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Adventure of the Speckled Band-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Dealings of Captain Sharkey and Other Stories of Pirates

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Speaker 1: The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan
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Speaker 1: Doyle Part 1 On glancing over my notes of the
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Speaker 1: seventy-odd cases in which I have, during the last eight years,
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Speaker 1: studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I find
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Speaker 1: many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange, but
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Speaker 1: none commonplace. for working as he did rather for the
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Speaker 1: love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth,
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Speaker 1: he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did
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Speaker 1: not tend towards the unusual and even the fantastic. Of
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Speaker 1: all these varied cases, however, I cannot recall any which
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Speaker 1: presented more singular features than that which was associated with
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Speaker 1: the well-known Surrey family of the Rolots of Stoke Moran.
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Speaker 1: THE EVENTS IN QUESTION OCCURRED IN THE EARLY DAYS OF
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Speaker 1: MY ASSOCIATION WITH HOMES, WHEN WE WERE SHARING ROOMS AS
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Speaker 1: BACHELORS IN BAKER STREET. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT I MIGHT
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Speaker 1: HAVE PLACED THEM UPON RECORD BEFORE, BUT A PROMISE OF
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Speaker 1: SECRECY WAS MADE AT THE TIME, FROM WHICH I HAVE
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Speaker 1: ONLY BEEN FREED DURING THE PAST MONTH BY THE UNTIMELY
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Speaker 1: DEATH OF THE LADY TO WHOM THE PLEDGE WAS GIVEN.
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Speaker 1: IT IS PERHAPS AS WELL THAT THE FACTS SHOULD NOW
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Speaker 1: COME TO LIGHT, for I have reasons to know that
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Speaker 1: there are widespread rumours as to the death of Dr.
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Speaker 1: Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even more
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Speaker 1: terrible than the truth. It was early in April in
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Speaker 1: the year 83 that I woke one morning to find
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Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my bed.
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Speaker 1: He was a late riser, as a rule, and as
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Speaker 1: the clock on the mantelpiece showed me that it was
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Speaker 1: only a quarter past seven— I BLINKED UP AT HIM
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Speaker 1: IN SOME SURPRISE, AND PERHAPS JUST A LITTLE RESENTMENT, FOR
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Speaker 1: I WAS MYSELF REGULAR IN MY HABITS.' VERY SORRY TO
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Speaker 1: KNOCK YOU UP, WATSON,' SAID HE,' BUT IT'S THE COMMON
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Speaker 1: LOT THIS MORNING. MRS. HUDSON HAS BEEN KNOCKED UP. SHE
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Speaker 1: RETORTED UPON ME AND I ON YOU.'' WHAT IS IT, THEN?
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Speaker 1: A FIRE?'' NO, A CLIENT. IT SEEMS THAT A YOUNG
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Speaker 1: LADY HAS ARRIVED IN A CONSIDERABLE STATE OF EXCITEMENT, who
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Speaker 1: insists upon seeing me. She is waiting now in the sitting-room. Now,
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Speaker 1: when young ladies wonder about the metropolis at this hour
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Speaker 1: of the morning, and knock sleepy people up out of
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Speaker 1: their beds, I presume that it is something very pressing
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Speaker 1: which they have to communicate. Should it prove to be
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Speaker 1: an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to
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Speaker 1: follow it from the outset. I thought at any rate
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Speaker 1: that I should call you and give you the chance.'
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Speaker 1: My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything.
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Speaker 1: I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in
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Speaker 1: his professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions as
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Speaker 1: swift as intuitions, and yet always found it on a
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Speaker 1: logical basis with which he unraveled the problems which were
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Speaker 1: submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes, and
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Speaker 1: was ready in a few minutes to accompany my friend
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Speaker 1: down to the sitting-room. A lady, dressed in black, heavily veiled,
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Speaker 1: who had been sitting in the window, rose as we entered.'
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Speaker 1: Good morning, ma'am,' said Holmes cheerily.' My name is Sherlock Holmes.'
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Speaker 1: This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, before
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Speaker 1: whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Ha!
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Speaker 1: I am glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had
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Speaker 1: the good sense to light the fire. Pray, draw up
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Speaker 1: to it, and I shall order you a cup of
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Speaker 1: hot coffee, for I observe that you are shivering. It
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Speaker 1: is not cold which makes me shiver, said the woman
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Speaker 1: in a low voice, changing her seat as requested. What then?
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Speaker 1: It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror. She raised
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Speaker 1: her veil as she spoke, and we could see that
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Speaker 1: she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation. Her
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Speaker 1: face was all drawn and gray, with restless, frightened eyes,
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Speaker 1: like those of some hunted animal. Her features and figure
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Speaker 1: were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair
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Speaker 1: was shopped with premature gray, and her expression was weary
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Speaker 1: and haggard. Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of
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Speaker 1: his quick, all-comprehensive glances.' You must not fear,' said he soothingly,
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Speaker 1: bending forward and patting her forearm.' We shall soon set
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Speaker 1: matters right. I have no doubt you have come in
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Speaker 1: by train this morning, I see.'' You know me, then?'' No,
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Speaker 1: but I observed the second half of a return ticket
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Speaker 1: in the palm of your left glove.' You must have
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Speaker 1: started early, and yet you had a good drive in
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Speaker 1: a dog-cart along heavy roads before you reached the station.
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Speaker 1: The lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment
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Speaker 1: at my companion.' There is no mystery, my dear madam,'
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Speaker 1: said he, smiling.' The left arm of your jacket is
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Speaker 1: spattered with mud in no less than seven places. The
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Speaker 1: marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a dog-cart.'
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Speaker 1: which throws up mud in that way, and then only
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Speaker 1: when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver.
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Speaker 1: Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct, said she.
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Speaker 1: I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at twenty past,
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Speaker 1: and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir,
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Speaker 1: I can stand the strain no longer. I shall go
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Speaker 1: mad if it continues. I have no one to turn to.
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Speaker 1: None save only one who cares for me, and he,
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Speaker 1: poor fellow, can be of little aid. I have heard
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Speaker 1: of you, Mr. Holmes. I have heard of you from Mrs. Forntosh,
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Speaker 1: whom you helped in the hour of her sore need.
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Speaker 1: It was from her that I had your address. Oh, sir,
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Speaker 1: do you not think that you could help me, too,
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Speaker 1: and at least throw a little light through the dense
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Speaker 1: darkness which surrounds me? At present it is out of
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Speaker 1: my power to reward you for your services, but in
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Speaker 1: a month or six weeks I shall be married, with
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Speaker 1: the control of my own income, and then at least
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Speaker 1: you shall not find me ungrateful. Holmes turned to his desk, and,
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Speaker 1: unlocking it, drew out a small case-book which he consulted.' Farntosh,'
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Speaker 1: said he.' Ah, yes, I recall the case. It was
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Speaker 1: concerned with an opal tiara.' I think it was before
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Speaker 1: your time, Watson. I can only say, madam, that I
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Speaker 1: shall be happy to devote the same care to your
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Speaker 1: case as I did to that of your friend. As
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Speaker 1: to reward, my profession is its own reward, but you
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Speaker 1: are at liberty to defray whatever expenses I may be
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Speaker 1: put to at the time which suits you best. And
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Speaker 1: now I beg you will lay before us everything that
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Speaker 1: may help us in forming an opinion upon the matter. Alas!
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Speaker 1: replied our visitor. The very horror of my situation lies
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Speaker 1: in the fact that my fears are so vague, and
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Speaker 1: my suspicions depend so entirely upon small points, which might
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Speaker 1: seem trivial to another that even he, to whom of
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Speaker 1: all others I have a right to look for help
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Speaker 1: and advice, looks upon all that I tell him about
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Speaker 1: it as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does
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Speaker 1: not say so, but I can read it from his
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Speaker 1: soothing answers and diverted eyes. But I have heard, Mr. Holmes,
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Speaker 1: that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of
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Speaker 1: the human heart. You may advise me how to walk
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Speaker 1: amid the dangers which encompass me. I am all attention, madam.
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Speaker 1: My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with
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Speaker 1: my stepfather, who is the last survivor of one of
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Speaker 1: the oldest Saxon families in England— the royal lots of
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Speaker 1: Stoke Moran, on the western border of Surrey. Holmes nodded
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Speaker 1: his head.' The name is familiar to me,' said he.'
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Speaker 1: The family was at one time among the richest in England,
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Speaker 1: and the estates extended over the borders into Berkshire in
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Speaker 1: the north and Hampshire in the west. In the last century, however,
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Speaker 1: four successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition.'
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Speaker 1: and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler
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Speaker 1: in the days of the regency. Nothing was left save
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Speaker 1: a few acres of ground and the two-hundred-year-old house, which
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Speaker 1: is itself crushed under a heavy mortgage. The last squire
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Speaker 1: dragged out his existence there, living the horrible life of
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Speaker 1: an aristocratic pauper, but his only son, my stepfather— seeing
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Speaker 1: that he must adapt himself to the new conditions, obtained
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Speaker 1: an advance from a relative, which enabled him to take
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Speaker 1: a medical degree and went out to Calcutta, whereby his
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Speaker 1: professional skill and his force of character he established a
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Speaker 1: large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused by
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Speaker 1: some robberies which had been perpetuated in the house, he
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Speaker 1: beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a
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Speaker 1: capital sentence. As it was, he suffered a long term
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Speaker 1: of imprisonment and afterwards returned to England a morose and
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Speaker 1: disappointed man. When Dr. Roylott was in India, he married
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Speaker 1: my mother, Mrs. Stoner, the young widow of Major General Stoner.
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Speaker 1: of the bengal artillery my sister julia and i were
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Speaker 1: twins and we were only two years old at the
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Speaker 1: time of my mother's remarriage She had a considerable sum
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Speaker 1: of money, not less than one thousand pounds a year,
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Speaker 1: and this she bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we
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Speaker 1: resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual
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Speaker 1: sum should be allowed to each of us in the
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Speaker 1: event of our marriage. Shortly after our return to England,
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Speaker 1: my mother died. She was killed eight years ago in
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Speaker 1: a railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his
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Speaker 1: attempts to establish himself in practice in London, and took
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Speaker 1: us to live with him in the old ancestral house
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Speaker 1: at Stoke Moran. The money which my mother had left
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Speaker 1: was enough for all our wants, and there seemed to
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Speaker 1: be no obstacle to our happiness. But a terrible change
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Speaker 1: came over our stepfather about this time. Instead of making
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Speaker 1: friends and exchanging visits with our neighbors— who had at
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Speaker 1: first been overjoyed to see a royalot of Stoke Moran
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Speaker 1: back in the old family seat, he shut himself up
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Speaker 1: in his house and seldom came out save to indulge
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Speaker 1: in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence
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Speaker 1: of temper approaching to mania had been hereditary in the
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Speaker 1: men of the family, and in my stepfather's case it had,
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Speaker 1: I believe, been intensified by his long residence in the tropics.
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Speaker 1: A series of disgraceful brawls took place, two of which
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Speaker 1: ended in the police court, until at last he became
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Speaker 1: the terror of the village, and the folks would fly
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Speaker 1: at his approach, for he is a man of immense
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Speaker 1: strength and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger. Last week he
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Speaker 1: hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream,
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Speaker 1: and it was only by paying over all the money
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Speaker 1: which I could gather together that I was able to
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Speaker 1: avert another public exposure. He had no friends at all,
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Speaker 1: save the wandering gypsies, and he would give these vagabonds
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Speaker 1: leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramble-covered land
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Speaker 1: which represent the family estate, and would accept in return
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Speaker 1: the hospitality of their tents, wandering away with them sometimes
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Speaker 1: for weeks on end. He has a passion also for
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Speaker 1: Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a correspondent,
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Speaker 1: and he has at this moment a cheetah and a
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Speaker 1: baboon which wander freely over his grounds, and are feared
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Speaker 1: by the villagers almost as much as their master. You
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Speaker 1: can imagine from what I say that my poor sister
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Speaker 1: Julia and I had no great pleasure in our lives.
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Speaker 1: No servant would stay with us, and for a long
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Speaker 1: time we did all the work of the house. She
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Speaker 1: was but thirty at the time of her death, and
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Speaker 1: yet her hair had already begun to whiten, even as
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Speaker 1: mine has. Your sister is dead, then? She died just
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Speaker 1: two years ago, and it is of her death that
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Speaker 1: I wish to speak to you. You can understand that,
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Speaker 1: living the life which I have described, we were little
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Speaker 1: likely to see any one of our own age and position.
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Speaker 1: We had, however, an aunt, my mother's maiden sister, Miss
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Speaker 1: Honoria Westphale, who lives near Harrow, AND WE WERE OCCASIONALLY
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Speaker 1: ALLOWED TO PAY SHORT VISITS AT THIS LADY'S HOUSE. JULIA
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Speaker 1: WENT THERE AT CHRISTMAS TWO YEARS AGO, AND MET THERE
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Speaker 1: A HALF-PAY MAJOR OF MARINES, TO WHOM SHE BECAME ENGAGED.
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Speaker 1: MY STEPFATHER LEARNED OF THE ENGAGEMENT WHEN MY SISTER RETURNED,
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Speaker 1: AND OFFERED NO OBJECTION TO THE MARRIAGE. BUT WITHIN A
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Speaker 1: FORTNIGHT OF THE DAY WHICH HAD BEEN FIXED FOR THE WEDDING,
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Speaker 1: the terrible event occurred which has deprived me of my
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Speaker 1: only companion. Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his chair,
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Speaker 1: with his eyes closed and his head sunk in a cushion,
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Speaker 1: but he half opened his lids now and glanced across
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Speaker 1: at his visitor. Pray be precise as to details, said he,
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Speaker 1: It is easy for me to be so, for every
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Speaker 1: event of that dreadful time is seared into my memory.
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Speaker 1: The manor house is, as I have already said, very old,
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Speaker 1: and only one wing is now inhabited. The bedrooms in
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Speaker 1: this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting rooms
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Speaker 1: being in the central block of the buildings. Of these
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Speaker 1: bedrooms the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's,
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Speaker 1: and the third my own. There is no communication between them,
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Speaker 1: but they all open out into the same corridor. Do
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Speaker 1: I make myself plain? Perfectly so. The windows of the
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Speaker 1: three rooms open out upon the lawn. That fatal night Dr.
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Speaker 1: Roylott had gone to his room early, though we knew
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Speaker 1: that he had not retired to rest, for my sister
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Speaker 1: was troubled by the smell of the strong Indian cigars
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Speaker 1: which it was his custom to smoke. She left her room, therefore,
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Speaker 1: she came into mind, where she sat for some time,
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Speaker 1: chatting about her approaching wedding. At eleven o'clock she rose
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Speaker 1: to leave me, but she paused at the door and
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Speaker 1: looked back.' Tell me, Helen,' said she,' have you ever
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Speaker 1: heard anyone whistle in the dead of the night?'' Never,'
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Speaker 1: said I.' I suppose that you could not possibly whistle
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Speaker 1: yourself in your sleep?'' Certainly not. But why?'' Because during
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Speaker 1: the last few nights—' I have always, about three in
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Speaker 1: the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I am a
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Speaker 1: light sleeper, and it has awakened me. I cannot tell
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Speaker 1: where it came from, perhaps from the next room, perhaps
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Speaker 1: from the lawn. I thought that I would just ask
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Speaker 1: you whether you had heard it. No, I have not.
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Speaker 1: It must be those wretched gypsies in the plantation. Very likely.
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Speaker 1: And yet, if it were on the lawn, I wonder
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Speaker 1: that you did not hear it also.' Ah, but I
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Speaker 1: sleep more heavily than you. Well, it is of no
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Speaker 1: great consequence at any rate. She smiled back at me,
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Speaker 1: closed my door, and a few moments later I heard
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Speaker 1: her key turn in the lock. Indeed, said Holmes, was
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Speaker 1: it your custom always to lock yourselves in at night? Always.
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Speaker 1: And why? I think that I mentioned to you that
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Speaker 1: the doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon in We
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Speaker 1: had no feeling of security unless our doors were locked.
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Speaker 1: Quite so. Pray proceed with your statement. I could not
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Speaker 1: sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending misfortune impressed me.
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Speaker 1: My sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and
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Speaker 1: you know how subtle are the links which bind two
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Speaker 1: souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night.
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Speaker 1: The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating
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Speaker 1: and splashing against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub
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Speaker 1: of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of
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Speaker 1: a terrified woman. I knew that it was my sister's voice.
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Speaker 1: I sprang from my bed, wrapped a shawl round me,
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Speaker 1: and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door,
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Speaker 1: I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my
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Speaker 1: sister described, and a few moments later a clanging sound
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Speaker 1: as if a mass of metal had fallen. As I
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Speaker 1: ran down the passage, my sister's door was unlocked and
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Speaker 1: revolved slowly upon its inches. I stared at it, horror-stricken,
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Speaker 1: not knowing what was about to issue from it. By
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Speaker 1: the light of the corridor lamp, I saw my sister
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Speaker 1: appear at the opening. Her face blanched with terror. her
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Speaker 1: hands groping for help, her whole figure swaying to and
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Speaker 1: fro like that of a drunkard. I ran to her
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Speaker 1: and threw my arms around her, but at that moment
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Speaker 1: her knees seemed to give way and she fell to
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Speaker 1: the ground. She writhed as one who was in terrible pain,
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Speaker 1: and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought
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Speaker 1: that she had not recognized me, but as I bent
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Speaker 1: over her, She suddenly shrieked out in a voice which
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Speaker 1: I shall never forget. Oh, my God, Helen, it was
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Speaker 1: the band, the speckled band. There was something else which
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Speaker 1: she would fain have said, and she stabbed with her
18:57
Speaker 1: finger into the air in the direction of the doctor's room,
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Speaker 1: but a fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words.
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Speaker 1: I rushed out, calling loudly for my stepfather, and I
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Speaker 1: met him hastening from his room in his dressing-gown. When
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Speaker 1: he reached my sister's side, she was unconscious, and though
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Speaker 1: he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical
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Speaker 1: aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for
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Speaker 1: she slowly sank and died without having recovered her consciousness.
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Speaker 1: Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister.' One moment,'
19:35
Speaker 1: said Holmes.' Are you sure about the whistle and the
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Speaker 1: metallic sound? Could you swear to it?' That was what
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Speaker 1: the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. It is
19:46
Speaker 1: my strong impression that I heard it, and yet among
19:50
Speaker 1: the crash of the gale and the creaking of the
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Speaker 1: old house, I may possibly have been deceived.' Was your
19:57
Speaker 1: sister dressed?'' No, she was in her night-dress. In her
20:01
Speaker 1: right hand was found the charred stump of a match,
20:05
Speaker 1: and in her left a match-box.' showing that she had
20:10
Speaker 1: struck a light and looked about her when the alarm
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Speaker 1: took place. That is important. And what conclusions did the
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Speaker 1: coroner come to? He investigated the case with great care,
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Speaker 1: for Dr. Roylott's conduct has long been notorious in the county,
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Speaker 1: but he was unable to find any satisfactory cause of death.
20:30
Speaker 1: My evidence showed that the door had been fastened upon
20:33
Speaker 1: the inner side, and the windows were blocked by old-fashioned
20:38
Speaker 1: shutters with broad iron bars, which were secured every night.
20:42
Speaker 1: The walls were carefully sounded, and were shown to be
20:46
Speaker 1: quite solid all round, and the flooring was also thoroughly
20:50
Speaker 1: examined with the same result. The chimney is wide, but
20:55
Speaker 1: is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, therefore,
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Speaker 1: that my sister was quite alone when she met her end, BESIDES,
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Speaker 1: THERE WERE NO MARKS OF ANY VIOLENCE UPON HER. HOW
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Speaker 1: ABOUT POISON? THE DOCTORS EXAMINED HER FOR IT, BUT WITHOUT SUCCESS.
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Speaker 1: WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT THIS UNFORTUNATE LADY DIED OF, THEN?
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Speaker 1: IT IS MY BELIEF THAT SHE DIED OF PURE FEAR
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Speaker 1: AND NERVOUS SHOCK, THOUGH WHAT IT WAS THAT FRIGHTENED HER
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Speaker 1: I CANNOT IMAGINE. WERE THERE GIPSIES IN THE PLANTATION AT
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Speaker 1: THE TIME? YES, THERE WERE NEARLY ALWAYS SOME THERE. Ah,
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Speaker 1: and what did you gather from this allusion to a band,
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Speaker 1: a speckled band? Sometimes I thought that it was merely
21:42
Speaker 1: the wild talk of delirium, sometimes that it may have
21:46
Speaker 1: referred to some band of people, perhaps these very gypsies
21:51
Speaker 1: in the plantation. I do not know whether the spotted
21:55
Speaker 1: handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads
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Speaker 1: might have suggested the strange adjective which she used. Holmes
22:03
Speaker 1: shook his head like a man who is far from
22:06
Speaker 1: being satisfied. These are very deep waters, said he. Pray
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Speaker 1: go on with your narrative. Two years have passed since then,
22:16
Speaker 1: and my life has been until lately lonelier than ever.
22:20
Speaker 1: A month ago, however, a dear friend, whom I have
22:23
Speaker 1: known for many years, has done me the honor to
22:27
Speaker 1: ask my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage. Percy Armitage.
22:32
Speaker 1: the second son of Mr. Armitage of Crane Water, near Reading.
22:37
Speaker 1: My stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and
22:41
Speaker 1: we are to be married in the course of the spring.
22:44
Speaker 1: Two days ago some repairs were started in the west
22:47
Speaker 1: wing of the building, and my bedroom wall has been pierced,
22:51
Speaker 1: so that I have to move into the chamber in
22:53
Speaker 1: which my sister died, and to sleep in the very
22:56
Speaker 1: bed in which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror!
23:01
Speaker 1: when last night, as I lay awake, thinking over her
23:05
Speaker 1: terrible fate, I suddenly heard in the silence of the
23:08
Speaker 1: night the low whistle which had been the herald of
23:11
Speaker 1: her death. I sprang up and lit the lamp, but
23:15
Speaker 1: nothing was to be seen in the room. I was
23:18
Speaker 1: too shaken to go to bed again, however, so I dressed,
23:21
Speaker 1: and as soon as it was daylight, I slipped down,
23:24
Speaker 1: got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which is opposite,
23:28
Speaker 1: and drove to Leatherhead, from whence I have come on
23:31
Speaker 1: this morning, with this one object of seeing you, and
23:34
Speaker 1: asking your advice. You have done wisely, said my friend,
23:39
Speaker 1: but have you told me all? Yes, all. Miss Roylott,
23:45
Speaker 1: you have not. You are screening your stepfather. Why, what
23:51
Speaker 1: do you mean? For answer... Holmes pushed back the frill
23:56
Speaker 1: of black lace which fringed the hand that lay upon
23:58
Speaker 1: our visitor's knee. Five little livid spots, the marks of
24:04
Speaker 1: four fingers and a thumb, were printed upon the white wrist.'
24:08
Speaker 1: You have been cruelly used,' said Holmes. The lady colored
24:13
Speaker 1: deeply and covered over her injured wrist.' He is a
24:17
Speaker 1: hard man,' she said,' and perhaps he hardly knows his
24:21
Speaker 1: own strength.' There was a long silence, during which Holmes
24:27
Speaker 1: leaned his chin upon his hands and stared into the
24:30
Speaker 1: crackling fire.' This is a very deep business,' he said
24:35
Speaker 1: at last.' There are a thousand details which I should
24:39
Speaker 1: desire to know before I decide upon our course of action.
24:43
Speaker 1: Yet we have not a moment to lose. If we
24:46
Speaker 1: were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, Would it be
24:50
Speaker 1: possible for us to see over those rooms without the
24:53
Speaker 1: knowledge of your stepfather? As it happens, he spoke of
24:57
Speaker 1: coming into town today. Upon some most important business, it
25:01
Speaker 1: is probably that he will be away all day, and
25:04
Speaker 1: that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have
25:07
Speaker 1: a housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and
25:10
Speaker 1: I could easily get her out of the way. Excellent.
25:15
Speaker 1: You are not adverse to this trip, Watson? By no means.
25:19
Speaker 1: Then we shall both come. What are you going to
25:23
Speaker 1: do yourself? I have one or two things which I
25:26
Speaker 1: would wish to do now that I am in town,
25:28
Speaker 1: but I shall return by the twelve o'clock train, so
25:31
Speaker 1: as to be there in time for your coming. And
25:34
Speaker 1: you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have
25:38
Speaker 1: myself some small business matters to attend to. Will you
25:42
Speaker 1: not wait in breakfast? No, I must go. My heart
25:46
Speaker 1: is lightened already, since I have confided my trouble to you.
25:50
Speaker 1: I shall look forward to seeing you again this afternoon.
25:53
Speaker 1: She dropped her thick black veil over her face and
25:57
Speaker 1: glided from the room. And what do you think of
26:00
Speaker 1: it all, Watson? asked Sherlock Holmes, leaning back in his chair.
26:05
Speaker 1: It seems to me to be a most dark and
26:07
Speaker 1: sinister business. Dark and sinister enough. Yet, if the lady
26:13
Speaker 1: is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are
26:17
Speaker 1: sound— and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable,
26:21
Speaker 1: then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she
26:25
Speaker 1: met her mysterious end. What becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles,
26:31
Speaker 1: and what of the very peculiar words of the dying woman?
26:34
Speaker 1: I cannot think. When you combine the ideas of whistles
26:38
Speaker 1: at night, the presence of a band of gypsies who
26:41
Speaker 1: are on intimate terms with this old doctor— the fact
26:45
Speaker 1: that we have every reason to believe that the doctor
26:48
Speaker 1: has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying
26:52
Speaker 1: allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss
26:57
Speaker 1: Helen Stone heard a metallic clang, which might have been
27:01
Speaker 1: caused by one of those metal bars that secure the
27:04
Speaker 1: shutters falling back into its place, I think that there
27:08
Speaker 1: is good ground to think that the mystery may be
27:11
Speaker 1: cleared along those lines. But what then did the gypsies do?
27:16
Speaker 1: I cannot imagine. I see many objections to any such theory.
27:21
Speaker 1: And so do I. It is precisely for that reason
27:25
Speaker 1: that we are going to Stoke Moran this day. I
27:29
Speaker 1: want to see whether the objections are fatal, or if
27:32
Speaker 1: they may be explained away. But what in the name
27:35
Speaker 1: of the devil? The ejaculation had been drawn from my
27:39
Speaker 1: companion— by the fact that our door had been suddenly
27:42
Speaker 1: dashed open, and that a huge man had framed himself
27:47
Speaker 1: in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar mixture of
27:51
Speaker 1: the professional and of the agricultural, having a black top-hat,
27:56
Speaker 1: a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, with
28:00
Speaker 1: a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he
28:04
Speaker 1: that his hat actually brushed the cross-bar of the doorway—
28:08
Speaker 1: and his breath seemed to span it across from side
28:11
Speaker 1: to side. A large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles,
28:15
Speaker 1: burned yellow with the sun and marked with every evil passion,
28:19
Speaker 1: was turned from one to the other of us, while
28:23
Speaker 1: his deep-set, vile-shot eyes and his high, thin, fleshless nose
28:28
Speaker 1: gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird
28:32
Speaker 1: of prey.' Which of you is Holmes?' said this apparition.
28:38
Speaker 1: My name, sir, but you have the advantage of me,
28:41
Speaker 1: said my companion quietly. I am Dr. Grimsby, royalot of
28:46
Speaker 1: Stoke Moran. Indeed, doctor, said Holmes blandly. Pray take a seat.
28:51
Speaker 1: I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has
28:55
Speaker 1: been here. I have traced her. What has she been
28:59
Speaker 1: saying to you? It is a little cold for the
29:02
Speaker 1: time of the year, said Holmes. What has she been
29:06
Speaker 1: saying to you? screamed the old man furiously. But I
29:11
Speaker 1: have heard that the crocuses promise well, continued my companion imperturbably. Ha!
29:17
Speaker 1: You put me off, do you? said our new visitor,
29:21
Speaker 1: taking a step forward and shaking his hunting crop. I
29:25
Speaker 1: know you, you scoundrel. I have heard of you before.
29:29
Speaker 1: You are Holmes the meddler. My friend smiled. Holmes the busybody!
29:37
Speaker 1: HIS SMILE BROADENED. HOME'S THE SKY. Yard jack-in-office. Holmes chuckled heartily.
29:45
Speaker 1: Your conversation is most entertaining, said he. When you go out,
29:49
Speaker 1: close the door, for there is a decided draft. I
29:52
Speaker 1: will go out when I have had my say. Don't
29:56
Speaker 1: you dare to meddle with my affairs. I know that
30:00
Speaker 1: Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her. I am
30:04
Speaker 1: a dangerous man to fall foul of. See here. He
30:08
Speaker 1: stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into
30:12
Speaker 1: a curve with his huge brown hands. See that you
30:18
Speaker 1: keep yourself out of my grip, he snarled, and hurling
30:22
Speaker 1: the twisted poker into the fireplace, he strode out of
30:25
Speaker 1: the room. He seems a very amiable person, said Holmes, laughing.
30:31
Speaker 1: I am not quite so bulky, but if he had remained,
30:34
Speaker 1: I might have shown him that my grip was not
30:37
Speaker 1: much more feeble than his own. As he spoke, he
30:41
Speaker 1: picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort,
30:45
Speaker 1: straightened it out again. Fancy his having the insolence to
30:50
Speaker 1: confound me with the official detective force. This incident gives
30:55
Speaker 1: a zest to our investigation, however. and I only trust
30:58
Speaker 1: that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence
31:02
Speaker 1: in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, Watson,
31:06
Speaker 1: we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down
31:10
Speaker 1: to Doctor's Commons, where I hope to get some data
31:13
Speaker 1: which might help us in this matter. It was nearly
31:20
Speaker 1: one o'clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his excursion. He
31:25
Speaker 1: held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled
31:28
Speaker 1: over with notes and figures.' I have seen the will
31:32
Speaker 1: of the deceased wife,' said he.' To determine its exact meaning,
31:37
Speaker 1: I have been obliged to work out the present prices
31:39
Speaker 1: of the investments with which it is concerned. The total income,
31:44
Speaker 1: which at the time of the wife's death was little
31:47
Speaker 1: short of eleven hundred pounds, is now, through the fall
31:51
Speaker 1: in agricultural prices, not more than seven hundred and fifty.'
31:56
Speaker 1: Each daughter can claim an income of two hundred and
31:59
Speaker 1: fifty pounds in case of marriage. It is evident, therefore,
32:03
Speaker 1: that if both girls had married, this beauty would have
32:06
Speaker 1: had a mere pittance, while even one of them would
32:09
Speaker 1: cripple him to a very serious extent. My morning's work
32:14
Speaker 1: has not been wasted, since it is proved that he
32:18
Speaker 1: has the very strongest motives for standing in the way
32:21
Speaker 1: of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, this is
32:25
Speaker 1: too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is
32:29
Speaker 1: aware that we are interesting ourselves in his affairs. So
32:33
Speaker 1: if you are ready, we shall call a cab and
32:36
Speaker 1: drive to Waterloo. I should be very much obliged if
32:40
Speaker 1: you would slip your revolver into your pocket. And Illy's
32:44
Speaker 1: number two is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can
32:48
Speaker 1: twist steel pokers into knots. That and a toothbrush are,
32:52
Speaker 1: I think, all that we need. At Waterloo we were
32:57
Speaker 1: fortunate in catching a train for Leatherhead, where we hired
33:00
Speaker 1: a trap at the station inn, and drove for four
33:04
Speaker 1: or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was
33:08
Speaker 1: a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few
33:11
Speaker 1: fleecy clouds in the heavens. The trees and wayside hedges
33:16
Speaker 1: were just throwing out their first green shoots, and the
33:20
Speaker 1: air was full of the pleasant smell of the moist earth.
33:24
Speaker 1: To me, at least, there was a strange contrast between
33:27
Speaker 1: the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest
33:31
Speaker 1: upon which we were engaged. My companion sat in the
33:35
Speaker 1: front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled
33:38
Speaker 1: down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast,
33:43
Speaker 1: buried in the deepest thought. Suddenly, however, he started, tapped
33:48
Speaker 1: me on the shoulder, and pointed over the meadows. Look there,
33:52
Speaker 1: said he. A heavily timbered park stretched up in a
33:57
Speaker 1: gentle slope, thickening into a grove at the highest point.
34:02
Speaker 1: From amid the branches there jutted out the grey gables
34:05
Speaker 1: and high roof-tree of a very old mansion. Stoke Moran,
34:12
Speaker 1: said he.' Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr.
34:15
Speaker 1: Grimsby Roylott,' remarked the driver.' There is some building going
34:20
Speaker 1: on there,' said Holmes.' That is where we are going.''
34:23
Speaker 1: There' s the village,' said the driver, pointing to a cluster
34:28
Speaker 1: of roofs some distance to the left.' But if you
34:32
Speaker 1: want to get to the house, you'll find it shorter
34:34
Speaker 1: to get over this stile, and so by the footpath
34:37
Speaker 1: over the fields. There it is, where the lady is walking.'
34:42
Speaker 1: And the lady I fancy is Miss Stoner, observed Holmes,
34:46
Speaker 1: shading his eyes. Yes, I think we had better do
34:50
Speaker 1: as you suggest. We got off, paid our fare, and
34:54
Speaker 1: the trap rattled back on its way to Leatherhead. I
34:58
Speaker 1: thought it as well, said Holmes, as we climbed the stile,
35:03
Speaker 1: that this fellow should think we had come here as
35:06
Speaker 1: architects or on some definite business. It may stop his gossip.
35:11
Speaker 1: Good afternoon, Miss Stoner. You see that we have been
35:13
Speaker 1: as good as our word. Our client of the morning
35:17
Speaker 1: had hurried forward to meet us with a face which
35:19
Speaker 1: spoke her joy. I have been waiting so eagerly for you,
35:23
Speaker 1: she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. All has turned
35:28
Speaker 1: out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it
35:32
Speaker 1: is unlikely that he will be back before evening. We
35:35
Speaker 1: have had the pleasure of making the doctor's acquaintance, said Holmes, and,
35:40
Speaker 1: in a few words— He sketched out what had occurred.
35:44
Speaker 1: Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened.'
35:47
Speaker 1: Good heavens!' she cried.' He has followed me, then. So
35:53
Speaker 1: it appears. He is so cunning that I never know
35:56
Speaker 1: when I am safe from him. What will he say
35:59
Speaker 1: when he returns?'' He must guard himself, for he may
36:03
Speaker 1: find that there is someone more cunning than himself upon
36:07
Speaker 1: his track.' You must lock yourself up from him to-night.
36:12
Speaker 1: If he is violent, we shall take you away to
36:15
Speaker 1: your aunt, said Harrow. Now we must make the best
36:18
Speaker 1: use of our time, so kindly take us at once
36:22
Speaker 1: to the rooms which we are to examine. The building
36:26
Speaker 1: was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central portion
36:30
Speaker 1: and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab,
36:34
Speaker 1: thrown out on each side. In one of these wings
36:37
Speaker 1: the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards, while
36:40
Speaker 1: the roof was partly caved in, a picture of ruin.
36:44
Speaker 1: The central portion was in little better repair, but the
36:48
Speaker 1: right-hand block was comparatively modern, and the blinds in the windows,
36:52
Speaker 1: with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys, showed
36:56
Speaker 1: that this was where the family resided. Some scaffolding had
37:00
Speaker 1: been erected against the end wall, and the stonework had
37:04
Speaker 1: been broken into, but there were no signs of any
37:07
Speaker 1: workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly
37:11
Speaker 1: up and down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep
37:15
Speaker 1: attention the outsides of the windows. This, I take it,
37:20
Speaker 1: belongs to the room in which you used to sleep,
37:23
Speaker 1: the centre one to your sister's, and the one next
37:27
Speaker 1: to the main building to Dr. Roylott's chamber? Exactly so,
37:31
Speaker 1: but I am now sleeping in the middle one. PENDING
37:35
Speaker 1: THE ALTERATIONS, AS I UNDERSTAND. BY THE WAY, THERE DOES
37:39
Speaker 1: NOT SEEM TO BE ANY VERY PRESSING NEED FOR REPAIRS
37:42
Speaker 1: AT THAT END WALL. THERE WERE NONE. I BELIEVE THAT
37:46
Speaker 1: IT WAS AN EXCUSE TO MOVE ME FROM MY ROOM. AH,
37:50
Speaker 1: THAT IS SUGGESTIVE. NOW ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS
37:54
Speaker 1: NARROW WING RUNS THE CORRIDOR FROM WHICH THESE THREE ROOMS OPEN.
37:59
Speaker 1: THERE ARE WINDOWS IN IT, OF COURSE. YES, BUT VERY
38:03
Speaker 1: SMALL ONES. too narrow for anyone to pass through. As
38:08
Speaker 1: you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were
38:11
Speaker 1: unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness
38:16
Speaker 1: to go into your room and bar your shutters? Miss
38:20
Speaker 1: Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination through
38:24
Speaker 1: the open window, endeavored in every way to force the
38:28
Speaker 1: shutter open, but without success. There was no slit through
38:33
Speaker 1: which a knife could be passed to raise the bar. Then,
38:37
Speaker 1: with his lens, he tested the hinges, but they were
38:40
Speaker 1: of solid iron, built firmly into the mass of masonry. Hmm,
38:46
Speaker 1: said he, scratching his chin in some perplexity. My theory
38:51
Speaker 1: certainly presents some difficulties. No one could pass these shutters
38:56
Speaker 1: if they were bolted, Well, we shall see if the
38:59
Speaker 1: inside throws any light upon the matter. A small side
39:04
Speaker 1: door led into the whitewashed corridor, from which the three
39:08
Speaker 1: bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third chamber, so
39:13
Speaker 1: we passed it once to the second, that in which
39:16
Speaker 1: Miss Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister
39:20
Speaker 1: had met with her fate. It was a homely little room,
39:24
Speaker 1: with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace, after the
39:27
Speaker 1: fashion of old country houses. A brown chest of drawers
39:32
Speaker 1: stood in one corner, a narrow white counterpaned bed in another,
39:37
Speaker 1: and a dressing-table on the left-hand side of the window.
39:40
Speaker 1: These articles, with two small wicker work-chairs, made up all
39:45
Speaker 1: the furniture in the room, save for a square of
39:48
Speaker 1: Wilton carpet in the center. The boards round and the
39:52
Speaker 1: paneling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten wood, so
39:57
Speaker 1: old and discolored that it may have dated from the
39:59
Speaker 1: original building of the house. Holmes drew one of the
40:03
Speaker 1: chairs into a corner and sat silent while his eyes
40:08
Speaker 1: traveled round and round and up and down, taking in
40:12
Speaker 1: every detail of the apartment.' Where does that bell communicate with?'
40:18
Speaker 1: He asked at last, pointing to a thick bell-rope which
40:21
Speaker 1: hung down beside the bed, the tassel actually lying upon
40:25
Speaker 1: the pillow.' It goes to the housekeeper's room.'' It looks
40:29
Speaker 1: newer than the other things?'' Yes, it was only put
40:32
Speaker 1: there a couple of years ago.'' Your sister asked for it,
40:36
Speaker 1: I suppose?'' No, I never heard of her using it.
40:41
Speaker 1: We used always to get what we wanted for ourselves.' Indeed,
40:46
Speaker 1: it seems unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there.
40:50
Speaker 1: You will excuse me for a few minutes, while I
40:53
Speaker 1: satisfy myself as to this floor. He threw himself down
40:58
Speaker 1: upon his face with his lens in his hand, and
41:01
Speaker 1: crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining minutely the cracks between
41:07
Speaker 1: the boards. Then he did the same with the woodwork
41:10
Speaker 1: with which the chamber was paneled. Finally he walked over
41:14
Speaker 1: to the bed and spent some time in staring at
41:17
Speaker 1: it and in running his eye up and down the wall.
41:21
Speaker 1: Finally he took the bell-rope in his hand and gave
41:23
Speaker 1: it a brisk tug.' Why, it's a dummy,' said he.'
41:27
Speaker 1: Won' t it ring?'' No, it is not even attached to
41:32
Speaker 1: a wire. This is very interesting. You can see now
41:36
Speaker 1: that it is fastened to a hook just above where
41:40
Speaker 1: the little opening of the ventilator is.' How very absurd.
41:45
Speaker 1: I never noticed that before. Very strange, muttered Holmes, pulling
41:50
Speaker 1: at the rope. There are one or two very singular
41:54
Speaker 1: points about this room. For example, what a fool a
41:58
Speaker 1: builder must be to open a ventilator into another room when,
42:02
Speaker 1: with the same trouble, he might have communicated with the
42:06
Speaker 1: outside air. He might have communicated with the outside air.
42:12
Speaker 1: That is also quite modern, said the lady. Done about
42:15
Speaker 1: the same time as the bell-rope, remarked Holmes. Yes, there
42:20
Speaker 1: were several little changes carried out about that time. They
42:24
Speaker 1: seem to have been of a most interesting character. Dummy
42:28
Speaker 1: bell-ropes and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your permission,
42:33
Speaker 1: Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into the
42:37
Speaker 1: inner apartment. Dr. Grimsby Roylott's chamber was larger than that
42:43
Speaker 1: of his stepdaughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp bed,
42:48
Speaker 1: a small wooden shelf full of books, mostly of a
42:52
Speaker 1: technical character, an armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden
42:56
Speaker 1: chair against the wall, a round table and a large
43:00
Speaker 1: iron safe were the principal things which met the eye.
43:04
Speaker 1: Holmes walked slowly round and examined each and all of
43:08
Speaker 1: them with the keenest interest. What's in here? he asked,
43:12
Speaker 1: tapping the safe. My stepfather's business papers. Oh, you have
43:18
Speaker 1: seen inside, then? Only once, some years ago. I remember
43:22
Speaker 1: that it was full of papers. There isn't a cat
43:26
Speaker 1: in it, for example? No, what a strange idea. Well,
43:31
Speaker 1: look at that. HE TOOK UP A SMALL SAUCER OF
43:34
Speaker 1: MILK WHICH STOOD ON THE TOP OF IT. NO, WE
43:37
Speaker 1: DON'T KEEP A CAT, BUT THERE IS A CHEETAH AND
43:40
Speaker 1: A BABOON. AH, YES, OF COURSE. WELL, A CHEETAH IS
43:45
Speaker 1: JUST A BIG CAT, AND YET A SAUCER OF MILK
43:49
Speaker 1: DOES NOT GO VERY FAR IN SATISFYING ITS ONCE, I
43:53
Speaker 1: DARE SAY. THERE IS ONE POINT WHICH I SHOULD WISH
43:56
Speaker 1: TO DETERMINE. HE SQUATTED DOWN IN FRONT OF THE WOODEN CHAIR,
44:01
Speaker 1: and examined the seat of it with the greatest attention.'
44:04
Speaker 1: Thank you, that is quite settled,' said he, rising and
44:09
Speaker 1: putting his lens in his pocket.' Hello, here is something interesting.'
44:15
Speaker 1: The object which had caught his eye was a small
44:18
Speaker 1: dog-leash hung on the corner of the bed. The lash, however,
44:22
Speaker 1: was curled upon itself and tied so as to make
44:25
Speaker 1: a loop of whip-cord.' What do you make of that, Watson?'
44:30
Speaker 1: It's a common enough lash, but I don't know why
44:33
Speaker 1: it should be tied. That is not quite so common,
44:37
Speaker 1: is it? Ah, me! It's a wicked world, and when
44:41
Speaker 1: a clever man turns his brains to crime, it is
44:45
Speaker 1: the worst of all. I think that I have seen
44:48
Speaker 1: enough now, Miss Stoner, and with your permission we shall
44:51
Speaker 1: walk out upon the lawn. I had never seen my
44:55
Speaker 1: friend's face so grim. or his brow so dark as
44:59
Speaker 1: it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation.
45:04
Speaker 1: We had walked several times up and down the lawn,
45:07
Speaker 1: neither Miss Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon
45:10
Speaker 1: his thoughts before he roused himself from his reverie. It
45:15
Speaker 1: is very essential, Miss Stoner, said he, that you should
45:20
Speaker 1: absolutely follow my advice in every respect. I shall most
45:24
Speaker 1: certainly do so. The matter is too serious for any hesitation.
45:29
Speaker 1: Your life may depend upon your compliance. I assure you
45:33
Speaker 1: that I am in your hands. In the first place,
45:37
Speaker 1: both my friend and I must spend the night in
45:40
Speaker 1: your room. Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him
45:44
Speaker 1: in astonishment. Yes, it must be so. Let me explain.
45:48
Speaker 1: I believe that that is the village inn over there. Yes,
45:52
Speaker 1: that is the crown. Very good. Your windows would be
45:56
Speaker 1: visible from there? Certainly. You must confine yourself to your
46:02
Speaker 1: room on pretense of a headache when your stepfather comes back. Then,
46:07
Speaker 1: when you hear him retire for the night, you must
46:10
Speaker 1: open the shutters of your window, undo the hasp, put
46:13
Speaker 1: your lamp there as a signal to us, and then
46:17
Speaker 1: withdraw quietly with everything with which you are likely to
46:20
Speaker 1: want into the room which you used to occupy. I
46:25
Speaker 1: have no doubt that, in spite of the repairs, you
46:28
Speaker 1: could manage there for one night. Oh, yes, easily. The
46:33
Speaker 1: rest you will leave in our hands. But what will
46:36
Speaker 1: you do? We shall spend the night in your room,
46:40
Speaker 1: and we shall investigate the cause of this noise which
46:43
Speaker 1: has disturbed you. I believe, Mr. Holmes, that you have
46:47
Speaker 1: already made up your mind, said Miss Stoner, laying her
46:50
Speaker 1: hand upon my companion's sleeve. Perhaps I have. Then, for
46:56
Speaker 1: pity's sake, tell me what was the cause of my
46:58
Speaker 1: sister's death. I should prefer to have clearer proofs before
47:03
Speaker 1: I speak. You can at least tell me whether my
47:06
Speaker 1: own thought is correct, and if she died from some
47:08
Speaker 1: sudden fright. No, I do not think so. I think
47:13
Speaker 1: that there was probably some more tangible cause. And now,
47:17
Speaker 1: Miss Stoner, we must leave you, for if Dr. Roylott
47:21
Speaker 1: returned— and saw us our journey would be in vain. Goodbye,
47:25
Speaker 1: and be brave, for if you will do what I
47:28
Speaker 1: have told you, you may rest assured that we shall
47:32
Speaker 1: soon drive away the dangers that threaten you. Sherlock Holmes
47:37
Speaker 1: and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and
47:40
Speaker 1: sitting-room at the Crown Inn. They were on the upper floor,
47:45
Speaker 1: and from our window we could command a view of
47:47
Speaker 1: the avenue gate and of the inhabited wing of Stoke
47:51
Speaker 1: Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw Dr. Grimsby Roylott
47:56
Speaker 1: drive past, his huge form looming up beside the little
48:01
Speaker 1: figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had
48:05
Speaker 1: some slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and
48:09
Speaker 1: we heard the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice, and
48:13
Speaker 1: saw the fury with which he shook his clenched fists
48:17
Speaker 1: at him. The trap drove on, and a few minutes
48:20
Speaker 1: later we saw a sudden light spring up among the
48:24
Speaker 1: trees as the lamp was lit in one of the
48:26
Speaker 1: sitting rooms. Do you know, Watson, said Holmes as we
48:30
Speaker 1: sat together in the gathering darkness, I have really some
48:34
Speaker 1: scruples as to taking you to-night. There is a distinct
48:38
Speaker 1: element of danger. Can I be of assistance? Your presence
48:43
Speaker 1: might be invaluable. Then I shall certainly come. It is
48:48
Speaker 1: very kind of you. You speak of danger. You have
48:52
Speaker 1: evidently seen more in these rooms than was visible to me. No,
48:57
Speaker 1: but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more.
49:01
Speaker 1: I imagine that you saw all that I did. I
49:05
Speaker 1: saw nothing remarkable, save the bell-rope, and what purpose that
49:09
Speaker 1: could answer I confess is more than I can imagine.
49:12
Speaker 1: You saw the ventilator, too?' Yes, but I do not
49:16
Speaker 1: think that it's such a very unusual thing to have
49:19
Speaker 1: a small opening between two rooms. It was so small
49:23
Speaker 1: that a rat could hardly pass through. I knew that
49:27
Speaker 1: we should find a ventilator before ever we came to
49:30
Speaker 1: Stoke Moran. My dear Holmes! Oh, yes, I did. You remember,
49:36
Speaker 1: in her statement, she said that her sister could smell Dr.
49:41
Speaker 1: Roylott's cigar. Now, of course, that suggested at once that
49:45
Speaker 1: there must be a communication between the two rooms. It
49:49
Speaker 1: could only be a small one, or it would have
49:51
Speaker 1: been remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry. I deduced a ventilator.
49:56
Speaker 1: But what harm can there be in that? Well, there
50:00
Speaker 1: is at least a curious coincidence of dates. A ventilator
50:04
Speaker 1: is made, a cord is hung, and the lady who
50:08
Speaker 1: sleeps in the bed dies. Does that not strike you?
50:14
Speaker 1: I cannot as yet see any connection. Did you observe
50:18
Speaker 1: anything very peculiar about that bed? No. It was clamped
50:24
Speaker 1: to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened
50:28
Speaker 1: like that before? I cannot say that I have. The
50:32
Speaker 1: lady could not move her bed. It must always be
50:36
Speaker 1: in the same relative position to the ventilator and to
50:39
Speaker 1: the rope, or so we may call it, since it
50:42
Speaker 1: was clearly never meant to be a bell-pull. Holmes, I cried,
50:47
Speaker 1: I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at.
50:50
Speaker 1: We are only just in time to prevent some subtle
50:53
Speaker 1: and horrible crime. Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a
50:59
Speaker 1: doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals.
51:03
Speaker 1: He has nerve and he has knowledge. Palmer and Pritchard
51:07
Speaker 1: were among the heads of their profession. This man strikes
51:11
Speaker 1: even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall be
51:15
Speaker 1: able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors
51:19
Speaker 1: enough before the night is over. For goodness' sake, let
51:22
Speaker 1: us have a quiet pipe and turn our minds for
51:24
Speaker 1: a few hours to something more cheerful.' About nine o'clock
51:29
Speaker 1: the light among the trees was extinguished, and all was
51:33
Speaker 1: dark in the direction of the manor house. Two hours
51:36
Speaker 1: passed slowly away, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke
51:41
Speaker 1: of eleven, a single bright light shone out right in
51:46
Speaker 1: front of us. That is our signal, said Holmes, springing
51:50
Speaker 1: to his feet. It comes from the middle window. As
51:55
Speaker 1: we passed out, He exchanged a few words with the landlord,
51:59
Speaker 1: explaining that we were going on a late visit to
52:02
Speaker 1: an acquaintance, and that it was possible that we might
52:05
Speaker 1: spend the night there. A moment later we were out
52:08
Speaker 1: on the dark road, a chill wind blowing in our faces,
52:12
Speaker 1: and one yellow light twinkling in front of us through
52:16
Speaker 1: the gloom to guide us on our somber errand. There
52:20
Speaker 1: was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for unrepaired breaches
52:24
Speaker 1: gaped in the old park wall. Making our way among
52:28
Speaker 1: the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were
52:32
Speaker 1: about to enter through the window, when out from a
52:35
Speaker 1: clump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be
52:38
Speaker 1: a hideous and distorted child, who threw itself upon the
52:42
Speaker 1: grass with writhing limbs, and then ran swiftly across the
52:47
Speaker 1: lawn into the darkness. My God! I whispered. Did you
52:51
Speaker 1: see it? Holmes was for the moment as startled as I.
52:55
Speaker 1: His hand closed like a vice upon my wrist in
52:59
Speaker 1: his agitation. Then he broke into a low laugh and
53:03
Speaker 1: put his lips to my ear. It is a nice household,
53:06
Speaker 1: he murmured. That is the baboon. I had forgotten the
53:10
Speaker 1: strange pets which the doctor affected. There was a cheetah, too.
53:15
Speaker 1: Perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment.
53:19
Speaker 1: I confess that I felt easier in my mind when,
53:22
Speaker 1: after following Holmes's example and slipping off my shoes, I
53:26
Speaker 1: found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed the shutters,
53:34
Speaker 1: moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes
53:37
Speaker 1: round the room. All was as we had seen it
53:41
Speaker 1: in the daytime. Then, creeping up to me and making
53:45
Speaker 1: a trumpet of his hand, He whispered into my ear
53:48
Speaker 1: again so gently that it was all that I could
53:51
Speaker 1: do to distinguish the words. The least sound would be
53:56
Speaker 1: fatal to our plans. I nodded to show that I
54:00
Speaker 1: had heard. We must sit without light. He would see
54:05
Speaker 1: it through the ventilator. I nodded again. Do not go asleep.
54:11
Speaker 1: Your very life may depend upon it. Have your pistol
54:15
Speaker 1: ready in case we should need it. I will sit
54:19
Speaker 1: on the side of the bed, and you in that chair.
54:24
Speaker 1: I took out my revolver and laid it on the
54:26
Speaker 1: corner of the table. Holmes had brought up a long,
54:30
Speaker 1: thin cane, and this he placed upon the bed beside him.
54:34
Speaker 1: By it he laid the box of matches and the
54:38
Speaker 1: stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp,
54:41
Speaker 1: and we were left in darkness. How shall I ever
54:45
Speaker 1: forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a sound,
54:50
Speaker 1: not even the drawing of a breath, and yet I
54:52
Speaker 1: knew that my companion sat open-eyed within a few feet
54:56
Speaker 1: of me in the same state of nervous tension in
54:59
Speaker 1: which I was myself. The shutters cut off the least
55:04
Speaker 1: ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness. From
55:09
Speaker 1: outside came the occasional cry of a nightbird, and once
55:13
Speaker 1: at our very window a long-drawn cat-like whine, which told
55:18
Speaker 1: us that the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away
55:21
Speaker 1: we could hear the deep tones of the parish clock,
55:25
Speaker 1: which boomed out every quarter of an hour. How long
55:29
Speaker 1: they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and one, and two,
55:36
Speaker 1: and three, and still we sat waiting silently— for whatever
55:41
Speaker 1: might befall. Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a
55:46
Speaker 1: light up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately,
55:51
Speaker 1: but was succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil
55:55
Speaker 1: and heated metal. Someone in the next room had lit
56:00
Speaker 1: a dark lantern. I heard a gentle sound of movement,
56:04
Speaker 1: and then all was silent once more, though the smell
56:08
Speaker 1: grew stronger. For half an hour I sat with straining ears.
56:13
Speaker 1: Then suddenly another sound became audible, a very gentle, soothing
56:19
Speaker 1: sound like that of a small jet of steam escaping
56:23
Speaker 1: continually from a kettle. The instant that we heard it,
56:28
Speaker 1: Holmes sprang from the bed, struck a match, and laughed
56:31
Speaker 1: furiously with his cane at the bell-pull.' You see it, Watson?'
56:35
Speaker 1: he yelled.' You see it?'' But I saw nothing.' at
56:39
Speaker 1: the moment when Holmes struck the light. I heard a low,
56:43
Speaker 1: clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my weary
56:47
Speaker 1: eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it
56:50
Speaker 1: was at which my friend lashed so savagely. I could, however,
56:55
Speaker 1: see that his face was deadly pale and filled with
56:58
Speaker 1: horror and loathing. He had ceased to strike and was
57:03
Speaker 1: gazing up at the ventilator when suddenly there broke from
57:07
Speaker 1: the silence of the night the most horrible cry to
57:10
Speaker 1: which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder and louder,
57:16
Speaker 1: a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all
57:19
Speaker 1: mingled in one dreadful shriek. They say that away down
57:25
Speaker 1: in the village and even in the distant parsonage that
57:28
Speaker 1: cry raised the sleepers from their beds. It struck cold
57:33
Speaker 1: to our hearts, and I stood gazing at Holmes and
57:37
Speaker 1: he at me, until the last echoes of it had
57:40
Speaker 1: died away into the silence from which it rose.' What
57:45
Speaker 1: can it mean?' I gasped.' It means that it is
57:50
Speaker 1: all over,' Holmes answered,' and perhaps, after all, it is
57:54
Speaker 1: for the best.' Take your pistol, and we will enter Dr.
57:59
Speaker 1: Roylott's room.' With a grave face he lit the lamp
58:03
Speaker 1: and led the way down the corridor. TWICE HE STRUCK
58:07
Speaker 1: AT THE CHAMBER DOOR WITHOUT ANY REPLY FROM WITHIN. THEN
58:11
Speaker 1: HE TURNED THE HANDLE AND ENTERED, EYE AT HIS HEELS,
58:15
Speaker 1: WITH A COCKED PISTOL IN MY HAND. IT WAS A
58:19
Speaker 1: SINGULAR SIGHT WHICH MET OUR EYES. ON THE TABLE STOOD
58:23
Speaker 1: A DARK LANTERN WITH THE SHUTTER HALF OPEN, THROWING A
58:27
Speaker 1: BRILLIANT BEAM OF LIGHT UPON THE IRON SAFE, THE DOOR
58:31
Speaker 1: OF WHICH WAS A JAR. BESIDE THIS TABLE, ON THE
58:34
Speaker 1: WOODEN CHAIR, sat Dr. Grimsley Roylott, clad in a long
58:39
Speaker 1: gray dressing gown, his bare ankles protruding beneath, and his
58:44
Speaker 1: feet thrust into red, heel-less Turkish slippers. Across his lap
58:49
Speaker 1: lay the short stock with the long lash which we
58:52
Speaker 1: had noticed during the day. His chin was cocked upward,
58:57
Speaker 1: and his eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare
59:00
Speaker 1: at the corner of the ceiling. Round his brow— He
59:05
Speaker 1: had a peculiar yellow band with brownish speckles, which seemed,
59:10
Speaker 1: to be bound tightly round his head. As we entered
59:13
Speaker 1: he made neither sound nor motion. The band, the speckled band,
59:20
Speaker 1: whispered Holmes. I took a step forward, In an instant
59:25
Speaker 1: his strange headgear began to move, and there reared itself
59:29
Speaker 1: from among his hair the squat, diamond-shaped head and puffed
59:34
Speaker 1: neck of a loathsome serpent.' It is a swamp adder,'
59:39
Speaker 1: cried Holmes,' the deadliest snake in India. He has died
59:45
Speaker 1: within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence does in truth
59:49
Speaker 1: recoil upon the violent.' and the schemer falls into the
59:53
Speaker 1: pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this
59:57
Speaker 1: creature back into its den, and we can then remove
1:00:01
Speaker 1: Miss Stoner to some place of shelter, and let the
1:00:04
Speaker 1: county police know what has happened. As he spoke, he
1:00:09
Speaker 1: drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man's lap, and,
1:00:13
Speaker 1: throwing the noose round the reptile's neck, he drew it
1:00:17
Speaker 1: from its horrid perch, and, carrying it at arm's length,
1:00:21
Speaker 1: threw it into the iron safe which he closed upon it.
1:00:26
Speaker 1: Such are the true facts of the death of Dr.
1:00:28
Speaker 1: Grimsby Roylott of Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that
1:00:33
Speaker 1: I should prolong a narrative which has already run to
1:00:36
Speaker 1: too great a length by telling you how we broke
1:00:39
Speaker 1: the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed
1:00:44
Speaker 1: her by the morning train to the care of her
1:00:46
Speaker 1: good aunt at Harrow, of how the slow process of
1:00:50
Speaker 1: official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met
1:00:54
Speaker 1: his fate while indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet. The
1:01:00
Speaker 1: little which I had yet to learn of the case
1:01:02
Speaker 1: was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we traveled back
1:01:06
Speaker 1: next day. I had, said he, come to an entirely
1:01:12
Speaker 1: erroneous conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it
1:01:16
Speaker 1: always is to reason from insufficient data. The presence of
1:01:21
Speaker 1: the gypsies and the use of the word band, which
1:01:25
Speaker 1: was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain
1:01:28
Speaker 1: the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of
1:01:31
Speaker 1: by the light of her match, were sufficient to put
1:01:34
Speaker 1: me upon an entirely wrong scent. I can only claim
1:01:39
Speaker 1: the merit that I instantly reconsidered my position when, however,
1:01:43
Speaker 1: it became clear to me that whatever danger threatened an
1:01:47
Speaker 1: occupant of the room could not come either from the
1:01:50
Speaker 1: window or the door. My attention was speedily drawn, as
1:01:55
Speaker 1: I have already remarked to you, to this ventilator and
1:01:59
Speaker 1: to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The
1:02:03
Speaker 1: discovery that this was a dummy and that the bed
1:02:06
Speaker 1: was clamped to the floor instantly gave rise to the
1:02:10
Speaker 1: suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for
1:02:14
Speaker 1: something passing through the hole and coming to the bed.
1:02:18
Speaker 1: The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, and
1:02:22
Speaker 1: when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor
1:02:25
Speaker 1: was furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I
1:02:28
Speaker 1: felt that I was probably on the right track. The
1:02:32
Speaker 1: idea of using a form of poison which could not
1:02:35
Speaker 1: possibly be discovered by any chemical test was just such
1:02:39
Speaker 1: a case as would occur to a clever and ruthless
1:02:42
Speaker 1: man who had had an eastern training. The rapidity with
1:02:47
Speaker 1: which such a poison could take effect would also, from
1:02:51
Speaker 1: his point of view, be an advantage. It would be
1:02:55
Speaker 1: a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could distinguish the two little
1:03:00
Speaker 1: dark punctures which would show where the poison fangs had
1:03:04
Speaker 1: done their work. Then I thought of the whistle. OF
1:03:09
Speaker 1: COURSE HE MUST RECALL THE SNAKE BEFORE THE MORNING LIGHT
1:03:12
Speaker 1: REVEALED IT TO THE VICTIM. HE HAD TRAINED IT PROBABLY
1:03:16
Speaker 1: BY THE USE OF THE MILK WHICH WE SAW TO
1:03:18
Speaker 1: RETURN TO HIM WHEN SUMMONED. HE WOULD PUT IT THROUGH
1:03:22
Speaker 1: THIS VENTILATOR AT THE HOUR THAT HE THOUGHT BEST, WITH
1:03:25
Speaker 1: THE CERTAINTY THAT IT WOULD CRAWL DOWN THE ROPE AND
1:03:28
Speaker 1: LAND ON THE BED. IT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT BITE
1:03:32
Speaker 1: THE OCCUPANT. PERHAPS SHE MIGHT ESCAPE EVERY NIGHT FOR A WEEK,
1:03:37
Speaker 1: BUT SOONER OR LATER She must fall a victim. I
1:03:42
Speaker 1: had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered
1:03:45
Speaker 1: his room. An inspection of his chair showed me that
1:03:51
Speaker 1: he had been in the habit of standing on it,
1:03:54
Speaker 1: which of course would be necessary in order that he
1:03:57
Speaker 1: should reach the ventilator. The sight of the safe, the
1:04:01
Speaker 1: saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough
1:04:04
Speaker 1: to finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The
1:04:09
Speaker 1: metallic clang heard by Miss Stoder was obviously caused by
1:04:13
Speaker 1: her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe upon
1:04:17
Speaker 1: its terrible occupant. Having thus made up my mind, you
1:04:21
Speaker 1: know the steps which I took in order to put
1:04:23
Speaker 1: the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss,
1:04:27
Speaker 1: as I have no doubt that you did also, and
1:04:30
Speaker 1: I instantly lit the light and attacked it, with the
1:04:33
Speaker 1: result of driving it through the ventilator. and also with
1:04:36
Speaker 1: the result of causing it to turn upon its master
1:04:40
Speaker 1: at the other side. Some of the blows of my
1:04:43
Speaker 1: cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that
1:04:47
Speaker 1: it flew upon the first person it saw. In this
1:04:51
Speaker 1: way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimsby
1:04:56
Speaker 1: Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely
1:05:00
Speaker 1: to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.