to him myself. I should be immensely obliged to you.
• 2:54:40
  Speaker 4: We'll call a cab and go together. We shall just
• 2:54:43
  Speaker 4: be in time to have a little breakfast with him.
• 2:54:45
  Speaker 4: Do you feel equal to it?
• 2:54:46
  Speaker 6: Yes?
• 2:54:47
  Speaker 4: I shall not feel easy until I have told my story,
• 2:54:50
  Speaker 4: then my servant will call a cab and I shall
• 2:54:52
  Speaker 4: be with you. In an instant, I rushed upstairs, explain
• 2:54:55
  Speaker 4: the matter shortly to my wife, and in five minutes
• 2:54:58
  Speaker 4: was inside a hansom, driving with my my new acquaintance
• 2:55:00
  Speaker 4: to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes was as I expected, lounging
• 2:55:05
  Speaker 4: about his sitting room in his dressing gown, reading the
• 2:55:08
  Speaker 4: agony column of the Times, and smoking his before breakfast pipe,
• 2:55:12
  Speaker 4: which was composed of all the plugs and dottles left
• 2:55:15
  Speaker 4: from his smokes of the day before, all carefully dried
• 2:55:18
  Speaker 4: and collected in the corner of the mantelpiece. He received
• 2:55:21
  Speaker 4: us in his quietly genial fashion, ordered fresh rashers and eggs,
• 2:55:25
  Speaker 4: and joined us in a hearty meal. When it was concluded,
• 2:55:28
  Speaker 4: he settled our new acquaintance upon the sofa, placed a
• 2:55:31
  Speaker 4: pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of brandy
• 2:55:34
  Speaker 4: and water within his reach. It is easy to see
• 2:55:37
  Speaker 4: that your experience has been no common one, mister Hatherley, said.
• 2:55:40
  Speaker 4: He pray, lie down there and make yourself absolutely at home.
• 2:55:44
  Speaker 4: Tell us what you can, but stop when you are tired,
• 2:55:47
  Speaker 4: and keep up your strength with a little stimulant thank you,
• 2:55:50
  Speaker 4: said my patient. But I have felt another man since
• 2:55:53
  Speaker 4: the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast
• 2:55:55
  Speaker 4: has completed the cure. I shall take up as little
• 2:55:58
  Speaker 4: of your valuable time as possible, so I shall start
• 2:56:01
  Speaker 4: at once upon my peculiar experiences. Holmes sat in his
• 2:56:05
  Speaker 4: big arm chair with the weary, heavy lidded expression which
• 2:56:08
  Speaker 4: failed his keen and eager nature, while I sat opposite
• 2:56:11
  Speaker 4: to him, and we listened in silence to the strange
• 2:56:14
  Speaker 4: story which our visitor detailed to us. You must know,
• 2:56:17
  Speaker 4: said he, that I am an orphan and a bachelor,
• 2:56:20
  Speaker 4: residing alone in lodgings in London. My profession, I'm a
• 2:56:23
  Speaker 4: hydraulic engineer, and I've had considerable experience of my work
• 2:56:27
  Speaker 4: during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner
• 2:56:29
  Speaker 4: and Matheson, the well known firm of Greenwich. Two years ago,
• 2:56:33
  Speaker 4: having served my time, and having also come into a
• 2:56:36
  Speaker 4: fair sum of money through my poor father's death, I
• 2:56:39
  Speaker 4: determined to start in business for myself and took professional
• 2:56:42
  Speaker 4: chambers in Victorious Street. I suppose that everyone finds his
• 2:56:46
  Speaker 4: first independent start in business a dreary experience. To me,
• 2:56:50
  Speaker 4: it has been exceptionally so. During two years I have
• 2:56:53
  Speaker 4: had three consultations and one small job, and that is
• 2:56:56
  Speaker 4: absolutely all that my profession has brought me. My gross
• 2:56:59
  Speaker 4: tape makings amount to twenty seven pounds ten shillings. Every day,
• 2:57:03
  Speaker 4: from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon,
• 2:57:06
  Speaker 4: I waited in my little den, until at last my
• 2:57:08
  Speaker 4: heart began to sink, and I came to believe that
• 2:57:11
  Speaker 4: I should never have any practice at all. Yesterday, however,
• 2:57:15
  Speaker 4: just as I was thinking of leaving the office, my
• 2:57:17
  Speaker 4: clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who
• 2:57:20
  Speaker 4: wished to see me upon business. He brought up a
• 2:57:22
  Speaker 4: card too, with the name of Colonel Lysander Stark engraved
• 2:57:26
  Speaker 4: upon it. Close at his heels came the colonel himself,
• 2:57:30
  Speaker 4: a man rather over the middle size, but of an
• 2:57:32
  Speaker 4: exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have ever
• 2:57:35
  Speaker 4: seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away
• 2:57:38
  Speaker 4: into nose and chin, and the skin of his cheeks
• 2:57:41
  Speaker 4: was drawn quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this
• 2:57:45
  Speaker 4: emaciation seemed to be his natural habit, and due to
• 2:57:48
  Speaker 4: no disease, for his eye was bright, his step brisk,
• 2:57:51
  Speaker 4: and his bearing assured he was plainly but neatly dressed,
• 2:57:55
  Speaker 4: and his age, I should judge would be nearer forty
• 2:57:57
  Speaker 4: than thirty, mister Hatherley, said he with something of a
• 2:58:01
  Speaker 4: German accent. You've been recommended to me, mister Hatherley, as
• 2:58:05
  Speaker 4: being a man who is not only proficient in his profession,
• 2:58:08
  Speaker 4: but is also discreet and capable of preserving a secret.
• 2:58:11
  Speaker 4: I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would
• 2:58:14
  Speaker 4: at such an address. May ask who it was who
• 2:58:17
  Speaker 4: gave me so good a character. Well, perhaps it is
• 2:58:20
  Speaker 4: better that I should not tell you that just at
• 2:58:22
  Speaker 4: this moment I have it from the same source that
• 2:58:24
  Speaker 4: you are both an orphan and a bachelor and are
• 2:58:27
  Speaker 4: residing alone in London. That is quite correct, I answered,
• 2:58:31
  Speaker 4: But you will excuse me if I say that I
• 2:58:33
  Speaker 4: cannot see how all this bears upon my professional qualifications.
• 2:58:37
  Speaker 4: I understand that it was on a professional matter that
• 2:58:39
  Speaker 4: you wish to speak to me, undoubtedly so, but you
• 2:58:42
  Speaker 4: will find that all I say is really to the
• 2:58:44
  Speaker 4: point I have a professional commission for you. But absolute
• 2:58:48
  Speaker 4: secrecy is quite essential. Absolute secrecy, you understand, and of
• 2:58:52
  Speaker 4: course we may expect that more from a man who
• 2:58:55
  Speaker 4: is alone than from one who lives in the bosom
• 2:58:57
  Speaker 4: of his family. If I promise to keep a seat secret,
• 2:59:00
  Speaker 4: said I, you may absolutely depend upon my doing so.
• 2:59:04
  Speaker 4: He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and
• 2:59:06
  Speaker 4: it seemed to me that I had never seen so
• 2:59:09
  Speaker 4: suspicious and questioning an eye. Do you promise, then, he said,
• 2:59:13
  Speaker 4: at last, yes, I promise absolute and complete silence, before, during,
• 2:59:18
  Speaker 4: and after no reference to the matter at all, either
• 2:59:21
  Speaker 4: in word or writing. I have already given you my word.
• 2:59:25
  Speaker 4: Very good. He suddenly sprang up and, darting like lightning
• 2:59:29
  Speaker 4: across the room, he flung open the door. The passage
• 2:59:32
  Speaker 4: outside was empty. That's all right, said he coming back.
• 2:59:36
  Speaker 4: I know that clerks are sometimes curious as to their
• 2:59:38
  Speaker 4: master's affairs. Now we can talk in safety. He drew
• 2:59:42
  Speaker 4: up his chair very close to mine and began to
• 2:59:44
  Speaker 4: stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look.
• 2:59:48
  Speaker 4: A feeling of repulsion and of something akin to fear
• 2:59:51
  Speaker 4: had begun to rise within me at the strange antics
• 2:59:53
  Speaker 4: of this fleshless man. Even my dread of losing a
• 2:59:56
  Speaker 4: client could not restrain me from showing my impatience. I
• 3:00:00
  Speaker 4: beg that you will state your business, sir said I
• 3:00:03
  Speaker 4: my time is of value. Heaven forgive me for that
• 3:00:06
  Speaker 4: last sentence, but the words came to my lips. How
• 3:00:09
  Speaker 4: would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you? He asked,
• 3:00:12
  Speaker 4: most admirably. I say a night's work, but an hour's
• 3:00:15
  Speaker 4: would be nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion
• 3:00:18
  Speaker 4: about a hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear.
• 3:00:21
  Speaker 4: If you show us what is wrong, we shall soon
• 3:00:22
  Speaker 4: set it right ourselves. What do you think of such
• 3:00:25
  Speaker 4: a commission as that the work appears to be light
• 3:00:28
  Speaker 4: and the pay munificent. Precisely so, we shall want you
• 3:00:32
  Speaker 4: to come to night by the last train where too,
• 3:00:35
  Speaker 4: to Ayford in Berkshire. It is a little place near
• 3:00:38
  Speaker 4: the borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of reading.
• 3:00:42
  Speaker 4: There is a train from Paddington which would bring you
• 3:00:45
  Speaker 4: there at about eleven fifteen. Very good. I shall come
• 3:00:48
  Speaker 4: down in a carriage to meet you. There is a
• 3:00:51
  Speaker 4: drive then, Yes, our little place is quite out in
• 3:00:54
  Speaker 4: the country. It is a good seven miles from Ayford station.
• 3:00:57
  Speaker 4: Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose
• 3:01:00
  Speaker 4: there be no chance of a train back. I should
• 3:01:03
  Speaker 4: be compelled to stop the night. Yes, we could easily
• 3:01:05
  Speaker 4: give you a shakedown. That is very awkward. Could I
• 3:01:08
  Speaker 4: not come at some more convenient hour? We have judged
• 3:01:11
  Speaker 4: it best that you should come late. It is to
• 3:01:13
  Speaker 4: recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you,
• 3:01:17
  Speaker 4: a young and unknown man, a fee which would buy
• 3:01:19
  Speaker 4: an opinion from the very heads of your profession. Still,
• 3:01:22
  Speaker 4: of course, if you would like to draw out of
• 3:01:24
  Speaker 4: the business, there is plenty of time to do so.
• 3:01:27
  Speaker 4: I thought of the fifty guineas of how very useful
• 3:01:30
  Speaker 4: they would be to me. Not at all said I,
• 3:01:32
  Speaker 4: I shall be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes.
• 3:01:36
  Speaker 4: I should like, however, to understand a little more clearly
• 3:01:38
  Speaker 4: what it is that you wish me to do. Quite so,
• 3:01:41
  Speaker 4: it is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which
• 3:01:43
  Speaker 4: we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity.
• 3:01:47
  Speaker 4: I have no wish to commit you to anything without
• 3:01:49
  Speaker 4: your having it all laid before you. I suppose that
• 3:01:52
  Speaker 4: we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers entirely, then the matter stands. Thus,
• 3:01:57
  Speaker 4: you are probably aware that fullers earth is a valuable product,
• 3:02:01
  Speaker 4: and that it is only found in one or two
• 3:02:03
  Speaker 4: places in England. I have heard so. Some little time
• 3:02:07
  Speaker 4: ago I bought a small place, a very small place,
• 3:02:10
  Speaker 4: within ten miles of reading. I was fortunate enough to
• 3:02:13
  Speaker 4: discover that there was a deposit of Fuller's earth in
• 3:02:15
  Speaker 4: one of my fields. On examining it, however, I found
• 3:02:19
  Speaker 4: that this deposit was a comparatively small one, and that
• 3:02:22
  Speaker 4: it formed a link between two very much larger ones
• 3:02:25
  Speaker 4: upon the right and left both of them. However, in
• 3:02:28
  Speaker 4: the grounds of my neighbors. These good people were absolutely
• 3:02:32
  Speaker 4: ignorant that their land contained that which was quite as
• 3:02:34
  Speaker 4: valuable as a gold mine. Naturally, it was to my
• 3:02:37
  Speaker 4: interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value,
• 3:02:40
  Speaker 4: But unfortunately I had no capital by which I could
• 3:02:43
  Speaker 4: do this. I took a few of my friends into
• 3:02:46
  Speaker 4: the secret, however, and they suggested that we should quietly
• 3:02:49
  Speaker 4: and secretly work our own little deposit, and that in
• 3:02:52
  Speaker 4: this way we should earn the money which would enable
• 3:02:54
  Speaker 4: us to buy the neighboring fields. This we have now
• 3:02:57
  Speaker 4: been doing for some time, and in order to help
• 3:02:59
  Speaker 4: aus and the operations, we erected a hydraulic press. This press,
• 3:03:03
  Speaker 4: as I've already explained, has got out of order, and
• 3:03:06
  Speaker 4: we wish your advice upon the subject. We guard our
• 3:03:09
  Speaker 4: secret very jealously, however, and if it once became known
• 3:03:13
  Speaker 4: that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house,
• 3:03:15
  Speaker 4: it would soon rouse inquiry, and then if the facts
• 3:03:19
  Speaker 4: came out, it would be good bye to any chance
• 3:03:21
  Speaker 4: of getting these fields and carrying out our plans. That
• 3:03:24
  Speaker 4: is why I have made you promise me that you
• 3:03:26
  Speaker 4: will not tell a human being that you are going
• 3:03:28
  Speaker 4: to Aford tonight. I hope that I make it all plain.
• 3:03:32
  Speaker 4: I quite follow you, said I. The only point which
• 3:03:34
  Speaker 4: I could not quite understand was what use you could
• 3:03:37
  Speaker 4: make of a hydraulic press in excavating full as earth, which,
• 3:03:41
  Speaker 4: as I understand, is dug out like gravel from a pit.
• 3:03:44
  Speaker 4: Ah said he carelessly. We have our own process. We
• 3:03:48
  Speaker 4: compressed the earth into bricks so as to remove them
• 3:03:51
  Speaker 4: without revealing what they are. But that is a mere detail.
• 3:03:54
  Speaker 4: I have taken you fully into my confidence now, mister Hatherley,
• 3:03:57
  Speaker 4: and I have shown you how I trust you. Rose
• 3:04:00
  Speaker 4: as he spoke, I shall expect you then at Aeford
• 3:04:03
  Speaker 4: at eleven fifteen. I shall certainly be there, and not
• 3:04:07
  Speaker 4: a word to a soul. He looked at me with
• 3:04:10
  Speaker 4: the last long, questioning gaze, and then pressing my hand
• 3:04:14
  Speaker 4: in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room.
• 3:04:17
  Speaker 6: Well.
• 3:04:18
  Speaker 4: When I came to think it all over in cool blood,
• 3:04:20
  Speaker 4: I was very much astonished, as you may both think,
• 3:04:23
  Speaker 4: at this sudden commission which had been entrusted to me.
• 3:04:26
  Speaker 4: On the one hand, of course, I was glad, for
• 3:04:28
  Speaker 4: the fee was at least tenfold what I should have
• 3:04:30
  Speaker 4: asked had I set a price upon my own services,
• 3:04:33
  Speaker 4: and was possible that this order might lead to other ones.
• 3:04:36
  Speaker 4: On the other hand, the face and manner of my
• 3:04:39
  Speaker 4: patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me, and I
• 3:04:42
  Speaker 4: could not think that his explanation of the Fuller's earth
• 3:04:45
  Speaker 4: was sufficient to explain the necessity for my coming at midnight,
• 3:04:48
  Speaker 4: and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell anyone of
• 3:04:51
  Speaker 4: my Errand however, I threw all fears to the winds
• 3:04:55
  Speaker 4: ate a hearty supper, drove to Paddington and started off,
• 3:04:58
  Speaker 4: Having obeyed to the letter the jail unction as to
• 3:05:00
  Speaker 4: holding my tongue at reading, I had to change not
• 3:05:03
  Speaker 4: only my carriage but my station. However, I was in
• 3:05:06
  Speaker 4: time for the last trained ayfort and I reached the
• 3:05:09
  Speaker 4: little dim lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the
• 3:05:13
  Speaker 4: only passenger who got out there, and there was no
• 3:05:15
  Speaker 4: one upon the platform save a single sleepy porter with
• 3:05:19
  Speaker 4: a lantern. As I passed out through the wicket gate, however,
• 3:05:22
  Speaker 4: I found my acquaintance of the morning waiting in the
• 3:05:25
  Speaker 4: shadow upon the other side. Without a word, he grasped
• 3:05:28
  Speaker 4: my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door
• 3:05:31
  Speaker 4: of which was standing open. He drew up the windows
• 3:05:33
  Speaker 4: on either side, tapped on the woodwork, and away we went,
• 3:05:36
  Speaker 4: as fast as the horse could go. One horse, interjected Holmes, Yes,
• 3:05:41
  Speaker 4: only one. Did you observe the color? Yes, I saw
• 3:05:45
  Speaker 4: it by the side lights when I was stepping into
• 3:05:46
  Speaker 4: the carriage. It was a chestnut, tired looking or fresh? Oh,
• 3:05:51
  Speaker 4: fresh and glossy.
• 3:05:52
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 3:05:53
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most
• 3:05:56
  Speaker 4: interesting statement. Away we went, then, and we drove for
• 3:06:00
  Speaker 4: at least an hour. Colonel Lysander Stark had said that
• 3:06:03
  Speaker 4: it was only seven miles, but I should think from
• 3:06:05
  Speaker 4: the rate that we seemed to go, and from the
• 3:06:07
  Speaker 4: time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve.
• 3:06:11
  Speaker 4: He sat at my side in silence all the time,
• 3:06:13
  Speaker 4: and I was aware more than once when I glanced
• 3:06:15
  Speaker 4: at his direction, that he was looking at me with
• 3:06:18
  Speaker 4: great intensity. The country road seemed to not be very
• 3:06:21
  Speaker 4: good in that part of the world, for we lurched
• 3:06:23
  Speaker 4: and jolted terribly. I tried to look out of the
• 3:06:26
  Speaker 4: windows to see something of where we were, but they
• 3:06:28
  Speaker 4: were made of frosted glass, and I could make out
• 3:06:31
  Speaker 4: nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light.
• 3:06:35
  Speaker 4: Now and then I hazarded some remark to break the
• 3:06:37
  Speaker 4: monotony of the journey, but the Colonel answered only in monosyllables,
• 3:06:41
  Speaker 4: and the conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping
• 3:06:45
  Speaker 4: of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of
• 3:06:48
  Speaker 4: a gravel drive, and the carriage came to a stand.
• 3:06:51
  Speaker 4: Colonel Lysander Stark sprang out, and as I followed after him,
• 3:06:55
  Speaker 4: pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front
• 3:06:58
  Speaker 4: of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of
• 3:07:00
  Speaker 4: the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed
• 3:07:03
  Speaker 4: to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of
• 3:07:05
  Speaker 4: the house. The instant that I had crossed the threshold,
• 3:07:08
  Speaker 4: the door slammed heavily behind us, and I heard faintly
• 3:07:11
  Speaker 4: the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away.
• 3:07:15
  Speaker 4: It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel
• 3:07:18
  Speaker 4: fumbled about, looking for matches and muttering under his breath.
• 3:07:21
  Speaker 4: Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage,
• 3:07:24
  Speaker 4: and a long golden bar of light shot out in
• 3:07:27
  Speaker 4: our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with
• 3:07:30
  Speaker 4: the lamp in her hand, which she held above her head,
• 3:07:33
  Speaker 4: pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could
• 3:07:37
  Speaker 4: see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with
• 3:07:39
  Speaker 4: which the light shone upon her dark dress, I knew
• 3:07:42
  Speaker 4: that it was a rich material. She spoke a few
• 3:07:45
  Speaker 4: words in a foreign tongue, in a tone as though
• 3:07:47
  Speaker 4: asking a question, and when my companion answered in a
• 3:07:50
  Speaker 4: gruff monosyllable, she gave such a start that the lamp
• 3:07:53
  Speaker 4: nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her,
• 3:07:57
  Speaker 4: whispered something in her ear, and then pushing her back
• 3:08:00
  Speaker 4: into the room from whence she had come, he walked
• 3:08:02
  Speaker 4: towards me again with the lamp in his hand. Perhaps
• 3:08:06
  Speaker 4: you'll have the kindness to wait in this room for
• 3:08:08
  Speaker 4: a few minutes, said he throwing open another door. It
• 3:08:11
  Speaker 4: was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round
• 3:08:14
  Speaker 4: table in the center, on which several German books were scattered.
• 3:08:18
  Speaker 4: Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the top of
• 3:08:20
  Speaker 4: a harmonium beside the door. I shall not keep you
• 3:08:23
  Speaker 4: waiting an instant, said he, and vanished into the darkness.
• 3:08:27
  Speaker 4: I glanced at the books upon the table, and in
• 3:08:29
  Speaker 4: spite of my ignorance of German, I could see that
• 3:08:32
  Speaker 4: the two of them were treatises on science, the others
• 3:08:34
  Speaker 4: being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across to the window,
• 3:08:38
  Speaker 4: hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the countryside.
• 3:08:41
  Speaker 4: But an oak shutter heavily barred, was folded across it.
• 3:08:45
  Speaker 4: It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old
• 3:08:48
  Speaker 4: clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything
• 3:08:52
  Speaker 4: was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began to
• 3:08:55
  Speaker 4: steal over me. Who were these German people, and what
• 3:08:59
  Speaker 4: were they doing living this strange out of the way place.
• 3:09:02
  Speaker 4: And where was this place? I was ten miles or
• 3:09:05
  Speaker 4: so from Ayford, that was all I knew. But whether
• 3:09:08
  Speaker 4: north southeast or west. I had no idea for that matter.
• 3:09:12
  Speaker 4: Reading and possibly other large towns were within that radius,
• 3:09:15
  Speaker 4: so the place might not be so secluded after all.
• 3:09:18
  Speaker 4: Yet it was quite certain from the absolute stillness that
• 3:09:21
  Speaker 4: we were in the country. I paced up and down
• 3:09:24
  Speaker 4: the room, humming a tune under my breath to keep
• 3:09:26
  Speaker 4: up my spirits, and feeling that I was thoroughly earning
• 3:09:29
  Speaker 4: my fifty guinea fee. Suddenly, without any preliminary sound, in
• 3:09:33
  Speaker 4: the midst of the utter stillness, the door of my
• 3:09:36
  Speaker 4: room swung slowly open. The woman was standing in the aperture,
• 3:09:40
  Speaker 4: the darkness of the hall behind her, the yellow light
• 3:09:43
  Speaker 4: for my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face.
• 3:09:47
  Speaker 4: I could see at a glance that she was sick
• 3:09:49
  Speaker 4: with fear, and the sight sent a chill to my
• 3:09:51
  Speaker 4: own heart. She held up one shaking finger to warn
• 3:09:54
  Speaker 4: me to be silent, and she shot a few whispered
• 3:09:57
  Speaker 4: words of broken English at me. Her eyes glanced back,
• 3:10:00
  Speaker 4: like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her.
• 3:10:04
  Speaker 4: I would go, said she, trying hard as it seemed
• 3:10:07
  Speaker 4: to me to speak calmly. I would go. I should
• 3:10:11
  Speaker 4: not stay here. There is no good for you.
• 3:10:13
  Speaker 2: To do.
• 3:10:15
  Speaker 4: But Madam, I said, I have not yet done what
• 3:10:17
  Speaker 4: I came for. I cannot possibly leave until I have
• 3:10:20
  Speaker 4: seen the machine. It is not worth your while to wait.
• 3:10:23
  Speaker 4: She went on, you can pass through the door. No
• 3:10:26
  Speaker 4: one hinders, And then, seeing that I smiled and shook
• 3:10:30
  Speaker 4: my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made
• 3:10:33
  Speaker 4: a step forward with her hands rung together. For the
• 3:10:36
  Speaker 4: love of Heaven, she whispered, get away from here before
• 3:10:40
  Speaker 4: it is too late. But I am somewhat headstrong by nature,
• 3:10:44
  Speaker 4: and the more ready to engage in an affair when
• 3:10:46
  Speaker 4: there is some obstacle in the way. I thought of
• 3:10:49
  Speaker 4: my fifty guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of
• 3:10:52
  Speaker 4: the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was
• 3:10:55
  Speaker 4: it all to go for nothing? Why should I slink
• 3:10:58
  Speaker 4: away without having carried out my commision and without the
• 3:11:00
  Speaker 4: payment which was my due? This woman might, for all
• 3:11:04
  Speaker 4: I knew, be a monomaniac with a stout bearing. Therefore,
• 3:11:08
  Speaker 4: though her manner had shaken me more than I cared
• 3:11:10
  Speaker 4: to confess, I still shook my head and declared my
• 3:11:13
  Speaker 4: intention of remaining where I was. She was about to
• 3:11:16
  Speaker 4: renew her entreaties. When a door slammed overhead, and the
• 3:11:19
  Speaker 4: sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She
• 3:11:22
  Speaker 4: listened for an instant, threw up her hands with a
• 3:11:25
  Speaker 4: despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as
• 3:11:28
  Speaker 4: she had come. The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and
• 3:11:33
  Speaker 4: a short, thick man with a chinchilla beard growing out
• 3:11:36
  Speaker 4: of the creases of his double chin, who was introduced
• 3:11:39
  Speaker 4: to me as mister Ferguson. This is my secretary and manager,
• 3:11:43
  Speaker 4: said the colonel. By the way, I was under the
• 3:11:45
  Speaker 4: impression that I left this door shut just now. I
• 3:11:48
  Speaker 4: feared that you have felt the draft. On the contrary,
• 3:11:51
  Speaker 4: said I. I opened the door myself because I felt
• 3:11:53
  Speaker 4: the room to be a little close. He shot one
• 3:11:56
  Speaker 4: of his suspicious looks at me. Perhaps we had better
• 3:11:59
  Speaker 4: proceed to be business, then, said he, mister Ferguson, and
• 3:12:02
  Speaker 4: I will take you up to see the machine. I
• 3:12:05
  Speaker 4: had better put my hat on, I suppose. Oh, no,
• 3:12:07
  Speaker 4: it is in the house what you dig Fuller's earth
• 3:12:10
  Speaker 4: in the house. No, no, this is only where we
• 3:12:12
  Speaker 4: can press it. But never mind that all we wish
• 3:12:15
  Speaker 4: you to do is to examine the machine and to
• 3:12:17
  Speaker 4: let us know what is wrong with it. We went
• 3:12:19
  Speaker 4: upstairs together, the Colonel first with the lamp, the fat
• 3:12:23
  Speaker 4: manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of
• 3:12:26
  Speaker 4: an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and
• 3:12:30
  Speaker 4: little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out
• 3:12:34
  Speaker 4: by the generations who had crossed them. There were no
• 3:12:37
  Speaker 4: carpets and no sign of any furniture above the ground floor.
• 3:12:40
  Speaker 4: While the plaster was peeling off the walls and the
• 3:12:43
  Speaker 4: damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches. I tried
• 3:12:47
  Speaker 4: to put on as an unconcerned air as possible, but
• 3:12:50
  Speaker 4: I had not forgotten the warnings of the lady, even
• 3:12:52
  Speaker 4: though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye
• 3:12:55
  Speaker 4: upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose
• 3:12:58
  Speaker 4: and silent man, but I could see from the little
• 3:13:01
  Speaker 4: that he had said that he was at least a
• 3:13:02
  Speaker 4: fellow countryman. Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a
• 3:13:07
  Speaker 4: low door, which he unlocked. Within was a small square
• 3:13:10
  Speaker 4: room in which the three of us could hardly get
• 3:13:13
  Speaker 4: at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the Colonel ushered
• 3:13:16
  Speaker 4: me in. We are now said he actually within the
• 3:13:20
  Speaker 4: hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly unpleasant thing
• 3:13:23
  Speaker 4: for us if any one were to turn it on.
• 3:13:26
  Speaker 4: The ceiling of this small chamber is really the end
• 3:13:29
  Speaker 4: of the descending piston, and it comes down with the
• 3:13:31
  Speaker 4: force of many tons upon this metal floor. There are
• 3:13:34
  Speaker 4: small lateral columns of water outside which received the force,
• 3:13:38
  Speaker 4: and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which
• 3:13:40
  Speaker 4: is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but
• 3:13:44
  Speaker 4: there is some stiffness in the working of it, and
• 3:13:46
  Speaker 4: it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you
• 3:13:48
  Speaker 4: will have the goodness to look it over and to
• 3:13:50
  Speaker 4: show us how we can set it right. I took
• 3:13:53
  Speaker 4: the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly.
• 3:13:56
  Speaker 4: It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising
• 3:14:00
  Speaker 4: armous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and pressed down
• 3:14:03
  Speaker 4: the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by
• 3:14:06
  Speaker 4: the wishing sound that there was a slight leakage which
• 3:14:09
  Speaker 4: allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders.
• 3:14:12
  Speaker 4: An examination showed that one of the Indie rubber bands,
• 3:14:15
  Speaker 4: which was round the head of a driving rod had
• 3:14:18
  Speaker 4: shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along
• 3:14:20
  Speaker 4: which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the
• 3:14:23
  Speaker 4: loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions,
• 3:14:26
  Speaker 4: who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical
• 3:14:30
  Speaker 4: questions as to how they should proceed to set it right.
• 3:14:33
  Speaker 4: When I had made it clear to them, I returned
• 3:14:35
  Speaker 4: to the main chamber of the machine and took a
• 3:14:37
  Speaker 4: good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It
• 3:14:41
  Speaker 4: was obvious at a glance that the story of the
• 3:14:43
  Speaker 4: Fuller's Earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be
• 3:14:46
  Speaker 4: absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be
• 3:14:49
  Speaker 4: designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood,
• 3:14:53
  Speaker 4: but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and
• 3:14:56
  Speaker 4: when I came to examine it, I could see a
• 3:14:58
  Speaker 4: crust of metallic deposit all over. I had stooped and
• 3:15:01
  Speaker 4: was scraping at this to see exactly what it was
• 3:15:04
  Speaker 4: when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw
• 3:15:06
  Speaker 4: the cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me.
• 3:15:10
  Speaker 4: What are you doing there, he asked? I felt angry
• 3:15:13
  Speaker 4: at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as
• 3:15:15
  Speaker 4: that which he had told me. I was admiring your
• 3:15:18
  Speaker 4: fuller's earth, said I. I think that I should be
• 3:15:21
  Speaker 4: better able to advise you as to your machine if
• 3:15:24
  Speaker 4: I knew what the exact purpose was for which it
• 3:15:27
  Speaker 4: was used. The incident that I uttered the words, I
• 3:15:30
  Speaker 4: regretted the rashness of my speech. His face sat hard,
• 3:15:34
  Speaker 4: and a baleful light sprang up in his gray eyes.
• 3:15:38
  Speaker 4: Very well, said he, you shall know all about the machine.
• 3:15:41
  Speaker 4: He took a step backwards, slammed the little door, and
• 3:15:44
  Speaker 4: turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards it
• 3:15:46
  Speaker 4: and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure
• 3:15:49
  Speaker 4: and had not given the least to my kicks and shoves. Hullo,
• 3:15:52
  Speaker 4: I heled. Hullo, Colonel let me out. And then suddenly,
• 3:15:56
  Speaker 4: in the silence, I heard a sound which sent my
• 3:15:58
  Speaker 4: heart into my MoU. It was the clank of the
• 3:16:02
  Speaker 4: levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had
• 3:16:05
  Speaker 4: set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon
• 3:16:08
  Speaker 4: the floor where I had placed it. When examining the
• 3:16:10
  Speaker 4: trough by its light, I saw that the black ceiling
• 3:16:14
  Speaker 4: was coming down upon me. Slowly, jerkily, But as none
• 3:16:18
  Speaker 4: knew better than myself, with the force which must, within
• 3:16:20
  Speaker 4: a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp, I threw
• 3:16:25
  Speaker 4: myself screaming against the door, and dragged with my nails
• 3:16:28
  Speaker 4: at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out,
• 3:16:31
  Speaker 4: but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries.
• 3:16:34
  Speaker 4: The ceiling was only foot or two above my head,
• 3:16:37
  Speaker 4: and with my hand upraised, I could feel its hard,
• 3:16:39
  Speaker 4: rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the
• 3:16:43
  Speaker 4: pain of my death would depend very much upon the
• 3:16:45
  Speaker 4: position in which I met it. If I lay on
• 3:16:48
  Speaker 4: my face, the weight would come upon my spine, and
• 3:16:51
  Speaker 4: I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the
• 3:16:54
  Speaker 4: other way, perhaps, And yet had I the nerve to
• 3:16:57
  Speaker 4: lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering
• 3:17:00
  Speaker 4: down upon me, already I was unable to stand erect
• 3:17:04
  Speaker 4: when my eye caught something which brought a gush of
• 3:17:06
  Speaker 4: hope back to my heart. I have said that though
• 3:17:10
  Speaker 4: the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls were
• 3:17:13
  Speaker 4: of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around,
• 3:17:16
  Speaker 4: I saw a thin line of yellow light between two
• 3:17:19
  Speaker 4: of the boards, which broadened and broadened as a small
• 3:17:22
  Speaker 4: panel was pushed backward. For an instant I could hardly
• 3:17:25
  Speaker 4: believe that here was indeed a door which led away
• 3:17:27
  Speaker 4: from death. The next instant I threw myself through and
• 3:17:31
  Speaker 4: lay half fainting upon the other side. The panel had
• 3:17:34
  Speaker 4: closed again behind me. But the crash of the lamp,
• 3:17:37
  Speaker 4: and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two
• 3:17:39
  Speaker 4: slabs of metal told me how narrow had been my escape.
• 3:17:43
  Speaker 4: I was recalled to myself by frantic plucking at my wrist,
• 3:17:46
  Speaker 4: and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of
• 3:17:49
  Speaker 4: a narrow corridor, while a woman bent over me and
• 3:17:51
  Speaker 4: tugged at me with her left hand, while she held
• 3:17:54
  Speaker 4: a candle in her right. It was the same good
• 3:17:56
  Speaker 4: friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. Come, Come,
• 3:18:00
  Speaker 4: she cried breathlessly. They will be here in a moment.
• 3:18:03
  Speaker 4: They will see that you are not there. Oh, do
• 3:18:05
  Speaker 4: not waste the so precious time. But come this time.
• 3:18:08
  Speaker 4: At least I did not scorn her advice. I staggered
• 3:18:11
  Speaker 4: to my feet and ran with her along the corridor
• 3:18:14
  Speaker 4: and down a winding stair. The latter led to another
• 3:18:17
  Speaker 4: broad passage and just as we reached it, we heard
• 3:18:19
  Speaker 4: the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices,
• 3:18:23
  Speaker 4: one answering the other from the floor in which we were,
• 3:18:25
  Speaker 4: and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked
• 3:18:28
  Speaker 4: about her like one who was at her WIT's end.
• 3:18:31
  Speaker 4: Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom,
• 3:18:34
  Speaker 4: through the window of which the moon was shining brightly.
• 3:18:37
  Speaker 4: It is your only chance, said she. It is high,
• 3:18:39
  Speaker 4: but it may be that you can jump it. As
• 3:18:42
  Speaker 4: she spoke, a light sprang into view at the further
• 3:18:44
  Speaker 4: end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure
• 3:18:47
  Speaker 4: of Colonel Lysander Stark rushing forward, with a lantern in
• 3:18:49
  Speaker 4: one hand and a weapon like a butcher's cleaver in
• 3:18:53
  Speaker 4: the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the
• 3:18:56
  Speaker 4: window and looked out how quiet and sweet and wholesome
• 3:18:59
  Speaker 4: the guard, and looked in the moonlight, and it could
• 3:19:01
  Speaker 4: not be more than thirty feet down. I clambered out
• 3:19:04
  Speaker 4: upon the sill, but I hesitated to jump until I
• 3:19:07
  Speaker 4: should have heard what passed between my savior and the
• 3:19:09
  Speaker 4: ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill used, then
• 3:19:13
  Speaker 4: at any risks, I was determined to go back to
• 3:19:15
  Speaker 4: her assistance. The thought had hardly flashed through my mind
• 3:19:18
  Speaker 4: before he was at the door, pushing his way past her.
• 3:19:21
  Speaker 4: But she threw her arms round him and tried to
• 3:19:24
  Speaker 4: hold him back. Fritz, Fritz, she cried in English. Remember
• 3:19:27
  Speaker 4: your promise, after the last time you said it should
• 3:19:30
  Speaker 4: not be again. He will be silent. Oh, he'll be silent.
• 3:19:33
  Speaker 4: You are mad, Alise, he shouted, struggling to break away
• 3:19:36
  Speaker 4: from her. You will be the ruin of us. He
• 3:19:38
  Speaker 4: has seen too much. Let me pass, I say. He
• 3:19:42
  Speaker 4: dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the window,
• 3:19:44
  Speaker 4: cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let
• 3:19:46
  Speaker 4: myself go and was hanging by the hands to the sill.
• 3:19:49
  Speaker 4: When his blow fell. I was conscious of a dull pain.
• 3:19:53
  Speaker 4: My grip loosened, and I fell into the garden below.
• 3:19:57
  Speaker 4: I was shaken, but not hurt by the fall, so
• 3:19:59
  Speaker 4: I I picked myself up and rushed off among the bushes
• 3:20:02
  Speaker 4: as hard as I could run, for I understood that
• 3:20:04
  Speaker 4: I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly, however,
• 3:20:08
  Speaker 4: as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me.
• 3:20:12
  Speaker 4: I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully,
• 3:20:15
  Speaker 4: and then for the first time saw that my thumb
• 3:20:18
  Speaker 4: had been cut off, and that the blood was pouring
• 3:20:20
  Speaker 4: from my wound. I endeavored to tie my handkerchief round it,
• 3:20:24
  Speaker 4: but there came a sudden buzzing in my ears, and
• 3:20:27
  Speaker 4: next moment I fell into a dead faint among the
• 3:20:29
  Speaker 4: rose bushes. How long I remained unconscious, I cannot tell.
• 3:20:34
  Speaker 4: It must have been a very long time, for the
• 3:20:36
  Speaker 4: moon had sunk and a bright morning was breaking. When
• 3:20:38
  Speaker 4: I came to myself, my clothes were all sodden with dew,
• 3:20:42
  Speaker 4: and my coat sleeve was drenched with blood from my
• 3:20:44
  Speaker 4: wounded thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant
• 3:20:47
  Speaker 4: all the particulars of my night's adventure, and I sprang
• 3:20:50
  Speaker 4: to my feet with the feeling that I might hardly
• 3:20:52
  Speaker 4: yet be safe from my pursuers. But to my astonishment,
• 3:20:56
  Speaker 4: when I came to look round me, neither house nor
• 3:20:59
  Speaker 4: garden were to be seen. I had been lying in
• 3:21:01
  Speaker 4: an angle of the hedge, close by the high road,
• 3:21:04
  Speaker 4: and just a little lower down was a long building,
• 3:21:06
  Speaker 4: which proved, upon my approaching it, to be the very
• 3:21:09
  Speaker 4: station at which I had arrived upon the previous night.
• 3:21:12
  Speaker 4: Were it not for the ugly wound upon my hand,
• 3:21:15
  Speaker 4: all that had passed during those dreadful hours might have
• 3:21:17
  Speaker 4: been an evil dream. Half dazed, I went into the
• 3:21:21
  Speaker 4: station and asked about the morning train. There'd be one
• 3:21:24
  Speaker 4: to reading in less than an hour. The same porter
• 3:21:27
  Speaker 4: was on duty, I found as had been there when
• 3:21:29
  Speaker 4: I arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever
• 3:21:32
  Speaker 4: heard of Colonel Lysander's Stark. The name was strange to him.
• 3:21:36
  Speaker 4: Had he observed a carriage the night before waiting for me?
• 3:21:39
  Speaker 2: No?
• 3:21:39
  Speaker 4: He had not. Was there a police station anywhere near?
• 3:21:43
  Speaker 4: There was one about three miles off. It was too
• 3:21:46
  Speaker 4: far for me to go. Weak and ill as I was,
• 3:21:48
  Speaker 4: I determined to wait until I got back to town
• 3:21:50
  Speaker 4: before telling my story to the police. It was a
• 3:21:53
  Speaker 4: little past six when I arrived, so I went first
• 3:21:56
  Speaker 4: to have my wound addressed, and then the doctor was
• 3:21:58
  Speaker 4: kind enough to bring me along here. I put the
• 3:22:01
  Speaker 4: case into your hands, and shall do exactly what you advise.
• 3:22:05
  Speaker 4: We both sat in silence for some little time after
• 3:22:07
  Speaker 4: listening to this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down
• 3:22:11
  Speaker 4: from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in
• 3:22:14
  Speaker 4: which he placed his cuttings. Here is an advertisement which
• 3:22:17
  Speaker 4: will interest you, said he. It appeared in all the
• 3:22:20
  Speaker 4: papers about a year ago. Listen to this lost on
• 3:22:23
  Speaker 4: the ninth mister Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty six, a hydraulic engineer,
• 3:22:28
  Speaker 4: left his lodgings at ten o'clock at night and has
• 3:22:31
  Speaker 4: not been heard of since. Was dressed in et cetera,
• 3:22:34
  Speaker 4: et cetera. Ha, that represents the last time that the
• 3:22:37
  Speaker 4: colonel needed to have his machine overhauled. I fancy good, heavens,
• 3:22:41
  Speaker 4: cried my patient. Then that explains what the girl said.
• 3:22:44
  Speaker 4: Undoubtedly it is quite clear that the colonel was a
• 3:22:47
  Speaker 4: cool and desperate man who has absolutely determined that nothing
• 3:22:50
  Speaker 4: should stand in the way of his little game, like
• 3:22:53
  Speaker 4: those out and out pirates who will leave no survivor
• 3:22:55
  Speaker 4: from a captured ship. Well, every moment now is precious
• 3:23:00
  Speaker 4: equal to it. We shall go down to Scotland Yard
• 3:23:02
  Speaker 4: at once as a preliminary to starting for Ayford. Some
• 3:23:05
  Speaker 4: three hours or so afterwards, we were all in the
• 3:23:07
  Speaker 4: train together bound from Reading to the Little Berkshire village.
• 3:23:10
  Speaker 4: There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector brad Street
• 3:23:14
  Speaker 4: of Scotland yard, a plain's clothesman, and myself. Brad Street
• 3:23:19
  Speaker 4: had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon
• 3:23:21
  Speaker 4: the seat, and was busy with this compass, drawing a
• 3:23:23
  Speaker 4: circle with Ayford for its center. There you are, said he.
• 3:23:27
  Speaker 4: That circle is drawn at a radius of ten miles
• 3:23:29
  Speaker 4: from the village. The place we want must be somewhere
• 3:23:32
  Speaker 4: near that line. You said, ten miles. I think, sir,
• 3:23:35
  Speaker 4: it was an hour's good drive. And you think that
• 3:23:38
  Speaker 4: they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious.
• 3:23:41
  Speaker 4: They must have done so. I have a confused memory too,
• 3:23:44
  Speaker 4: of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere. What I cannot understand,
• 3:23:48
  Speaker 4: said I, is why they should have spared you when
• 3:23:50
  Speaker 4: they found you lying fainting in the garden. Perhaps the
• 3:23:53
  Speaker 4: villain was softened by the woman's entreaties. I hardly think
• 3:23:57
  Speaker 4: that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in
• 3:23:59
  Speaker 4: my life. Oh we shall soon clear up all that,
• 3:24:03
  Speaker 4: said Bradstreet. Well, I have drawn my circle, and I
• 3:24:06
  Speaker 4: only wish I knew at what point upon it the
• 3:24:08
  Speaker 4: folk that we are in search of are to be found.
• 3:24:11
  Speaker 4: I think I could lay my finger on it, said
• 3:24:13
  Speaker 4: Holmes quietly, really now, cried the inspector. You have formed
• 3:24:16
  Speaker 4: your opinion. Come now we shall see who agrees with you.
• 3:24:19
  Speaker 4: I say it is south, for the country is more
• 3:24:21
  Speaker 4: deserted there, and I say east, said my patient. I
• 3:24:25
  Speaker 4: am for west, remarked the plains clothesman. There are several
• 3:24:28
  Speaker 4: quiet little villages up there, And I am for north,
• 3:24:31
  Speaker 4: said I because there are no hills there. And our
• 3:24:33
  Speaker 4: friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up
• 3:24:35
  Speaker 4: any Come, cried the inspector, laughing. It's a very pretty
• 3:24:39
  Speaker 4: diversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us.
• 3:24:43
  Speaker 4: Who do you give your casting vote to? You are
• 3:24:46
  Speaker 4: all wrong, But we can't all be. Oh, yes you can.
• 3:24:51
  Speaker 4: This is my point. He placed his finger in the
• 3:24:53
  Speaker 4: center of the circle. This is where we shall find them.
• 3:24:57
  Speaker 4: But the twelve mile drive, gasp, Patherley, six out and
• 3:25:01
  Speaker 4: six back, nothing simpler. You say yourself that the horse
• 3:25:04
  Speaker 4: was fresh and glossy when you get in. How could
• 3:25:07
  Speaker 4: it be that if it had gone twelve miles over
• 3:25:09
  Speaker 4: heavy roads? Indeed, it is a likely ruse, enough, observed Bradstreet. Thoughtfully.
• 3:25:14
  Speaker 4: Of course, there can be no doubt as to the
• 3:25:16
  Speaker 4: nature of this gang. None at all, said Holmes. They
• 3:25:20
  Speaker 4: are coiners on a large scale and have used the
• 3:25:22
  Speaker 4: machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place
• 3:25:24
  Speaker 4: of silver. We have known for some time that a
• 3:25:27
  Speaker 4: clever gang was at work, said the inspector. They've been
• 3:25:30
  Speaker 4: turning out half crowns by the thousand. We even traced
• 3:25:33
  Speaker 4: them as far as Redding, but could get no farther,
• 3:25:35
  Speaker 4: for they'd covered their traces in a way that showed
• 3:25:38
  Speaker 4: that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to
• 3:25:41
  Speaker 4: this lucky chance, I think that we have got them
• 3:25:43
  Speaker 4: right enough. But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals
• 3:25:47
  Speaker 4: were not destined to fall into the hands of justice.
• 3:25:50
  Speaker 4: As we rolled into Ayford station, we saw a gigantic
• 3:25:53
  Speaker 4: column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small
• 3:25:55
  Speaker 4: clump of trees in the neighborhood and hung like an
• 3:25:58
  Speaker 4: immense Ostrich feather over the landscape. A house on fire,
• 3:26:02
  Speaker 4: asked brad Street, as the train steamed off again on
• 3:26:04
  Speaker 4: its way, Yes, sir, said the station master. When did
• 3:26:08
  Speaker 4: it break out? I hear that it was during the night, sir,
• 3:26:11
  Speaker 4: but has got worse and the whole place is in
• 3:26:12
  Speaker 4: a blaze. Whose house is it? Doctor Becker's tell me
• 3:26:17
  Speaker 4: broke in the engineer. Is doctor Becker a German, very
• 3:26:20
  Speaker 4: thin with a long sharp nose. The station master laughed heartily, No, sir,
• 3:26:24
  Speaker 4: doctor Becker is an Englishman, and there isn't a man
• 3:26:27
  Speaker 4: in the parish who has a better lined waistcoat. But
• 3:26:30
  Speaker 4: he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as
• 3:26:32
  Speaker 4: I understand, who is a foreigner. And he looks as
• 3:26:35
  Speaker 4: if the little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm.
• 3:26:38
  Speaker 4: The station master had not finished his speech before we
• 3:26:41
  Speaker 4: were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The
• 3:26:43
  Speaker 4: road topped a low hill, and there was a great widespread,
• 3:26:46
  Speaker 4: whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every
• 3:26:49
  Speaker 4: chink and window, while in the garden in front, three
• 3:26:52
  Speaker 4: fire engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under
• 3:26:55
  Speaker 4: That's it, cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. There is the
• 3:26:59
  Speaker 4: gravel drive, and there are the rose bushes where I lay.
• 3:27:02
  Speaker 4: That second window was the one that I jumped from.
• 3:27:05
  Speaker 4: Well at least, said Holmes, you have had your revenge
• 3:27:07
  Speaker 4: upon them. There could be no question that it was
• 3:27:10
  Speaker 4: your oil lamp, which, when it was crushed in the
• 3:27:12
  Speaker 4: press set fire to the wooden walls, though no doubt
• 3:27:15
  Speaker 4: they were too excited in the chase after you to
• 3:27:17
  Speaker 4: observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open
• 3:27:19
  Speaker 4: in this crowd for your friends of last night, though
• 3:27:22
  Speaker 4: I very much fear that they are a good hundred
• 3:27:24
  Speaker 4: miles off by now. And Holmes's fears came to be realized,
• 3:27:29
  Speaker 4: for from that day to this no word has ever
• 3:27:31
  Speaker 4: been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister German,
• 3:27:34
  Speaker 4: or the morose Englishman. Early that morning a peasant had
• 3:27:38
  Speaker 4: met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes,
• 3:27:42
  Speaker 4: driving rapidly in the direction of Reading. But there all
• 3:27:45
  Speaker 4: traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes's ingenuity failed
• 3:27:49
  Speaker 4: ever to discover the least clue as to their whereabouts.
• 3:27:52
  Speaker 4: The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements
• 3:27:55
  Speaker 4: which they had found within, and still more so by
• 3:27:58
  Speaker 4: discovering a newly severed human thumb upon a window sill
• 3:28:01
  Speaker 4: of the second floor. About sunset, however, their efforts were
• 3:28:05
  Speaker 4: at last successful, and they subdued the flames, but not
• 3:28:08
  Speaker 4: before the roof had fallen in and the whole place
• 3:28:11
  Speaker 4: had been reduced to such an absolute ruin that, save
• 3:28:14
  Speaker 4: some twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained
• 3:28:17
  Speaker 4: of the machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance. So
• 3:28:20
  Speaker 4: dearly large masses of nickel out of tin were discovered
• 3:28:24
  Speaker 4: stored in an outhouse, but no coins were to be found,
• 3:28:27
  Speaker 4: which may have explained the presence of those bulky boxes
• 3:28:30
  Speaker 4: which have been already referred to. How our hydraulic engineer
• 3:28:34
  Speaker 4: had been conveyed from the garden to the spot where
• 3:28:36
  Speaker 4: he recovered his senses might have remained forever a mystery,
• 3:28:40
  Speaker 4: were it not for the soft mold, which told us
• 3:28:42
  Speaker 4: a very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down
• 3:28:46
  Speaker 4: by two persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet,
• 3:28:49
  Speaker 4: and the other unusually large ones. On the whole it
• 3:28:52
  Speaker 4: was most probable that the silent Englishman, being less bold
• 3:28:56
  Speaker 4: or less murderous than his companion, had assisted the woman
• 3:28:59
  Speaker 4: to bear the unconnious man out of the way of danger. Well,
• 3:29:02
  Speaker 4: said our engineer ruefully, as we took our seats to
• 3:29:05
  Speaker 4: return once more to London. It has been a pretty
• 3:29:07
  Speaker 4: business for me. I have lost my thumb, and I
• 3:29:10
  Speaker 4: have lost a fifty guinea fee and what have I
• 3:29:12
  Speaker 4: gained experience, said Holmes, laughing indirectly. It may be of value,
• 3:29:17
  Speaker 4: you know, You've only to put it into words to
• 3:29:20
  Speaker 4: gain the reputation of being excellent company. For the remainder
• 3:29:24
  Speaker 4: of your existence.
• 3:29:26
  Speaker 7: The adventure of the Beryl Coronet, Holmes said, I, as
• 3:29:30
  Speaker 7: I stood one morning in our bow window looking down
• 3:29:34
  Speaker 7: the street, here is a madman coming along. It seems
• 3:29:38
  Speaker 7: rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come
• 3:29:41
  Speaker 7: out alone. My friend rose lazily from his arm chair
• 3:29:46
  Speaker 7: and stood with his hands in the pockets of his
• 3:29:48
  Speaker 7: dressing gown, looking over my shoulder. It was a bright,
• 3:29:52
  Speaker 7: crisp February morning, and the snow of the day before
• 3:29:56
  Speaker 7: still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the
• 3:30:00
  Speaker 7: wintry sun. Down the center of Baker Street, it had
• 3:30:04
  Speaker 7: been plowed into a brown crumbly band by the traffic,
• 3:30:09
  Speaker 7: but at either side, and on the heaped up edges
• 3:30:11
  Speaker 7: of the footpaths, it still lay as white as when
• 3:30:14
  Speaker 7: it fell. The gray pavement had been cleaned and scraped,
• 3:30:19
  Speaker 7: but was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer
• 3:30:22
  Speaker 7: passengers than usual. Indeed, from the direction of Metropolitan Station,
• 3:30:28
  Speaker 7: no one was coming, save the single gentleman whose eccentric
• 3:30:31
  Speaker 7: conduct had drawn my attention. He was a man of
• 3:30:35
  Speaker 7: about fifty tall, portly and imposing, with a massive, strongly
• 3:30:40
  Speaker 7: marked face and a commanding figure. He was dressed in
• 3:30:44
  Speaker 7: a somber yet rich style, in black frock coat, shining hat,
• 3:30:49
  Speaker 7: neat brown gaiters, and well cut pearl gray trousers. Yet
• 3:30:54
  Speaker 7: his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of
• 3:30:57
  Speaker 7: his dress and features, for he was running hog with
• 3:31:00
  Speaker 7: occasional little springs, such as a weary man gives who
• 3:31:04
  Speaker 7: is little accustomed to set any tax upon his legs.
• 3:31:09
  Speaker 7: As he ran, he jacked his hands up and down,
• 3:31:12
  Speaker 7: waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most
• 3:31:15
  Speaker 7: extraordinary contortions. What on earth can be the matter with him?
• 3:31:20
  Speaker 7: I asked? He is looking up at the numbers of
• 3:31:23
  Speaker 7: the houses. I believe that he is coming here, said Holmes,
• 3:31:28
  Speaker 7: rubbing his hands here. Yes, I rather think he is
• 3:31:33
  Speaker 7: coming to consult me professionally. I think that I recognized
• 3:31:38
  Speaker 7: the symptoms. Ha, did I not tell you? As he spoke,
• 3:31:42
  Speaker 7: the man puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and
• 3:31:45
  Speaker 7: pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with
• 3:31:49
  Speaker 7: the clanging. A few moments later he was in our room,
• 3:31:52
  Speaker 7: still puffing, still gesticulating, but with so fixed a look
• 3:31:56
  Speaker 7: of grief and despair in his eye that our smiles were,
• 3:32:00
  Speaker 7: and in an instant to horror and pity. For a
• 3:32:03
  Speaker 7: while he could not get his words out, but swayed
• 3:32:06
  Speaker 7: his body and plucked at his hair, like one who
• 3:32:08
  Speaker 7: has been driven to the extreme limits of his reason. Then,
• 3:32:13
  Speaker 7: suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against
• 3:32:16
  Speaker 7: the wall with such force that we both rushed upon
• 3:32:19
  Speaker 7: him and tore him away to the center of the room.
• 3:32:23
  Speaker 7: Sharlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy chair, and,
• 3:32:27
  Speaker 7: sitting beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him
• 3:32:31
  Speaker 7: in the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well
• 3:32:34
  Speaker 7: how to employ. You have come to tell me your story,
• 3:32:38
  Speaker 7: have you not, said? He You are fatigued with your haste. Pray,
• 3:32:43
  Speaker 7: wait until you have recovered yourself, and then I shall
• 3:32:46
  Speaker 7: be most happy to look into any little problem which
• 3:32:48
  Speaker 7: you may submit to me. The man sat for a
• 3:32:52
  Speaker 7: minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion.
• 3:32:56
  Speaker 7: Then he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his
• 3:32:59
  Speaker 7: lips tight and turned his face towards us. No doubt,
• 3:33:04
  Speaker 7: ye think me mad, said he. I see that you
• 3:33:08
  Speaker 7: have had some great trouble, responded Holmes, God knows I
• 3:33:12
  Speaker 7: have a trouble which is enough to unseek my reason.
• 3:33:16
  Speaker 7: So sudden and so terrible is it public disgrace I
• 3:33:19
  Speaker 7: might have faced, Although I am a man whose character
• 3:33:22
  Speaker 7: has never yet borne a stain. Private affliction also is
• 3:33:26
  Speaker 7: the lot of every man. But the two coming together
• 3:33:30
  Speaker 7: and in so frightful a form, have been enough to
• 3:33:33
  Speaker 7: shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone.
• 3:33:38
  Speaker 7: The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some
• 3:33:41
  Speaker 7: way be found out of this horrible affair. Pray, compose yourself, sir,
• 3:33:47
  Speaker 7: said Holmes, and let me have a clear account of
• 3:33:50
  Speaker 7: who you are and what it is that has befallen you.
• 3:33:55
  Speaker 7: My name, answered our visitor, is probably familiar to your ears.
• 3:34:00
  Speaker 7: I am Alexander Holder of the bank firm of Holder
• 3:34:04
  Speaker 7: and Stephenson of Threadneedle Street. The name was indeed well
• 3:34:08
  Speaker 7: known to us as belonging to the senior partner in
• 3:34:11
  Speaker 7: the second largest private banking concern in the city of London.
• 3:34:16
  Speaker 7: What could have happened then to bring one of the
• 3:34:18
  Speaker 7: foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass. We
• 3:34:24
  Speaker 7: waited all curiosity, until with another effort, he braced himself
• 3:34:28
  Speaker 7: to tell his story. I feel the time is of value,
• 3:34:33
  Speaker 7: said he. That is why I hastened here when the
• 3:34:36
  Speaker 7: police inspector suggested that I should secure your corporation. I
• 3:34:41
  Speaker 7: came to Baker Street by the underground and hurried from
• 3:34:44
  Speaker 7: here on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this snow.
• 3:34:48
  Speaker 7: That is why I was so out of breath, for
• 3:34:50
  Speaker 7: I am a man who takes very little exercise. I
• 3:34:53
  Speaker 7: feel better now and will put the facts before you
• 3:34:56
  Speaker 7: as shortly and yet as clearly as I can. It
• 3:35:00
  Speaker 7: is of course well known to you that in a
• 3:35:02
  Speaker 7: successful banking business, as much depends upon our being able
• 3:35:06
  Speaker 7: to find remunerative investments for our funds, as upon our
• 3:35:10
  Speaker 7: increasing our connection and the number of our depositors. One
• 3:35:15
  Speaker 7: of our most lucrative means of laying out money is
• 3:35:18
  Speaker 7: in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable.
• 3:35:23
  Speaker 7: We have done a good deal in this direction during
• 3:35:25
  Speaker 7: the last few years, and there are many noble families
• 3:35:28
  Speaker 7: to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security
• 3:35:31
  Speaker 7: of their pictures, libraries or plate. Yesterday morning, I was
• 3:35:36
  Speaker 7: seated in my office at the bank when a card
• 3:35:39
  Speaker 7: was brought to me by one of the clerks. I
• 3:35:43
  Speaker 7: started when I saw the name, for it was that
• 3:35:46
  Speaker 7: of none other than well, perhaps even to you. I
• 3:35:48
  Speaker 7: had better say no more than that. It was a
• 3:35:51
  Speaker 7: name which is a household word all over the earth,
• 3:35:55
  Speaker 7: one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England.
• 3:36:00
  Speaker 7: I was overwhelmed by the honor, and attempted when he entered,
• 3:36:04
  Speaker 7: to say so, But he plunged at once into business,
• 3:36:08
  Speaker 7: with the air of a man who wishes to hurry
• 3:36:09
  Speaker 7: quickly through a disagreeable task. Mister Holder said he, I
• 3:36:15
  Speaker 7: have been informed that you are in the habit of
• 3:36:17
  Speaker 7: advancing money. The firm does so when the security is good.
• 3:36:22
  Speaker 7: I answered, it is absolutely essential to me, said he,
• 3:36:27
  Speaker 7: that I should have fifty thousand pounds at once. I could,
• 3:36:31
  Speaker 7: of course borrow so trifling a sum ten times over
• 3:36:34
  Speaker 7: from my friends, but I much prefer to make it
• 3:36:37
  Speaker 7: a matter of business, and so carry out that business myself.
• 3:36:42
  Speaker 7: In my position, you can readily understand that it is
• 3:36:44
  Speaker 7: unwise to place one's self under obligations for How long
• 3:36:49
  Speaker 7: may I ask do you want this sum? I asked
• 3:36:54
  Speaker 7: next Monday, I have a large sum due to me,
• 3:36:56
  Speaker 7: and I shall then most certainly repay what you advance,
• 3:37:00
  Speaker 7: with whatever interest you think is right to charge. But
• 3:37:03
  Speaker 7: it is very essential to me that the money should
• 3:37:07
  Speaker 7: be paid at once. I should be happy to advance
• 3:37:11
  Speaker 7: it without further parley from my own private purse, said I.
• 3:37:15
  Speaker 7: Were it not that the strain would be rather more
• 3:37:18
  Speaker 7: than I could bear. If, on the other hand, I
• 3:37:21
  Speaker 7: am to do it in the name of the famb
• 3:37:23
  Speaker 7: then in justice to my partner, I must insist that,
• 3:37:26
  Speaker 7: even in your case, every businesslike precaution should be taken.
• 3:37:32
  Speaker 7: I should much prefer to have it, so, said he,
• 3:37:35
  Speaker 7: raising up a square black Morocco case which he had
• 3:37:38
  Speaker 7: laid beside his chair. You have doubtless heard of the
• 3:37:42
  Speaker 7: beryl coronet, one of the most precious public possessions of
• 3:37:47
  Speaker 7: the Empire, said I precisely. He opened the case, and
• 3:37:53
  Speaker 7: there embedded in soft flesh colored velvet lay the magnificent
• 3:37:58
  Speaker 7: piece of jewelry which he had aimed. There are thirty
• 3:38:02
  Speaker 7: nine enormous beryls, said he, And the price of the
• 3:38:05
  Speaker 7: gold chasing is incalculable. The lowest estimate would put the
• 3:38:10
  Speaker 7: worse of the coronet at double the sum which I
• 3:38:13
  Speaker 7: have asked. I am prepared to leave it with you
• 3:38:16
  Speaker 7: as my security. I took the precious case into my
• 3:38:20
  Speaker 7: hands and looked in some perplexity from it to my
• 3:38:24
  Speaker 7: illustrious client. Ye doubt its value, he asked, Not at all,
• 3:38:31
  Speaker 7: I only doubt the propriety of my leaving it. You
• 3:38:34
  Speaker 7: may set your mind at rest about that. I should
• 3:38:37
  Speaker 7: not dream of doing so were it not absolutely certain
• 3:38:41
  Speaker 7: that I should be able in four days to reclaim it.
• 3:38:44
  Speaker 7: It is a pure matter of form. Is the security
• 3:38:47
  Speaker 7: sufficient ample? You understand, mister holder, that I am giving
• 3:38:53
  Speaker 7: you a strong proof of the confidence which I have
• 3:38:55
  Speaker 7: in you, founded upon all that I have heard of you.
• 3:38:59
  Speaker 7: I rely upon you not only to be discreet and
• 3:39:03
  Speaker 7: to refrain from all gossip upon the matter, but above
• 3:39:06
  Speaker 7: all to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution, because
• 3:39:11
  Speaker 7: I need not say that a great public scandal would
• 3:39:14
  Speaker 7: be caused if any harm were to befall it. Any
• 3:39:17
  Speaker 7: injury to it would be almost as serious as its
• 3:39:21
  Speaker 7: complete loss, For there are no beryls in the world
• 3:39:24
  Speaker 7: to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them.
• 3:39:28
  Speaker 7: I'll leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and
• 3:39:32
  Speaker 7: I shall call for it in person on Monday morning.
• 3:39:36
  Speaker 7: Seeing that my client was anxious to leave, I said
• 3:39:39
  Speaker 7: no more, but calling for my cashier, I ordered him
• 3:39:42
  Speaker 7: to pay over fifty one thousand pound notes. When I
• 3:39:46
  Speaker 7: was alone once more, however, with a precious case lying
• 3:39:49
  Speaker 7: upon the table in front of me, I could not
• 3:39:52
  Speaker 7: but think with some misgivings, of the immense responsibility which
• 3:39:56
  Speaker 7: it entailed upon me. There could be no doubt that,
• 3:40:00
  Speaker 7: as it was a national possession, a horrible scandal would
• 3:40:04
  Speaker 7: ensue if any misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted,
• 3:40:09
  Speaker 7: having ever consented to take charge of it. However, it
• 3:40:13
  Speaker 7: was too late to alter the matter now, so I
• 3:40:15
  Speaker 7: locked it up in my private safe and turned once
• 3:40:19
  Speaker 7: more to my work. When evening came, I felt that
• 3:40:23
  Speaker 7: it would be an imprudence to leave so precious a
• 3:40:25
  Speaker 7: thing in the office behind me. Banker's safes had been
• 3:40:29
  Speaker 7: forced before now, and why should not mine be. If so,
• 3:40:33
  Speaker 7: how terrible would be the position in which I should
• 3:40:35
  Speaker 7: find myself. I determined therefore that for the next few
• 3:40:40
  Speaker 7: days I would always carry the case backward and forward
• 3:40:43
  Speaker 7: with me, so that it might never be really out
• 3:40:46
  Speaker 7: of my reach. With this intention, I called a cab
• 3:40:50
  Speaker 7: and drove out to my house at Stretham, carrying the
• 3:40:53
  Speaker 7: jewel with me. I did not breathe freely until I
• 3:40:57
  Speaker 7: had taken it upstairs and locked it in the bureau
• 3:41:00
  Speaker 7: of my dressing room. And now a word as to
• 3:41:03
  Speaker 7: my household, mister Holmes, for I wish you to sorrowly
• 3:41:06
  Speaker 7: understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep out
• 3:41:11
  Speaker 7: of the house and may be set aside. Altogether. I
• 3:41:14
  Speaker 7: have three maid servants who have been with me a
• 3:41:17
  Speaker 7: number of years, and whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another,
• 3:41:24
  Speaker 7: Lucy Parr, the second waiting maid, has only been in
• 3:41:28
  Speaker 7: my service a few months. She came with an excellent character, however,
• 3:41:32
  Speaker 7: and has always given me satisfaction. She is a very
• 3:41:35
  Speaker 7: pretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung
• 3:41:39
  Speaker 7: about the place. That is the only drawback which we
• 3:41:43
  Speaker 7: have found to her. But we believe her to be
• 3:41:45
  Speaker 7: a sorrowly good girl in every way. So much for
• 3:41:49
  Speaker 7: the servants. My family itself is so small that it
• 3:41:53
  Speaker 7: will not take me long to describe it. I am
• 3:41:56
  Speaker 7: a widower, and I have an only son, Arthur. He
• 3:42:00
  Speaker 7: has been a disappointment to me, mister Holmes, a grievous disappointment.
• 3:42:05
  Speaker 7: I have no doubt that I am myself to blame.
• 3:42:08
  Speaker 7: People tell me that I have spoiled him. Very likely
• 3:42:12
  Speaker 7: I have. When my dear wife died, I felt that
• 3:42:16
  Speaker 7: he was all I had to love. I could not
• 3:42:19
  Speaker 7: bear to see the smile fade, even for a moment,
• 3:42:22
  Speaker 7: from his face. I have never denied him a wish.
• 3:42:25
  Speaker 7: Perhaps it would have been better for both of us
• 3:42:28
  Speaker 7: had I been sterner, but I meant it for the best.
• 3:42:32
  Speaker 7: It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me
• 3:42:35
  Speaker 7: in my business. But he was not of a business turn.
• 3:42:39
  Speaker 7: He was wild, wayward, and to speak the truth, I
• 3:42:43
  Speaker 7: could not trust him in the handling of large sums
• 3:42:45
  Speaker 7: of money. When he was young, he became a member
• 3:42:49
  Speaker 7: of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming manners, he
• 3:42:53
  Speaker 7: was soon the intimate of a number of men with
• 3:42:55
  Speaker 7: long purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily
• 3:43:00
  Speaker 7: at cards and to squander money on the turf, until
• 3:43:04
  Speaker 7: he had again and again to come to me and
• 3:43:07
  Speaker 7: implore me to give him an advance upon his allowance,
• 3:43:10
  Speaker 7: that he might settle his debts of honor. He tried
• 3:43:13
  Speaker 7: more than once to break away from the dangerous company
• 3:43:16
  Speaker 7: which he was keeping, but each time the influence of
• 3:43:19
  Speaker 7: his friend, Sir George Burnwell was enough to draw him
• 3:43:22
  Speaker 7: back again. And indeed I could not wonder that such
• 3:43:27
  Speaker 7: a man as Sir George Banwell should gain an influence
• 3:43:30
  Speaker 7: over him, for he has frequently brought him to my house,
• 3:43:34
  Speaker 7: and I have found myself that I could hardly resist
• 3:43:36
  Speaker 7: the fascination of his manner. He is older than Arthur,
• 3:43:40
  Speaker 7: a man of the world to his finger tips, one
• 3:43:43
  Speaker 7: who had been everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and
• 3:43:47
  Speaker 7: a man of great personal beauty. Yet when I think
• 3:43:51
  Speaker 7: of him in cold blood, far away from the glamor
• 3:43:54
  Speaker 7: of his presence, I am convinced, from his cynical speech
• 3:43:58
  Speaker 7: and the look which I may have caught in his eyes,
• 3:44:01
  Speaker 7: that he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So
• 3:44:04
  Speaker 7: I think, and so too thinks my little Mary, who
• 3:44:07
  Speaker 7: has a woman's quick insight into character. And now there
• 3:44:11
  Speaker 7: is only she to be described. She is my niece.
• 3:44:15
  Speaker 7: But when my brother died five years ago and left
• 3:44:18
  Speaker 7: her alone in the world. I adopted her and have
• 3:44:21
  Speaker 7: looked upon her ever since as my daughter. She is
• 3:44:24
  Speaker 7: a sunbeam in my house, sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful
• 3:44:29
  Speaker 7: manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and gentle
• 3:44:33
  Speaker 7: as a woman could be. She is my right hand.
• 3:44:37
  Speaker 7: I do not know what I could do without her.
• 3:44:40
  Speaker 7: In only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes.
• 3:44:44
  Speaker 7: Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for
• 3:44:46
  Speaker 7: he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him.
• 3:44:51
  Speaker 7: I think that if any one could have drawn him
• 3:44:53
  Speaker 7: into the right path, it would have been she, and
• 3:44:57
  Speaker 7: that his marriage might have changed his whole life. But now,
• 3:45:01
  Speaker 7: alas it is too late, forever too late. Now, mister Holmes,
• 3:45:07
  Speaker 7: ye know the people who live under my roof, and
• 3:45:09
  Speaker 7: I shall continue with my miserable story. When we were
• 3:45:13
  Speaker 7: taking coffee in the drawing room that night after dinner,
• 3:45:16
  Speaker 7: I told Arthur and Mary my experience and of the
• 3:45:20
  Speaker 7: precious treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only
• 3:45:24
  Speaker 7: the name of my client, Lucy Parr, who had brought
• 3:45:28
  Speaker 7: in the coffee. Had I am sure left the room,
• 3:45:31
  Speaker 7: but I cannot swear that the door was closed. Mary
• 3:45:35
  Speaker 7: and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the
• 3:45:38
  Speaker 7: famous coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it.
• 3:45:42
  Speaker 7: Where have you put it, asked Arthur in my own bureau. Well,
• 3:45:48
  Speaker 7: I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during
• 3:45:51
  Speaker 7: the night, said he. It is locked up. I answered, Oh,
• 3:45:55
  Speaker 7: any old key will fit that bureau. When I was
• 3:45:58
  Speaker 7: a youngster, I have opened it with the key of
• 3:46:01
  Speaker 7: the box room cupboard. He often had a wild way
• 3:46:05
  Speaker 7: of talking, so that I thought little of what he said.
• 3:46:08
  Speaker 7: He followed me to my room. However, that night with
• 3:46:11
  Speaker 7: a very grave face. Look here, Dad, said he, with
• 3:46:15
  Speaker 7: his eyes cast down. Can you let me have two
• 3:46:18
  Speaker 7: hundred pounds?
• 3:46:20
  Speaker 2: No?
• 3:46:20
  Speaker 7: I cannot, I answered sharply. I have been far too
• 3:46:24
  Speaker 7: generous with you in money matters. You have been very kind,
• 3:46:29
  Speaker 7: said he. But I must have this money or else
• 3:46:32
  Speaker 7: I can never show my face inside the club again,
• 3:46:36
  Speaker 7: and a very good thing too, I cried, yes, But
• 3:46:41
  Speaker 7: you would not have me leave it. A dishonored man
• 3:46:43
  Speaker 7: said he. I could not bear the disgrace. I must
• 3:46:48
  Speaker 7: raise the money in some way, and if you will
• 3:46:50
  Speaker 7: not let me have it, then I must try other means.
• 3:46:55
  Speaker 7: I was very angry, for this was the third demand
• 3:46:58
  Speaker 7: during the month, you shall not have a farthing from me,
• 3:47:02
  Speaker 7: I cried, on which she bowed and left the room
• 3:47:05
  Speaker 7: without another word. When he was gone, I unlocked my bureau,
• 3:47:09
  Speaker 7: made sure that my treasure was safe, and locked it again.
• 3:47:13
  Speaker 7: Then I started to go round the house to see
• 3:47:15
  Speaker 7: that all was secure, a duty which I normally leave
• 3:47:18
  Speaker 7: to Mary, but which I thought it well to perform myself.
• 3:47:22
  Speaker 7: That night, as I came down the stairs, I saw
• 3:47:25
  Speaker 7: Mary herself at the side window of the hall, which
• 3:47:29
  Speaker 7: she closed and fastened. As I approached, Tell me, Dad,
• 3:47:33
  Speaker 7: she said, Looking I thought a little disturbed. Did you
• 3:47:37
  Speaker 7: give Lucy the maid leave to go out to night?
• 3:47:40
  Speaker 7: Certainly not. She came in just now by the back door.
• 3:47:45
  Speaker 7: I have no doubt that she has only been to
• 3:47:47
  Speaker 7: the side gate to see some one. But I think
• 3:47:50
  Speaker 7: that it is hardly safe and should be stopped. You
• 3:47:53
  Speaker 7: must speak to her in the morning, or I will
• 3:47:56
  Speaker 7: if you prefer it. Are you sure that everything is fastened?
• 3:48:00
  Speaker 7: Quite sure? Dad? Then good night. I kissed her and
• 3:48:05
  Speaker 7: went up to my bedroom again, where I was soon asleep.
• 3:48:09
  Speaker 7: I am endeavoring to tell you everything, mister Holmes, which
• 3:48:12
  Speaker 7: may have any bearing upon the case, but I beg
• 3:48:15
  Speaker 7: that you will question me upon any point which I
• 3:48:17
  Speaker 7: do not make clear. On the contrary, your statement is
• 3:48:21
  Speaker 7: singularly lucid. I come to a part of my story
• 3:48:25
  Speaker 7: now which I should wish to be particularly so. I
• 3:48:29
  Speaker 7: am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety in
• 3:48:32
  Speaker 7: my mind tendered no doubt to make me even less
• 3:48:35
  Speaker 7: so than usual. About two in the morning, then I
• 3:48:39
  Speaker 7: was awakened by some sound in the house. It had
• 3:48:42
  Speaker 7: ceased ere was wide awake, but it had left an
• 3:48:45
  Speaker 7: impression behind, as though a window had gently closed somewhere.
• 3:48:51
  Speaker 7: I lay listening with all my ears. Suddenly, to my horror,
• 3:48:56
  Speaker 7: there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in
• 3:48:59
  Speaker 7: the next room. I slipped out of bed, all palpitating
• 3:49:03
  Speaker 7: with fear, and peeped round the corner of my dressing
• 3:49:06
  Speaker 7: room door. Arthur, I screamed, you villain, you thief, how
• 3:49:11
  Speaker 7: dare you touch that coronet? The gas was half up
• 3:49:16
  Speaker 7: as I had left it, and my unhappy boy, dressed
• 3:49:19
  Speaker 7: only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the light,
• 3:49:23
  Speaker 7: holding the coronet in his hands. He appeared to be
• 3:49:27
  Speaker 7: wrenching at it or bending it with all his strength.
• 3:49:31
  Speaker 7: At my cry. He dropped it from his grasp and
• 3:49:34
  Speaker 7: turned as pale as death. I snatched it up and
• 3:49:38
  Speaker 7: examined it. One of the gold corners with three of
• 3:49:42
  Speaker 7: the beryls in it was missing. You black guard, I
• 3:49:47
  Speaker 7: shouted beside me with rage. You have destroyed it. You
• 3:49:52
  Speaker 7: have dishonored me forever. Where are the jewels which you
• 3:49:55
  Speaker 7: have stolen? Stolen? He cried, Yes, thief, I roared, shaking
• 3:50:03
  Speaker 7: him by the shoulder. There are none missing. There cannot
• 3:50:07
  Speaker 7: be any missing, said he. There are three missing, and
• 3:50:12
  Speaker 7: you know where they are. Must I call you a
• 3:50:14
  Speaker 7: liar as well as a thief? Did I not see
• 3:50:17
  Speaker 7: you trying to tear off another piece? You have called
• 3:50:21
  Speaker 7: me names? Enough, said he. I will not stand it
• 3:50:25
  Speaker 7: any longer. I shall not say another word about this business.
• 3:50:28
  Speaker 7: Since you have chosen to insult me. I will leave
• 3:50:31
  Speaker 7: your house in the morning and make my own way
• 3:50:34
  Speaker 7: in the world. You shall leave it in the hands
• 3:50:37
  Speaker 7: of the police, I cried, half mad with grief and rage.
• 3:50:41
  Speaker 7: I shall have this matter probed to the bottom. You
• 3:50:45
  Speaker 7: shall learn nothing from me, said he, with a passion
• 3:50:48
  Speaker 7: such as I should not have thought was in his nature.
• 3:50:52
  Speaker 7: If you choose to call the police. Let the police
• 3:50:55
  Speaker 7: find what they can. By this time the whole house
• 3:50:59
  Speaker 7: was astir, for I had raised my voice in my anger.
• 3:51:03
  Speaker 7: Mary was the first to rush into my room, and
• 3:51:06
  Speaker 7: at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face,
• 3:51:09
  Speaker 7: she read the whole story, and with a scream, fell
• 3:51:12
  Speaker 7: down senseless on the ground. I sent the housemaid for
• 3:51:16
  Speaker 7: the police and put the investigation into their hands at once.
• 3:51:21
  Speaker 7: When the inspector and a constable entered the house, Arthur,
• 3:51:25
  Speaker 7: who had stood sullenly with his arms folded, asked me
• 3:51:28
  Speaker 7: whether it was my intention to charge him with theft.
• 3:51:31
  Speaker 7: I answered that it had ceased to be a private matter,
• 3:51:35
  Speaker 7: but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet
• 3:51:39
  Speaker 7: was national property. I was determined that the law should
• 3:51:43
  Speaker 7: have its way in everything. At least, he said, you
• 3:51:47
  Speaker 7: will not have me arrested at once. It would be
• 3:51:50
  Speaker 7: to your advantage as well as mine if I might
• 3:51:53
  Speaker 7: leave the house for five minutes, that you may get away,
• 3:51:57
  Speaker 7: or perhaps that you may conceal what you have stidelen,
• 3:52:00
  Speaker 7: said I, and then, realizing the dreadful position in which
• 3:52:04
  Speaker 7: I was placed, I implored him to remember that not
• 3:52:08
  Speaker 7: only my honor, but that of one who was far
• 3:52:11
  Speaker 7: greater than I was at stake, and that he threatened
• 3:52:14
  Speaker 7: to raise the scandal which would convulse the nation. He
• 3:52:19
  Speaker 7: might avert it all if ye would but tell me
• 3:52:22
  Speaker 7: what he had done with the three missing stones. You
• 3:52:26
  Speaker 7: may as well face the matter, said I. You have
• 3:52:28
  Speaker 7: been caught in the act, and no confession could make
• 3:52:31
  Speaker 7: your guilt more heinous. If you but make such reparation
• 3:52:35
  Speaker 7: as is in your power by telling us where the
• 3:52:38
  Speaker 7: beryls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten. Keep your
• 3:52:42
  Speaker 7: forgiveness for those who ask for it, he answered, turning
• 3:52:46
  Speaker 7: away from me with a sneer. I saw that he
• 3:52:50
  Speaker 7: was too hardened for any words of mine to influence him.
• 3:52:53
  Speaker 7: There was but one way for it. I called in
• 3:52:56
  Speaker 7: the inspector and gave him into custody. Was made at once,
• 3:53:01
  Speaker 7: not only of his person, but of his room, and
• 3:53:04
  Speaker 7: of every portion of the house where he could possibly
• 3:53:07
  Speaker 7: have concealed the gems. But no trace of them could
• 3:53:10
  Speaker 7: be found, nor would the wretched boy open his mouth.
• 3:53:13
  Speaker 7: For all our persuasions and our threats. This morning he
• 3:53:18
  Speaker 7: was removed to a cell, and I, after going through
• 3:53:21
  Speaker 7: all the police formalities, have hurried round to you to
• 3:53:24
  Speaker 7: implore you to use your skill in unraveling the matter.
• 3:53:28
  Speaker 7: The police have openly confessed that they can at present
• 3:53:31
  Speaker 7: make nothing of it. You may go to any expense
• 3:53:35
  Speaker 7: which you think necessary. I have already offered a reward
• 3:53:38
  Speaker 7: of one thousand pounds. My God, what shall I do?
• 3:53:42
  Speaker 7: I have lost my honor, my gems, and my son
• 3:53:45
  Speaker 7: in one night. Oh what shall I do? He put
• 3:53:50
  Speaker 7: a hand on either side of his head and rocked
• 3:53:53
  Speaker 7: himself to and fro, droning to himself like a child
• 3:53:56
  Speaker 7: whose grief has got beyond words. Sharlock Holmes sat silent
• 3:54:01
  Speaker 7: for some few minutes, with his brows knitted and his
• 3:54:05
  Speaker 7: eyes fixed upon the fire. Do you receive much company?
• 3:54:09
  Speaker 7: He asked, None save my partner with his family, and
• 3:54:13
  Speaker 7: an occasional friend of Arthur's, Sir George Bernwill, has been
• 3:54:17
  Speaker 7: several times lately, no one else, I think. Do you
• 3:54:21
  Speaker 7: go out much in society? Arthur? Does Mary and I
• 3:54:26
  Speaker 7: stay at home? We neither of us care for it.
• 3:54:30
  Speaker 7: That is unusual in a young girl. She is of
• 3:54:33
  Speaker 7: a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young.
• 3:54:38
  Speaker 7: She is four and twenty. This matter, from what you say,
• 3:54:42
  Speaker 7: seems to have been a shock to her also terrible.
• 3:54:46
  Speaker 7: She is even more affected than I. You have neither
• 3:54:50
  Speaker 7: of you any doubt as to your son's guilt. How
• 3:54:53
  Speaker 7: can we have? When I saw him with my own eyes,
• 3:54:56
  Speaker 7: with the coronet in his hands, I consider that a
• 3:55:00
  Speaker 7: conclusive proof. Was the remainder of the coronet at all injured? Yes,
• 3:55:06
  Speaker 7: it was twisted. Do you not think then that he
• 3:55:10
  Speaker 7: might have been trying to straighten it? God bless you.
• 3:55:14
  Speaker 7: You are doing what you can for him and for me,
• 3:55:17
  Speaker 7: But it is too heavy a task. What was he
• 3:55:20
  Speaker 7: doing there at all? If his purpose were innocent, why
• 3:55:24
  Speaker 7: did he not say so precisely? And if he were guilty,
• 3:55:28
  Speaker 7: why did he not invent a lie? His silence appears
• 3:55:32
  Speaker 7: to me to cut both ways. There are several singular
• 3:55:36
  Speaker 7: points about the case. What did the police think of
• 3:55:40
  Speaker 7: the noise which awoke you from your sleep? They considered
• 3:55:44
  Speaker 7: that it might be caused by Arthur's closing his bedroom door,
• 3:55:48
  Speaker 7: a likely story, as if a man bent on felony
• 3:55:52
  Speaker 7: would slam his door so as to wake a household.
• 3:55:55
  Speaker 7: What did they say, then, of the disappearance of these gems?
• 3:56:00
  Speaker 7: They are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture
• 3:56:04
  Speaker 7: in the hope of finding them. Have they sort of
• 3:56:07
  Speaker 7: looking outside the house? Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy.
• 3:56:12
  Speaker 7: The whole garden has already been minutely examined. Now, my
• 3:56:16
  Speaker 7: dear sir, said Holmes, it is not obvious to you
• 3:56:20
  Speaker 7: now that this matter really strikes very much deeper than
• 3:56:24
  Speaker 7: either you or the police were at first inclined to think.
• 3:56:28
  Speaker 7: It appeared to you to be a simple case. To me,
• 3:56:31
  Speaker 7: it seems exceedingly complex. Consider what is involved by your theory.
• 3:56:37
  Speaker 7: You suppose that your son came down from his bed,
• 3:56:39
  Speaker 7: went at great risk to your dressing room, opened your bureau,
• 3:56:44
  Speaker 7: took out your coronet, broke off by main force a
• 3:56:47
  Speaker 7: small portion of it, went off to some other place,
• 3:56:51
  Speaker 7: concealed three gems out of the thirty nine with such
• 3:56:55
  Speaker 7: skill that nobody can find them, and then returned with
• 3:56:58
  Speaker 7: the other thirty six into the room in which he
• 3:57:01
  Speaker 7: exposed himself to the greatest danger of being discovered. I
• 3:57:05
  Speaker 7: ask you now, is such a theory tenable? But what
• 3:57:10
  Speaker 7: other is there? Cried the banker, with a gesture of despair.
• 3:57:15
  Speaker 7: If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain them?
• 3:57:19
  Speaker 7: It is our task to find that out, replied Holmes.
• 3:57:23
  Speaker 7: So now, if you please, mister Holder, we will set
• 3:57:26
  Speaker 7: off for Stresthen together and devote an hour to glancing
• 3:57:31
  Speaker 7: a little more closely into details. My friend insisted upon
• 3:57:35
  Speaker 7: my accompanying them in their expedition, which I was eager
• 3:57:38
  Speaker 7: enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply
• 3:57:42
  Speaker 7: stirred by the story to which we had listened. I
• 3:57:45
  Speaker 7: confess that the guilt of the banker's son appeared to
• 3:57:49
  Speaker 7: me to be as obvious as it did to his
• 3:57:51
  Speaker 7: unhappy father, but still had such faith in Holmes's judgment
• 3:57:55
  Speaker 7: that I felt that there must be some grounds for hope.
• 3:57:58
  Speaker 7: As long as he was dissatisfied was the accepted explanation.
• 3:58:02
  Speaker 7: He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to
• 3:58:05
  Speaker 7: the southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his
• 3:58:08
  Speaker 7: breast and his hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in
• 3:58:12
  Speaker 7: the deepest thought. Our client appeared to have taken fresh
• 3:58:16
  Speaker 7: heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been
• 3:58:19
  Speaker 7: presented to him, and he even broke into a desultory
• 3:58:23
  Speaker 7: chat with me over his business affairs. A short railway
• 3:58:27
  Speaker 7: journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the
• 3:58:30
  Speaker 7: modest residence of the great financier Fairbank was a good
• 3:58:35
  Speaker 7: sized square house of white stone, standing back a little
• 3:58:39
  Speaker 7: from the road. A double carriage sweep with a snow
• 3:58:43
  Speaker 7: clad lawn, stretched down in front of two large iron
• 3:58:46
  Speaker 7: gates which closed the entrance. On the right side was
• 3:58:51
  Speaker 7: a small wooden thicket which led into a narrow path
• 3:58:54
  Speaker 7: between two neat hedges, stretching from the road to the
• 3:58:58
  Speaker 7: kitchen door and forming the trademan's entrance. On the left
• 3:59:04
  Speaker 7: ran a lane which led to the stables, and was
• 3:59:07
  Speaker 7: not itself within the grounds at all, being a public
• 3:59:10
  Speaker 7: so little used sorrowfare, Holmes left us standing at the door,
• 3:59:16
  Speaker 7: and walked slowly all round the house, across the front,
• 3:59:21
  Speaker 7: down the tradesman's path, and so round by the garden
• 3:59:24
  Speaker 7: behind into the stable lane. So long was he that
• 3:59:28
  Speaker 7: mister Holder and I went into the dining room and
• 3:59:31
  Speaker 7: waited by the fire until he should return. We were
• 3:59:35
  Speaker 7: sitting there in silence when the door opened and the
• 3:59:38
  Speaker 7: young lady came in. She was rather above the middle height, slim,
• 3:59:42
  Speaker 7: with dark hair and eyes which seemed the darker against
• 3:59:46
  Speaker 7: the absolute pallor of her skin. I do not think
• 3:59:50
  Speaker 7: that I have ever seen such deadly paleness in a
• 3:59:52
  Speaker 7: woman's face. Her lips, too, were bloodless, but her eyes
• 3:59:58
  Speaker 7: were flushed with crying. As she swept silently into the room.
• 4:00:02
  Speaker 7: She impressed me with a greater sense of grief than
• 4:00:05
  Speaker 7: the banker had done in the morning, And it was
• 4:00:08
  Speaker 7: the more striking in her as she was evidently a
• 4:00:11
  Speaker 7: woman of strong character with immense capacity for self restraint.
• 4:00:16
  Speaker 7: Disregarding my presence, she went straight to her uncle and
• 4:00:20
  Speaker 7: passed her hand over his head with a sweet womanly caress.
• 4:00:25
  Speaker 7: You have given orders that Arthur should be liberated, have
• 4:00:27
  Speaker 7: you not dared? She asked? No, No, my gal, the
• 4:00:32
  Speaker 7: matter must be probed to the bottom. But I am
• 4:00:36
  Speaker 7: so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's
• 4:00:39
  Speaker 7: instincts are. I know that he has done no harm,
• 4:00:43
  Speaker 7: and that you will be sorry for having acted so harshly.
• 4:00:47
  Speaker 7: Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent? Who knows?
• 4:00:52
  Speaker 7: Perhaps because he was so angry that you should suspect him.
• 4:00:56
  Speaker 7: How could I help suspecting him when I actually saw
• 4:00:59
  Speaker 7: him with a coronet in his hand. Oh, but he
• 4:01:03
  Speaker 7: had only picked it up to look at it. Oh,
• 4:01:06
  Speaker 7: do do take my word for it that he is innocent.
• 4:01:09
  Speaker 7: Let the matter drop and say no more. It is
• 4:01:12
  Speaker 7: so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in prison.
• 4:01:16
  Speaker 7: I shall never let it drop until the gems are found.
• 4:01:20
  Speaker 7: Never marry. Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to
• 4:01:24
  Speaker 7: the awful consequences to me. Far from hushing the thing up,
• 4:01:28
  Speaker 7: I have brought gentlemen down from London to inquire more
• 4:01:31
  Speaker 7: deeply into it. This gentleman, she asked, facing round to me,
• 4:01:38
  Speaker 7: No his friend. He wished us to leave him alone.
• 4:01:42
  Speaker 7: He is round in the stable lane. Now the stable lane,
• 4:01:46
  Speaker 7: she raised her dark eyebrows. What can he hope to
• 4:01:50
  Speaker 7: find there? Ah, this I suppose is he. I trust, sir,
• 4:01:55
  Speaker 7: that you will succeed in proving what, if feel sure
• 4:01:58
  Speaker 7: is the truth that my cousin asked, so is innocent
• 4:02:00
  Speaker 7: of his crime. I fully share your opinion, and I
• 4:02:04
  Speaker 7: trust with you that we may prove it, returned Holmes,
• 4:02:09
  Speaker 7: going back to the mat to knock the snow from
• 4:02:11
  Speaker 7: his shoes. I believe I have the honor of addressing
• 4:02:14
  Speaker 7: Miss Mary Holder. May I ask you a question or two?
• 4:02:18
  Speaker 7: Pray do, sir, if it may help you, if it
• 4:02:22
  Speaker 7: may help to clear this horrible affair up. You heard
• 4:02:25
  Speaker 7: nothing yourself last night, nothing until my uncle here began
• 4:02:30
  Speaker 7: to speak loudly. I heard that, and I came down.
• 4:02:35
  Speaker 7: You shut up the windows and doors the night before?
• 4:02:38
  Speaker 7: Did you fasten all the windows? Yes? Were they all
• 4:02:42
  Speaker 7: fastened this morning?
• 4:02:44
  Speaker 5: Yes?
• 4:02:45
  Speaker 7: You have a maid who has a sweetheart. I think
• 4:02:48
  Speaker 7: that you remarked to your uncle last night that you
• 4:02:50
  Speaker 7: had been out to see him. Yes, and she was
• 4:02:54
  Speaker 7: the girl who waited in the drawing room, and who
• 4:02:56
  Speaker 7: may have heard Uncle's remarks about the coronet. I see
• 4:03:01
  Speaker 7: you infer that she may have gone out to tell
• 4:03:04
  Speaker 7: her sweetheart, and that the two may have planned the robbery.
• 4:03:08
  Speaker 7: But what is the good of all these vague theories,
• 4:03:11
  Speaker 7: cried the banker impatiently, when I have told you that
• 4:03:14
  Speaker 7: I saw Arthur with the coronet in his hands. Wait
• 4:03:19
  Speaker 7: a little, mister Holder, We must come back to that.
• 4:03:22
  Speaker 7: About this girl, Miss Holder, you saw her return by
• 4:03:25
  Speaker 7: the kitchen door, I presume yes. When I went to
• 4:03:29
  Speaker 7: see if the door was fastened for the night, I
• 4:03:32
  Speaker 7: met her slipping in. I saw the man too, in
• 4:03:35
  Speaker 7: the gloom. Do you know him?
• 4:03:38
  Speaker 5: Oh?
• 4:03:39
  Speaker 7: Yes, he is the greengrocer who brings our vegetable friend
• 4:03:43
  Speaker 7: his name is Francis Prosper. He stood, said Holmes, to
• 4:03:48
  Speaker 7: the left of the door, that is to say, farther
• 4:03:51
  Speaker 7: up the path than is necessary to reach the door.
• 4:03:55
  Speaker 7: Yes he did, and he is a man with a
• 4:03:58
  Speaker 7: wooden leg. Something like fear sprang up in the lady's
• 4:04:02
  Speaker 7: expressive black eyes. Why you are like a magician, said she.
• 4:04:08
  Speaker 7: How d'ye know that? She smiled, but there was no
• 4:04:12
  Speaker 7: answering smile in Holmes's thin, eager face. I should be
• 4:04:16
  Speaker 7: very glad now to go upstairs, said he. I shall
• 4:04:20
  Speaker 7: probably wish to go over to the outside of the
• 4:04:22
  Speaker 7: house again. Perhaps I had better take a look at
• 4:04:25
  Speaker 7: the lower windows before I go up. He walked swiftly
• 4:04:29
  Speaker 7: round from one to the other, pausing only at a
• 4:04:32
  Speaker 7: large one which looked from the hall into the stable lane.
• 4:04:36
  Speaker 7: This he opened and made a very careful examination of
• 4:04:39
  Speaker 7: the sill with his powerful, magnifying glance. Now we shall
• 4:04:44
  Speaker 7: go upstairs, said he. At last, the banker's dressing room
• 4:04:48
  Speaker 7: was a plainly furnished little chamber with a gray carpet,
• 4:04:52
  Speaker 7: a large bureau, and a long mirror. Holmes went to
• 4:04:56
  Speaker 7: the bureau first and looked hard at the lock which
• 4:05:00
  Speaker 7: key was used to open it. He asked that which
• 4:05:05
  Speaker 7: my son himself indicated that of the cupboard of the
• 4:05:08
  Speaker 7: lumber room. Have you it here? That is it on
• 4:05:13
  Speaker 7: the dressing table, Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened
• 4:05:17
  Speaker 7: the bureau. It is a noiseless lock, said he. It
• 4:05:22
  Speaker 7: is no wonder that it did not wake you. This case,
• 4:05:25
  Speaker 7: I presume contains the coronet. We must have a look
• 4:05:28
  Speaker 7: at it. He opened the case, and taking out the diadem,
• 4:05:33
  Speaker 7: he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent
• 4:05:36
  Speaker 7: specimen of the jeweler's art, and the thirty six stones
• 4:05:41
  Speaker 7: were the finest that I have ever seen. At one
• 4:05:44
  Speaker 7: side of the coronet was a cracked edge, where a
• 4:05:47
  Speaker 7: corner holding three gems had been torn away. Now, mister
• 4:05:52
  Speaker 7: Holder said Holmes, here is the corner which corresponds to
• 4:05:56
  Speaker 7: that which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I beg
• 4:06:00
  Speaker 7: that you will break it off? The banker recoiled in horror.
• 4:06:05
  Speaker 7: I should not dream of trying it, said he. Then
• 4:06:08
  Speaker 7: I will. Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but
• 4:06:13
  Speaker 7: without result. I feel it give a little, said he,
• 4:06:17
  Speaker 7: But though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it
• 4:06:21
  Speaker 7: would take me all my time to break it. An
• 4:06:24
  Speaker 7: ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you
• 4:06:27
  Speaker 7: think would happen if I did break it, mister Holder?
• 4:06:31
  Speaker 7: There would be a noise like a pistol shot. Do
• 4:06:34
  Speaker 7: you tell me that all this happened within a few
• 4:06:36
  Speaker 7: yards of your bed and that you had nothing of it?
• 4:06:41
  Speaker 7: I do not know what to think. It is all
• 4:06:43
  Speaker 7: dark to me, but perhaps it may grow lighter as
• 4:06:47
  Speaker 7: we go. What do you think, Missholder? I confess that
• 4:06:51
  Speaker 7: I still share my uncle's perplexity. Your son had no
• 4:06:55
  Speaker 7: shoes or slippers on when you saw him. He had
• 4:06:58
  Speaker 7: nothing on save only his trousers and shirt. Thank you.
• 4:07:03
  Speaker 7: We have certainly been favored with extraordinary luck during this inquiry,
• 4:07:07
  Speaker 7: and it will be entirely our own fault if we
• 4:07:10
  Speaker 7: do not succeed in clearing this matter up. With your permission,
• 4:07:14
  Speaker 7: mister Holder, I shall now continue my investigations outside. He
• 4:07:18
  Speaker 7: went alone, at his own request, for he explained that
• 4:07:22
  Speaker 7: any unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For
• 4:07:27
  Speaker 7: an hour or more he was at work, returning at
• 4:07:30
  Speaker 7: last with his feet heavy with snow and his features
• 4:07:34
  Speaker 7: as inscrutable as ever. I think that I have seen
• 4:07:38
  Speaker 7: now all there is to see, mister Holder said he.
• 4:07:41
  Speaker 7: I can serve you best by returning to my rooms.
• 4:07:44
  Speaker 7: But the gems, mister Holmes, where are they? I cannot tell.
• 4:07:51
  Speaker 7: The banker wrung his hands. I shall never see them again,
• 4:07:54
  Speaker 7: he cried. And my son, you give me hopes. My
• 4:07:59
  Speaker 7: opinion is in no way altered. Then, for God's sake,
• 4:08:04
  Speaker 7: what was this dark business which was acted in my
• 4:08:06
  Speaker 7: house last night? If you can call upon me at
• 4:08:10
  Speaker 7: my Baker Street rooms to morrow morning between nine and ten,
• 4:08:13
  Speaker 7: I shall be happy to do what I can to
• 4:08:15
  Speaker 7: make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte
• 4:08:19
  Speaker 7: blanche to act for you, provided only that I get
• 4:08:23
  Speaker 7: back the gems, and that you place no limit on
• 4:08:25
  Speaker 7: the sum I may draw. I would give my fortune
• 4:08:29
  Speaker 7: to have them back. Very good. I shall look into
• 4:08:32
  Speaker 7: the matter between this and then good bye. It is
• 4:08:36
  Speaker 7: just possible that I may have to come over here again.
• 4:08:39
  Speaker 7: Before evening, it was obvious to me that my companion's
• 4:08:43
  Speaker 7: mind was now made up about the case, although what
• 4:08:46
  Speaker 7: his conclusions were was no more than I could even
• 4:08:49
  Speaker 7: dimly imagine. Several times during our homeward journey I endeavored
• 4:08:55
  Speaker 7: to sound him upon the point, but he always glided
• 4:08:58
  Speaker 7: away to some other topic, until at last I gave
• 4:09:01
  Speaker 7: it over in despair. It was not yet three when
• 4:09:04
  Speaker 7: we found ourselves in our rooms once more. He hurried
• 4:09:08
  Speaker 7: to his chamber and was down again in a few minutes.
• 4:09:11
  Speaker 7: Dressed as a common loafer, with his collar tned up,
• 4:09:15
  Speaker 7: his shiny seed coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots,
• 4:09:19
  Speaker 7: he was a perfect sample of the class. I think
• 4:09:23
  Speaker 7: that this should do, said he, glancing into the glass
• 4:09:26
  Speaker 7: above the fireplace. I only wish that ye could come
• 4:09:29
  Speaker 7: with me, Watson, but a fear that it won't do.
• 4:09:33
  Speaker 7: I may be on my trail in this matter, or
• 4:09:35
  Speaker 7: I may be following a will o the wisp, but
• 4:09:38
  Speaker 7: I shall soon know which it is. I hope that
• 4:09:42
  Speaker 7: I may be back in a few hours. He cut
• 4:09:45
  Speaker 7: a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard,
• 4:09:48
  Speaker 7: sandwiched it between two rounds of bread, and thrusting this
• 4:09:52
  Speaker 7: rude meal into his pocket, he started off upon his expedition.
• 4:09:57
  Speaker 7: I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently
• 4:10:00
  Speaker 7: in excellent spirits. Swinging an old elastic sided boot in
• 4:10:04
  Speaker 7: his hand, he chucked it down into a corner and
• 4:10:08
  Speaker 7: helped himself to a cup of tea. I only looked
• 4:10:12
  Speaker 7: in as I passed, said he, I am going right
• 4:10:15
  Speaker 7: on where too, Oh, to the other side of the
• 4:10:19
  Speaker 7: west end. It may be some time before I get back.
• 4:10:23
  Speaker 7: Don't wait up for me in case I should be late.
• 4:10:26
  Speaker 7: How are you getting on?
• 4:10:29
  Speaker 5: Oh?
• 4:10:29
  Speaker 7: So so nothing to complain of. I have been out
• 4:10:32
  Speaker 7: to Strestham since I saw you last, but I did
• 4:10:35
  Speaker 7: not call at the house. It is a very sweet
• 4:10:38
  Speaker 7: little problem, and I would not have missed it for
• 4:10:41
  Speaker 7: a good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here,
• 4:10:45
  Speaker 7: but must get these disreputable clothes off and return to
• 4:10:48
  Speaker 7: my highly respectable self. I could see by his manner
• 4:10:53
  Speaker 7: that he had stronger reasons for satisfaction than his words
• 4:10:56
  Speaker 7: alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, and there was even
• 4:11:00
  Speaker 7: a touch of color upon his sallow cheeks. He hastened upstairs,
• 4:11:05
  Speaker 7: and a few minutes later I heard the slam of
• 4:11:07
  Speaker 7: the hall door, which told me that he was off
• 4:11:09
  Speaker 7: once more upon his congenial hunt. I waited until midnight,
• 4:11:14
  Speaker 7: but there was no sign of his return, so I
• 4:11:16
  Speaker 7: retired to my room. It was no uncommon thing for
• 4:11:20
  Speaker 7: him to be away for days and nights on end
• 4:11:22
  Speaker 7: when he was hot upon ascent, so that his lateness
• 4:11:25
  Speaker 7: caused me no surprise. I do not know at what
• 4:11:29
  Speaker 7: hour he came in, but when I came down to
• 4:11:31
  Speaker 7: breakfast in the morning, there he was, with a cup
• 4:11:34
  Speaker 7: of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other,
• 4:11:37
  Speaker 7: as fresh and trim as possible. You will excuse my
• 4:11:41
  Speaker 7: beginning without you, Watson, said he. But you remember that
• 4:11:45
  Speaker 7: our client has rather an early appointment this morning. Why
• 4:11:50
  Speaker 7: it is after nine now, I answered, I should not
• 4:11:53
  Speaker 7: be surprised if that were he, I thought I heard
• 4:11:56
  Speaker 7: a ring. It was indeed, our friend, the financier. I
• 4:12:00
  Speaker 7: was shocked by the change which had come over him,
• 4:12:03
  Speaker 7: for his face, which was naturally of a broad and
• 4:12:05
  Speaker 7: massive mold, was now pinched and fallen in, while his
• 4:12:09
  Speaker 7: hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He
• 4:12:13
  Speaker 7: entered with a weariness and lethargy which was even more
• 4:12:16
  Speaker 7: painful than his violence of the morning before, and he
• 4:12:20
  Speaker 7: dropped heavily into the arm chair, which I pushed forward
• 4:12:23
  Speaker 7: for him. I do not know what I have done
• 4:12:27
  Speaker 7: to be so severely tried, said he. Only two days
• 4:12:30
  Speaker 7: ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without a
• 4:12:33
  Speaker 7: care in the world, now I am left to a
• 4:12:37
  Speaker 7: lonely and dishonored age. One sorrow comes close upon the
• 4:12:41
  Speaker 7: heels of another. My niece Mary has deserted me, deserted you. Yes,
• 4:12:48
  Speaker 7: her bed this morning had not been slept in. Her
• 4:12:50
  Speaker 7: room was empty, and a note for me lay upon
• 4:12:53
  Speaker 7: the hall table. I had said to her last night,
• 4:12:57
  Speaker 7: in sorrow and not in anger, that if you had
• 4:13:00
  Speaker 7: married my boy, all might have been well with him.
• 4:13:03
  Speaker 7: Perhaps it was thoughtless of me to say so. It
• 4:13:06
  Speaker 7: is to that remark that she refers in this note.
• 4:13:10
  Speaker 7: My dearest uncle, I feel that I have brought trouble
• 4:13:13
  Speaker 7: upon you, and that if I had acted differently, this
• 4:13:17
  Speaker 7: terrible misfortune might never have occurred. I cannot, with this
• 4:13:22
  Speaker 7: thought in my mind ever again be happy under your roof,
• 4:13:26
  Speaker 7: and I feel that I must leave you forever. Do
• 4:13:29
  Speaker 7: not worry about my future, for that is provided for,
• 4:13:33
  Speaker 7: And above all, do not search for me, for it
• 4:13:35
  Speaker 7: will be fruitless labor and an ill service to me
• 4:13:39
  Speaker 7: in life or in death. I am, ever, your loving Mary.
• 4:13:45
  Speaker 7: What could she mean by that note, mister Holmes, Do
• 4:13:48
  Speaker 7: you think it points to suicide? No, no, nothing of
• 4:13:52
  Speaker 7: the kind. It is perhaps the best possible solution. I trust,
• 4:13:57
  Speaker 7: mister Holder, that you are nearing the end of your trouble.
• 4:14:01
  Speaker 7: Ha you say so, you have heard something, mister Holmes,
• 4:14:05
  Speaker 7: you have learned something. Where are the gems? You would
• 4:14:09
  Speaker 7: not think one thousand pounds a piece an excessive sum
• 4:14:13
  Speaker 7: for them? I would pay ten. That would be unnecessary.
• 4:14:18
  Speaker 7: Three thousand will cover the matter. And there is a
• 4:14:21
  Speaker 7: little reward. I fancy have you your check book? Here
• 4:14:26
  Speaker 7: is a pen. Better make it out for four thousand pounds.
• 4:14:32
  Speaker 7: With a dazed face, the banker made out the required check.
• 4:14:36
  Speaker 7: Holmes walked over to his desk, took out a little
• 4:14:39
  Speaker 7: triangular piece of gold with three gems in it, and
• 4:14:42
  Speaker 7: threw it down upon the table. With a shriek of joy.
• 4:14:47
  Speaker 7: Our client clutched it up. You have it, he gasped.
• 4:14:51
  Speaker 7: I am saved, I am saved. The reaction of joy
• 4:14:56
  Speaker 7: was as passionate as his grief had been, and he
• 4:14:58
  Speaker 7: hugged his recovered gems to his bosom. There is one
• 4:15:03
  Speaker 7: other thing you owe, mister Holder, said Sherlock Holmes, rather sternly. Oh,
• 4:15:10
  Speaker 7: he caught up a pen. Name the sum and I
• 4:15:12
  Speaker 7: will pay it. No, the debt is not to me.
• 4:15:17
  Speaker 7: You owe a very humble apology to that noble lad
• 4:15:20
  Speaker 7: your son, who has carried himself in this matter, as
• 4:15:24
  Speaker 7: I should be proud to see my own son do,
• 4:15:26
  Speaker 7: should I ever chance to have one. Then it was
• 4:15:30
  Speaker 7: not Arthur who took them. I told you yesterday, and
• 4:15:34
  Speaker 7: I repeat to day that it was not. You are
• 4:15:39
  Speaker 7: sure of it. Then let us hurry to him at
• 4:15:41
  Speaker 7: once to let him know that the truth is known.
• 4:15:45
  Speaker 7: He knows it already. When I had cleared it up,
• 4:15:48
  Speaker 7: I had an interview with him, and, finding that he
• 4:15:50
  Speaker 7: would not tell me the story, I told it to him,
• 4:15:54
  Speaker 7: on which he had to confess that I was right,
• 4:15:57
  Speaker 7: and to add the very few details which were not
• 4:16:00
  Speaker 7: yet quite clear to me. Your news of this morning, however,
• 4:16:04
  Speaker 7: may open his lips, for Heaven's sake. Tell me, then,
• 4:16:09
  Speaker 7: what is this extraordinary mystery? I will do so, and
• 4:16:14
  Speaker 7: I will show you the steps by which I reached it.
• 4:16:17
  Speaker 7: And let me say to you first that which it
• 4:16:20
  Speaker 7: is hardest for me to say and for you to hear.
• 4:16:23
  Speaker 7: There has been an understanding between Sir George Banwell and
• 4:16:27
  Speaker 7: your niece Mary. They have now fled together, My Mary. Impossible.
• 4:16:36
  Speaker 7: It is unfortunately more than possible. It is satain. Neither
• 4:16:41
  Speaker 7: you nor your son knew the true character of this
• 4:16:44
  Speaker 7: man when you admitted him into your family circle. He
• 4:16:48
  Speaker 7: is one of the most dangerous men in England, a
• 4:16:51
  Speaker 7: ruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart
• 4:16:56
  Speaker 7: or conscience. Your niece knew nothing of such men. When
• 4:17:01
  Speaker 7: he breathed his vows to her, as he had done
• 4:17:04
  Speaker 7: to a hundred before her, she fluttered herself that she
• 4:17:07
  Speaker 7: alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what
• 4:17:11
  Speaker 7: he said, but at least she became his tool, and
• 4:17:14
  Speaker 7: was in the habit of seeing him nearly every evening.
• 4:17:19
  Speaker 7: I cannot and I will not believe it, cried the
• 4:17:22
  Speaker 7: banker with an ashen face. I will tell you then,
• 4:17:26
  Speaker 7: what occurred in your house last night. Your niece, when
• 4:17:30
  Speaker 7: you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped
• 4:17:33
  Speaker 7: down and talked to her lovers through the window which
• 4:17:36
  Speaker 7: leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right
• 4:17:42
  Speaker 7: through the snow, so long had he stood there. She
• 4:17:45
  Speaker 7: told him of the coronet. His wicket lust for gold
• 4:17:49
  Speaker 7: kindled at the news, and he bent her to his will.
• 4:17:53
  Speaker 7: I have no doubt that she loved you. But there
• 4:17:56
  Speaker 7: are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes
• 4:17:59
  Speaker 7: all other, and I think that she must have been one.
• 4:18:03
  Speaker 7: She had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw
• 4:18:06
  Speaker 7: you coming downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly
• 4:18:11
  Speaker 7: and told you about one of the servants escapade with
• 4:18:14
  Speaker 7: her wooden legged lover, which was all perfectly true. Your
• 4:18:19
  Speaker 7: boy Arthur went to bed after his interview with you,
• 4:18:23
  Speaker 7: but he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about
• 4:18:26
  Speaker 7: his club debts. In the middle of the night, he
• 4:18:30
  Speaker 7: heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose, and,
• 4:18:34
  Speaker 7: looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very
• 4:18:38
  Speaker 7: stealthily along the passage, until she disappeared into your dressing room.
• 4:18:45
  Speaker 7: Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some clothes and
• 4:18:49
  Speaker 7: waited there in the dark to see what would come
• 4:18:51
  Speaker 7: of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again,
• 4:18:56
  Speaker 7: and in the light of the passage lamp, your son
• 4:18:59
  Speaker 7: saw that she car carried the precious coronet in her hands.
• 4:19:02
  Speaker 7: She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror,
• 4:19:07
  Speaker 7: ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door,
• 4:19:11
  Speaker 7: whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath
• 4:19:15
  Speaker 7: he saw her stealthily open the window, hand out the
• 4:19:18
  Speaker 7: coronet to someone in the gloom, and then closing it
• 4:19:21
  Speaker 7: once more, hurry back to her room, passing quite close
• 4:19:25
  Speaker 7: to where he stood, hid behind the curtain. As long
• 4:19:30
  Speaker 7: as she was on the scene, he could not take
• 4:19:32
  Speaker 7: any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom
• 4:19:35
  Speaker 7: he loved. But the instant that she was gone, he
• 4:19:40
  Speaker 7: realized how crushing a misfortune this would be for you,
• 4:19:44
  Speaker 7: and how all important it was to set it right.
• 4:19:48
  Speaker 7: He rushed down just as he was in his bare feet,
• 4:19:51
  Speaker 7: opened the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran
• 4:19:55
  Speaker 7: down the lane, where he could see a dark figure
• 4:19:58
  Speaker 7: in the moonlight. So George Banwell tried to get away,
• 4:20:02
  Speaker 7: but Arthur caught him, and there was a struggle between them,
• 4:20:05
  Speaker 7: your lad tugging at one side of the coronet and
• 4:20:08
  Speaker 7: his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son
• 4:20:12
  Speaker 7: struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then
• 4:20:16
  Speaker 7: something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had
• 4:20:20
  Speaker 7: the coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window,
• 4:20:24
  Speaker 7: ascended to your room, and had just observed that the
• 4:20:27
  Speaker 7: coronet had been twisted in the struggle, and was endeavoring
• 4:20:31
  Speaker 7: to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene. Is
• 4:20:35
  Speaker 7: it possible, gasped the banker. You then roused his anger
• 4:20:41
  Speaker 7: by calling him names at a moment when he felt
• 4:20:44
  Speaker 7: that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not
• 4:20:48
  Speaker 7: explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who
• 4:20:52
  Speaker 7: certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took
• 4:20:57
  Speaker 7: the more chivalrous view, however, and preserve her secret. And
• 4:21:03
  Speaker 7: that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw
• 4:21:05
  Speaker 7: the coronet. Cried mister Holder, Oh my god, what a
• 4:21:10
  Speaker 7: blind fool I have been, And his asking to be
• 4:21:13
  Speaker 7: allowed to go out for five minutes. The dear fellow
• 4:21:17
  Speaker 7: wanted to see if the missing peace were at the
• 4:21:19
  Speaker 7: scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him.
• 4:21:24
  Speaker 7: When I arrived at the house, continued Holmes, I at
• 4:21:27
  Speaker 7: once went very carefully round it to observe if there
• 4:21:31
  Speaker 7: were any traces in the snow which might help me.
• 4:21:36
  Speaker 7: I knew that none had fallen since the evening before,
• 4:21:39
  Speaker 7: and also that there had been a strong frost. To
• 4:21:42
  Speaker 7: preserve impressions, I passed along the tradesman's path, but found
• 4:21:47
  Speaker 7: it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond, however, at
• 4:21:51
  Speaker 7: the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had
• 4:21:54
  Speaker 7: stood and talked with a man whose round impressions on
• 4:21:58
  Speaker 7: one side showed that he had a wooden leg. I
• 4:22:02
  Speaker 7: could even tell that he had been disturbed, for the
• 4:22:04
  Speaker 7: woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was
• 4:22:08
  Speaker 7: shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while
• 4:22:11
  Speaker 7: wooden leg had waited a little and then had gone away.
• 4:22:16
  Speaker 7: I thought at the time that this might be the
• 4:22:18
  Speaker 7: maid and her sweetheart of whom you had already spoken
• 4:22:21
  Speaker 7: to me, and inquiry showed it was.
• 4:22:23
  Speaker 3: So.
• 4:22:25
  Speaker 7: I passed round the garden without seeing anything more than
• 4:22:27
  Speaker 7: random tracks, which I took to be the police. But
• 4:22:31
  Speaker 7: when I got into the stable lane, a very long
• 4:22:34
  Speaker 7: and complex story was written in the snow. In front
• 4:22:37
  Speaker 7: of me. There was a double line of tracks of
• 4:22:41
  Speaker 7: a booted man, and a second double line, which I
• 4:22:45
  Speaker 7: saw with delight, belonged to a man with naked feet.
• 4:22:50
  Speaker 7: I was at once convinced from what you had told
• 4:22:52
  Speaker 7: me that the latter was your son. The first had
• 4:22:55
  Speaker 7: walked both ways, but the other had run swiftly, and
• 4:22:59
  Speaker 7: as his tread was marked in places over the depression
• 4:23:02
  Speaker 7: of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed
• 4:23:05
  Speaker 7: after the other. I followed them up and found they
• 4:23:08
  Speaker 7: led to the hall window, where boots had worn all
• 4:23:11
  Speaker 7: the snow away while waiting. Then I walked to the
• 4:23:15
  Speaker 7: other end, which was a hundred yards or more down
• 4:23:18
  Speaker 7: the lane. I saw where boots had faced round, where
• 4:23:22
  Speaker 7: the snow was cut up as though there had been
• 4:23:25
  Speaker 7: a struggle, and finally where a few drops of blood
• 4:23:29
  Speaker 7: had fallen to show me that I was not mistaken.
• 4:23:32
  Speaker 7: Boots had then run down the lane, and another little
• 4:23:36
  Speaker 7: smudge of blood showed that it was he who had
• 4:23:39
  Speaker 7: been hurt. When he came to the high road. At
• 4:23:43
  Speaker 7: the other end, I found that the pavement had been cleared,
• 4:23:47
  Speaker 7: so there was an end to that clue. On entering
• 4:23:52
  Speaker 7: the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the sill
• 4:23:55
  Speaker 7: and framework of the hall window with my lents, and
• 4:24:00
  Speaker 7: could at once see that some one had passed out.
• 4:24:03
  Speaker 7: I could distinguish the outline of an instep where the
• 4:24:06
  Speaker 7: wet foot had been placed in coming in. I was
• 4:24:10
  Speaker 7: then beginning to be able to form an opinion as
• 4:24:12
  Speaker 7: to what had occurred. A man had waited outside the window.
• 4:24:17
  Speaker 7: Some one had brought the gems. The deed had been
• 4:24:20
  Speaker 7: overseen by your son. He had pursued the thief, had
• 4:24:24
  Speaker 7: struggled with him. They had each tugged at the coronet,
• 4:24:27
  Speaker 7: their united strength, causing injuries which neither alone could have effected.
• 4:24:33
  Speaker 7: He had returned with a prize, but had left a
• 4:24:37
  Speaker 7: fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So far I
• 4:24:41
  Speaker 7: was clear. The question now was who was the man
• 4:24:45
  Speaker 7: and who was it brought him the coronet. It is
• 4:24:49
  Speaker 7: an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded
• 4:24:52
  Speaker 7: the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
• 4:24:59
  Speaker 7: Now I knew that it it was not you who
• 4:25:01
  Speaker 7: had brought it down, So there only remained your niece
• 4:25:04
  Speaker 7: and a maid's. And if it were the maids, why
• 4:25:08
  Speaker 7: should your son allow himself to be accused in their place?
• 4:25:12
  Speaker 7: There could be no possible reason, as he loved his cousin. However,
• 4:25:16
  Speaker 7: there was an excellent explanation why he should retain her secret,
• 4:25:21
  Speaker 7: the more so as the secret was a disgraceful one.
• 4:25:25
  Speaker 7: When I remembered that you had seen her at that window,
• 4:25:29
  Speaker 7: and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again,
• 4:25:32
  Speaker 7: my conjecture became a certainty. And who could it be?
• 4:25:37
  Speaker 7: Who was her confederate a lover? Evidently, for who else
• 4:25:41
  Speaker 7: could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel
• 4:25:44
  Speaker 7: for you. I knew that you went out little, and
• 4:25:47
  Speaker 7: that your circle of friends was a very limited one.
• 4:25:51
  Speaker 7: But among them was Sir George Burnwell. I had heard
• 4:25:55
  Speaker 7: of him before as a man of evil reputation among women.
• 4:25:59
  Speaker 7: It must have been he who wore those boots and
• 4:26:02
  Speaker 7: retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur
• 4:26:07
  Speaker 7: had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he
• 4:26:10
  Speaker 7: was safe, for the lad could not say a word
• 4:26:13
  Speaker 7: without compromising his own family. Well, your own good sense
• 4:26:18
  Speaker 7: will suggest what measures I took. Next. I went in
• 4:26:22
  Speaker 7: the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house, managed
• 4:26:25
  Speaker 7: to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that
• 4:26:29
  Speaker 7: his master had cut his head the night before, and finally,
• 4:26:33
  Speaker 7: at the expense of six shillings, made all sure by
• 4:26:36
  Speaker 7: buying a pair of his cast off shoes. With these
• 4:26:40
  Speaker 7: I journeyed down to Stretham and saw that they exactly
• 4:26:43
  Speaker 7: fitted the tracks. I saw an ill dressed vagabund on
• 4:26:48
  Speaker 7: the lane yesterday evening, said mister Holder. Precisely it was I.
• 4:26:55
  Speaker 7: I found that I had my man, so I came
• 4:26:57
  Speaker 7: home and changed my clothes. It was the delicate part
• 4:27:00
  Speaker 7: which I had to play then, for I saw that
• 4:27:03
  Speaker 7: prosecution must be avoided to a bat scandal, and I
• 4:27:07
  Speaker 7: knew that so astute a villain would see that our
• 4:27:10
  Speaker 7: hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him.
• 4:27:13
  Speaker 7: At first, of course he denied everything. But when I
• 4:27:17
  Speaker 7: gave him every particular that had decurred, he tried to
• 4:27:21
  Speaker 7: bluster and took down a life preserver from the war.
• 4:27:24
  Speaker 7: I knew my man, however, and I clapped a pistol
• 4:27:27
  Speaker 7: to his head before he could strike. Then he became
• 4:27:31
  Speaker 7: a little more reasonable. I told him that we would
• 4:27:34
  Speaker 7: give him a price for the stones. He held one
• 4:27:37
  Speaker 7: thousand pounds apiece that brought out the first signs of
• 4:27:41
  Speaker 7: grief that he had shown. Why dash it all? Said he,
• 4:27:46
  Speaker 7: I've let them go at six hundred for the three.
• 4:27:50
  Speaker 7: I soon managed to get the address of the receiver
• 4:27:53
  Speaker 7: who had them on, promising him that there would be
• 4:27:56
  Speaker 7: no prosecution. Off, I said to him, And of the
• 4:28:00
  Speaker 7: much chaffering, I got our stones at one thousand pounds apiece.
• 4:28:05
  Speaker 7: Then I looked in upon your son, told him that
• 4:28:08
  Speaker 7: all was right, and eventually got to my bed at
• 4:28:11
  Speaker 7: about two o'clock, after what I may call a really
• 4:28:14
  Speaker 7: hard day's work, a day which has saved England from
• 4:28:19
  Speaker 7: a great public scandal, said the banker, rising, Sir, I
• 4:28:24
  Speaker 7: cannot find words to thank you, but you shall not
• 4:28:27
  Speaker 7: find me ungrateful for what you have done. Your skill
• 4:28:31
  Speaker 7: has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of, and
• 4:28:35
  Speaker 7: now I must fly to my dear boy to apologize
• 4:28:37
  Speaker 7: to him for the wrong which I have done him.
• 4:28:41
  Speaker 7: As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it
• 4:28:44
  Speaker 7: goes to my very heart not even your skill can
• 4:28:47
  Speaker 7: inform me where she is now. I think that we
• 4:28:52
  Speaker 7: may safely say, returned Holmes, that she is wherever Sir
• 4:28:57
  Speaker 7: George Burnwell is. It is equally certain too, that whatever
• 4:29:01
  Speaker 7: her sins are, they will soon receive a more than
• 4:29:04
  Speaker 7: sufficient punishment. End of the Beryl Coronet.
• 4:29:11
  Speaker 5: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. I had called upon
• 4:29:16
  Speaker 5: my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas,
• 4:29:20
  Speaker 5: with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season.
• 4:29:23
  Speaker 5: He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing gown,
• 4:29:26
  Speaker 5: a pipe rack within his reach upon the right, and
• 4:29:29
  Speaker 5: a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied near
• 4:29:32
  Speaker 5: at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and
• 4:29:36
  Speaker 5: on the angle of the back hung a very seedy
• 4:29:38
  Speaker 5: and disreputable, hard felt hat, much the worse for wear
• 4:29:42
  Speaker 5: and cracked in several places. A lins and a four
• 4:29:45
  Speaker 5: SIPs lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that
• 4:29:48
  Speaker 5: the hat had been suspended in this manner for the
• 4:29:50
  Speaker 5: purpose of examination. You are engaged, said I, perhaps I
• 4:29:55
  Speaker 5: interrupt you, not at all. I am glad to have
• 4:29:58
  Speaker 5: a friend with whom I can discuss my results. The
• 4:30:01
  Speaker 5: matter is a perfectly trivial one. He jerked his thumb
• 4:30:04
  Speaker 5: in the direction of the old hat. But there are
• 4:30:06
  Speaker 5: points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid
• 4:30:09
  Speaker 5: of interest and even of instruction. I seated myself in
• 4:30:13
  Speaker 5: his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire,
• 4:30:17
  Speaker 5: for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows
• 4:30:19
  Speaker 5: were thick with the ice crystals.
• 4:30:22
  Speaker 6: I suppose. I remarked that homely as it.
• 4:30:25
  Speaker 5: Looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it,
• 4:30:28
  Speaker 5: that it is the clue which will guide you in
• 4:30:30
  Speaker 5: the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime. No, no,
• 4:30:35
  Speaker 5: no crime, said Sherlock Holmes, laughing, Only one of those
• 4:30:38
  Speaker 5: whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four
• 4:30:41
  Speaker 5: million human beings all jostling each other within the space
• 4:30:44
  Speaker 5: of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction
• 4:30:47
  Speaker 5: of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination
• 4:30:50
  Speaker 5: of events may be expected to take place, and many
• 4:30:53
  Speaker 5: a little problem will be presented, which may be striking
• 4:30:55
  Speaker 5: and bizarre without being criminal. We have already had experience
• 4:31:00
  Speaker 5: of such. So much so I remarked that of the
• 4:31:04
  Speaker 5: last six cases which I have added to my notes,
• 4:31:06
  Speaker 5: three have been entirely free of any illegal crime. Precisely
• 4:31:11
  Speaker 5: you allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler papers,
• 4:31:14
  Speaker 5: to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to
• 4:31:16
  Speaker 5: the adventure of the man with a twisted lip. Well,
• 4:31:19
  Speaker 5: I have no doubt that this small matter will fall
• 4:31:21
  Speaker 5: into the same innocent category. You know Peterson the Commissionaire. Yes,
• 4:31:28
  Speaker 5: it is to him that this trophy belongs. It is
• 4:31:31
  Speaker 5: his hat. No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown.
• 4:31:35
  Speaker 5: I beg that you will look upon it not as
• 4:31:37
  Speaker 5: a battered billy cock, but as an intellectual problem. And
• 4:31:41
  Speaker 5: first as to how it came here. It arrived upon
• 4:31:43
  Speaker 5: Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is,
• 4:31:47
  Speaker 5: I have no doubt roasting at this moment in front
• 4:31:49
  Speaker 5: of Peterson's fire. The facts of these about four o'clock
• 4:31:54
  Speaker 5: on Christmas morning, Peterson, who as you know, is a
• 4:31:56
  Speaker 5: very honest fellow, was returning from some small jollifae caait,
• 4:32:00
  Speaker 5: and was making his way homeward down Tottenham Court Road.
• 4:32:04
  Speaker 5: In front of him he saw in the gas light
• 4:32:06
  Speaker 5: a tallish man walking with a slight stagger and carrying
• 4:32:09
  Speaker 5: a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached
• 4:32:12
  Speaker 5: the corner of Good Street, a row broke out between
• 4:32:15
  Speaker 5: this stranger and a little knot of ruffs. One of
• 4:32:18
  Speaker 5: the latter knocked off the man's hat, on which he
• 4:32:20
  Speaker 5: raised his stick to defend himself, and swinging it over
• 4:32:24
  Speaker 5: his head, smashed the shop window behind him. Peterson had
• 4:32:28
  Speaker 5: rushed forward to protect the stranger from his assailants, but
• 4:32:31
  Speaker 5: the man, shocked at having broken the window and seeing
• 4:32:34
  Speaker 5: an official looking person in uniform rushing towards him, dropped
• 4:32:37
  Speaker 5: his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the
• 4:32:39
  Speaker 5: labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of
• 4:32:42
  Speaker 5: Tottenham Court Road. The Roffs had also fled at the
• 4:32:45
  Speaker 5: appearance of Peterson, so that he was left in possession
• 4:32:48
  Speaker 5: of the field of battle, and also of the spoils
• 4:32:51
  Speaker 5: of victory in the shape of this battered hat and
• 4:32:54
  Speaker 5: a most unimpeachable Christmas goose, which surely he restored to
• 4:32:58
  Speaker 5: their owner, My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It
• 4:33:02
  Speaker 5: is true that for missus Henry Baker was printed upon
• 4:33:05
  Speaker 5: a small card which had been tied to the bird's
• 4:33:08
  Speaker 5: left leg, And it is also true that the initials
• 4:33:11
  Speaker 5: h B are legible upon the lining of this hat.
• 4:33:14
  Speaker 5: But as there are some thousands of Bakers and some
• 4:33:17
  Speaker 5: hundreds of Henry Bakers in this city of ours, it's
• 4:33:20
  Speaker 5: not easy to restore lost property to any one of them.
• 4:33:23
  Speaker 5: What then did Peterson do? He brought round both hat
• 4:33:27
  Speaker 5: and goose to me on Christmas morning, knowing that even
• 4:33:30
  Speaker 5: the smallest problems are of interest to me. The goose
• 4:33:33
  Speaker 5: re retained until this morning, when there were signs that,
• 4:33:36
  Speaker 5: in spite of the slight frost. It would be well
• 4:33:38
  Speaker 5: that it should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder
• 4:33:42
  Speaker 5: has carried it off there for to fulfill the ultimate
• 4:33:45
  Speaker 5: destiny of a goose, while I continue to retain the
• 4:33:48
  Speaker 5: hat of the unknown gentleman who lost his Christmas dinner?
• 4:33:52
  Speaker 6: Did he not advertise?
• 4:33:54
  Speaker 2: No? Then?
• 4:33:55
  Speaker 5: What clue could you have as to his identity? Only
• 4:33:59
  Speaker 5: as much as we can in deduce from his hat precisely?
• 4:34:03
  Speaker 6: But you are joking?
• 4:34:04
  Speaker 5: What can you gather from this old, battered felt Here
• 4:34:08
  Speaker 5: is my lens, You know my methods. What can you
• 4:34:11
  Speaker 5: gather yourself as to the individuality of the man who
• 4:34:13
  Speaker 5: has worn this article? I took the tattered object in
• 4:34:17
  Speaker 5: my hands and turned it over rather ruefully. It was
• 4:34:20
  Speaker 5: a very ordinary black hat, of the usual round shape,
• 4:34:25
  Speaker 5: hard and much the worse for wear.
• 4:34:27
  Speaker 6: The lining had been of.
• 4:34:28
  Speaker 5: Red silk, but was a good deal discolored. There was
• 4:34:32
  Speaker 5: no maker's name, but as Holmes had remarked, the initials
• 4:34:35
  Speaker 5: H B were scrawled upon one side. It was pierced
• 4:34:39
  Speaker 5: in the brim for a hat secure, but the elastic
• 4:34:42
  Speaker 5: was missing for the rest. It was cracked, exceedingly dusty,
• 4:34:46
  Speaker 5: and spotted in several places. Although there seemed to have
• 4:34:49
  Speaker 5: been some attempt to hide the discolored patches by smearing
• 4:34:52
  Speaker 5: them with ink. I can see nothing, said I, handing
• 4:34:56
  Speaker 5: it back to my friend. On the contrary, Watson, you
• 4:35:00
  Speaker 5: can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what
• 4:35:03
  Speaker 5: you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences. Then, pray,
• 4:35:08
  Speaker 5: tell me what it is that you can infer from
• 4:35:10
  Speaker 5: this hat. He picked it up and gazed at it
• 4:35:14
  Speaker 5: in the peculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him.
• 4:35:19
  Speaker 5: It is perhaps less suggestive than it might have been,
• 4:35:22
  Speaker 5: he remarked. And yet there are a few inferences which
• 4:35:25
  Speaker 5: are very distinct, and a few others which represent at
• 4:35:28
  Speaker 5: least a small balance of probability. That the man was
• 4:35:31
  Speaker 5: highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the face of it,
• 4:35:34
  Speaker 5: and also that he was fairly well to do within
• 4:35:36
  Speaker 5: the last three years. Although he has now fallen upon
• 4:35:39
  Speaker 5: evil days. He had foresight, but has less now than formerly,
• 4:35:44
  Speaker 5: pointing to a moral retrogression, which, when taken with the
• 4:35:47
  Speaker 5: decline of his fortune, seems to indicate some evil influence,
• 4:35:50
  Speaker 5: probably drink, at work upon him. This may account also
• 4:35:54
  Speaker 5: for the obvious fact that his wife has ceased to
• 4:35:57
  Speaker 5: love him. My dear Holmeses, however, retains some degree of
• 4:36:01
  Speaker 5: self respect, he continued, disregarding my remonstrance. He is a
• 4:36:06
  Speaker 5: man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is
• 4:36:09
  Speaker 5: out of training, entirely, is middle aged, has grizzled hair,
• 4:36:12
  Speaker 5: which he has had cut within the last few days,
• 4:36:15
  Speaker 5: and which he annoints with lime cream. These are the
• 4:36:18
  Speaker 5: more patent facts which may be deduced from his hat. Also,
• 4:36:22
  Speaker 5: by the way that it is extremely improbable that he
• 4:36:24
  Speaker 5: has had gas laid on in his house. You are
• 4:36:28
  Speaker 5: certainly joking, Holmes. I in the least is it possible that,
• 4:36:32
  Speaker 5: even now, when I gave you these results, you are
• 4:36:34
  Speaker 5: unable to see how they are attained. I have no
• 4:36:37
  Speaker 5: doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess
• 4:36:40
  Speaker 5: that I am unable to follow you. For example, how
• 4:36:43
  Speaker 5: did you deduce that this man was intellectual? For answer,
• 4:36:46
  Speaker 5: Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right
• 4:36:49
  Speaker 5: over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose.
• 4:36:53
  Speaker 5: It is a question of cubic capacity, said he. A
• 4:36:56
  Speaker 5: man with so large a brain must have something in
• 4:36:58
  Speaker 5: it the decline in his fortunes. Then this hat is
• 4:37:02
  Speaker 5: three years old, these flat brims, curled at the edge,
• 4:37:06
  Speaker 5: came in. Then it is a hat of the very
• 4:37:08
  Speaker 5: best quality. Look at the band of ribbed silk and
• 4:37:11
  Speaker 5: the excellent lining. If this man could afford to buy
• 4:37:14
  Speaker 5: so expensive a hat three years ago and has had
• 4:37:16
  Speaker 5: no hat since then, he has assuredly gone down in
• 4:37:19
  Speaker 5: the world. Well, that is clear enough, certainly, But how
• 4:37:23
  Speaker 5: about the foresight and the moral retrogression? Sherlock Holmes laughed.
• 4:37:29
  Speaker 5: Here is the foresight, said, he putting his finger upon
• 4:37:32
  Speaker 5: the little disk and loop of the hat. Secure They
• 4:37:35
  Speaker 5: are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one,
• 4:37:37
  Speaker 5: it is a sign of a certain amount of foresight,
• 4:37:40
  Speaker 5: since he went out of his way to take this
• 4:37:42
  Speaker 5: precaution against the wind. But since we see that he
• 4:37:45
  Speaker 5: has broken the elastic and is not troubled to replace it,
• 4:37:48
  Speaker 5: it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly,
• 4:37:51
  Speaker 5: which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On
• 4:37:55
  Speaker 5: the other hand, he has endeavored to conceal some of
• 4:37:57
  Speaker 5: these stains upon the felt by daubing them within, which
• 4:38:00
  Speaker 5: is a sign that he has not entirely lost his
• 4:38:02
  Speaker 5: self respect. Your reasoning is certainly plausible. The further points
• 4:38:08
  Speaker 5: that he is middle aged, that his hair is grizzled,
• 4:38:10
  Speaker 5: that it has been recently cut, and that he uses
• 4:38:13
  Speaker 5: lime cream, are all to be gathered. From a close
• 4:38:15
  Speaker 5: examination of the lower part of the lining, the lens
• 4:38:18
  Speaker 5: discloses a large number of hair ends, clean cut by
• 4:38:21
  Speaker 5: the scissors of the barber. They all appear to be adhesive,
• 4:38:25
  Speaker 5: and there is a distinct odor of lime cream. This dust,
• 4:38:28
  Speaker 5: as you will observe, is not the gritty gray dust
• 4:38:31
  Speaker 5: of the street, but the fluffy brown dust of the house,
• 4:38:34
  Speaker 5: showing that it has been hung up indoors most of
• 4:38:36
  Speaker 5: the time, while the marks of moisture upon the inside
• 4:38:39
  Speaker 5: are proved positive. That the wearer perspired very freely, and
• 4:38:43
  Speaker 5: could therefore hardly be in the best of training. But
• 4:38:47
  Speaker 5: his wife, you said that she had ceased to love him.
• 4:38:50
  Speaker 5: This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I
• 4:38:53
  Speaker 5: see you, my dear Watson, with a week's accumulation of
• 4:38:56
  Speaker 5: dust upon your hat, and when your wife allows you
• 4:38:58
  Speaker 5: to go out in such a state, I shall fear
• 4:39:00
  Speaker 5: that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your
• 4:39:03
  Speaker 5: wife's affection. But he might be a bachelor, Nay, he
• 4:39:08
  Speaker 5: was bringing home the goose as a peace offering to
• 4:39:10
  Speaker 5: his wife. Remember the card upon the bird's leg. You
• 4:39:13
  Speaker 5: have an answer for everything. But how on earth do
• 4:39:16
  Speaker 5: you deduce that the gas is not laid on in
• 4:39:18
  Speaker 5: his house? One tallow stain or even two might come
• 4:39:23
  Speaker 5: by chance, But when I see no less than five,
• 4:39:26
  Speaker 5: I think that there can be little doubt that the
• 4:39:28
  Speaker 5: individual must be brought into frequent contact with burning tallow
• 4:39:32
  Speaker 5: walks upstairs at night, probably with his hat in one
• 4:39:35
  Speaker 5: hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he
• 4:39:38
  Speaker 5: never got tallow stains from a gas jet. Are you satisfied? Well,
• 4:39:43
  Speaker 5: it is very ingenious, said I, laughing. But since, as
• 4:39:46
  Speaker 5: you said just now, there has been no crime committed
• 4:39:49
  Speaker 5: and no harm done save the loss of a goose,
• 4:39:51
  Speaker 5: all this seems to be rather a waste of energy.
• 4:39:55
  Speaker 5: Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply when the
• 4:39:57
  Speaker 5: door flew open, and Peterson the Commissie rushed into the
• 4:40:00
  Speaker 5: apartment with flushed cheeks and the face of a man
• 4:40:03
  Speaker 5: who is dazed with astonishment. The goose, mister Holmes, the goose, sir,
• 4:40:09
  Speaker 5: He gasped, Eh.
• 4:40:10
  Speaker 6: What of it?
• 4:40:11
  Speaker 1: Then?
• 4:40:12
  Speaker 5: As it returned to life and flapped off through the
• 4:40:14
  Speaker 5: kitchen window. Holmes twisted himself round upon the sofa to
• 4:40:18
  Speaker 5: get a fairer view of the man's excited face. See here, sir,
• 4:40:22
  Speaker 5: see what my wife found in its crop. He held
• 4:40:25
  Speaker 5: out his hand and displayed upon the center of the
• 4:40:27
  Speaker 5: palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a
• 4:40:31
  Speaker 5: bean in size, but of such purity and radiance that
• 4:40:34
  Speaker 5: it twinkled like an electric point in the dark hollow
• 4:40:37
  Speaker 5: of his hand. Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle
• 4:40:41
  Speaker 5: by jove. Peterson said he this is a treasure trove. Indeed,
• 4:40:45
  Speaker 5: I suppose you know what you've got? A diamond, sir,
• 4:40:49
  Speaker 5: A precious stone. It cuts into glasses though it were putty.
• 4:40:53
  Speaker 5: It's more than a precious stone. It's the precious stone,
• 4:40:57
  Speaker 5: not the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle.
• 4:41:00
  Speaker 6: Ejaculated precisely.
• 4:41:02
  Speaker 5: So I ought to know its size and shape, seeing
• 4:41:05
  Speaker 5: that I have read the advertisement about it in the
• 4:41:07
  Speaker 5: Times every day lately. It is absolutely unique, and its
• 4:41:10
  Speaker 5: value can only be conjectured. But the reward offered of
• 4:41:13
  Speaker 5: a thousand pounds is certainly not within a twentieth part
• 4:41:16
  Speaker 5: of the market price. A thousand pounds Great Lord a Mercy.
• 4:41:21
  Speaker 5: The Commissionaire plumped down into a chair and stared from
• 4:41:24
  Speaker 5: one to the other of us. That is the reward,
• 4:41:27
  Speaker 5: and I have reason to know that there are sentimental
• 4:41:30
  Speaker 5: considerations in the background which could induce the Countess to
• 4:41:33
  Speaker 5: part with half her fortune if she could just recover
• 4:41:36
  Speaker 5: the gem it was lost. If I remember arride at
• 4:41:39
  Speaker 5: the Hotel Cosmopolitan, I remarked precisely so. On the twenty
• 4:41:44
  Speaker 5: second of December, just five days ago, John Horner, a plumber,
• 4:41:48
  Speaker 5: was accused of having abstracted it from the lady's jewel case.
• 4:41:52
  Speaker 6: The evidence against.
• 4:41:53
  Speaker 5: Him was so strong that the case has been referred
• 4:41:55
  Speaker 5: to the Assizes. I have some account of the matter here.
• 4:41:57
  Speaker 5: I believe he rummaged amidst his newspapers, glancing over the dates,
• 4:42:02
  Speaker 5: until at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over,
• 4:42:05
  Speaker 5: and read the following paragraph.
• 4:42:07
  Speaker 6: Hotel Cosmopolitan jewel robbery.
• 4:42:10
  Speaker 5: John Horner, twenty six, plumber, was brought up upon the
• 4:42:14
  Speaker 5: charge of having, upon the twenty second instant, abstracted from
• 4:42:17
  Speaker 5: the jewel case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable
• 4:42:19
  Speaker 5: gem known as the blue Carbuncle. James Ryder, upper attendant
• 4:42:23
  Speaker 5: at the hotel. Gave his evidence to the effect that
• 4:42:26
  Speaker 5: he had shown Horner up to the dressing room of
• 4:42:28
  Speaker 5: the Countess of Morcar upon the day of the robbery,
• 4:42:31
  Speaker 5: in order that he might solder the second bar of
• 4:42:33
  Speaker 5: the grate, which was loose. He had remained with Horner
• 4:42:36
  Speaker 5: some little time, but had finally been called away. On returning,
• 4:42:40
  Speaker 5: he found that Horner had disappeared, that the bureau had
• 4:42:43
  Speaker 5: been forced open, and that the small Morocco casket, in which,
• 4:42:47
  Speaker 5: as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was accustomed to keep
• 4:42:50
  Speaker 5: her jewel, was lying empty upon the dressing table. Rider
• 4:42:54
  Speaker 5: instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was arrested the same evening,
• 4:42:57
  Speaker 5: but the stone could not be found, either upon his
• 4:43:00
  Speaker 5: person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack made of the
• 4:43:04
  Speaker 5: Countess deposed to having heard Writer's cry of dismay on
• 4:43:07
  Speaker 5: discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room
• 4:43:10
  Speaker 5: where she found matters as described by the last witness.
• 4:43:13
  Speaker 5: Inspector Bradstreet b Division gave evidence as to the arrest
• 4:43:17
  Speaker 5: of Horner, who struggled frantically and protested his innocence in
• 4:43:21
  Speaker 5: the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for robbery
• 4:43:25
  Speaker 5: having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to
• 4:43:28
  Speaker 5: deal summarily with the offense, but referred it to the assizes. Horner,
• 4:43:32
  Speaker 5: who had shown signs of intense emotion during the proceedings,
• 4:43:35
  Speaker 5: fainted away at the conclusion and.
• 4:43:37
  Speaker 6: Was carried out of court.
• 4:43:40
  Speaker 5: HM, so much for the police court, said Holmes, thoughtfully,
• 4:43:43
  Speaker 5: tossing aside the paper. The question for us now to
• 4:43:47
  Speaker 5: solve is the sequence of events leading from a rifle
• 4:43:50
  Speaker 5: jewel case at one end, to the crop of a
• 4:43:52
  Speaker 5: goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You see, Watson,
• 4:43:57
  Speaker 5: our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much more important,
• 4:44:00
  Speaker 5: less innocent aspect. Here is the stone. The stone came
• 4:44:04
  Speaker 5: from the goose, and the goose came from mister Henry Baker,
• 4:44:07
  Speaker 5: the gentleman with a bad hat, and all the other
• 4:44:09
  Speaker 5: characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we
• 4:44:12
  Speaker 5: must set ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and
• 4:44:16
  Speaker 5: ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery.
• 4:44:19
  Speaker 5: To do this, we must try the simplest means first,
• 4:44:22
  Speaker 5: and these lie undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the
• 4:44:25
  Speaker 5: evening papers. If this fail, I have recourse to other methods.
• 4:44:30
  Speaker 5: What will you say, give me a pencil in that
• 4:44:33
  Speaker 5: slip of paper now then found at the corner of
• 4:44:37
  Speaker 5: Good Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mister
• 4:44:40
  Speaker 5: Henry Baker can have the same by applying at six
• 4:44:43
  Speaker 5: thirty this evening at two twenty one b Baker Street.
• 4:44:46
  Speaker 5: That's clear and concise. Very but will he see it well?
• 4:44:51
  Speaker 5: He is sure to keep an eye on the papers,
• 4:44:53
  Speaker 5: since to a poor man the loss was a heavy one.
• 4:44:56
  Speaker 5: He was clearly so scared by his mischance in breaking
• 4:44:59
  Speaker 5: the window and by the approach of Peterson, that he
• 4:45:01
  Speaker 5: thought of nothing but flight. But since then he must
• 4:45:04
  Speaker 5: have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop
• 4:45:06
  Speaker 5: his bird. And then again the introduction of his name
• 4:45:10
  Speaker 5: will cause him to see it, for everyone who knows
• 4:45:12
  Speaker 5: him will direct his attention to it. Here you are, Peterson,
• 4:45:15
  Speaker 5: run down to the advertising agency and have this put
• 4:45:17
  Speaker 5: in the evening papers in which sir oh in the
• 4:45:21
  Speaker 5: Globe Star, pall mall Saint James Evening News, Standard Echo,
• 4:45:26
  Speaker 5: and any others that occur to you very well, sir,
• 4:45:29
  Speaker 5: and this stone. Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone,
• 4:45:32
  Speaker 5: thank you, And I say Peterson just buy a goose
• 4:45:35
  Speaker 5: on your way back, and leave it here with me,
• 4:45:37
  Speaker 5: for we must have one to give to this gentleman
• 4:45:39
  Speaker 5: in place of the one which your family is now devouring.
• 4:45:43
  Speaker 5: When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone
• 4:45:47
  Speaker 5: and held it against the light. It's a bonny thing,
• 4:45:50
  Speaker 5: said he. Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course,
• 4:45:54
  Speaker 5: it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good
• 4:45:57
  Speaker 5: stone is. They are the devil's pet bits. In the
• 4:46:00
  Speaker 5: larger and older jewels, every facet may stand for a
• 4:46:03
  Speaker 5: bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old.
• 4:46:07
  Speaker 5: It was found in the banks of the Amoy River
• 4:46:09
  Speaker 5: in southern China, and is remarkable in having every characteristic
• 4:46:12
  Speaker 5: of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade
• 4:46:15
  Speaker 5: instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it
• 4:46:18
  Speaker 5: is already a sinister history. There have been two murders,
• 4:46:21
  Speaker 5: a vitrial throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about
• 4:46:25
  Speaker 5: for the sake of this forty grain weight of crystallized charcoal.
• 4:46:28
  Speaker 5: Who would ever think that so pretty a toy could
• 4:46:30
  Speaker 5: be a purveyor of the gallows in the prison. I'll
• 4:46:34
  Speaker 5: lock it up in my strong box now and drop
• 4:46:36
  Speaker 5: a line to the Countess to say that we have it.
• 4:46:39
  Speaker 5: Do you think that this man Horner is innocent? I
• 4:46:42
  Speaker 5: cannot tell. Well, then do you imagine that this other one,
• 4:46:45
  Speaker 5: Henry Baker, had anything to do with the matter. It
• 4:46:49
  Speaker 5: is I think much more likely that Henry Baker is
• 4:46:51
  Speaker 5: an absolutely innocent man who had no idea that the
• 4:46:54
  Speaker 5: bird which he was carrying was of considerable more value
• 4:46:56
  Speaker 5: than if it were made of solid gold. That, however,
• 4:46:59
  Speaker 5: I shall determined by a very simple test, if we
• 4:47:02
  Speaker 5: have an answer to our advertisement, and you can do
• 4:47:05
  Speaker 5: nothing till, then nothing. In that case, I shall continue
• 4:47:09
  Speaker 5: my professional round. But I shall come back in the
• 4:47:12
  Speaker 5: evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I would
• 4:47:14
  Speaker 5: like to see the solution of so tangled the business.
• 4:47:17
  Speaker 5: Very glad to have you, I dine at seven. There
• 4:47:19
  Speaker 5: is a woodcock, I believe, by the way, in view
• 4:47:23
  Speaker 5: of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought to ask missus Hudson
• 4:47:25
  Speaker 5: to examine its crop. I had been delayed a case,
• 4:47:30
  Speaker 5: and it was a little after half past six when
• 4:47:32
  Speaker 5: I found myself in Baker Street.
• 4:47:34
  Speaker 6: Once more.
• 4:47:35
  Speaker 5: As I approached the house, I saw a tall man
• 4:47:37
  Speaker 5: in a Scotch bonnet, with a coat which was buttoned
• 4:47:40
  Speaker 5: up to his chin, waiting outside in the bright semicircle
• 4:47:43
  Speaker 5: which was thrown from the fan light. Just as I arrived,
• 4:47:46
  Speaker 5: the door was opened, and we were shown up together
• 4:47:48
  Speaker 5: to Holmes's room. Mister Henry Baker, I believe, said he,
• 4:47:52
  Speaker 5: rising from his armchair, and greeting his visitor with the
• 4:47:55
  Speaker 5: easy air of geniality which he could so readily assume. Pray,
• 4:47:59
  Speaker 5: take this chain by the fire, mister Baker. Is a
• 4:48:02
  Speaker 5: cold night, and I observe that your circulation is more
• 4:48:04
  Speaker 5: adapted for summer than for winter. Ah Watson, you have
• 4:48:08
  Speaker 5: just come at the right time. Is that your hat,
• 4:48:10
  Speaker 5: mister Baker, Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat. He
• 4:48:15
  Speaker 5: was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head,
• 4:48:19
  Speaker 5: and a broad, intelligent face sloping down to a pointed
• 4:48:21
  Speaker 5: beard of grizzled brown, a touch of red in nose
• 4:48:25
  Speaker 5: and cheeks, with a slight trimmer in his extended hand
• 4:48:28
  Speaker 5: recalled Holmes's surmise as to his habits. His rusty brown
• 4:48:32
  Speaker 5: frock coat was buttoned right up in front, with the
• 4:48:35
  Speaker 5: collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his
• 4:48:37
  Speaker 5: sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke
• 4:48:41
  Speaker 5: in a slow, staccato fashion, choosing his words with care,
• 4:48:44
  Speaker 5: and gave the impression generally of a man of learning
• 4:48:47
  Speaker 5: and letters who had had ill usage at the hands
• 4:48:49
  Speaker 5: of fortune. We have retained these things for some days,
• 4:48:53
  Speaker 5: said Holmes, because we expected to see an advertisement from
• 4:48:56
  Speaker 5: you giving your address. I am at a loss to
• 4:48:58
  Speaker 5: know now why you did not advertise. Our visitor gave
• 4:49:01
  Speaker 5: a rather shamefaced laugh. Shillings have not been so plentiful
• 4:49:06
  Speaker 5: with me as they once were, he remarked. I had
• 4:49:09
  Speaker 5: no doubt that the gang of ruffs who assaulted me
• 4:49:11
  Speaker 5: had carried off both my hat and the bird. I
• 4:49:14
  Speaker 5: did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt.
• 4:49:16
  Speaker 6: To recover them.
• 4:49:18
  Speaker 5: Very naturally, by the way, about the bird, we were
• 4:49:21
  Speaker 5: compelled to eat it. To eat it, our visitor half
• 4:49:25
  Speaker 5: rose from his chair in his excitement. Yes, it would
• 4:49:28
  Speaker 5: have been no use to anyone had we not done so.
• 4:49:31
  Speaker 5: But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard,
• 4:49:33
  Speaker 5: which is about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will
• 4:49:36
  Speaker 5: answer your purpose equally well. Oh certainly certainly, answered mister Baker,
• 4:49:41
  Speaker 5: with a sigh of relief. Of course, we still have
• 4:49:44
  Speaker 5: the feathers, legs, crop and so on of your own bird.
• 4:49:47
  Speaker 6: So if you wish, the man burst.
• 4:49:49
  Speaker 5: Into a hearty laugh, they might be useful to me
• 4:49:53
  Speaker 5: as relics of my adventure, said he. But beyond that,
• 4:49:56
  Speaker 5: I can hardly see what use the dejective member of
• 4:49:58
  Speaker 5: my late acquaintance are going to to be to me. No, sir,
• 4:50:01
  Speaker 5: I think that, with your permission, I will confine my
• 4:50:04
  Speaker 5: attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive upon the sideboard.
• 4:50:09
  Speaker 5: Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight
• 4:50:13
  Speaker 5: shrug of his shoulders. There is your hat, then, and
• 4:50:16
  Speaker 5: there your bird, said he. By the way, what it
• 4:50:19
  Speaker 5: bore you to tell me where you got the other
• 4:50:21
  Speaker 5: one from? I am somewhat of a foul fancier, and
• 4:50:24
  Speaker 5: I have seldom seen a better grown goose. Certainly, sir,
• 4:50:28
  Speaker 5: said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly gained
• 4:50:31
  Speaker 5: property under his arm. There are a few of us
• 4:50:34
  Speaker 5: who frequently alpha nne near the museum. We are to
• 4:50:37
  Speaker 5: be found in the museum itself during the day. You understand,
• 4:50:40
  Speaker 5: this year, our good host, Windygate by name instituted a
• 4:50:43
  Speaker 5: goose club, by which, on consideration of some few pence
• 4:50:47
  Speaker 5: every week, we were each to receive a bird at Christmas.
• 4:50:50
  Speaker 5: My pence were duly paid, and the rest is familiar
• 4:50:53
  Speaker 5: to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for
• 4:50:55
  Speaker 5: a Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor
• 4:50:58
  Speaker 5: my gravity. With a comical pomposity of manner, he bowed
• 4:51:03
  Speaker 5: solemnly to both of us, and strode off upon his way.
• 4:51:07
  Speaker 5: So much for mister Henry Baker, said Holmes, when he
• 4:51:10
  Speaker 5: had closed the door behind him. It is quite certain
• 4:51:13
  Speaker 5: that he knows nothing whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?
• 4:51:17
  Speaker 6: Not particularly? Then?
• 4:51:19
  Speaker 5: I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper
• 4:51:21
  Speaker 5: and follow up this clue while it is still hot.
• 4:51:24
  Speaker 6: Yes, by all means.
• 4:51:26
  Speaker 5: It was a bitter night, so we drew on our
• 4:51:28
  Speaker 5: ulsters and wrapped cravats around our throats. Outside, the stars
• 4:51:33
  Speaker 5: were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and the breath
• 4:51:35
  Speaker 5: of the passers by blew out into smoke like so
• 4:51:38
  Speaker 5: many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly
• 4:51:42
  Speaker 5: as we swung through the doctor's quarter wimpole Street, Harley Street,
• 4:51:47
  Speaker 5: and so through Wigmore Street into Oxford Street. In a
• 4:51:50
  Speaker 5: quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the
• 4:51:52
  Speaker 5: Alpha Inn, which is a small public house at the
• 4:51:55
  Speaker 5: corner of one of the streets that runs down into Holborn.
• 4:51:58
  Speaker 5: Holmes pushed open the door of the bar and order
• 4:52:01
  Speaker 5: two glasses of beer from the ruddy faced, white aproned landlord.
• 4:52:05
  Speaker 5: Your beer should be excellent, if it is as good
• 4:52:07
  Speaker 5: as your geese, said he my geese.
• 4:52:11
  Speaker 6: The man seemed surprised.
• 4:52:12
  Speaker 5: Yes, I was speaking only half an hour ago to
• 4:52:15
  Speaker 5: mister Henry Baker, who was a member of your goose club. Ah, yes,
• 4:52:19
  Speaker 5: I see, But you see, sir, them's not our geese. Indeed,
• 4:52:23
  Speaker 5: who's then? Well, I got the two dozen from a
• 4:52:26
  Speaker 5: salesman in Covent Garden. Indeed I know some of them.
• 4:52:30
  Speaker 5: Which one was it? Breckinridge is his name? Ah, I
• 4:52:33
  Speaker 5: don't know him. Well, here's your good health, landlord, and
• 4:52:36
  Speaker 5: prosperity to your house. Good night now for mister Breckinridge.
• 4:52:41
  Speaker 5: He continued buttoning up his coat as we came into
• 4:52:43
  Speaker 5: the frosty air. Remember Watson, that though we have so
• 4:52:47
  Speaker 5: homely a thing as a goose at one end of
• 4:52:49
  Speaker 5: this chain. We have at the other a man who
• 4:52:51
  Speaker 5: will certainly get seven years penal servitude unless we can
• 4:52:54
  Speaker 5: establish his innocence. It is possible that our inquiry may
• 4:52:57
  Speaker 5: but confirm his guilt. But in any case we have
• 4:53:00
  Speaker 5: a line of investigation which has been missed by the police,
• 4:53:03
  Speaker 5: and which a singular chance has placed into our hands.
• 4:53:06
  Speaker 5: Let us follow it out to the bitter end faces
• 4:53:08
  Speaker 5: to the south. Then, and quick march we passed across
• 4:53:13
  Speaker 5: Holborn down Dull Street, and so threw a zigzag of
• 4:53:16
  Speaker 5: slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest stalls
• 4:53:20
  Speaker 5: bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor,
• 4:53:22
  Speaker 5: a horsey looking man with a sharp face and trim
• 4:53:25
  Speaker 5: side whiskers, was helping a boy to put up the shutters.
• 4:53:28
  Speaker 5: Good evening, it's a cold night, said Holmes. The salesman
• 4:53:32
  Speaker 5: nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion. Sold
• 4:53:36
  Speaker 5: out of geese. I see, continued Holmes, pointing at the
• 4:53:39
  Speaker 5: bare slabs of marble, that you have five hundred tomorrow morning.
• 4:53:44
  Speaker 6: That's no good.
• 4:53:45
  Speaker 5: Well, there are some on the stall with the gas flare. Ah,
• 4:53:49
  Speaker 5: But I was recommended to you who by the landlord
• 4:53:53
  Speaker 5: of the Alpha. Oh, yes, I sent him a couple
• 4:53:55
  Speaker 5: of dozen fine birds. They were too Now where did
• 4:53:59
  Speaker 5: you get them? To my surprise, the question provoked a
• 4:54:02
  Speaker 5: burst of anger from the salesman. Now, then, mister said he,
• 4:54:06
  Speaker 5: with his head cocked in his arms, A kimbo, what
• 4:54:09
  Speaker 5: are you driving at? Let's have it straight now, it's
• 4:54:12
  Speaker 5: straight enough. I should like to know who sold you
• 4:54:14
  Speaker 5: the geese which you supplied to the Alpha. Well, then
• 4:54:18
  Speaker 5: I shan't tell you so now, Oh, it's a matter
• 4:54:21
  Speaker 5: of no importance. But I don't know why you should
• 4:54:24
  Speaker 5: be so warm over such a trifle. Warm you'd be
• 4:54:28
  Speaker 5: as warm maybe if you were pestered as I am.
• 4:54:30
  Speaker 5: When I pay good money for a good article, there
• 4:54:32
  Speaker 5: should be an end of the business. But it's where
• 4:54:35
  Speaker 5: the geese? And who did you sell the geese to?
• 4:54:37
  Speaker 5: And what will you take for the geese? One would
• 4:54:39
  Speaker 5: think they are the only geese in the world to
• 4:54:41
  Speaker 5: hear the fuss that's made over them. Well, I have
• 4:54:44
  Speaker 5: no connection with any other people who have been making inquiries,
• 4:54:47
  Speaker 5: said Holmes carelessly. If you won't tell us, the BET's off,
• 4:54:50
  Speaker 5: that's all. But I'm always ready to back my opinion
• 4:54:54
  Speaker 5: on a matter of fowls. And I have a fiber
• 4:54:56
  Speaker 5: on it that the bird I ate is country bread. Well,
• 4:54:59
  Speaker 5: then you've lost your fire. It's town bread, snapped the salesman.
• 4:55:03
  Speaker 5: It's nothing of the kind I say it is. I
• 4:55:06
  Speaker 5: don't believe it. Do you think you know more about
• 4:55:09
  Speaker 5: fowls than I, who have handled them ever since I
• 4:55:11
  Speaker 5: was a nipper. I tell you all those birds that
• 4:55:14
  Speaker 5: went to the Alpha were town bred.
• 4:55:16
  Speaker 6: You'll never persuade me to believe that, will you.
• 4:55:19
  Speaker 5: Bet? Then it's merely taking your money, for I know
• 4:55:22
  Speaker 5: that I am right. But I'll have a sovereign on
• 4:55:24
  Speaker 5: with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate.
• 4:55:28
  Speaker 5: The salesman chuckled grimly. Bring me the books, bill, said he.
• 4:55:33
  Speaker 5: The small boy brought round a small, thin volume and
• 4:55:35
  Speaker 5: a great greasy backed one, laying them out together beneath
• 4:55:39
  Speaker 5: the hanging light. Now, then, mister cocksure, said the salesman.
• 4:55:43
  Speaker 5: I thought that I was out of geese, But before
• 4:55:46
  Speaker 5: I finish, you'll find that there's still one left in
• 4:55:48
  Speaker 5: my shop. You see this little book, Well, that's the
• 4:55:53
  Speaker 5: list of the folk from whom I buy. You see, well,
• 4:55:56
  Speaker 5: then here on this page of the country folk, and
• 4:55:59
  Speaker 5: the numbers after the name are where their accounts are
• 4:56:01
  Speaker 5: in the big ledger. Now then you see this other
• 4:56:04
  Speaker 5: page in read ink, Well, that's a list of my
• 4:56:07
  Speaker 5: town suppliers. Now look at that third name. Just read
• 4:56:10
  Speaker 5: it out to me, missus Oak Shot one seventeen Brixton Road,
• 4:56:14
  Speaker 5: two forty nine.
• 4:56:15
  Speaker 6: Red Holmes.
• 4:56:17
  Speaker 5: Quite so, now turn that up in the ledger. Holmes
• 4:56:20
  Speaker 5: turned to the page indicated there you are, missus Oakshot
• 4:56:24
  Speaker 5: one seventeen Brixton Road, Egg and poultry supplier. Now, then
• 4:56:29
  Speaker 5: what's the last entry? December twenty second, twenty four geese
• 4:56:33
  Speaker 5: at seven shillings sixpence. Quite so, there you are, and
• 4:56:38
  Speaker 5: underneath sold to mister Windygate of the Alpha at twelve shillings.
• 4:56:43
  Speaker 5: What do you have to say now, Sherlock Holmes looked
• 4:56:47
  Speaker 5: deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from his pocket and
• 4:56:50
  Speaker 5: threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the
• 4:56:53
  Speaker 5: air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words.
• 4:56:56
  Speaker 5: A few yards off, he stopped under a lamp post
• 4:56:59
  Speaker 5: and laughed in a hearty, noiseless fashion, which was peculiar
• 4:57:02
  Speaker 5: to him when you see a man with whiskers of
• 4:57:05
  Speaker 5: that cut and the pink un protruding out of his pocket,
• 4:57:08
  Speaker 5: you can always draw him by a bet, said he.
• 4:57:11
  Speaker 5: I dare say that if I had put a hundred
• 4:57:13
  Speaker 5: pounds down in front of him, that man would not
• 4:57:15
  Speaker 5: have given me such complete information as was drawn from
• 4:57:18
  Speaker 5: him by the idea that he was doing me on
• 4:57:20
  Speaker 5: a wager. Well, Watson, we are I fancy nearing the
• 4:57:24
  Speaker 5: end of our quest, and the only point which remains
• 4:57:26
  Speaker 5: to be determined is whether we should go on to
• 4:57:28
  Speaker 5: this missus Oakshot tonight or whether we should reserve it
• 4:57:31
  Speaker 5: for tomorrow. It is clear from what that surly fellow
• 4:57:35
  Speaker 5: said that there are others besides ourselves who are anxious
• 4:57:38
  Speaker 5: about this matter, and I should His remarks were suddenly
• 4:57:41
  Speaker 5: cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out from
• 4:57:43
  Speaker 5: the stall which we had just left. Turning round, we
• 4:57:46
  Speaker 5: saw a little rat faced fellow standing in the center
• 4:57:48
  Speaker 5: of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by
• 4:57:50
  Speaker 5: the swinging lamp, while Breckinridge, the salesman framed in the
• 4:57:54
  Speaker 5: door of his stall, was shaking his fists fiercely at
• 4:57:57
  Speaker 5: the cringing figure. I've got enough of you and your geese,
• 4:58:01
  Speaker 5: he shouted. I wish you were all at the Devil together.
• 4:58:03
  Speaker 5: If you come pestering me any more with your silly talk,
• 4:58:06
  Speaker 5: I'll set the dog at you. You bring Missus Oakshot
• 4:58:09
  Speaker 5: here and I'll answer to her. But what do you
• 4:58:10
  Speaker 5: have to do with it? Did I buy the geese
• 4:58:12
  Speaker 5: off you?
• 4:58:14
  Speaker 4: No?
• 4:58:14
  Speaker 5: But one of them was mine all the same, whined
• 4:58:17
  Speaker 5: the little man. Well, then ask Missus Oakshot for it.
• 4:58:20
  Speaker 5: She told me to ask you where you can ask
• 4:58:23
  Speaker 5: the King of Prussia for all I care. I've had
• 4:58:26
  Speaker 5: enough of it.
• 4:58:26
  Speaker 6: Get out of this.
• 4:58:28
  Speaker 5: He rushed fiercely forward, and the inquirer flitted away into
• 4:58:31
  Speaker 5: the darkness. Huh, this may save us a visit to
• 4:58:34
  Speaker 5: Brixton Road, whispered Holmes. Come with me and we will
• 4:58:37
  Speaker 5: see what is to be made of this fellow. Striding
• 4:58:40
  Speaker 5: through the scattered knots of people who lounged round the
• 4:58:43
  Speaker 5: flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook the little man and
• 4:58:46
  Speaker 5: touched him upon the shoulder. He sprang round, and I
• 4:58:49
  Speaker 5: could see in the gas light that every vestige of
• 4:58:51
  Speaker 5: color had been driven from his face.
• 4:58:54
  Speaker 6: Who are you then? What do you want?
• 4:58:56
  Speaker 5: He asked in a quavering voice. You will excuse me,
• 4:58:59
  Speaker 5: said Sherlock Holmes blandly, But I could not help overhearing
• 4:59:03
  Speaker 5: the questions which you put to the salesman. Just now,
• 4:59:05
  Speaker 5: I think that I could be of assistance to you.
• 4:59:08
  Speaker 5: You who are you? How could you know anything of
• 4:59:11
  Speaker 5: the matter. My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my
• 4:59:15
  Speaker 5: business to know what other people don't know. But you
• 4:59:18
  Speaker 5: could know nothing of this. Excuse me, I know everything
• 4:59:22
  Speaker 5: of it. You are endeavoring to trace some geese which
• 4:59:25
  Speaker 5: were sold by missus Oakshott of Brixton Road to a
• 4:59:27
  Speaker 5: salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to mister Windegate
• 4:59:31
  Speaker 5: of the Alpha, and by him to his club of
• 4:59:33
  Speaker 5: which mister Henry Baker is a member. Oh sir, you
• 4:59:37
  Speaker 5: are the very man whom I have longed to meet,
• 4:59:39
  Speaker 5: cried the little fellow, with outstretched arms and quivering fingers.
• 4:59:42
  Speaker 5: I can hardly explain to you how interested I am
• 4:59:44
  Speaker 5: in this matter. Sherlock Holmes hailed a four wheeler which
• 4:59:48
  Speaker 5: was passing. In that case, we had better discuss it
• 4:59:51
  Speaker 5: in a cozy room rather than in this wind swept
• 4:59:53
  Speaker 5: market place, said he. But pray tell me before we
• 4:59:56
  Speaker 5: go further. Who is it that I have the pleasure
• 4:59:59
  Speaker 5: of assisting? The man hesitated for an instant. My name
• 5:00:03
  Speaker 5: is John Robinson, he answered, with a sidelong glance. No, No,
• 5:00:09
  Speaker 5: the real name, said Holmes sweetly. It is always awkward
• 5:00:12
  Speaker 5: doing business with an alias. A flush sprang to the
• 5:00:16
  Speaker 5: white cheeks of the stranger. Well, then said he, My
• 5:00:19
  Speaker 5: real name is James Rider. Precisely so, head attendant of
• 5:00:24
  Speaker 5: the hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray step into the cab, and I
• 5:00:27
  Speaker 5: shall soon be able to tell you everything which you
• 5:00:30
  Speaker 5: would wish to know. The little man stood glancing from
• 5:00:34
  Speaker 5: one to the other of us with half frightened, half
• 5:00:36
  Speaker 5: hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure whether he
• 5:00:39
  Speaker 5: is on the verge of a windfall or a catastrophe.
• 5:00:42
  Speaker 5: Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an
• 5:00:44
  Speaker 5: hour we were back in the sitting room at Baker Street.
• 5:00:47
  Speaker 5: Nothing had been said during our drive, but the high,
• 5:00:49
  Speaker 5: thin breathing of our new companion, in the claspings and
• 5:00:52
  Speaker 5: unclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous tension within him.
• 5:00:57
  Speaker 5: Here we are, said Holmes cheerily, as we file into
• 5:01:00
  Speaker 5: the room. The fire looks very seasonable in this weather.
• 5:01:03
  Speaker 5: You look cold, mister Rider. Pray take the basket chair.
• 5:01:07
  Speaker 5: I will just put on my slippers before we settle
• 5:01:09
  Speaker 5: this little matter of yours. Now, then you want to
• 5:01:12
  Speaker 5: know what became of those geese, yes, sir, Or rather
• 5:01:16
  Speaker 5: I fancy of that goose. It was one bird, I
• 5:01:19
  Speaker 5: imagine in which you were interested, white with a black
• 5:01:22
  Speaker 5: bar across the tail. Rider quivered with emotion. Oh, sir,
• 5:01:27
  Speaker 5: he cried, Can you tell me where it went to?
• 5:01:30
  Speaker 5: It came here here, yes, and a most remarkable bird,
• 5:01:35
  Speaker 5: it proved. I don't wonder that you should take an
• 5:01:38
  Speaker 5: interest in it. It laid an egg after it was dead,
• 5:01:41
  Speaker 5: the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen.
• 5:01:45
  Speaker 5: I have it here in my museum our visitors. Staggered
• 5:01:49
  Speaker 5: to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his right hand.
• 5:01:53
  Speaker 5: Holmes unlocked his strong box and held up the blue carbuncle,
• 5:01:57
  Speaker 5: which shone out like a star with a cold, brilliant,
• 5:01:59
  Speaker 5: minute pointed radiance. Rider stood glaring with a drawn face,
• 5:02:04
  Speaker 5: uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. The game's up,
• 5:02:07
  Speaker 5: Rider said Holmes quietly, Hold up, man, or you'll be
• 5:02:11
  Speaker 5: into the fire. Give him an arm back into his chair. Watson,
• 5:02:14
  Speaker 5: he's not got blood enough to go in for felony
• 5:02:16
  Speaker 5: with impunity. Give him a dash of brandy, so now
• 5:02:20
  Speaker 5: he looks a little more human. What a shrimp it is,
• 5:02:23
  Speaker 5: to be sure. For a moment he had staggered and
• 5:02:26
  Speaker 5: nearly fallen. But the brandy brought a tinge of color
• 5:02:29
  Speaker 5: into his cheeks, and he sat staring with frightened eyes
• 5:02:32
  Speaker 5: at his accuser. I have almost every link in my hands,
• 5:02:36
  Speaker 5: and all the proofs which I could possibly need, So
• 5:02:38
  Speaker 5: there is little which you need. Tell me still, that
• 5:02:41
  Speaker 5: little may as well be cleared up to make your
• 5:02:43
  Speaker 5: case complete. You had heard rider of this blue stone,
• 5:02:47
  Speaker 5: of the Countess of more Cars. It was Katherine Cusack
• 5:02:50
  Speaker 5: who told me of it, said he, in a crackling voice.
• 5:02:54
  Speaker 5: I see her Ladyship's waiting maid. Well, the temptation of
• 5:02:58
  Speaker 5: sudden wealth so easily acquired too much for you, as
• 5:03:01
  Speaker 5: it has been for better men before you. But you
• 5:03:03
  Speaker 5: were not very scrupulous, and the means you used it
• 5:03:06
  Speaker 5: seems to me, writer, that there is the making of
• 5:03:08
  Speaker 5: a very pretty villain in you. You knew that this
• 5:03:11
  Speaker 5: man Horner the Plumber had been concerned in some such
• 5:03:14
  Speaker 5: matter before, and that suspicion would rest more readily upon him.
• 5:03:18
  Speaker 6: What did you do?
• 5:03:18
  Speaker 2: Then?
• 5:03:19
  Speaker 5: You made some small job in my lady's room, you
• 5:03:22
  Speaker 5: and your confederate Cusack, and you managed that he should
• 5:03:25
  Speaker 5: be the man sent for. And then when he had left,
• 5:03:28
  Speaker 5: you rifled the jewel case, raised the alarm, and had
• 5:03:31
  Speaker 5: this unfortunate man arrested you. Then writer threw himself down
• 5:03:35
  Speaker 5: suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companion's knees.
• 5:03:38
  Speaker 5: For God's sake, have mercy, he shrieked. Think of my father,
• 5:03:42
  Speaker 5: of my mother. It would break their hearts. I never
• 5:03:45
  Speaker 5: went wrong before, I never will again.
• 5:03:48
  Speaker 6: I swear it.
• 5:03:49
  Speaker 5: I swear it on a bible. Oh, don't bring it
• 5:03:51
  Speaker 5: into court. For Christ's sake, don't get back into your chair,
• 5:03:56
  Speaker 5: said Holmes sternly. It is very well to cringe and
• 5:03:59
  Speaker 5: crawl now, But you thought little enough of this poor
• 5:04:01
  Speaker 5: horner in the dock for a crime of which he
• 5:04:03
  Speaker 5: knew nothing. I I will fly, mister Holmes, I will
• 5:04:06
  Speaker 5: leave the country, sir. Then the charge against him will
• 5:04:09
  Speaker 5: break down.
• 5:04:11
  Speaker 6: HM.
• 5:04:11
  Speaker 5: We will talk about that, And now let us hear
• 5:04:14
  Speaker 5: a true account of the next act. How came the
• 5:04:17
  Speaker 5: stone into the goose, and how came the goose into
• 5:04:20
  Speaker 5: the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies
• 5:04:23
  Speaker 5: your only hope and safety. Rider passed his tongue over
• 5:04:27
  Speaker 5: his parched lips. I will tell you it just as
• 5:04:30
  Speaker 5: it happened, sir, said he. When Horner had been arrested,
• 5:04:35
  Speaker 5: it seemed to me that it would be best for
• 5:04:36
  Speaker 5: me to get away with the stone at once, for
• 5:04:38
  Speaker 5: I did not know at what moment the police might
• 5:04:40
  Speaker 5: not take it into their heads to search me and
• 5:04:42
  Speaker 5: my room. There was no place about the hotel where
• 5:04:45
  Speaker 5: it would be safe. I made out, as if on
• 5:04:47
  Speaker 5: some commission, and I made for my sister's house. She
• 5:04:50
  Speaker 5: had married a man named Oakshot and lived in Brixton Road,
• 5:04:54
  Speaker 5: where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there,
• 5:04:57
  Speaker 5: every man I met seemed to me to be a
• 5:04:59
  Speaker 5: policeman or a detective. And for all that it was
• 5:05:02
  Speaker 5: a cold night, the sweat was pouring down my face.
• 5:05:05
  Speaker 5: Before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked
• 5:05:08
  Speaker 5: me what was the matter and why I was so pale,
• 5:05:11
  Speaker 5: But I told her that I had been upset by
• 5:05:12
  Speaker 5: the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went back
• 5:05:15
  Speaker 5: into the backyard and smoked a pipe and wondered what
• 5:05:18
  Speaker 5: would be the best to do. I had a friend
• 5:05:21
  Speaker 5: once called Maudsley, who went to the bad and had
• 5:05:25
  Speaker 5: just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he
• 5:05:28
  Speaker 5: had met me and fallen
• 5:05:29
  Speaker 6: To talk about