Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: Sir Arthu R Conan Doyle

 

Sherlock Holmes  Sh o r t S t o r i es es Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

Sherlock Hol Sherlo olm mes  Short St Sto ori rie es S IR A R T H U R C O N A N DOY LE Level 5 Selected Selecte d and retold by Antho Anthony ny Laud Laudee Serrie Se iess Edit Editors ors:: Andy Hopk Hopkins ins and Jocelyn Po Potter  tter 

 

P e arso arso n E d u c at io n L imit e d

Edinburg h Gate, Harlo Edinburgh Harlow, w, Essex Esse xC CM2 M20 0 2JE 2JE,, England and Associated Companies throughout the world. ISBN: ISB N: 978-1-4058-6523978-1-4058-6523-4 4 First published in the Longman Simplified English Series 1977 First published published in the Longman Fiction Series 1993 This adaptation first publ published ished in 199 1996 6 First published by Penguin Books 1999 This edition published 2008 7 9 10 8 Original copyright ©The Copyright holders of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-works, reproduced by kind permission permission of ofJonathan Jonathan Clo Clowes wes Ltd London, on beh behalf alf of Andrea Plunke Plunket, t, Trustee & Administrator Text copyright © Penguin Books Ltd 1999 This edition copyright © Pearson Education Ltd 2008

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Contents page

Introduction

v

Th e M an w ith the Twisted Twisted Lip

1

Th e Engineer s Thu m b

20

Th e Patient Patient

42

Th e Disappearan Disappearance ce o f Lady LadyFrances Frances Carfax

53

Th e Three Garrideb Garridebss

71

Wisteria House Ho use Activities

90 111

 

 In  I ntroduction  He kept looki looking ng at the the tele teleg gram. A t las last, after fter lunc lunch, h, he re rea ad it out loud  loud   to me:  H A V E J U S T H A D A S T R A N G E E X P E R I E N C E . M A Y I   C ON SU LT YOU? YOU? SC O TT ECCLES, ECCLES , P O ST OFFI OFFICE, CE,  CHARING CROSS.  Is Scott Scott E Ecccles les a man man or a woman?’ woman?’ I aske asked. d. ‘Oh, a man, of course! No woman would ever send a telegram like  that. A woman woman would wo uld have com comee straight straight to me.’ 

All sorts sorts o f people peo ple visit visit Sherlock Sherloc k Holm H olmes, es, the great g reat detective,  b  bu u t th thee y all have o n e th thin ing g in com co m m o n : w h e n the th e y ar arriv rivee at his London address in Baker Street, they all need his help in solving  prob  pr oblem lemss th that at th thee polic po licee c a n n o t help he lp the th e m w ith it h . T h e re are few cases that Holmes cannot solve. Fortunately for us, his friend and colleague, Dr Watson, is always with him, taking notes. These are D r Watsons Wa tsons stori stories. es. W hy has has a wom wo m an’ an ’s honest, fait faithful hful,, hard-w orking ork ing husband suddenly gone missing somewhere among the dangerous opium houses of East London? Why has an engineer lost his thumb, and why can’t can’t he remem rem ember ber where wh ere it happened? W hy is a quiet, harmless man suddenly filled with terror at the arrival of a mysterious Russian lord? Why does Holmes send Watson to Switzerland? Why does a bad-tempered American lawyer suddenly become friendly with an old bone-collector who lives

alone? And why does a good-looking man from Spain invite a stranger to his house on the night before he dies? Holmes enjoys solving puzzles like these the se and, thanks to W atson ats on’’s notes, not es, we can follow each case step by step to its logical, and often unexpected, ending.

 

Before he became a writer, Conan Doyle studied medicine, and much of the character of Sherlock Holmes is taken from one of his teachers, Joseph Bell. When patients came to see him, Bell was often able was able to give give the them m inform info rmation ation abou ab outt their the ir jobs, ha habit bitss and even their illnesses before they had said a word. He taught his students the importance of small details, which is one of the skills needed by all great detectives. Sherlock Holmes is more interested in the activities of the brain and the use of faultless logicc than in the imperfections logi imperfections o f often illo illogi gical cal hum human an emotion. emo tion. H e shows shows no interest in wom w om en and his his only friend is D r Wat Watson, son, which makes him seem at times more like a machine than a hum an being. being. T he reading public, public, ho however wever,, were n ot interested in H olm es’s es’s le lesss attractive attractive qualitie qualities. s. After two Sherlock Sherlo ck H olmes olm es novels novels,, A Study Stud y  in Scarlet   (1888) and The Sign of Four   (1890), short stories about the detective began to appear regularly in the Strand   magazine, and Holmes quickly became a national hero. The magazine sold m ore copies copies than it had ever done before. before. M uch uc h o f the stories’ succ su cces esss was was due du e to Sidney Paget’ Pa get’ss w onderfu on derfull drawings o f the great detective, which show him in his famous hat and smoking his pipe —details which rarely appear in the stories themselves. The short stories in this collection all originally appeared in the Strand   magazine: magazine: ‘Th e M an w ith the Twis Twisted ted Lip’ in Dece De cem m ber be r 1891 1891;; ‘T he En gin eer’ ee r’ss T h u m b ’ in M arch 1892 1892;; ‘Th e Patient’ (original title, ‘The Resident Patient’) in August 1893;

W isteria H ou se (original title, W isteria Lodg Lo dgee ) in Septem Sep tember ber and O cto be r 19 08 ;‘T ;‘T he Disappearance Disappearance o f Lad Lady y France Francess Carfax’ in D ecem ece m ber be r 1911; 1911; and ‘T ‘T he Three Thr ee G arridebs’ in January 1925 1925.. As these stories were written over such a long period, we can see the relationship between Holmes and Watson changing over the years. In the early stories, which are not included in this collection, Holmes Holm es and Watson are sing single le men m en sharing rooms at 221B Baker Street in London. Later, as in some of these stories,

 

Watson is not living with Holmes because he has married and hass his ha his own o wn medical practice practice near P Paddin addington gton Station. Station. W he n W atson’ atso n’ss wife dies, dies, he ret return urnss to Baker Bak er Street. Despite the success of Sherlock Holmes, however, Conan Doyle dreamt o f becom beco m ing a more mo re ‘seri ‘serious’ ous’ w riter and o f writing different types of books. After he had agreed to write a second series of stories for the Strand , therefore, he decided that his detective had to die. The last story in this second series, ‘T he Final Final Problem Pro blem ’ (Decem (De cember ber 1893) 1893),, eends nds w ith Holm es in Switzerland, fighting for his life life with w ith his his greatest g reatest enemy, enemy, Moriarty. When Watson arrives, both men have disappeared. They have, it seems, both fallen to their deaths. The public were shocked and angry, unable to believe that their hero was dead. Conan Doyle him self was was surprised s urprised by this this reaction, rea ction, but bu t refused for sev sever eral al years to write another Sherlock Holmes story. In 1901, however, he changed his mind, and wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles.  H e was unwilling, however, to bring Sherlock Holmes back to life, so the story to ok place place before H olm es’s es’s ‘death’ dea th’ in Switzerland. Switzerland. W h en The Hound of the Baskervilles appeared in August 1901, the Strand   magazine immediately sold 30,000 copies more than usual. ound nd o f the Ba Bask skerv ervill illes, es,  Two years after the great success of The H ou Conan Doyle really did bring Sherlock Holmes back to life. In 1903, an American company offered him the enormous sum of

25,000 dollars for six stories, and he could not refuse. In the short story ‘The Empty House’, Holmes returns to Baker Street - to the great great shock o f D r Wats Watso on! It seemed seemed that only M oriarty had died in Switzerland. Holmes had spent the next two years travelling because other enemies had also wanted to kill him. This did not make much sense, but readers did not care. Their hero had returned, and nothing else mattered. After his third series of adventures, The Return of Sherlock Holmes  (1904), there was one final novel, The Valley of Fear   (1915) and two more collections of short stories,  Hi  Hiss Last Bow   (1917) and Th Thee Case Casebook book o f Sh Sherlo erlock  ck 

 

 Holmes  (1927).

In total, Conan Doyle wrote four Sherlock Holmes novels and fifty-six short stories. However, as we have already seen, he did not want to be remembered only as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. He wrote books of historical fiction, including The   Exploits o f Brig Brigad adie ierr Gerard   (1896) and The Adventures o f Ger Gerar ard  d   (1896). He also wrote science fiction stories, the most famous of which is The Lost World   (1912). His desire to escape the eno rm rmous ous su succ cces esss o f Sherlock H Holmes olmes is perhaps understandabl understandable, e,  b  bu u t w it ith h o u t S he herlo rlock ck H olm ol m es h e w o u ld alm almost ost ce certa rtain inly ly n o t be remembered today. Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective in the world, and is probably the best-known fictional character in literature. There have been hundreds of films about his stories, and many actors have become famous for playing the part of Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps one of the best was Basil Rathbone, who made fourteen Sherlock Holmes films for Hollywood between 1939 and 1946. A rthu r C ona onan n Doyle wa wass one o f ten chi childr ldren, en, bo rn into an Ir Iris ish h family in Edinburgh in 1859. His father, Charles Doyle, was an

artist, but he drank too much and life was hard for the Doyle fam fa mil ily y. Young Ar Arth thu u r was sent awa away y to a C Catho atholic lic school in the n o rth o f England, and rarel rarely y saw hi hiss fathe father. r. From 1876 to 1881, Conan Doyle studied medicine at the University o f Edinb Edinburgh, urgh, th en wo worked rked as a sship’ hip’ss do docto ctorr o n a  jo  j o u r n e y to the th e We West st A fri frica can n coast. In 1882 1882,, h e star st arte ted d w o rk as a doctor in Plymouth, but without much success. As his medical w ork did n not ot keep h him im very b bu usy, he amused himself by writin g stories, the first of which was printed in Cha Chambe mbers’ rs’s Edinburgh Edinburgh   Journal  before   before he was twenty. After a move to Southsea, he began to write more. His first rleet, appeared in  Beeton’s Chr Christm istmas as impo rtant work, A Study in Scarl

 

 An  A n nual  nu al   in 1887. and introduced the reading public for the first

time to Sherlock Holmes. In 1885, Conan Doyle married Louisa Hawkins, who died in 1906 1906.. O n e y year ear aft after er h his is wife wife’’s death, he m ar arrie ried d Jea Jean n Leckie, whom he had met and fallen in love with in 1897. Conan Doyle had five children, two with his first wife and three with his second. In 1891, he moved to London and, after a short time as an unsuccessful eye doctor, gave up all medical work to become a full-time writer. Apart from his Sherlock Holmes stories and other ficti fiction, on, he w rote a book about the war between the Brit British ish and D utc utch h in South Afr Afric ica, a, The Great Boer Boer War  (1900),   (1900), defending British action in South Africa at the time. Conan Doyle tried twice, without success, to become a member of the British parliament. He became a strong believer in equality for all under the law, and helped to free two men who had been wrongly sent to prison. Important changes were then made to Briti British sh la law w to m make ake it more diffi difficul cultt for inn innoc ocen entt people

to be sent to prison prison.. Th This is sstory tory is told in Julia Julian n B Barn arnes es s 2005 novel, Ar  Arthu thurr and Georg eorgee. After the deaths of his son, his brother and his two nephews in World War I, Conan Doyle became interested in the spiritual world and the search for scientific proof of life after death. He died in 1930, aged seventy-one. He had done many interesting things in his life but, like Moriarty, had been unable to kill Sherlock Holm Holmes. es. Even to toda day, y, peop people le w rite to H olm es es’’s Baker Street address addre ss (now a bank), asking for the th e dete detectiv ctive’ and advice. Sherlock Holmes never really existed, bute’sshehelp always refused to die die.. To his reader readers, s, he is ssti till ll aali live ve today - the th e greatest detective that the world has ever known.

 

Th e Man w it ith h the Tw i sted st ed Lip Lip

Mr Isa Whitney was, and had been for many years, an opium addict add ict.. H e could n not ot get rid o f the habit. H e had on once ce be been en a fine fine man, but now people only pitied this bent, unfortunate person with the yellow, unhealthy face. Opium was both his ruin and his only plea pleasure sure.. One night in June, when it was almost time to go to bed, I heard the doorbell ring. I sat up in my chair, and Mary, my wife,  p  pu u t h e r se sewi wing ng d o w n in ann annoy oyan ance. ce. ‘A patient!’ she said. ‘At this hour!’ We heard the servant open the front door and speak to someone. A moment later the door of our sitting room was thrown open and a lady came in. She wore a black veil over her

face. ‘Please forgive me for calling on you so late,’ she began. But then she could no longer control her feelings. She ran forward, threw he herr arms roun d M ary ary’’s neck, and cried bitterly on her shoulder. ‘Oh, I’m in such trouble!’ she said. ‘I need help so much!’ ‘Well!’ said m my y wife, pu pulli lling ng up th thee vi visi sito tor’ r’ss veil. ‘I t ’s Ka Kate te W hitney. This is a ssurprise, urprise, Kat Kate! e! I had n no o idea w wh h o yo you u were when you came in.’ ‘I did didn’ n’tt kn know ow w ha hatt to do, and so I came straight to you.’ That was how it always happened. People who were in trouble came to my wife like birds to a lighthouse. ‘We are very glad to see you,’ Mary said. ‘Now you must have some wine and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. it. O r w would ould you li like ke me to sen send d Jo John hn off to bed?’ ‘O h , no, no no!! I wan wantt the d oc to tor’ r’ss advice an and d help too. It It’’s ab abou outt

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Isa. He hasn’t been home for two days. I’m so worried about him!’ This was not the first time that Mrs Whitney had spoken to us o f he herr h husba usband’ nd’ss bad wa way ys: sshe he and a nd M ary had be been en at school together. toget her. We did ou r best tto o cal calm m her dow down n and co com m fort he her. r. ‘Have y you ou any idea w whe here re he has gon gone?’ e?’ I ask asked. ed. ‘Yes, s,’’ Mr Mrss W h it itn n ey repli replied. ed. ‘‘H H e ’s pro proba bably bly at a place called tthe he Bar o f Gold, in East Londo London, n, dow n by th thee river river.. It’ It’ss in U pp pper er Swandam Swa ndam Street. It’ It’ss a p place lace w whe here re op opiu ium m addic addicts ts go. This is the first time that Isa has spent more than a day there.’ I wa wass Is Isaa W h itn ey ’s do docto ctorr and h had ad a certain influ influence ence w ith him. ‘I will go to this place,’ I said. ‘If he is there, I will send him home in a carriage within two hours.’

Five minutes later I had left my comfortable chair and sitting room and was in a fast carriage on my way east. Upper Swandam Street was on the north side of the river, to the ea east st o f Lo Londo ndon n Brid Bridge. ge. Th e Bar o f Gold wa wass below the lev evel el of the street. Some steep steps led down to the entrance, which was little more than a hole in the wall. There was an oil lamp hanging above the door. I ordered the driver to wait, and went down the steps. Inside, it was difficult to see very much through the thick  b  bro row w n o p iu ium m smo smoke. ke. W o o d e n be beds ds lin li n ed th thee walls o f a llon ong, g, lo low w room. In the shadows I could just see bodies lying in strange  posit  po sitio ions ns o n th thee beds; an and d litt little le re red d circles o f ligh li ghtt b u r n in ing g in th thee  bo wls o f m  bowls met etal al pipes. pipe s. M o st o f th thee sm smoke okers rs lay silently silently,, b u t some so me talked softly to themselves. Near one end of the room was a fireplace, in which a small fire was burning. A tall, thin old man sat there, his elbows on his knees, looking into the fire. A Malayan servant who belonged to the place came up to me with some opium and a pipe. He pointed to an empty bed. ‘N o, tha thank nk you you,’ ,’ I sai said.‘ d.‘II hav haven en’’t ccom omee to stay.The stay.There re is a frie friend nd

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o f mine her here, e, M r Isa Whitney, and I w ant to speak speak to him.’ A man on one of the beds suddenly sat up, and I recognized Whitney He was pale, untidy, and wild-looking. ‘Watson!’ he cried. ‘Tell me, Watson, what time is it?’ ‘Nearly eleven o’clock.’ ‘ ‘On what day?’ ‘Friday, June the 19th.’ ‘Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday.’ ‘N o, it ’s F Fri rida day. y. A nd your yo ur wife has has be en waiting wa iting two tw o day days for you. Yo You u oug ht to be ashamed ashamed o f yourself!’ He began to cry. ‘I was sure I had been here only a few hours! B ut II’’ll go hom homee w ith you. you. I don’ don’tt want to w orry Kate - po or

little Kate! Give me your hand: I can’t do anything for myself. Have you come in a carriage?’ ‘Yes, I have one waiting.’ ‘Good. But I must owe something here. Find out what I owe them , Watson.’ Watson.’ As I walked along the narrow passage between the beds, looking for the manager, I felt someone touch my arm. It was the tall man by the fire. ‘Walk past me, and then look back at me,’ he said sa id.. W he n I looked look ed again again he was was stil stilll leaning over the fi fire re - a  ben  b ent, t, tire ti red d old ol d m an. an . Sudd Su dden enly ly he loo lo o ked ke d up and an d smile sm iled d at me. me . I recognized Sherlock Holmes. ‘Ho Holm lmes!’ es!’ I whisp whispered. ered. ‘W ha t o on n earth e arth are are you doing do ing in this this terrible place?’ ‘Speak more mo re quietly! quietly! I have have excellent excellen t ears. ears. Please Please ge gett ri rid d o f that friend o f yours yours.. I want to talk talk to you.’ ‘I have a carriage waiting outside.’ ‘Then send him home in it. And I suggest that you give the driver a note for your wife. Tell her you are with me. And wait outside for me: I’ll be with you in five minutes.’ In a few few minutes m inutes I had w ritten ritt en my note, paid W hi hitn tney ey ’s bill bill,, led him out ou t to the car carri riage age,, and said said good night to him. T he n

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Holmes came out of the Bar of Gold, and we walked along together. At first he walked unsteadily, with a bent back, but after the first few streets he straightened up and laughed loudly. ‘I suppose you yo u thin th ink k I have have beco be com m e an opiu op ium m add addict,Wa ict,Watson!’ tson!’ he said. ‘I was certainly surprised to find you in that place,’ I replied. ‘And I was surprised to see you there!’ ‘I came to find a friend.’ ‘And I came to find an enemy!’ ‘An enemy?’

‘Yes, Watson, one o f my natural enemies - a criminal! criminal! I am working on one of my cases. I fear that Mr Neville Saint Clair entered the Bat of Gold and that he will never come out of the  place  pla ce alive. alive. T h e re is a d o o r at th thee back ba ck o f th thee b u il ild d ing in g that th at open op enss onto the river. I believe that many men have been murdered there, and that their bodies have been thrown out through that door. If I had been recognized, the evil Indian sailor who owns the place would have murdered me too! I have used the Bar of Gold before for my own purposes, and have often found useful clue cl uess there in the conversation of o f the opium opi um addi addicts cts.. T he owner ow ner has sworn to have his revenge on me for it.’ Suddenly Holmes whistled loudly. ‘The carriage should be here by now!’ he said. We heard h eard an answering whistle in the dista distance nce.. T he n we saw saw the yellow lamps of the carriage as it came near. ‘Now, Now , Watson, you will com e w ith me, wo w o n ’t you?’ you ?’ said said Holmes, as he climbed in. ‘If I can be of any use.’ ‘O h , a frien fri end d is al alwa ways ys useful. useful. A nd my roo r oo m at the th e Saint Clairs’ C lairs’ has two beds.’ ‘At the Saint Clairs’?’ ‘Yes. I am staying there while I work on |he case.’ ‘Where is it, then?’ ‘N ea r Lee, Lee, in Kent. K ent. It’ It ’s a seven-mile drive. Com Co m e on!’ on !’

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‘B ut I don d on ’t know kn ow anything about abo ut your yo ur case case!’ !’ ‘O f course yo you u d o n ’t. B ut you y ou soon will will!! Jum p up here. Al Alll right, Harold,’ he said to the driver, ‘we shan’t need you.’ He handed the man a coin. ‘Look out for me tomorrow at about eleven o’clock. Good night!’ For the first part of our drive Holmes was silent and I waited  pati  pa tien entl tly y fo forr h im to be begi gin. n. ‘I have been wondering what I can say to that dear little

woman tonight when she meets me at the door,’ he said at last. ‘I am talking about Mrs Saint Clair, of course. ‘Neville Saint Clair came to live near Lee five years ago. He took a large house and lived like a rich man. He gradually made friends in the neighbourhood, and two years ago,he married the daughter of a local farmer, by whom he now has two children.  Nev  N evill illee Saint Sai nt C lair la ir was a busin bu siness essma man n in L ondo on don. n. H e used us ed to leave home every morning and then catch the 5.14 train back from Cannon Street Station evening. If habits; he is still is now thirty-seven years old. each He has no bad he alive is a he good husband and father, and everybody likes him. He has debts of .£88 .£8 8 at present present,, but bu t his his bank aaccou ccount nt contains £2 £ 2 2 0 . Th ere is no reason, therefore, to think that he has any money troubles. ‘Last Monday he went into London rather earlier than usual. H e said said that he had two impor im portan tantt pieces pieces o f busine business ss to do that day. He also promised to buy his little boy a box of toy bricks.  Now  N ow,, th t h at same day his wife wi fe h app ap p en ened ed to receive rec eive a ttel eleg egra ram m fr from om the Aberdeen Shipping Company. This informed her that a valuable package which she was expecting had arrived at the C om pany pa ny’’s off office icess in Lon L ondo don. n. These Th ese office officess are in Fresno Street, which is off Upper Swandam Street, where you found me tonight. Mrs Saint Clair had her lunch, caught a train to London, did some shopping,, and th en w en entt to the shippi shipping ng com co m pany’ pan y’ss offi of ficces es.. W h en she came ou t it was 4.35. She walked slowly slowly along Upper Swandam Street, hoping to find a carriage. It was a very

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hot day, and she did not like the neighbourhood at all. Suddenly she heard a cry, and saw her husband looking down at her from a window on the first floor of one of the houses. He seemed to  be w avin av ing g to he her, r, as i f h e w a n te ted d h e r to co com m e up. Th T h e w in ind dow wass open, wa op en, and she she h had ad a clear clear view o f his his face. face. H e looked look ed very worried and nervous. She noticed that he had no collar or tie on;

 b  bu u t he was w e a rin ri n g a da dark rk co coaa t like th thee o n e h e had ha d p u t o n th thaa t morning. Then, very suddenly, somebody seemed to pull him  bacc k fr  ba from om the th e wi wind ndow ow.. ‘Mrs Saint Clair felt sure that something was seriously wrong. She saw that the entrance to the house was below ground level: this was the door of the Bar of Gold. She rushed down the steps and through the front room, and tried to go up the stairs which led to the upper part of the house. But the owner —the Indian sailor sai lor I sp spoke oke o f — ran downstairs and pushed pu shed her he r back. T he Malayan servant helped him to push her out into the street. She rushed along Upper Swandam Street and into Fresno Street, where wh ere she she fortunately fo rtunately fou found nd seve severa rall policemen. Th ey forced their way wa y into the Bar o f Gold and we went nt upst upstai airs rs to the room in which wh ich M r Saint Saint C Clair lair had last last be been en seen. seen. Th There ere was was no sign sign o off him there there.. In fact the only person perso n in the upper upp er part o f the house h ouse was was an ugly ugly cripple who lived there. Both the Indian and this cripple swore that no one else had been in the first-floor front room that afternoon. The policemen were beginning to believe that Mrs Saint Clair had been mistaken when suddenly she noticed a small wooden box on the table. Realizing what it contained, she tore the lid off of f and emptied em ptied out ou t children s bric bricks. ks. It was was the toy that her husband had promised to bring home for his little boy. ‘O f course the th e rooms were w ere now n ow exam examined ined very care carefu full lly y, and the police found signs of a terrible crime. The front room was an ordinary roo m w ith plain furniture, and led into a sm small all bedroom, bedroom , from which the river could be seen. Along the edge of the river there is a narrow piece of ground which is dry at low tide, but

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which is covered at high tide by at least four and a half feet of water. At that time of day the river is at its highest point. There were drops of o f blood bloo d o on n the window, and a few drop dropss o on n the

 b  bee d r o o m floo fl oorr to too. o. B e h in ind d a ccur urta tain in in th thee fron fr ontt r o o m th thee poli po lice ce foun fo und d all all Nevill Nevillee Saint C Clair lair’’s clothes ex excep ceptt his coat. His shoes shoes,, his socks, his hat and his watch —everything was there. There were no si sig gns of violence on any o off the clothes, clothes, and M r Saint Clair, alive or dead, was certainly not there. He seemed to have gone ou outt o f the w indo indow w - there w waas no oth other er p pos ossi sib bil ilit ity. y. ‘The Indian had often been in trouble with the police before. B ut as Mrs Saint Clair had seen him at the ffoot oot o f the st stai airs rs only a few seconds after he herr hu husba sband nd’’s appearance at the window, window , he could not have been responsible for the murder. He said that he knew nothing about the clothes which had been found in the cripple’ cripp le’ss roo room m s.Th s.Thee cripple him himse self, lf, whose who se nam e is H ug h Boone, Bo one, must have been the last person to see Neville Saint Clair. ‘Boone is a well-known London beggar who always sits in Threadneedle Str Stree eet, t, near the Bank o f Engla England. nd. He pretends to  be a m mat atch ch selle seller, r, bu butt th ther eree is alwa always ys a di dirt rty y le leat ath h er cap by his side into which people throw coins. I have watched him more than once, and I have been surprised at the very large amount of money that he receives in this way. His appearance, you see, is so unusual that no one can go past without noticing him. He has a  pal e face an  pale and d lo lon n g re red d hair, an and d b r ig igh h t b ro row w n ey eyes es.. His Hi s u p p e r lip is twisted as the resul resultt o f an o old ld accident. A nd he is famous fo forr hi hiss clever answers to the jokes of all the businessmen who go past.’ ‘Is it possible that a cripple could have murdered a healthy young man like Neville Saint Clair?’ I asked. ‘H u g h B o o n e ’s bo body dy is b en t aand nd his fa face ce is ug ugly ly,’ ,’ Holm Ho lmes es replied, ‘but there is great strength in him. Cripples are often very strong, you know. When the police were searching him, they noticed some spots of blood on one of the arms of his shirt. But he showed them a cut on his finger, and explained that the blood

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had come from there. He also said that he had been at the

window not long before, and that the blood on the floor and window probably came from his finger too. He refused to admit that he had ever seen Mr Saint Clair, and swore that the presence o f the clothes clothes in the room roo m was as as much a mystery mystery to him as it wa was to the police. If Mrs Saint Clair said she had seen her husband at the window she must have been dreaming —or else she was crazy! Boone was taken to the police station, still complaining loudly. ‘When the water level in the river had gone down, the police looked for the body bod y o f M r Saint Saint Clair Clair in the mud. m ud. But Bu t they only fopnd his coat. And every pocket was full of pennies and halfpennies - 421 421 pennies, and 270 halfpennies. halfpennies. It was was no t surprising that the coat had not been carried away by the tide. But possibly the body itself had been swept away. Perhaps Boone  p  pu u shed sh ed Saint Sai nt C la lair ir thro th rou u g h the th e wind wi ndow ow,, and an d t h e n deci de cide ded d to get ge t rid of the clothing, which might give clues to the police. But he needed to be sure that the clothes would sink. So he went to the hiding place where he kept the money he earned in Threadneedle Street, and began by filling the pockets of the coat and throwing it out. He would have done the same with the rest of the clothing, but just then he heard the police coming up the stairs, and quickly closed the window. ‘Boone has been a professional beggar for many years, but he has never been in any serious trouble with the police. He seems to li live ve very quietly and a nd harml harmles essl sly. y. I have have to find out o ut w hat ha t Neville Nev ille Saint Clair was doing in that house, what happened to him while he was there, w here her e he is now, and wha w hatt H ug h B o o n e’s e’s involvement was in his disappearance. The problem seemed to be an easy one at first, but now I don’t think it is so easy. ‘D o you y ou see see that tha t light am ong on g the th e tree trees? s? T ha t is the Saint Clairs’ house. Beside that lamp an anxious woman is sitting listening,  probably, for fo r the th e sou so u nd o f ou o u r horse.’ hor se.’ We drove through some private grounds, and stopped in front

 

of a large house. A servant ran out to take charge of our horse. The front door opened before we had reached it, and a small fair woman in a pink silk dress hurried out to meet us. ‘Well?’ she cried eagerly. ‘Well?’ Perhaps Perha ps she thou gh t for a m om en t that H olm es’s es’s friend was was her lost husband. Holmes shook his head. ‘No good news?’ she asked. ‘None.’ ‘But no bad news either?’ ‘No.’ ‘Well, Well, com e in. You must m ust be very tired. You have have had ha d a long day’ da y’ss w ork. or k.’’ ‘This is my friend frien d D r Watson. Watson. He has has been be en o f great use use to me in severa severall o f my case ases. By a lucky chance chan ce he has has been be en able able to come with me this evening.’ ‘I am pleased to meet you,’ said Mrs Saint Clair, pressing my hand han d warmly. warmly. She led us us into a pleasant pleasant dining room ro om,, where there was a cold supper laid out on the table. ‘Now, Mr Sherlock Holmes, I have one or two questions to ask you, and I should like you to answer them truthfully.’ ‘Certainly, Mrs Saint Clair.’ ‘It is your real opinion that I want to know.’ ‘About what?’ Holmes asked. ‘Do you truly believe that Neville is still alive?’ Holmes did not seem to like this question. ‘Truly, now!’ she repeated, looking at him as he leaned back in his chair. ‘Truly, then, I do not,’ he answered at last. ‘You think he is dead?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And that he was murdered?’ ‘I don’t know. Perhaps.’ ‘And on what day did he die?’

9

 

‘O n Monday, June Ju ne the 15th.’ 15th.’ ‘Then, Mr Holmes, how do you explain this letter that I have received from him today?’ Sherlock Sherl ock Holmes jum pe d out ou t o f his his c hair.‘W hair.‘W hat!’ he shouted. shouted. ‘Yes, today.’ Smiling, she held up an envelope. ‘May I see it?’ ‘Certainly.’ In his eagerness he seized it from her quite rudely, smoothed it out on the table, and examined it very thoroughly. I looked at it over his shoulder. The envelope was a cheap one, and it had  be  b e e n p o st sted ed at Grav Gr aves esen end d in K ent en t earlie ear lierr in the th e day. ay. ‘T he hand ha ndw w riting on the envelope is is poor,’ said said Holmes. ‘Surely this this is not no t your yo ur husba hus band nd’’s writing wr iting,, Mrs Saint Clair?’ ‘No, but the letter inside is in his handwriting.’ ‘I see that whoever addressed the envelope had to go and find out your address.’ ‘How can you tell that?’ ‘The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, and has been allowed to dry slo slowly. ly. T h e addre address ss is is almost grey - w hich hic h proves proves that sand sand ha has been throw n on the w riting riting to dry it. it. Th e man w ho wrote this envelope wrote the name first, and then paused for some time before writing the address. The only explanation is that he did not know it. But let us look at the letter! Ah! some object has been enclosed in this.’ ‘Yes,’ es,’ said Mrs M rs Saint Sa int Clair, Clair , ‘ther th eree was a ring ri ng.. Ne N e v ille il le’’s ri ring ng.’ .’ ‘A nd are are you sure that this is is in your you r husba hu sband nd’’s w riting? ritin g?’’ ‘Yes - thou th ou gh it’ it ’s easy easy to see see that tha t he w rote ro te it in a great grea t hurry.’ This is what the letter said: Dearest Olivia, Do not be frightened. Everything will be all right. There is a mistake that it will take some time to p u t right. righ t. Wait patient patiently. ly. NEVILLE.

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‘This/ said Holmes, ‘is written in pencil on a page torn from some book. It was posted by a man with a dirty thumb. And whoev wh oever er closed closed the envelop envelopee had ha d a lump o f tobacco in his his m ou th. Well, Well, Mrs Saint Clair, Clair, things are begi be ginn nning ing to seem a little little more hopeful, but I do not think the danger is over yet/ ‘But Neville must be alive, Mr Holmes!’ ‘Unless this letter lette r is is the w ork or k o f a clever clever man. After Afte r all, all, the ring rin g  provess n o th  prove thin ing g . It may ma y have b e e n take ta ken n from fr om h im / ‘No, No , no! no! Th at at’’s certainly his his ow n hand ha ndwr writing! iting!’’ ‘Very well. But the letter may have been written on Monday, and only posted today.’ ‘That is possible.’ ‘If that is so, many things may have have happene happ ened d betw b etw een ee n the two days.’ ‘Oh, you must not make me lose hope, Mr Holmes! I know that Neville is all right. Our relationship is such a strong one that I always know when he has an accident. On that last morning he cut himself in the bedroom , and althoug although h I was was in in the dining room, I knew immediately that something had happened to him. I rushed upstairs and found that I was right. Do you think I could  possib  pos sibly ly n o t k n o w abo ab o u t it i f he h e had ha d b e e n m u rde rd e red re d ? ’ ‘B ut if your yo ur husband husba nd is aliv alivee and an d able able to w rite letters, letters, why wh y should he remain away from you?’ ‘I can’t imagine!’ ‘And on Monday he said nothing unusual before leaving home?’ ‘Nothing.’ ‘And you were surprised to see him at that window in Upper Swandam Street?’ ‘Yes, extremely surprised.’ ‘Was the window open?’ ‘Yes.’

‘Then he could have spoken to you?’

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‘H e could. B ut he only cried out, as as if he were calli calling ng for help help.. And he waved his hands.’ ‘B ut it m ight have have been a cry cry o f surprise. surprise. Shock at the sight of of you might cause him to throw up his hands.’ ‘It is possible. But I thought he was pulled back from the window.’ ‘H e might mig ht have have jum ju m p ed back. You You did no n o t see anyone els else in the room, did you?’ ‘No, but that ugly cripple admitted that he was there, and the ow ner o f the place place was at the the foot foo t o f the st stai airs rs.’ .’ ‘D id your yo ur husban h usband d seem to be wearing we aring his ordinary clothes?’ clothes?’ ‘Yes, but he had no collar or tie on. I saw the skin of his throat quite clearly.’ ‘Had Ha d he ever ever mentione men tioned d U pp er Swandam Street Street to you?’ ‘Never.’ ‘Had he ever shown any signs of having taken opium?’ ‘No, never!’ ‘T ha n k you, yo u, Mrs Saint Clair. Clair. We will w ill now no w have a little little supper suppe r and then the n go to bed. We may have a very busy day tomorrow .’ But Holmes did not go to bed that night. He was a man who sometimes stayed awake for a whole week when he was working on one of his cases. He filled his pipe. Then he sat down, crossed his legs, and looked with fixed eyes at the ceiling. I was already in  be  b e d a nd soo so o n w e n t to sleep. sleep. Holmes was still smoking when I woke up next morning. It was a bright sunny day, but the room was full of tobacco smoke. ‘Are you yo u awake, awake, Watson? Wa tson?’’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Would you like to come for an early-morning drive?’

All right. ‘Then get dressed! Nobody is up yet, but I know where the servant w ho looks after the horses sleep sleeps. s. We shal shalll soon soo n have have the carriage on o n the road!’ Holmes Holm es laughed to himself him self as he spoke. spoke. H e

 

seemed to be a diffe different rent man from the H olmes o f the night n ight  befor  be fore. e. As I dressed, I looked at my watch. It was not surprising that nobody in the house was up: it was only 4.25. Soon Holmes came back and told me that the carriage was ready. ‘I want to test a little idea of mine/ he said as he put his shoes on. ‘I think, think , Watson, that I am the most mo st stupid stup id man m an in Europe E urope.. I deserve to be kicked from here to London. But I think I have found the explanation of Neville Saint Glairs disappearance now. Yes, Watson, I think thi nk I have have the th e key to the mystery!’ ‘And where is it?’ I asked, smiling. ‘In the bathro ba throom om ,’ he answered. answered. ‘O h , yes yes,, I am n o t jok jo k ing, in g,’’ he went on, seeing the surprise on my face. ‘I have been there, and I havee taken hav take n it out, o ut, and I have it in this this bag. C om e on, Watson, and let us see whether this key is the right one.’ The carriage was waiting for us in the bright morning sunshin suns hine. e. We b oth ju ju m pe d in, and the horse rushed off along the Lo ndon ndo n road. road. A few cou ntry vehic vehicle less were about, taking taking fruit to the Londo Lo ndo n markets, markets, bu t the houses on either side side o f the road were as silent and lifeless as in a dream. ‘O h , I have have been be en blind, Watson!’ said said Holme Ho lmes. s. ‘B u t it is better bett er to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.’ In London, a few people were beginning to look out sleepily from their windows as we drove through the streets on the south side side o f the city. We w ent dow n Waterloo Wa terloo Bridge Brid ge R o a d and acro across ss the river; river; then the n along W ellington Street. Street. We stopped stopp ed at Bow Street Polic Pol icee Station. Station. T he two policemen p olicemen at the the door do or tou ched ch ed their hats hats

to Holmes, H olmes, w ho was was well well kno known wn there. there. O ne o f them looked afte afterr the horse while the other led us in. ‘Who is the officer on duty this morning?’ asked Holmes. ‘M r Bradstre B radstreet, et, sir sir,’ ,’ answered answe red the th e man. A large fat man came down the passage just then.

13

 

‘Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?’ said Holmes. Td like to have a word w ith you.’ you.’ ‘Certainly, Mr Holmes. Let us go into my room.’ It was a small office, with a desk and a telephone. Bradstreet sat down. ‘What can I do for you, Mr Holmes?’ ‘I am here in connection with Hugh Boone, the beggar —the man who has been charged with involvement in the disappearance of Mr Neville Saint Clair.’ ‘Yes. We are still busy with that case.’ ‘You have Boone here?’ ‘Yes es.. H e ’s lo locc k e d up.’ u p.’ ‘Is he quiet?’ ‘O h, he give givess no trouble. B ut h e ’s a dirty man.’ man .’ ‘Dirty?’ ‘Yes. H e does do esn n ’t m ind in d wash wa shing ing his hands, hand s, b u t his face is is as as black as a coal m in e r ’s. Well, as as soo so o n as his case is sett settled led,, he h e ’ll have to have a proper prison bath!’ ‘I should very much like to see him.’ ‘Would you? That can easily be arranged. Come this way.You can leave your bag here.’ ‘No, I think I’ll take it with me.’ ‘Very good. Come this way, please.’ He led us down a passage, opened a barred door, and took us down some stairs to another white passage. There was a row of doors on each side. ‘T h e third thi rd do o r on o n the th e righ rig h t is is his his,’ ,’ sai said d Brads Bradstreet. treet. ‘H er eree it is!’ is!’

He looked through a hol holee in the upper part o f the door. door. ‘H e ’s asleep.You can see him h im very ve ry well.’ Holmes and I both looked through throug h the hole. hole. T he prisoner lay lay with his face towards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and heavily. He was a man of medium height, dressed in a torn coat and a coloure colo ured d shirt. As Bradstreet had h ad said said,, he was was extremely e xtremely dirty. One side of his top lip was turned up, so that three teeth

 

were showing. He looked like an angry dog. His head was covered almost down to the eyes with very bright red hair. ‘H e ’s a bea beauty uty,, is isn’ n’tt h hee ?’ said Bra Brads dstre treet et.. ‘He certainly needs a wash,’ Holmes replied.‘I had an idea that he m igh ightt be dir dirty ty,, and sso o I br brou ough ghtt thi thiss w with ith me.’ H e to too o k a we wett cloth out of his bag. ‘What a funny man you are, Mr Holmes!’ laughed Bradstreet. ‘Now, Bradstreet, open that door as quietly as possible, please.’ ‘All right.’And Bradstreet slipped his big key into the lock, and we all went in very quietly. The sleeping man half turned, and then settled down once more. Holmes stepped quickly over to him and rubbed the cloth firmly across and down his face. ‘Let m mee in intro trodu duce ce yo you,’ u,’ he ssho houted uted,, ‘to M r Ne Neville ville Saint Clai Clair, r, o f Le Leee in Kent!’ T he ef effec fectt o f H olm es’ es’ss cloth wa wass unbelieva unbelievable. ble. T h e skin o f the m an ’s fa face ce seem seemed ed to com e off lik likee paper, taking th thee twisted lip w ith it it.. Holmes too took kh hold old o f the u ntidy red hair and pul pulled led it off too. The ugly beggar had changed into a pale, sad-faced young gentleman with black hair and a smooth skin. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes, looking round sleepily. Then he realized what had just happened, gave a terrible cry, and hid his face. ‘G oo d heavens!’ crie cried d Bradstreet. ‘It certainly is the missin missing g man. I recognize him from the photograph.’ By now the prisoner had managed to control himself. ‘And

what,’ he asked, ‘am I charged with?’ ‘W ith being conc concerned erned in the di disa sappe ppear aranc ancee o f M r N Nevi evill llee S ain t-’ Bradstreet began. ‘B ut o f course y you ou can’ can’tt be charged w ith that! Well, I have been a member of the police force for twentyseven years, and I have never seen anything like this!’ ‘If I am Neville Saint Clair, no crime has been done. It is clear that you are breaking the law by keeping me here.’ ‘N o crim crimee has be been en done,’ sa said id H ol olm m es es,‘ ,‘bu bu t you ou gh t to hav havee trusted your wife.’

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‘It was not my wife that I was worried about. It was the childr chi ldren! en! I didn di dn’’t w ant,th an t,them em to be ashamed o f their the ir father father.. And An d what can I do now?’ Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the bed, and touched his shoulder kindly. ‘I advise you to tell everything to Mr Bradstreet,’ he said. ‘It may not be necessary for the case to come into court.Your story will probably never be m ention ent ioned ed in the newspaper newspapers. s. Your children need never find out about it.’ Saint Clair gave him a grateful look. ‘I will tell you the whole story. ‘My father was a schoolmaster in Derbyshire, where I received an excellent education. I travelled a great deal after I left school. I was an actor for a time, and then became a reporter for an evening paper in London. One day I was asked to write a series o f pieces pieces about abou t begging beggin g in London L ondon.. It was was then th en that all my adventures started. I decided that the best way of collecting facts w ould be to becom beco m e a beggar beggar myse myself lf,, just ju st for one day. W he n I wa was an actor I had, of course, learned all the skills of make-up, and I now made good use of them. I painted my face and gave my upper lip an ugly twist so that people would pity me. Red hair

and old clothes were the only other things necessary. I then  plac  pl aced ed m ysel ys elff in one on e o f the th e busiest bus iest streets in L o n don do n . I p rete re ten nded to be a match seller, but I was really a beggar. I stayed there for seven hours. At home that evening I was surprised to find that I had received more than a pound. ‘I wrote my pieces, and thought no more of the matter for some time. Then I signed my name on a paper for a friend who wanted to borrow some money; he was unable to pay his debt, and so I found that I owed twenty-five pounds. I did not know what to do. Suddenly I had an idea. I asked for two weeks’ holi ho lida day, y, and spent the time begging in Threadneedle Thread needle Street. Street. In ten days I had the money and had paid the debt.

16

 

‘Well, you can imagine how difficult it was to settle down to hard work wo rk on the newspaper at at ttwo wo pounds pou nds a week, w he hen n I knew that I could earn as much as that in a single day! I only had to  pa  p a int in t m y face, p u t my cap o n the th e g rou ro u n d , an and d sit still. O f co cour urse se it hurt my pride to do it, but in the end I gave up my post, and sat day after day in the corner I had first chosen. My ugly face made everybody pity me, and my pockets quickly filled with money mon ey.. On Only ly one man knew kne w my secre secret. t. This wa wass the ow ner o f the Bar of Gold in Upper Swandam Street, an Indian sailor. It was there that I changed myself into an ugly ugly beggar each mo mornin rning, g, and there that I became a well-dressed businessman again in the evenings. I paid the man well for his rooms, so I knew that my secret was safe with him. ‘Well, very soon I realized that I was saving money fast. I do no t m mean ean that any any be beggar ggar in the st stre reet etss o f Lon don could earn seven or eight hundred pounds a year, but I had unusual advantages. My knowledge of make-up helped me a great deal, and my jokes quickly made me almost a public figure. All day and

every day, the money poured into my cap. I usually received at least two pounds in a day. I was almost a rich man. ‘I was able to take a large house in the country, and later to marry. Nobody had any idea where my money really came from. My dear wife knew that I had a business in London: that was all. ‘Last Monday I had finished for the day, and was dressing in my room in Upper Swandam Street, when I saw my wife outside. She was was looking look ing up u p at me. This was was a great sho shock ck to me, and I gave a cry of surprise and threw up my arms to cover my face. I rushed downstai downstairs rs and begged the ow owner ner o f the pla place ce to prevent anyone from comin co ming g up to me. T he n I ran upst upstair airss again, again, to took ok off my clothes, clothes, and pu t on those o f ‘H ug h B o on e’. I heard my wife’ w ife’ss voice downstairs, but I knew that she would not be able to come up. I p u t on o n my m y mak m akee-up up and m my y fa fals lsee hair as fast fast aass I could could.. Just then, I realized that the police might search my rooms. I did not

17

 

want my own clothes to be found. I filled the coat pockets with coins, and opened the window. I had cut my finger at home that morning, and the cut opened again. I threw the heavy coat out of the window and saw it disappear into the river. I would have thrown the other clothes out too, but just then I heard the  p  po o li licc e m e n rush ru shin ing g up the th e stairs. stairs. A fe few w m inut in utes es la late terr I was seized sei zed as my own murderer! But I was happy that nobody realized who I was. ‘I was determined not to be recognized, and so I refused to wash my face. I knew that my wife would be very anxious about me, and I therefore slippe slipped d off my ring rin g and found fo und an op opportu portunity nity to give it to the owner of the Bar of Gold, together with a short letter to her.’ ‘Mrs Saint Clair did not get that note until yesterday/ said Holmes.

‘Good heavens! What a terrible week she must have had!’ ‘The police have been watching the Indian/ said Bradstreet, ‘and he must have had great difficulty in posting the letter without being seen. He probably handed it to one of the sailors who wh o come to the Bar of Gold to smo smoke ke opium. Th e man may have forgotten to post it until yesterday/ ‘I think you are right/ said Holmes. ‘Mr Saint Clair, have you never been charged with begging in the streets?’ ‘Oh, yes, I have often been to court. But I could easily afford the money I had to pay!’ ‘Your life as a beggar must stop now/ said Bradstreet. ‘If Hugh B oo oone ne appear appearss once m ore in the stre street etss o f L on ondon don we shall shall no nott  be able to pre pr e vent ve nt th thee ne new w spap sp aper er repo re port rter erss fr from om w ri riti tin n g a b out ou t the case/ ‘I swear never to beg again/ said Saint Clair. ‘In that case you will hear no more of the matter/ said Bradstreet. Bradst reet. ‘B ut if you are are ever foun found d begg begging ing aga again in,, everything will have to be made public. Mr Holmes, we are very grateful to

18

 

you for your successful handling of the case. I wish I knew how you got your results!’ ‘I found the explanation of this affair by sitting in a comfortable armchair and smoking my pipe all night,’ answered my friend. ‘I think, thin k, Watson, Watson, that if we drive to Baker Street now, now, we shall be just in time for breakfast.’

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Th e E ngine er’s er’s Th um b

T he exciting exciting affa affaiir o f M r H atherley atherley’’s thum b happ happened ened in the summer of 1889, not long after my marriage. I was in practice as a doctor, but I often visited my friend Sherlock Holmes at his Baker Street rooms, and I sometimes even managed to persuade

him to come and visit my wife and me. My practice had steadily  be  b e c o m e m o re successful, successfu l, an and d as I h a p p e n e d to live n ea earr Paddington Station, I got a few patients from among the railway workers there. One of these, a guard whom I had cured of a  painf  pa inful ul disease, disease, was alway alwayss p pra raisi ising ng my skill aand nd tr try y ing in g to pe pers rsua uade de new patients to come to me. One morning, a little before seven o’clock, I was woken by our servant knocking at the bedroom door. She said that two men had come from Paddington Station and were waiting in my office. I dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. I knew from experience that railway cases were usually serious. Before I had reached the office, my old friend the guard came out and closed the door tightly behind him. ‘I’ve got him here,’ he whispered, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, as if he had caught some strange wild animal for m e .‘ .‘It It’’s a new ne w patient. p atient. I tho ug h t I’ I ’d brin bring g him h im here mysel myself, f, so that he c o u ldn ld n ’t run ru n aw awaay. I must go now, D octor oc tor.. I have my duties,  ju s t as you yo u have.’ A n d h e was o u t o f th thee ho hous usee befo be fore re I coul co uld d thank him. I entered my office, and found a gentleman seated by the table. He was dressed in a country suit, with a soft cloth cap, which he had pu t down d own on top o f my books. books. Th There ere was a bloody bloody cloth wrapped round ro und one o f his hands hands.. He was young - no t more than twenty-five, twenty-f ive, I though tho ught. t. He had a strong strong ffac ace, e, bu butt he was extremely  pale, and an d seem se emed ed to be in a state o f alm almost ost un unco cont ntro rolla llabl blee anxiety.

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‘I’ I’m m sorry to get you ou outt o f be bed d so ea earrly ly,, D oc to tor/ r/ he began. ‘But I had a very serious accident during the night. I came back to London by train this morning, and at Paddington I asked the railway people where I could find a doctor. One good man very kindly brought me here. I gave your servant a card, but I see that

she has left it over there on the side table/ I picked it up and lo looke oked d at it it.. ‘M r V icto ictorr H Hatherley/ atherley/ I read read.. ‘Eng Engineer, ineer, third fl floor oor,, 16A Victo Victoria ria Street/ Stree t/ ‘I am sorry you have had to wait so long/ I said, sitting down. ‘Your night journey must have been dull too/ ‘Oh, my experiences during the night could not be called dull!’ he said, and laughed. In fact he shook with such unnatural laughter that he sounded a little crazy. ‘Stop it!’ I cried cried.. ‘C o n tr tro o l yourself]’ I pou po u re red d o ut a g gla lass ss o f water for him. B ut it wa wass us usel eles ess. s. H e w ent on laughing for some time. W he hen n at last he stopped he was very tired and ashamed of himself. ‘It was stupid of me to laugh like that/ he said in a weak voice. ‘N o t at all all// I pou poured red some bra brandy ndy in into to the water water.. ‘D rin k thi this!’ s!’ Soon So on the th e colo colour ur bega began n to re retu turn rn to hi hiss pale ffac ace. e. ‘T h a t’ t’ss  b  bee tte tt e r! r!’’ he said. ‘A n d now, do doct ctor or,, w o u ld y o u m in d lo loo o k in ing g at my thumb, or rather at the place where my thumb used to be?’ H e too k off the cloth and held ou outt hi hiss hand. It w was as a terrible sight, and although I had been an army doctor I could hardly bear to look loo k at iit. t. Instead o off a thum b there was only an uneven, swoll swo llen en red su surf rfac ace. e. T he thum b had be been en completely cut —o —orr torn - off. ‘G o od heavens!’ I cr ied ie d .‘ .‘This This is a ter terrib rible le w wou ound nd.. It must hav havee  bled  bl ed a gr grea eatt deal.’ ‘Yes, it did. I fainted when it happened; and I think I must have  b  bee e n u n c o n s c io iou u s fo forr a lo n g tim ti m e. W h e n I r e t u r n e d to consciousness, I found that it was still bleeding. So I tied one end o f thi thiss ccloth loth very tightly ro roun und d m my y wrist, and use used d a ssm mall all

21

 

 piec  pi ecee o f w wo o o d to m ake ak e it ev even en tig tighte hter.’ r.’

Excellent! You should have been a doctor. ‘I ’m an eng engine ineer, er, you se see: e: the force o f liquids is my subject.’ ‘This has been done,’ I said, examining the wound, ‘by a very sharp, heavy instrument.’ ‘An axe,’ he said. ‘It was an ac accid ciden ent, t, I supp suppose ose?’ ?’' ‘No!’ ‘Was somebody trying to murder you, then?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘H o w terri terrible! ble! ’ I cleaned the wound and bandaged it. He did not cry out as I worked on his hand, though he bit his lip from time to time. ‘How are you feeling now?’ I asked, when I had finished. ‘I feel fine! Your brandy and your bandage have made me feel like a new man. I was very weak, but I have had some terrible experiences.’ ‘Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It upsets you too much.’ ‘Oh no! Not now. I shall have to tell everything to the police. But really, if I did not have this wound, the police might not  belie  be lieve ve m y stat st atem emen ent. t. It is a ve very ry stra strange nge st stor ory y a nd I have n o t mu ch pr much proo oo f o f it it.. And I do ubt w heth er just justice ice wil willl ev ever er be done done,,  beca  be caus usee I ca can n give th thee det detec ectiv tives es so few fe w clues.’ ‘In that case,’ I said, ‘I strongly advise you to see my friend Sherlock Holmes before you go to the police.’ ‘O h , I have he heard ard o f M r Holm Holmes,’ es,’ sa said id my visitor, visitor, ‘and I sho should uld  be ve very ry glad i f h hee w o u ld lo loo o k in into to th thee ma matt tter er,, th o u g h o f co cour urse se I must inform info rm the polic policee as wel well. l. W ould you w rite me a letter o f introduction to him?’ ‘I ’ll do b bet ette terr th than an that. II’’ll take you ro roun und d tto o hi him m my mysel self. f.’’ ‘You’re very kind.’ ‘W e ’ll ca call ll a carr carriage iage an and d go toge togethe ther. r. We sha shall ll arrive ju just st in

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time to have breakfast with him. Do you feel strong enough to go out?’ ‘Oh yes! I shall not feel comfortable in my mind until I have told my story.’ ‘Then my servant will call a carriage, and I shall be with you in a moment.’ I rushed upstairs and quickly explained everything to my wife. Five minutes later Mr Hatherley and I were in a carriage on our way to Baker Street. As I had expected, Sherlock Holmes was in his sitting room reading the small personal advertisements in The Times  and smoking his pipe. For this early-morning smoke he used all the half-smoked lumps of tobacco from the day before, all carefully dried and collected together. He welcomed us in his usual quiet,  pleasa  ple asant nt way, way, and an d o rder rd ered ed m o re foo fo o d for fo r us. T h e n we all sat ro round the table and had a good breakfast. When we had finished, Holmes made M r Hatherley H atherley lie lie dow n w ith a glass o f brandy and water within reach. ‘It is easy to see that your experience has been a strange and terrible one, Mr Hatherley,’ he said. ‘Please He down there and make yourself yo urself completely comp letely at home. hom e. Tell Tell us us w hat ha t you can, can, but bu t stop stop and have a drink when you are tired.’ ‘Thank you,’ said my patient, ‘but I have been feeling quite fresh since the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your excellent breakfast has completed the cure. So I will begin the story o f my strange strange experiences immediate immediately. ly.’’ Holmes sat down in his big armchair. As usual, the sleepy expression on his face, and his half-closed eyes, hid his eagerness. I sat opposite him, and we listened in silence to the strange story our visitor told. ‘My parents are dead,’ he said, ‘and I am unmarried. I five alone in rooms in London. By profession I am an engineer, and I have had seven years of training with Venner and Matheson of Greenwich, the well-known engineers. I completed my training

 

two years ago. Not long before that, my father had died and I received receive d some o f his his mon m oney ey So I decided to go into busin busines esss on my own, own , and took to ok an office office in Victoria Vic toria Street. Street. ‘The first few years of independent practice are often disappointing. I myself have had an extremely disappointing start. In two years I have had only three or four jobs and have earned only twenty-seven pounds. Every day, from nine o’clock in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my little office, until un til at la last st I began to lose lose heart. I thou ght gh t that I w ould oul d never get any work. ‘But yesterday my clerk came in to say that a gentleman was waiting to see me on business. He brought in a card, too, with the namee ‘Captain nam ‘Captain Lysand Lysander er Stark’ printe pr inte d on it it.. T he Captain followed him into the room almost immediately. He was a tall, thin man. I do not think I have ever seen a thinner man than Captain Stark. He had a sharp nose and the skin of his face was  pull  pu lled ed very ve ry ti tigh ghtl tly y over ove r the th e bone bo nes. s. B u t his thinn thi nnes esss did di d n o t seem see m to be the result of any disease. His back was straight and his eyes were bright. He was plainly but neatly dressed, and seemed to be about thirty-five or forty years old. ‘ “M r H atherley?” atherl ey?” he sai aid, d, and I thou th ou ght gh t he h e sounde sou nded d like like a Germ an. “You German. “You have have been recom m ended to me, M r Hatherl Hatherley, ey, no t only as an excellent engineer, but also as a man who can keep a secret.” ‘This polite remark pleased me. “May I ask who it was who spoke so well of me?” I said. ‘ “Well, perhaps I had better not tell you that just now. I have also heard that your parents are dead, and that you are unmarried and five alone in London.” ‘ “T ha t is quite correct,” I answer answered. ed. “But “B ut I do n o t see w hat ha t connection these things have with my professional ability. My clerk told me that you wished w ished to speak speak to me about abo ut a profess profession ional al

matter.”

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‘ “Yes, certainly. But everything I have said is important. I have w ork for you, bu butt secre secrecy cy iiss ne neces cessar sary y - complete  secrecy. And of course we can expect greater se secre crecy cy from a man w ho is al alone one in the world than from one who lives with his family.” 4“If I promise to keep a secret,” I said, “you can trust me to do so.” ‘He looked at me carefully as I spoke. “You do promise, then?” he said at last. ‘“Yes, I promise.” ‘ “You promise complete silence, both before and after doing the work? You promise n not ot to m en ention tion the m atter at aall ll,, either in speech or in writing?” “ ‘I h have ave al alread ready y given you my word word.” .” ‘“Very good!” He suddenly jumped up, rushed across the room, and threw open the door. The passage outside was empty. ‘ “T h a t’s t’s all all righ right,” t,” he sa said id,, com in ing g back. “ I kn know ow th that at cler clerks ks are sometimes eager to know about their masters’ affairs. Now it is safe to talk.” He pulled his chair up very close to mine, and once again began looking thoughtfully at me. ‘I did not like this. I was beginning to feel impatient with this strange man. ‘ “Please tell m mee w hy y you ou have co com m e to see me, ssir ir.” .” I sai said. d. “M y timee is valu tim valuable. able.”” O f cour course se this was no nott really true! true! ‘ “W ou ould ld fifty po poun unds ds for a n ig igh h t’ t’ss w or ork k suit yo you? u?”” he as asked ked.. ‘“Yes, very well!” ‘ “I said a nig ight ht’’s  work, but in fact the work would hardly take an hour. I only want your opinion about a machine which is not workin wo rking g prop proper erly. ly. If you show us w what hat is wrong, we shal shalll soo soon n be able ab le to pu t it righ rightt ou ourse rselve lves. s. Will yo you u do it?”

‘ “Yes, I will,” I said. “The work appears to be easy and the pay extremely genero generous.” us.” ‘ “Y “Yees. We wa want nt you to com comee ton tonigh ight, t, by tthe he last last train.” “ ‘W he here re to?” I as aske ked. d.

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‘ “To Eyford E yford,, in Berkshire. It is a little village ab abou outt seven miles from Reading. There is a train from Paddington which will get you there at about a quarter past eleven.” ‘“Very good.” ‘ “I will come to Eyford Station in a carriage to meet you.” ‘ “Do you live far from the station, then?” I asked. ‘ “Y “Yees, ou ourr house is righ t o out ut in th thee cou country ntry - m ore than sev seven en miles away.” ‘“Then we shall not reach your house before midnight. I suppose there are no trains back from Eyford to London in the middle of the night. I should have to sleep at your house.” “Oh wet very can easily give you bed.” ‘‘ “T “Tha ha tyes, iiss no convenient. Coaul uldn dn ’t I ccome ome at ssome ome othe o therr time?” ‘“We have decided that the night is the best time. The unusually high pay will be your reward for the trouble. But of course you ar aree perfectly free free to refus refusee the w ork i f you wish.” ‘I thou though ghtt o f the fif fifty ty pounds - I thou though ghtt ho how w very us usef eful ul the money would be to me. “I do not want to refuse,” I said. “I will do whatever you want. But I should like to understand a little more clearly what it is you wish me to do.” ‘ “ O f course. I will explain eve everyth rything ing to you. But B ut it is verysecret. Are you quite sure that nobody can hear what we are saying?” ‘“Quite  sure,” I replied. ‘ “Then I will explain. A few years ago I bought a house and a

small piece o f land, abo small about ut ten mile miless from R ea eadin ding. g. I discov discovered ered that th at th thee soil in o one ne o f m y fie field ldss cont co ntain ained ed F Fulle uller’ r’s ea earth rth.* .* Fu Fuller’ ller’ss earth, as you probably know, is a valuable substance, and is only found in one or two places in England. Unfortunately the am ou ount nt o f Fuller’ Fuller’ss earth in m my y field wa wass rathe ratherr sm smal all. l. B ut to the * Fuller’s eearth: arth: a natural earthy material that that is is useful in many industrial processes.

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right and left of it, in fields belonging to my neighbours, there were m uch lar larger ger quant quantit ities ies o f the su subs bsta tanc nce. e. M y neighbou neighbours rs had no idea that their land was as valuable as a gold mine. Naturally it was in my interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value; but unfortunately I had no capital with which to do this. So I told the secret to a few of my friends and they suggested that we should quietly and secretly dig out our own small quantity qua ntity o f Fuller’ Fuller’ss ea earth; rth; and that in thi thiss way we w ou ould ld earn enoug eno ugh h m oney to bu buy y the ne neigh ighbou bou ring fi fiel elds ds.. We have have been working secretly like this for some time. One of the machines we use is a press. This press, as I have already explained, is not working properly, and we want your advice on the subject. We guard our secret very carefully, and if our neighbours found out that an engineer had visited our little house, our discovery about the Fuller’s earth w ou ould ld n not ot b bee a secr secret et an any y longe longerr and we wo would uld havee no chance at aall hav ll o f buy buying ing those fie field ldss and carrying ou t ou r  pla  p lan n s.T s. T h a t is w wh h y I have m ad adee y ou pr prom omis isee m e th thaa t y o u wi will ll n o t tell a single human being that you are going to Eyford tonight. Do you understand?” ‘“Yes,” I answered. “But one point that I do not quite understand und erstand is tthi his: s: ho how w can a pr pres esss be o f any u use se to y you ou in digging Fuller’s earth ou t o f the gro ground und?” ?” ‘ “Ah!” he said carelessly.“We have our own special way.We use

the press press to tu rn the Fulle Fullerr s earth in to b bricks ricks so that we can remove the substance without letting the neighbours know what it is. But that is just a detail. I have taken you into my confidence now, Mr Hatherley, and have shown you that I trust you.” He rose as he spoke. “I shall expect you, then, at Eyford at 11.15.” ‘ “I will certainly be there.” ‘ “A “And nd do no t sa say y a w ord ab abou outt it to any anybody body!” !” H e ga gave ve me a last long, questioning look, and then, pressing my hand in his, he hurried from the room. ‘Well, gentlemen, when I was alone again, I thought a lot

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ab outt this visitor and his unusual request. O f course I wa abou wass gla glad d in a way, because the money he had offered was at least ten times as m uc uch h as the ordinary pay for such a piece o f work. An And d it wa wass  possible  poss ible th that at this o p p o rt rtu u n it ity y w o u ld lea lead d to ot othe hers. rs. B u t th thee face and manner of this man had given me a strange feeling, and I did n o t beli believe eve tha thatt the story o f the Fulle Fuller’ r’s earth rea really lly explained the necessity for a midnight visit, or the conditions of extreme secrecy that were connected with it. But I put my fears to one side, ate a large supper, drove to Paddington, and started off for Eyford. I had obey obeyed ed C Capta aptain in Stark’ Stark’ss instruc instructions tions and ha had d spoken to nobody. ‘At Reading I had to change stations, and I caught the last train to Eyford. I reached the dark little station after eleven o’clock. I was the only passenger who got out there, and the only person at the station was a single sleepy railwayman, holding an oil lamp. As I passed through the gate from the station I found Captain Stark waiting waiti ng in the sh shad adow owss on the othe otherr si side de o f the ro road. ad. W itho ut speaking, he seized me by the arm and hurried me into a carriage. He pulled up the windows on both sides, knocked on the woodwork as a signal to the driver, and we set off as fast as

the horse could go. ‘O ne horse?’ Ho Holmes lmes in terru terrupted pted.. ‘Yes, only one.’ ‘Did you notice what colour it was?’ ‘Yes, I saw by the light of the carriage lamps as I was stepping in. It was light brown.’ ‘Was it tired-looking, or fresh?’ ‘Oh, its coat looked quite fresh.’ ‘Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Please continue your very interesting story.’ ‘We drove for at least an hour. Captain Stark had said that it was only about seven miles, but the time the journey took and the speed at which we travelled made me think it was really ten

28  

or twelve. He sat at my side in silence, watching me carefully all the time. The country roads must have been rather bad, as the carriage shook and moved violently up and down as we went along. I tried to look out of the windows to see where we were,  b  bu u t th they ey w er eree m ad adee o f co colo lou u re red d gl glas asss an and d I co cou u ld see n o th thin ing g except occasional faint lights. Now and then I spoke to the Captain, Cap tain, bu butt he answered only ‘‘Y Yes es’’ or ‘‘N N o ’ and the conversa conversation tion went no further. At last, the shaking of the carriage stopped, and we drove over a smooth private road: our journey was over. Captain Stark jumped out, and, as I followed, pulled me quickly through the open front door o f the house. house. We steppe stepped d right out o f the carriage in into to the ha hall, ll, so that I wa wass qu quite ite una unable ble to get any idea o f w ha hatt th thee outside o f the house look looked ed like like.. As soo soon n as I w was as inside the house the door was shut violently behind us, and I heard the faint so soun und d o f wheels as the carriage drov drovee aw awaay. ‘It was completely dark inside the house, and the Captain  beg  be g an lo loo o k in ing g fo forr m atc atche hes, s, ta talk lkin ing g to hi him m se self lf as h e di did d so so..

Suddenly a door do or o ope pened ned at the oth er en end d o f the pas passa sage ge,, and a golden beam o f light appeare appeared. d. It grew wider, and I sa saw w a wo wom m an with a lamp, which she held above her head, pushing her face forward to look at us. I could see that she was pretty, and expensively dressed. She said a few words in a foreign language, and when my companion answered with a single cold word, his reply gave her such a shock that she nearly dropped the lamp. Captain Stark went up to her, whispered something in her ear, and pushed pushed her back iinto nto the roo room m she had come ou t of of.. T he hen n he walked back towards me with the lamp in his hand, and opened the door o f another ro room. om. ‘“Please be kind enough to wait in this room for a few minutes,” he said. ‘It was a small, plain room, with a round table in the centre. There were several German books scattered on this table. The Captain p ut the lamp dow n o n a smal smalle lerr ttabl ablee by the door. “ I wil willl

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not keep you waiting long,” he said, and disappeared into the darkness. ‘I looked at the books on the table, and although I do not understand Ge Germa rman n I could sseee tthat hat two o f the them m were on scientific subjects. The others were books of poetry. Then I walked acro across ss to the window, hop hoping ing to se seee a li littl ttlee o f the surroundings of the house. But strong heavy boards were nailed across the window on the outside. It was an unusually silent house. T he only sound came from an old clock somewhere in the pas assa sag ge. I fe felt lt myself bec becom om ing mo more re and m ore anxio anxious. us. W h o were these German people, and what were they doing, living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And where was  the place? I only knew that it was ten or twelve miles from Eyford, but I had no idea w he th ther er it wa wass no north rth,, sout south, h, ea easst or wes west. t. O f cours coursee

Reading, and possibly other large towns, were about the same distance away. But the complete stillness made it clear that Captain Starks house was right out in the country. I walked anxiously up and down the room, singing to myself under my  bre  b reat ath h to give m ys ysel elff co cour urag age, e, an and d fee feelin ling g th thaa t I was th tho o ro rou u g h ly earning my fifty pounds! ‘Then, without a sound, the door of the room swung slowly open, and I saw the woman standing there. Behind her was the darkne dar kness ss o f the ha hall ll,, and the yell yellow ow light from m my y lamp sho shone ne on her eager and beautiful face. It was easy to see that she was in a state of extreme fear, and as a result my own blood turned to ice. She held up one shaking finger tto o w arn m e to be si sile lent nt.. He Herr ey eyees, as she looked back into the dark passage, were like those of a frightened horse. ‘ “You must go away!” she whispered in broken English, with an effort to speak calmly. “There is no good here for you to do.” ‘ “But I have not yet done what I came to do. I cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.” ‘ “You will gain nothing by staying,” she went on. “You can

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 pass th  pass thro rou u g h th thee door do or;; n o b o d y pre preven vents ts you. yo u.”” A An n d then th en,, seeing see ing that I only smiled and shook my head, she suddenly gave up her attempt to speak calmly, and took a step forward. “For the love of heaven!” she said, stretching out her hands towards me,“Get away from here before it is too late!” ‘B ut it is not no t easy easy to make m e change my m ind, and an d difficu difficult lties ies only make make me m e m ore determined. I though thou ghtt o f my fi fift fty y pounds, of the tiring journey I had just made, and of the unpleasant night that was was just jus t beginning. M ust all this this be completely wasted wasted?? W hy should I run away without carrying out my orders, and without receiving my pay for the nig ht’ ht ’s work? M Maybe aybe this this wom w om an was

crazy! T ho ug h her cra he r warning warn ing had w orried or ried me, I stil stilll shook my m y head firmly, and said I would stay. She would have gone on trying to  pers  pe rsua uade de me, me , b u t ju j u s t th e n we hear he ard d the th e noisy no isy closin clo sing g o f a door upstairs, and the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She listened for a moment, threw up her hands in hopelessness, and then disappeared as suddenly and silently as she had come. ‘W he n Captain Stark Stark came came back into the room room,, there was was another man with him. This second man was short and fat, with a beard like a goat’ goa t’s grow ing ou t o f the folds folds o f his his ro un d face. face. The Captain introduced him to me as Mr Ferguson. ‘ “Mr Ferguson is my secretary and manager” said the Captain. Then he gave me a strange look and said: “Mr Hatherley, I had the idea that I left this door shut just now.” ‘ “Yes,” I replied, “but the room seemed a little airless, and so I opened the door to let some air in.” ‘“Well, perhaps we had better begin our business now. Mr Ferguson and I will take you up to see the machine.” ‘ “I had better put my hat on, I suppose,” I said. ‘ “Oh no, it is in the house.” ‘ “What! “Wha t! D o you dig Fuller’ Fu ller’s earth in the house house?” ?” ‘ “No, no. This is only where we press it into bricks. But never mind that! All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and

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to let us know what is wrong with it.” ‘We wen w entt upstair upstairss together, toge ther, the Captain Cap tain fir first st w ith the lamp, the fat manager and myself behind him. It was the kind of old house in w hich it would wo uld be easy easy to get lost - full full o f passa assage ges, s, narrow st stai airw rway ays, s, and little low doors. Th ere were no floor coverings coverings,, and above the ground floor there seemed to be no furniture at all. I tried to appear calm and cheerful, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the lady, and I watched my two companions anxiously. Ferguson appeared to be a bad-tempered and silent

man, but I could tell from his voice that he was at least an Englishman. ‘At last Captain Stark stopped outside a low door, which he unlocked. The room inside was small and square —so small, in fact fa ct,, that the three o f us could co uld hardly have have go gone ne inside inside at the same same time. Ferguson remained outside, and I went in with the Captain. ‘ “We are now” he said, “actually inside the press, and it would  be extre ex trem m ely unple un pleas asan antt for fo r us i f anyone anyo ne tu r n e d it on. on . T h e ce cedi ding ng of this little room is really the moving part of the press, and it comes down with very great force on this metal floor. The machine still works, but it seems to be sticking and it has lost some of its power. I should like you to examine it, please, and to show us how we can put it right.” ‘I took the lamp from him, and examined the machine very thoroughly. thoro ughly. It was was certainly certainly a very large large and powerful one. W he n I went back outside and pressed down the handles that controlled it, I could tell from the soft whistling sound that there was a slight escape of water from one part into another. This was the explanation for fo r the th e lo losss o f press pressure ure.. A fur furthe therr examination exam ination showed that one of the rubber seals in the press had become worn and thin, and this was how the water was escaping. I pointed this out to my companions, who listened very carefully to what I said, and asked several questions about what they should do to put the  prob  pr oble lem m right rig ht.. W h e n I had ha d made ma de it clear to them th em , I w e n t back  ba ck 

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inside the inside th e machine, and had anothe ano therr good go od look lo ok at it —to satis atisfy fy my own desire to find out what it was. I realized that the story of the Fulle Fu ller’ r’ss eart ea rth h was a comple com plete te He: it was impossible to befieve that th at such a powerful machine could be intended for such a purpose. T he walls lls were made m ade o f wood, wood , but the floor was was li like ke a kind o f iron  bath  ba th.. W h e n I exam ex amin ined ed this m o re closely I saw that th at it was coat co ated ed with another sort of metal, in a fine powder. I had bent down and

was feefing was feefing this this to find out o ut exactly exactly w hat ha t it was, was, w he n I heard a few angry words in German and saw the Captain looking down at me. 4“What are you doing in there?” he asked. ‘I was feefing angry with him for telling me lies. “I was admiring your Fullers earth,” I said. “I think you ought to have told me the real real purpose o f your m achine before asking asking me to advise you about it.” ‘As soon as I had spoken, I wished I had not. A cold, hard expression came into Captain Stark s face, and I saw that his grey eyes were full of hatred. “ ‘Very well!” he said said.. “ I will show you yo u everything   about the machine!” He took a step backwards, shut the little door and quickly turned the key. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle. Then I pushed and kicked at the door, but it held firm. “Captain Stark! Captain Stark!” I shouted. “Let me out!” ‘A nd the t hen n suddenly in the si sile lence nce I heard a sound that th at sent my heart to my mouth with fear. It was the controlling handles being  pressed  pre ssed dow do w n, and an d the th e slight slig ht w hist hi stli ling ng noise no ise o f the th e water wa ter.. C apta ap tain in Stark Sta rk had turne tur ne d on the machine. T he lamp was was sti stilll on the iron floor of the press, and by its fight I saw that the black ceiling was coming down on me —slowly and unsteadily, but with enough  p  po o w er to crus cr ush h m e into in to the th e floor. floor . W i th a terr te rrib ible le cry cr y I thre th rew w myself against the door and tore with my nails at the lock. I  begg  be gged ed the th e C apta ap tain in to le lett m e o u t, b u t the th e soun so unds ds o f the th e machinery drowned my cries.The ceili ceiling ng wa was now only a foot or or two above my head, and by raising my arm I could feel its hard

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rough surfa urface ce.. T he n the thoug tho ught ht struck me that the pain o f my death would depend very much on the position of my body at the last moment. If I lay on my face the weight would come on my backbone, backbone, and and I trembled to think o f the terrible sound o f my

ow n back breakin own breaking. g. Perhap Perhapss it would wo uld be easi easier er the othe r way  b  bu u t had ha d I e n o u g h co cour urag agee to He and an d loo lo o k up at that th at fearful fearf ul black bla ck shadow as it came nearer and nearer? Already I was unable to stand up, when I noticed something that brought hope back to my heart. ‘I have said that though the floor and the ceding were made of iron, the walls of the press were wooden. As I gave a last hopeless look around, I sa saw a thin line o f yellow yellow light light between betw een two o f the  boards;  boar ds; and an d this line lin e beca be cam m e w ide id e r and an d w ide id e r as a small d o o r was  p  pus ush h ed backwa back wards. rds. For Fo r a m o m e n t I coul co uld d hard ha rdly ly believ bel ievee that th at here he re wass a door wa doo r that led awa away y from death. death. T he next m om ent I threw myself through, and lay half fainting on the other side. The door had closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp as the ceding struck it, and a few moments afterwards the sound of the top and bottom bo ttom o f the press press meeting, meeting, made me m e real realiz izee wh what at a narrow escape I had had. ‘Suddenly, as I lay outside the press, I felt somebody pulling at my wrist, and I saw that I was on the stone floor of a narrow  passage,  passag e, and a nd a w o m an w it ith h an o d lamp lam p in h e r h a n d was b end en d ing in g over me. It was was the same same good go od friend fri end whose w hose earlier earlier w arning arnin g I had so stupidly faded to take seriously. ‘ “ Come! Com e! Co m e!” she she cried. “They “T hey w dl be here in a m om ent. They wdl see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste valuable time, but come with me!” ‘This time, at least, I took her advice. Unsteaddy, I stood up, and ran with her along the passage and down a narrow staircase w hich hi ch led to anoth an other er broad bro ad pass passag age. e. Just aass we reached reache d this second  passage, we  passage, w e hear he ard d the th e sou so u nd o f ru r u n n in g feet fe et and an d the th e shou sh outi tin ng o f two voice voicess - one answerin answering g the o ther —from —from the floor where we

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were, and from the one below. My guide stopped and looked around her as if she did not know what to do. Then she threw

open a door which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon was shining brightly. ‘ “ It is is y ou ourr on only ly chance,” she sa said id.. “T h e w in indo dow w is high up, bu t  perh  pe rhap apss y o u ca can n ju m p o u t. t.”” ‘As she spoke a light appeared at the other end of the passage, and I saw the thin figure of Captain Stark rushing forward with a lamp in one hand, and an axe in the other. I rushed across the  b  bee d ro roo o m , th thre rew w o p e n th thee w in indo dow w , an and d lo loo o k e d o u t. H o w q u iet ie t and pleasant the garden looked in the moonlight! It was about thirty feet down. I climbed out, bu butt did n not ot ju jum m p immed immediat iately ely,, aass I wanted to hear what was about to happen between Stark and the lady w ho had sa save ved d me from death. If it were nece necessar ssary y I wa wass determ ined, whatever the ri risk sk,, to retu rn and help her her.. This tho ug ught ht had har hardly dly fl flas ashe hed d throug h m my ym mind ind before he wa wass at tthe he door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms around him, and and tried to hold h him im bac back. k. ‘ “Frit “Fritz! z! Fr Frit itz! z! R em em b er yo your ur prom promise ise after the las lastt time!” sh shee cried in English. “You said it would never happen again. He will not tell anyone! Oh, I am sure he will not!” ‘ “You are crazy, Elise!” he shouted, struggling to free himself. “You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let me pass, I say!” He pushed her to one side, rushed to the window, and struck at me with his axe. At that moment I was hanging by my hands to the bottom of the window. I was conscious of a dull  pain  pa in,, a n d I fell in into to th thee ga gard rden en below. below . ‘I was not hurt too much by the fall; so I got to my feet and rushed off among the bushes as fast as I could run —I knew that I was not out of danger yet. Suddenly, as I ran, I began to feel sick and faint. I looked down at my hand, which by now was really  pa inful,  painf ul, an and d saw fo forr th thee first ti tim m e th thaa t m y th u m b h a d b e e n cu cutt off, and that blood was pouring from the wound. I attempted to

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tie a piece of cloth round it, but suddenly I seemed to hear a strange singing noise in my ears, and the next moment I fainted and fell. ‘I do not know how long I remained unconscious. It must have been a very long time, as it was daybreak when I woke up. M y clot clothes hes were we wett through through,, and my coat w was as co covere vered d in blood from my w ound ou nded ed hand. T he pain remin reminded ded me o f all the de deta tail ilss of my midnight adventure, and I jumped to my feet with the feeling that even now I might not be safe from my enemies. But, to my surprise, when I looked about me I could see neither the house no r the gar garden. den. I had been lying near the side side o f a country road, and not far off I saw a long low building. I walked along towards this, and found that it was the railway station where I had arrived the night before! Except for the wound on my hand, everything that had happened during those terrible hours might have been a dream. ‘Still only half conscious, I went into the station, and asked about the m ornin g tra train in.. There wou would ld be on onee to R ead eading ing in lleess than an hour. T he sa same me rai railwayman lwayman wa wass on duty as at the time o f my arrival. I asked him whether he had ever heard of Captain Lysander Stark. The name was not familiar to him. Had he noticed a carriage waiting for me the night before? No, he had not.Was there a police station anywhere near? There was one two or three miles away. ‘It was too far for me to go, in my weak state. I decided to wait until I got back to London before telling my story to the police. It was was ab abou outt ha half lf past ssix ix w h en I arrived, and I we went nt firs firstt to ha have ve my wound bandaged. After that, the doctor very kindly brought me along here. I should like to put the case into your hands, and will do exactly what you advise/ Sherlock Holmes and I sat in silence for some moments after listeni lis tening ng to th this is stran strange ge account. T h en Holmes pulled do down wn from a shelf one of the thick, heavy books in which it was his habit to

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stick pieces from the newspapers. ‘Here is an advertisement that will interest you/ he said. ‘It appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: “Lost on the 9th o f th this is m mon onth, th, M r Jeremiah Hayli Hayling, ng, twenty-six ye year arss old, an engineer. H Hee left left hi hiss room s at ten o ’clock at nigh night, t, and ha hass n o t b ee een n he heard ard o f sinc since. e. H Hee was dressed in . . .” and so o on. n. Yes! That must have been the last time the Captain needed to have his  press rep repair aired ed,, I th thin ink k .’ ‘G oo d heave heavens! ns!’’ cried m my y pa patie tient nt.‘ .‘T T h en that explai explains ns wh what at the woman said.’ ‘I have no do u b t o f it,’ sai said d Ho Holme lmes. s. ‘It is quite clear tha thatt th thee Captain is a determined man, who would not allow anything or anybody anybod y to stand in hi hiss w waay. We Well ll,, every m mom om en t is imp importa ortant, nt, and so, if you fee feell strong enou e nough, gh, M r Hather Hatherley, ley, we will go to Scotland Yar Yard* d* aand nd th then en to Eyford Eyford.’ .’ Two hours later we were all in the train together, on our way from Reading to the little Berkshire village. There were Sherlock Holmes, Holm es, M r H Hather atherley ley th thee engineer, Bradstreet the Scotland Ya Yard rd detective, a young policeman, and myself. Bradstreet had spread a large-scale map of the Eyford area out on the seat, and was drawing a circle with Eyford at its centre. ‘T he here re!’ !’ he sa said id.. ‘T h a t circle is tw twen enty ty miles ac acros rosss - ten te n miles from Eyford in every direction. The place we want must be somewhere near that line.You said ten miles, I think, sir?’ ‘T he drive too k m ore than an hour hour,’ ,’ sa said id M r Hatherl Hatherley. ey. ‘And you think that they brought you back all that way while you were unconscious?’ ‘They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of having been lifted and carried somewhere.’ ‘I can’ can’tt und understan erstand d wh why y they d didn idn ’t ki kill ll you w h en they fo foun und d you in the garden,’ I said. ‘Perhaps the woman begged Stark to let

Scotland Yar ard: d: the main office office o f London Lond on s police detect detective ives. s.

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you go, and succeeded in softening him.’ ‘I do d o n ’t th ink in k tha t hatt very likel likely y,’ H atherl ath erley ey answ ans w ered,‘I ere d,‘I nev never er saw a more cruel face than his in my life.’ ‘Oh, we shall soon find an explanation for all that,’ said Bradstreet. ‘Well, I have drawn my circle, but I wish I knew at which point on it the wanted men are to be found.’ ‘I think thin k I could p ut my finger on the right rig ht po point,’ int,’ sa said id Holm Holmes es quietly. ‘Really? Rea lly?’’ cried crie d Bradstreet. ‘So you have have form fo rm ed you y ourr o opinion pinion?? Well, then, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it is to the south, as there are very few houses in that direction.’ ‘And I say east,’ said Hatherley. ‘I think it is to the west,’ said the second policeman.‘There are several quiet little villages up there.’ ‘And I think it is to the north,’ I said, ‘because there are no hills there, and Mr Hatherley says that he did not notice the carriage going up any.’ Bradstreet laughed. ‘So we have opinions for north, south, east, and west west.. W hic h do you agree agree with, M r Holm Holmes?’ es?’ ‘I do d o n ’t agree w ith any o f them ,’ Ho Holm lmes es answered. answered. ‘But we can’t all  be   be wrong!’ ‘Oh, yes, you can! This is my  point,’ he said, placing his finger on the centre of the circle. ‘This is where we shall find them.’ ‘But how do you explain the ten-mile drive?’ asked Hatherley in surprise. ‘Five Five miles miles o u t and fi five ve back. No N o thin th ing g cou could ld be simp simpler ler.. You said sa id yourself you rself that the horse was was quite q uite fresh fresh whe w he n you y ou go gott in. T ha hatt would be completely impossible if the horse had just gone ten

miles over rough roads. ‘Yes,’ es,’ said Brad Br adstr stree eett tho t houg ughtf htfull ully. y. ‘I t ’s qu quite ite a likely explanation. O f course it is is no t difficu difficult lt to gues guesss what wh at kind kin d o f men these are.’ ‘Yes,’ said Holmes. ‘They are forgers of coins on a large scale.

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The press is used to form the mixture with which they make a metal that looks like silver.’ ‘We have known for some time that a clever group was at wo rk,’ said work,’ said Bradstreet. ‘T he hey y have have made m ade many man y thousands th ousands o f forged silve silverr coins. coins. We even had clue cluess whic w hic h led to R ea eadin ding. g. Bu t we could get no n o furthe fu rtherr - they had covered their trac tracks ks too cle cleverly rly. But now I think they are about to fall into our hands.’ But Bradstreet was mistaken. Those criminals never fell into the hands o f the police. police. As o ur train came into Eyford Station, Station, we saw a broad line o f smoke rising into the air be behin hind d some tree treess in the neighbourhood of the village. ‘Is there a house on fire?’ Bradstreet asked, as soon as we had got out. ‘Yes, sir,’ said the stationmaster. ‘When did the fire break out?’ ‘I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, and by now the house is almost completely destroyed.’ ‘Whose house is it?’ ‘D r B ec h e r’ r’ss.’ ‘Tell me,’ Hatherley interrupted, ‘is Dr Becher a German, very thin, with a long sharp nose?’ The stationmaster laughed loudly. ‘No, sir, Dr Becher is an Englishman, Englishm an, and h e ’s the fattest fattest man m an in the villa village ge.. B ut he has has a gentleman gentle man st stay ayin ing g w ith him - one o f his patien patients, ts, I bel believ ievee - w ho is a foreigner, and he  is extremely thin.’ T he stationmaster stationmaster had n ot finished finished speaking speaking before we were all

hurrying in the direction of the fire. In front of us on a low hill there was a large white house. Smoke and flames were coming out of every window, while in the garden in front three fire engines were attempting, with little success, to control the fire. ‘T h at at’’s the house!’ cried H atherley in great ex citem cit em en t.‘Th t.‘There ere are the bushes where I lay, and that second window is the one that I jumped from.’

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‘Well, at least/ said Holmes, ‘you have had your revenge on them. I have no doubt that it was your oil lamp which, when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls —though no doubt Stark and Ferguson were too excited by their hunt for you to notice it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for those those two men me n - thou gh I fear ear that that by now they ar aree almost alm ost at at the othe r end o f England.’ England.’ ' And Holmes was right in his guess. From that day to this nothing has ever been heard of the beautiful woman, the cruel German, or the bad-tempered, silent Englishman. Early that morning a farmer had met a cart containing several people and some very large large box boxes es.. Th ey w ere driving fas fast in the direction o f Readin Re ading. g. But the criminal criminalss left left no further furth er sig signs, ns, and even Holm Holmes es failed to discover any clues. We learnt that the firemen firemen had foun found d a hum an thumb, recentl recently y cut off, at a window on the second floor of the house. At about sunset they succeeded in putting the fire out, but by that time the ro o f had fallen fallen in, in, and almost no thin g rem ained o f the forgers’ forgers’ machinery inside the house. Large amounts of different metals were found in a building behind the house, but it was clear that the criminals had taken take n the their ir store storess o f forged coins away away w ith them in the boxes. Th e myster mystery y o f how M r H atherle atherley y had been carri carried ed from from the

garden to the roadside was quickly solved when Holmes found a double line line o f footprints footprints in the soft soft earth. earth. T he engineer had been carried out o ut by two tw o people, people, one o f w ho m had very sm smaall ffee eet, t, and the other unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most likely that the silent Englishman —less fearless or less cruel than the Germ an capt captai ain n - had helped helped the wom an to carry carry tthe he unconscious man out of the way of danger. ‘Well,’ said Hatherley a little sadly, ‘it has been a strange affair for me! I have lost my thumb, and I have lost fifty pounds in pay, and what have I gained?’

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‘You have gained ga ined ex expe perien rience,’ ce,’ sai said d Ho Holme lmes, s, laughin laughing. g. ‘A nd y you ou have ha ve now got a ttrue rue and inter interesti esting ng story o off you yourr own, whic which h you will be ab able le to tell every da day y for the res restt o f yo your ur life! life!’’

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The Patient

One October evening Sherlock Holmes and I were returning to our rooms in Baker Street after a long walk. I had been sharing rooms with Holmes since the death of my wife in 1894. It was quite late in the evening, but there was a carriage outside the house. A gentleman was waiting for us in our sitting room. He stood up when we came in. He was about thirty-three or thirty-four years ye ars old, w ith thin thin,, artist’s hands, and lloo ooke ked d unh u nhealth ealthy y and a nd tired. He was dressed completely in black. ‘Good evening,’ Holmes said to him cheerfully. ‘Please sit down again! What can I do to help you?’ ‘My name is Dr Percy Trevelyan,’ said our visitor, ‘and I live at 403 Brook Street.’

403 Brook Street. ‘You have written a book on catalepsy, haven’t you?’ I asked. Dr Trevelyan was very pleased and proud that I knew his book. His pale face became quite red. ‘I thou th ou gh t that the book bo ok had been comp completely letely forgo forgotten!’ tten!’ he said. ‘Very few copies were sold. I suppose you are a doctor yourself, sir?’ ‘I used to be an army doctor,’ I replied, ‘and after that I was in  priv  pr ivat atee pr prac actic ticee fo forr a few years.’ ‘My own special interest has always been catalepsy,’ he said. ‘I would like to work more on that disease. But one must take what one can get! I must not talk too much about my own interests, though tho ugh!! I rea reali lize ze th that at y you ourr time tim e is v val aluabl uable, e, M r Holm Holmes. es. Wel Well, l, some very strange things have been happening recently at the house in Brook Street, and tonight they have reached such a  po  p o in t th that at I felt th that at I h ad to com co m e an and d ask fo forr y o u r ad advice vice an and d your help.’

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Sherlock Holmes sat down and lit his pipe. ‘You are very welcom welc omee tto ob bot oth h !’ he sa said id.. ‘Ple Please ase give give m e a com plete acco ac coun untt o f the things that are worrying you. Tell me all the details.’ ‘Some of them are very unimportant,’ said Dr Trevelyan. ‘But the af affa fair ir is so di difficul fficultt to u und nderst erstand and tha thatt I will tell tell you the whole wh ole story.’ ‘I am a London University man. I won several prizes at the University, and my teachers thought that I would become a very successful doctor. I continued my studies afterwards, worked at King Ki ng’’s Colleg Collegee H Hospital, ospital, and w wrot rotee m my y bo o k on ca cata tale lep psy. sy. But, gentlemen, I had no money. A man who wants to become a specialist must live in the expensive area round Cavendish Square - there ar aree only abo a bout ut twelve po possi ssible ble stree streets, ts, and the th e rents aare re

extremely high! One also has to hire a horse and carriage, and  buy  bu y furn fu rnit itu u re for fo r o n e ’s hou house. se. I w o u ld have n e e d e d te ten n years to  be able to sa save ve th thee nec necess essary ary mo money ney.. B u t su sudd dden enly ly I h ad a gre great at surprise. ‘A stranger came to se seee me on onee day in m my y ro room om at Kin King’ g’ss College Co llege Hospital. This gen gentlem tlem an’ an’ss nam namee was Blessingt Blessington. on. ‘ “Are you the man who has won so many prizes?” he asked. ‘ “Yes, I am,” I said, shaking his hand. ‘“I w wan antt to as ask k you some questions,” he sa said id.. “ First o f all ll,, have you any bad habits? Do you drink too much?” ‘“Really, sir!” I cried. ‘“Please don’t be angry” he said. “I had to ask you that question. W hy ar aree you no t w work orking ing as a private spec specia iali list st?? I suppose you haven’t enough money? I will help you! I will rent a house for you in Brook Street.” ‘I must have looked as surprised as I felt. ‘ “Oh, I’m making you this offer to help me, n ot just you!” he said. “I will be honest with you. I have a few thousand pounds that I am not using. I want to use it to help you to establish a  priv  pr ivat atee pra practi ctice ce.” .”

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‘ “But why?” I asked him. ‘ “Because I want my money to grow!” he replied. ‘ “What must I do, then?” I asked. 4“I just want you to do your job,” he said. “I will buy the furniture for your house, pay the rent, and pay all your costs each week. You can keep a qua quarter rter o f the money mo ney you earn. You wi will ll give me the other three-quarters.” ‘It was a strange offer, Mr Holmes, but I accepted it. A few weeks later I moved into the house in Brook Street. Mr Blessington came to live there too. He said that his heart was

weak: he needed to live near a doctor. He turned the best two rooms into a bedroom and a sitting room for himself. He had strange habits. He seemed to have no friends, and very rarely went out. ‘Regularly every evening, he came into my consulting room to find out how much I had earned. He then took all the money and gave me back exactly a quarter of it. The rest of the money he kept in the strongbox in his bedroom. ‘I have been very successful as a specialist, Mr Holmes, and in the last year or two I have made him a rich man. ‘A few weeks ago Mr Blessington came down to speak to me. He mentioned a recent London robbery. He seemed to be surprisingly worried and anxious, and he wanted to get stronger locks put on our doors and windows. ‘He remained in this strange state of anxiety for a week. He never nev er stopped stopped llooking ooking out o f the wind window ow and did not go out o ut at all. He seemed to be living in terrible fear of something or of somebody, some body, bu butt w wh h en I aask sked ed him abo about ut thi thiss he answer answered ed me very rudely. Then, slowly, he seemed to forget his fears. ‘A recent event, though, has brought all his fears back again. Two days ago I received a letter, which I will read to you. There is no address or date on it.

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Dear De ar D r Tre Trevel velyan yan,, I am a Russian lord, but I now live in England. For some years I have been suffering from catalepsy As you are a great and wellknown brain specialist, I would like to consult you. I will will ca calll on you at about a qu quarter arter pa past st ssiix tom or orrow row eveni evening ng and hope that is convenient for you.

‘O f course I w was as waiting in my consulting roo room m at that time the following evening because catalepsy is a rare disease and I was extremely interested. ‘The Russian was a thin old man who did not look very much like a lord. There was a young man with him. He was tall and good-looking, with a dark, strong face and very powerful arms and chest. He gently supported the old man with a hand under hiss arm as they entered. T he n he h hi helped elped h him im to sit sit down. ‘ “Plea “Please se forgi forgive ve m e for ccom om ing in w ith my fathe father, r, doctor,” sa said id this young man. His voice was that of a foreigner. ‘ “T h a t is qui quite te al alll right right,” ,” I rreplied. eplied. “W “Wou ould ld yo you u like to stay stay with your father while I examine him?” ‘ “N o, tha thank nk you,” he answe answered red.. “I will go ba back ck in into to the waiting room.” ‘Then the young man went out, and I turned to the older man to begin discussing his illness. He did not seem very intelligent, and he did not speak English very well —so it was difficult. ‘Suddenly, he stopped answering my questions. I saw that he was sitting very stiffly, and looking at me with strange, empty eyes ey es.. H Hee was in a state o f ca catal talep epsy sy.. O f course, aass a professional, I was excited. I examined him very carefully, and took notes on his condition. He seemed to be in exactly the same state as other  peop  pe ople le w h o have the th e illnes illness. s. ‘I decided to treat him with some medicine that I believed to  be he help lpfu full to su such ch co cond nditi ition ons. s. T h e bo bott ttle le was in m y stor st orer eroo oom m,

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which is behind the consulting room, so I went out to get it. U nfor nfortunate tunately ly it too k me fi fiv ve minutes to find the bottle. T he n I went back into my consulting room. Mr Holmes, the old man was not there! ‘T he waiting roo m was emp empty ty too. T he se serv rvan ants ts had heard

nothing. Mr Blessington, who had been out for a short walk, came in soon afterwards, but I did not tell him about the strange disappea disa ppearan rance ce o f my Russian patient patient.. ‘Well, I did not think the Russians would ever come back. But this evening, again at a quarter past six, they both came into my office. ‘ “I am very sorry that I left so suddenly yesterday, Doctor,” said the old man. ‘“I was certainly surprised!” I replied. ‘ “ I ccan an exp explain lain it,” he sa said id.. “W h e n my catalepsy goes away, my mind is always empty. I do not remember what has been happening.Yesterday I woke up, confused, in a strange room. I did not know where I was. So I simply got up and walked out into the street ” ‘ “An “And d w he hen n I sa saw w my father com comee ou outt o f you r consulting room,” said the son, “I thought that the examination was over. I did not realize what had really happened until we had reached home.” ‘“Well,” said, man. laughing, “I continue understandtheeverything now.” turned to theI older “I will examination now,I sir ir,, iiff yo you u wish.” ‘For about half an hour I discussed the old gentleman s illness w ith him, and ga gave ve him th thee best advi advice ce I could. T h en he and hi hiss son went away. ‘M r Blessi Blessington, ngton, w ho often w en entt for a walk at that time o f day, came in soon afterwards and went up to his rooms. A moment later I heard him running down again, and he rushed into my consulting room. He seemed to be almost crazy with fear.

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‘ “Who has been in my rooms?” he cried. ‘“No one,” I said. ‘“That is a He!” he shouted.“Come up and look.”

‘I went up with him, and he pointed to several footprints on the floor. “ ‘Tho Those se ar aree cer certain tainly ly no t the mar marks ks o off my  feet!” Mr Blessington said. ‘They were much larger, and seemed to be quite fresh. As you know, it rained hard this afternoon, and the two Russians were my only visitors. ‘T he yo youn unge gerr man m must ust h have ave gone u up p to M r Blessington’ Blessington’ss room. But why? Nothing at all was missing. ‘I was shocked to see that Mr Blessington was crying. He could hardly speak, but he mentioned your name, and of course I came here immediately. immediately. H e w will ill be so grateful if yo you u can com comee  bac  b ack k w it ith h m e now, in my car carriag riage.’ e.’ Holmes said nothing. He simply gave me my hat, picked up his own, and followed Dr Trevelyan out of the room. A quarter of an hour later we arrived at the house in Brook Street. A servant let us in, but suddenly somebody turned off the light in the hall. We heard the person say in a frightened voice: ‘I have a gun! If you come any nearer I wi will ll shoot you.’ ‘This is very stupid behaviour, Mr Blessington!’ cried the doctor angrily. ‘O h, it is you, D Doc octo tor!’ r!’ sa said id the voice. ‘B ut w ho ar aree these oth er gentlemen?’ He lit the gas light again and examined us carefully. He was a very fat man, but had once been much fatter: the skin hung loosely on his face, which looked very unhealthy. He had thin red hair. At last he p u t his g gun un bac back k in to his poc pocke kett and sa said id:: ‘I t’s t’s all right now. You may come up. I hope I have not upset you. How do you y ou do, M r H Holmes. olmes. Yo You u m must ust advi advise se me! I suppose tha thatt

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Dr Trevelyan has told you what has happened? ‘Yes, he has has,’ ,’ said Ho Holm lmes. es. ‘‘W W h o are thes thesee ttw w o strangers, M Mrr Blessington, and why are they your enemies?’ ‘I really don’t know!’ the fat man answered. ‘But please come up to my rooms.’ We went with him into his bedroom. It was large and comfortable comfort able.. Pointing to a big bla black ck box at the end o f the bed, M r Blessington said: ‘I have never been a very rich man, Mr Holmes. A nd I d do o n ’t lik likee banks banks.. I d do o n ’t tru trust st them! All my m on oney ey is in that  box,  bo x, so o f co cour urse se I am ve very ry w o rrie rr ied d ab abou outt this w h o le affa affair. ir.’’ Holmes looked at Blessington in his strange way, and then shook his head. ‘I ccan anno nott possib possibly ly advi advise se you if yo you u try to deceive me,’ he sa said id.. ‘B ut I have tol told d yo you u eve everyth rything! ing!’’ sai said d Blessington. Holmes turned away. ‘Good night, Dr Trevelyan,’ he said. ‘But aren’t you going to give me any advice?’ cried Blessington. ‘My advice to you, sir,’ Holmes replied, ‘is to tell the truth.’ A minute later we were on our way home. As we walked down Harley Street, Holmes said: ‘I am sorry we have wasted our time this evening, even ing, Watson. This B ro rook ok Street aff affair air is rath er in interesting, teresting, though.’ ‘I don’t understand it at all,’ I admitted. ‘Well, those two men intend to harm Blessington for some reas re ason. on. T he you young ng man w ent up to B Blessi lessington’ ngton’s rooms on bo both th days, I am sure. By chance Blessington was out.’ ‘But Dr Trevelyan thought the old man really had catalepsy!’ I said. ‘It is not difficult to pretend to have catalepsy. I have done it myself.’ ‘Why did the men choose such an unusual time of day?’ ‘Because there must be nobody else in the waiting room.

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Watson, it is easy to see that Blessington is frightened for his life. An d o f course he knows w ho thes thesee two terrible enemies are are. Perhaps tomorrow he will stop telling me lies.’ ♦

Holm es woke Holmes wok e m mee up at half pas pastt sev seven en tthe he nex t mo morning rning.. ‘T here he re is a carriage wa waiting iting fo forr us, W atso atson/ n/ he sa said id.. ‘What is the matter?’ I asked him. ‘I have had a note from Dr Trevelyan. In it he says: “Come immediately!” - and n noth othing ing else.’ Twenty minutes m inutes later we were back ba ck at the do ct ctor or’’s house. H e came running out to meet us. His face was very pale. ‘O h , it’ it ’s ter terrib rible le!’ !’ he cried cried.. ‘What has happened?’ we asked. ‘Blessington has killed himself.’ Holmes whistled. ‘Yes,’ Dr Trevelyan continued, ‘he hanged himself during the night.’ We went in with him. He took us into the waiting room. ‘The police are already up there,’ he said. ‘This death has been a terrible shock to me.’ ‘When was he found?’ Holmes asked. ‘One of the servants takes him a cup of tea at seven o’clock every eve ry morning. W hen he n she went into his bedro bedroom om th this is m orning ornin g shee saw sh saw the po or ma man n hang hanging ing in the middle o f the room . He had tied a rope to the hook on which the lamp usually hangs. And he had jum ped pe d off the top o f his st strongb rongbox ox - the one he sho showed wed u uss yesterday!’ After thinking for a moment, Holmes said: ‘I would like to go up now.’ We all all w en entt up to Bless Blessington ington’’s be bedro droom om . The body looked hardly human. A police officer was beside it, writing in his notebook.

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‘Ah, Mr Holmes!’ he said. ‘I am very glad to see you.’ ‘Good morning, Lanner,’ Holmes said. ‘Have you heard all about the events of the last few days?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And what is your opinion of the affair?’ ‘I think that fear had made Mr Blessington crazy. He went to  be  b e d —his b e d has b e e n sle slept pt in in,, as ycfu can see. Then at about five o’clock he got up and hanged himself.’ I felt the body. ‘Yes, he does seem to have been dead for about three hours,’ I said. ‘Have you found anything unusual in the room?’ Holmes asked the police officer. ‘Well, sir, Mr Blessington seems to have smoked a lot during the night. I found these four cigar ends in the fireplace.’ Holmes looked at them. ‘A nd have yo you u ffou ound nd Blessin Blessington’ gton’ss cigar holder?’ holde r?’ ‘No. I haven’t seen one.’ ‘And where is his cigar case?’ ‘Here it is. I found it in his coat pocket.’ Holmes opened it and smelt the one cigar which it contained. ‘O h , this is is a Cu ban ba n cig cigar, ar,’’ he sa said id.. ‘These Th ese others oth ers are Dut D utch ch.’ .’ H e examined the them m in det detai ail. l. ‘Two o f the these se were smoked sm oked through throu gh a cigar holder. The other two were not. Two were cut by a knife that wa was no t very ssha harp rp,, and the oth other er two were bitten - by a  p  per erso son n w ith it h ex exce celle llent nt te teee th th.. M r B les lessin singt gton on di did d n o t kill himself. hims elf. He was murdered.’ ‘That is impossible!’ cried Lanner. ‘Why?’ ‘Murderers never hang people! And in any case, how did they get in?’ ‘Through the front door.’ ‘It was barred this morning.’

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‘Because someone inside the house barred it. In a moment I will tell you how this murder was done.’ He went over to the door and examined the lock on the  be  b e d ro o m d o o r .T h e n he to o k o u t the th e key and an d ex exam am ined in ed tha th a t too; to o; next he looked at the bed, the floor, the chairs, the dead body, and the rope. At last he told us that he was satisfied, and we cut the rope and laid laid the body bo dy gently on the bed. We covered it with w ith a sheet. ‘Where did the rope come from?’ Holmes asked. ‘It was cut off this longer one/ said Dr Trevelyan. He showed us a rope under the bed. ‘He was terribly afraid of fire. He always kept this rope near him, so that he could climb down from the window if the stairs caught fire/ ‘Yes, all the facts are now very clear/ Holmes said. ‘I hope that I shall soon be able to tell you the reasons for them as well. I will  bo  b o rr rro o w this p h o to tog g rap ra p h o f Blessi Ble ssingt ngton on,, as it may ma y he help lp m e in my inquiries/ ‘But you haven’t told us anything!’ cried Dr Trevelyan. ‘Oh , there there were were two murdere murderers rs - the m en w ho pretended to  be Russ Ru ssia ian n lords - and an d th they ey were we re h e lped lp ed by o n e o f y o u r ow n servants.’ ‘My man has certainly disappeared/ said the doctor. ‘He let the murderers into the house/ Holmes went on. ‘Mr Blessington’ss do or was Blessington’ was locked, bu t they tu t u rned rn ed the key with a strong piece piec e o f wire. You can see see th thee marks quite cle clearly. rly. ‘T hey he y must mus t have have tied som so m ething ethin g over M r Blessington’ Blessington’ss m ou outh, th, to prevent him from crying out. Then they held a trial in which they themselves were the judges. That was when they smoked cigars. ‘W he n it was wasThe ove over, r, they barred ttoo ook k Blessington Blessingto andafter hanged han ged Then they left. servant the front ndoor they him. had

gone.’ Lanner hurried away to try to find the servant. Holmes and I

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returned to Baker Street for breakfast. ‘I shall be back by three o’clock,’ Holmes said when we had finished our meal. ‘Lanner and Dr Trevelyan will meet me here then.’ The police officer and the doctor arrived at three, but Holmes did not n ot jo in us until a quarter to fou four. r. Bu t I could c ould see that he was was cheerful. ‘Have you any news, Lanner?’ he asked. ‘We have caught the servant, sir,’ Lanner replied. ‘Excellent! Excellent! And An d I have have discovered discovered w ho the murderers murde rers are. are. T he ir names are Biddle and Hayward.’ ‘T he Worth W orthing ingdo don n Bank robbers!’ cried Lanner. Lanner. ‘Yes. And the man who used the name ‘Blessington’ was another o f them.’ ‘So his real name must have been Sutton. Everything is clear now!’ said Lanner. But Trevelyan and I still did not understand. ‘Have you forgotten fo rgotten the great W orthingd orth ingd on Bank robbery?’ said sa id Holmes. ‘Th ere were four robbers — Biddle, Biddle, Hayward, Hayward, Sutton, and a man called Cartwright. A night watchman was kill ki lled, ed, and the thie thieves ves got awa away y w ith seve seven n thousand thousan d po unds.T un ds.T hat ha t wass fifteen wa fifteen yea years rs ago. ago. W h en the ca case se came to cour co urtt there the re was not no t much proof against the robbers, but this man Blessington (that is, Sutton) decided d ecided to help the police. police. T he res result ult was that C artw righ t was hanged, and Biddle and Hayward were sent to prison for fi fiftee fteen n year years. s. W he n they were let out, they decided to punish Sutton (that is, Blessington) for what he had done.’  N o b o d y was p u n ishe is hed d for fo r Bles Bl essin singt gton on’’s de death ath.. Bi Bidd ddle le and an d Hayward were drowned soon afterwards when a steamer called

 Norah ah Cr Crei eina na  sank the  Nor sank o off ff the coast coast o f Portug Portugal. al. An d there was was not n ot enou en ough gh p ro o f against against D r Trevelyan’s Trevelyan’s servant, so he was was never nev er charged. No complete account of the Brook Street mystery has ever been given to the public until now.

 

T he D isappearance o f Lady Fr France ancess Carfax Carfax

‘Turkish, Watson?’ asked Sherlock Holmes, looking at my shoes. ‘No, they are English, of course!’ I answered. ‘I bought them here in Lon L ondon don,, at at Latimer’ Latim er’ss in Ox ford Street.’ Street.’ Holmes smiled. ‘I was not talking about your shoes, Watson,’ he said. ‘I was talking abou ab outt the t he bath! You have had ha d a Turkish Turkis h bath b ath today today,, haven’ have n’tt you?’ ‘Yes, I have. But how did you know that, Holmes?’ ‘My dear Watson, I looked at your shoes.’ ‘Perhaps I am a little slow,’ I said, ‘but I don’t understand how a pair o f English shoes and a Turkish bath ba th can be connected! connec ted! Won’t you explain?’ ‘It is very simple,’ he said. ‘You are in the habit of tying your shoes in a particular way. But today they are tied with a beautiful double knot. So it is clear that you have taken them off. And somebody someb ody el else se has has tied them the m for you. W ho was was this person? person? A ma n in a shoe shop? man shop? No. No . You You boug bo ug ht some n ew shoes shoes only a week ago. It was not a man in a shoe shop. It was the servant at the Turkish bath. It is simple, isn’t it? And why, Watson, did you go to the Turkish bath?’ ‘Because I have been feeling old and ill for the last few days. A Turkish bath usually makes me feel well again.’

You need a change, Watson. I suggest Switzerland. Would you like to st stay ay at the best hot h otel el in i n Lausanne? You wo woul uld d liv livee like a king, and it would be completely free! And of course you would travel first class on the train.’ ‘T h at w ould ou ld be w onderfu ond erful,’ l,’ I sai said d. ‘B ut w hy are you yo u offerin offering g me an opportunity like this?’ Holmes did not answer. Instead, he leaned back in his chair 

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and took his notebook from his pocket. ‘Unmarried women who wander around the world from one hotel to another put themselves in great danger from evil people. If such a lady disappe disappears ars,, nob nobod ody y miss misses es her. I very m uch uc h fea fearr that some terrible harm has come to Lady Frances Carfax,’ he said finally. ‘Lady Frances,’ he continued, ‘is the last member of her direct family. Her father and her brothers are all dead but the family fortune followed the male line. She is not a rich woman, but she has some fine old Spanish silver jewellery, and some very unusual and beautiful diamonds. She loves this jewellery so much that she has always refused to leave it at her bank for safety. So she carries her diamonds with her wherever she goes. I feel sorry for Lady Frances Carfax, Watson. She is is stil stilll quite you y oung ng and beautiful, beautifu l, bu t she is completely alone in the world.’ ‘And what has happened to her?’ I asked. ‘Ah, Watson, that is the mystery we  have to solve! I don’t even know kn ow w he ther th er she is is aliv alivee or o r dead. She is is a lady o f very regular habits, habi ts, and for the last last four fou r yea years rs she has has w ritt ritten en a lette letterr every tw two o weeks to her he r old nurse. nurse. T he nurse, whose who se name nam e is Miss Miss Dobney, fives in Camberwell, here in London. It is Miss Dobney who has asked for my help. Lady Frances has not written to her for nearly five weeks. Her last letter came from the National Hotel in Lausan Lau sanne. ne. T he manager o f the hotel hote l say says that the lady lady left left w ithou ith ou t

telling anybody her new address. Miss Dobney is very anxious abou ab outt her, and so are are Lady Frances F rances’’s rich ric h cousins. cousins. We shall shall not no t run ru n short o f money, money, Watson!’ ‘Is Miss Dobney the only person Lady Frances writes to here in England?’ ‘No. There is also the manager of her bank. I have talked to him. He showed me her used cheques, and there were two recent ones. The first was for a very large amount, much more than enough to pay her hotel bill. The second cheque was for fifty

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 p  po o und un d s, an a n d was m ade ad e o u t to Miss M arie ar ie D evin ev ine. e. T h e m o n e y was  p  pai aid d to Miss D e v ine in e le less ss than th an thre th reee weeks we eks ago, at a b ank an k in Montpellier in the south of France.’ ‘And who is Miss Marie Devine?’ I asked. ‘I have already found that out,’ Holmes answered. ‘She was Lady Frances’s Frances’s maid. I have have no t yet foun fo und d ou t why w hy Lady Frances Frances gave her that cheque. But I have no doubt that you will be able to discover the reason.’ ‘I, Holmes!’ ‘Yes, Watson. Wa tson. T h at was why wh y I suggested sug gested a holiday holid ay in Switzerland. You Switzerland. You know kn ow that I cann c annot ot possib possibly ly lea leave ve Lo Lond ndon on just now. The London police would feel lonely if I went abroad! So you must go, go, Watson. Watson. Send m e a telegram if you need ne ed my advic advice.’ e.’ ♦

Two days later I was at the National Hotel in Lausanne. The manager, Mr Moser, told me that Lady Frances had stayed there for several weeks. Everyone who met her had liked her very much. She was not more than forty years old. Mr Moser did not know that she had any valuable jewellery, but the servants had noticed that there was one large heavy box that was always

locked. Marie Devine was as popular as Lady Frances herself; in fact she was going to marry one of the waiters at the hotel, so I had no difficulty in getting her address. It was 11 rue de Trajan Montpellier, France. I wrote all this down in a little notebook. I was proud of my cleverness: Holmes himself could not have collected more facts! B ut the biggest biggest mystery stil stilll remained. W ha t was was the reason for Lady Frances’ Fran ces’ss sudde sud den n decisio d ecision n to leave leave?? She was very ve ry happy h appy in in Lausanne; everyone had expected her to stay for several months. She had had lovely rooms with a view of Lake Geneva. But she had left so sudden suddenly! ly! She had even paid a w eek’ ee k’ss rent ren t for nothing n othing!! M r M oser could cou ld n ot understand it it.. On ly Jules Jules Vibart, the waiter 

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who was going to marry Marie Devine, was able to give me any useful information. A day Ladythe Frances dark man w ith a beard hadorvisit vitwo sited edbefore the hotel, sort oleft, f mana tall, that you would think twice before offending. ‘H e looked loo ked like a wild animal!’ cried crie d Jules Vibart. T he man ma n had rooms somewhere somew here in the town, and Vibart and Marie had seen him by the lake with Lady Frances, talking very earnest earn estly ly to her. T he next time the m an came to the hotel, though, Lady Frances had refused to see him. He was English, but Vibart did not know his name. Lady Frances had left Lausanne immediately after afterwa ward rds. s. Vibart and M arie bo th thoug tho ught ht that the strange Eng E nglis lishm hman anss visit was was the th e cause cause o f Lady Frances’ Fra nces’ss decision to leave. I asked asked Vibart Viba rt why w hy M arie had left her post, bu t he refused refused to answer. ‘I can c anno nott tell you y ou that, sir sir,’ he said said.. ‘I f you yo u w ant an t to t o find out, ou t, you yo u must go to Montpellier and ask Marie herself.’ After my conver conversa satio tions ns w ith M r M oser and Vibart, Vibart, I tried trie d to

find out where Lady Frances had travelled to from Lausanne. Perhaps Lady Frances had been trying to escape from someone? Certainly it was strange that her cases and boxes had not been clearly marked. She had, though, reached Baden-Baden in Germ any afte afterr a very long and indirect journey. I found fou nd this this out ou t from one of the local travel companies. I therefore bought a ticket to Baden-Baden myself. Before I left Lausanne I sent Holmes a telegram, giving him an account of everything I had done. In his reply he said that he was proud of me, but I did not n ot know w hether heth er he was jok ing or seri seriou ous. s. ♦

At Baden-Baden I was told that Lady Frances had stayed at the English Hotel for two weeks. At the hotel she had met a man called Dr Schlessinger and his wife. Dr Schlessinger was a

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religious man who had been working in South America, where he had fallen ill. Lady Frances herself was a very religious woman, and for her it was an honour to know such a man. She gladly helped Mrs Schlessinger to look after him, and he used to sit all day outside the hotel w ith one o f the la ladi diees o n eac each h si side de o f him, readi reading ng and writing on religious matters. Finally, when Dr Schlessinger s health had improved a little, he and his wife had returned to London. Lady Frances had gone with them, and Dr Schlessinger had paid her hotel bill. It was now three weeks since they had left. I asked asked the man manager ager aabo bout ut M Marie arie Dev Devine, ine, Lady Frances’s maid. ‘She left a few days before the Schlessingers and Lady Frances went to England,’ he answered. ‘She was crying bitterly, and she told me that she never wanted to work as a servant again.’

The manager went on, after a pause: ‘You are not the first person who has asked for information about Lady Frances Carfax. About a week ago another Englishman came here asking questions about her.’ ‘Did he tell you his name?’ I asked. ‘No. He was a very strange man!’ ‘D id he loo look k lik likee a wild animal?’ I w was as think thi nkin ing g o f w ha t Jul Jules es Vibart had told me in Lausanne. ‘Yes! A wild animal,’ said the manager. ‘That is a perfect description of him. He was a large man with a sunburnt face and a beard. I would not like to be his enemy!’Already the solution to the mystery was becoming clear. This evil, cruel man was chasing the poor lady from place to place. It was obvious that she was terribly afraid of him, otherwise she would not have left Lausanne. And now he had followed her as far as Baden-Baden. Sooner or later he would catch up with her! Had he already caught up with her, perhaps? Was that   the explanation for her disappearance?

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I just hoped that the good Dr Schlessinger and his wife would  be able to p ro tec te c t h e r fr from om this evil m an an.. In another telegram to Holmes I told him that I had discovered who was to blame for her continuing disappearance. But instead of a reply I received this: DESCRIBE DR SCHLESSINGER’S LEFT EAR, PLEASE. HOLMES.

H ol olm m es’ es’ss litt little le jo k e did n ot amuse me. In fact I wa wass rathe ratherr annoyed by it. ♦

 N e x t I w e n t to M o n tp tpel elli liee r to see M ar arie ie D evin ev ine. e. She was ve very ry

helpful.. She ha helpful had db been een fond o f Lady Fr Franc ances es an and d comp completely letely lo loy yal to her, she said, but recently Lady Frances had not been kind to her, and had even on once ce accus accused ed he herr o f st stea eali ling ng.. I asked her about the cheque for fifty pounds. ‘It was a present, sir,’ she replied. ‘I am going to be married soon.’ We the n spoke o f the stran strange ge Englis Englishman. hman. ‘Ah, he is a bad man, sir!’ said Marie. ‘A violent man. I myself have seen him seize Lady Frances by the wrist, and hurt her. It was by the lake at Lausanne, sir.’ Marie was sure that fear of this man was the cause of Lady Frances’ss sudd Frances’ sudden en jou journe rneys. ys. T h e p o or lady w was as tryin trying g to es escap capee from him. ‘B ut lo look, ok, si sir! r!’’ M arie suddenly sa said id.. ‘H e ’s ou t th there ere - the man ma n himself!’ him self!’ She so sound unded ed frightened. I looked ou t o f the window. A very tal tall, l, dark man ma n w ith a la larg rgee  black  bla ck be bear ard d was w alki al king ng slowly d o w n th thee cent ce ntre re o f th thee stree street, t, looking up at the numbers of the houses. It was clear that, like myself, he was looking for Marie. I ran out of the house and spoke to him angrily.

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‘You are an Englishman,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to speak to you,’ he said rudely. ‘May I ask what your name is?’ ‘No, you may not!’ he answered. It was a difficult situation. The only way to deal with it was to use the direct method of shock. ‘Where is Lady Frances Carfax?’ I asked. He looked at me in surprise. ‘W ha t have have you don donee w ith her?’ I con continue tinued. d. ‘W hy ha have ve you  b  bee e n follo fo llow w in ing g her her?? I w an antt an an answ swer er fr from om y o u im imm m edia ed iate tely ly!’ !’

The man gave a shout of anger and jumped on me. I am not a weak man, but he was as strong as a horse. He fought like a devil, and soon his hands were round my throat. I was nearly unconscious wh en a Fr French ench wo workm rkman an rushe rushed do out ut o f a sm smal alll hotel and saved me. He struck the Englishman on the arm with his stick: this made him loosen his hold on my throat. The wild man then stood near us for a moment, unable to decide whether to attack me agai again. n. Fin Finall ally y he tu turn rned ed angrily aw away ay and w wen entt into the house where Marie lived. I began to thank the kind Frenchman  besid  be sidee me. ‘Well, Watson,’ th thee “ F renc re nchm hm an an”” sa said id,, ‘you yo u ha have ven’ n’tt done do ne ver very y well this time! I think you had better come back with me to London by the night train.’ An ho ur later Sherlock Holmes, wearing hi hiss own o wn clo clothe thess now, now, was with me in my private sitting room at my hotel. ‘I did not expect to be able to get away from London,’ he said, ‘but here I am after all!’ ‘And An d how ho w did you kn know ow that I wou would ld be here in Mo Montpellier?’ ntpellier?’ I asked him. ‘It was easy to guess that Montpellier would be the next stage o f yo ur tra travel vels, s,’’ H olm es said said.. ‘Since I arri arrive ved d I have b bee ee n sitting in that small hotel, waiting for you. And really, Watson, what a situation you have got into!’

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‘Perhaps you would not have done any better yourself/ I answered, answer ed, annoyed. an noyed. ‘I have  do done ne better, Watson!’ Just the n one o f the ho hotel tel ser servan vants ts brou brough ghtt so som m ebody’ ebo dy’ss card card in. in. Holmes looked at it. ‘Ah, here is Mr Philip Green. Mr Green is staying at this hotel, and he may be able to help us to find out what has happened to

Lady Frances Carfax.’ The man who came in was the same violent person who had attacked me in the street. He did not look pleased when he saw me. ‘I received your letter, Mr Holmes,’ he said. ‘But why is this man ma n here? In wha w hatt wa way y can he be co conn nnecte ected d w ith the af affa fair ir?’ ?’ ‘This is my old friend Dr Watson,’ replied Holmes. ‘He is helping us in this case.’ The stranger held out his large brown hand. ‘I am very sorry about what happened, Dr Watson,’ he said. ‘When you blamed me for hurting Frances I lost all my selfcontrol. I am in a terr terrible ible sta state te,, you know. I d do o n ’t un unde dersta rstand nd th this is aff ffai airr at al all. And, M r H Holmes, olmes, I do n’ n’tt even know kn ow w ho told you o f my existence!’ ‘I have spok sp oken en to Miss Do Dobn bney, ey, Lady Fr Fran ance ces’ s’ss old ol d nurse,’ nurse ,’ Holmes said. ‘O ld Susa Susan n D Dob obne ney y w ith the funn funny y hat! hat!’’ said said Green. ‘I remember her well.’ ‘And she remembers you. She knew you in the days before you went to South Africa.’ ‘Ah, I see that you know my whole story. I will not hide anything from you, Mr Holmes. I have loved Frances all my life. When I was a young man I made a few mistakes and got into trouble. And she was always so pure and good! So when somebody told her how I was living, she refused to speak to me again. But she certainly loved me. She loved me well enough to

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remain single. I stayed in South Africa for many years, and I  b  bec ecam am e r ic ich h ther th ere. e. W h e n I came ca me back ba ck to E urop ur ope, e, I deci de cide ded d to fi find nd her - to try to persuad persuadee her h er to m arry me. I found her in Lausanne, and I think I almost persuaded her, but her will was

strong. The next time I went to her hotel I was told that she had left town. I tracked her as far as Baden-Baden, and then after a time I learned that her servant was here. I am a rough sort of  pers  pe rson on;; I have h ad a rou ro u g h sort so rt o f fife, fife, and a nd w h e n D o c to r Watso Wa tson n spoke to me as he did I became quite wild for a moment. But, Mr Holmes, tell me what has happened to Lady Frances!’ ‘We will do our best to find that out,’ said Holmes in a serious voice. ‘What is your address in London, Mr Green?’ ‘You can send letters or messages to the Langham Hotel.’ ‘I think thin k you should shou ld retur ret urn n to Lon L ondo don,’ n,’ Holme Ho lmess said. said. ‘I may need nee d you. I promise you that everything e verything possi possibl blee will be done d one for the safe safety ty o off Lady Frances Frances.. Here He re is my card w ith my addr address ess on it it.. Now, Watson, while wh ile you y ou are are pa packin cking g your yo ur bag, I will send a telegram to Mrs Hudson. I will ask her to prepare a good dinner for two hung hu ngry ry trave travell ller erss at half past past seven seven tom orro or row w evening.’ evening.’ ♦

At home the following evening, we found a telegram for Holmes on our table. ‘ t o r n , f r o m   i n j u r y ’ was the message, which came from Baden-Baden. ‘What does this mean?’ I asked. ‘It is the answer to a question about Dr Schlessinger s ear. You may remember my telegram. You did not answer it.’ ‘I thought it was a joke.’ ‘Really? Well, I sent the same message to the manager of the English Hotel. This telegram is his answer. An important answer, Watson Wats on - very very important!’ ‘What does it prove?’

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‘It proves, my dear Watson, that we are dealing with a clever and dangerous man. His name is Henry Peters, or ‘Peters the

Prie st , from Adelaide in Aust Priest Austral ralia. ia. H e is one o f the most mo st ev evil il men me n in the world, Watson. He H e is speci speciall ally y skilfu skilfull at rob r obbing bing lonely ladies by making use of their religious feelings. He is helped in thiss by a friend thi frie nd o f his, his, a wom wo m an called called Annie An nie Fras Fraser er,, w ho pretends to be his wife. I suspected that “Dr Schlessinger” was really Mr Peters. The matter of the torn ear makes it quite certain.’ ‘And how did Peters the Priest get his torn ear?’ I asked. ‘He was hurt in a fight at an Adelaide hotel,’ Holmes replied. ‘It happ ha ppene ened d abou ab outt si six x year yearss ago. ago. Well,Watson, p o o r Lady Frances Frances is in the hands of a terrible pair. Perhaps she is already dead. In fact that is quite likely. If she is still alive, she is certainly a prisoner somewhere. She is unable to write letters to Miss Dobney or to anybody else. I believe that Lady Frances is here in London, where it is easy to keep a person a prisoner in complete secrecy. After dinne din nerr I will go along to Scotland Yard Yard and speak to our ou r friend frie nd Lestrad Lestrade.’ e.’ B ut the police did not n ot manage to dis discov cover er anything. Th e three  peo  pe o pl plee w e w an ante ted d to fi find nd had ha d co com m pl plet etel ely y disappe disa ppeare ared. d. We advertised in the newspapers, but that failed. The police watched al alll Pet Peters ers the th e Priest’ Prie st’ss old friends, bu t he did n o t visit visit them . An And d then, suddenly, after a week of waiting, something happened. A  pi ecee o f ol  piec old d Spanish Span ish jewe je weller llery, y, m ade ad e o f silver and an d di diam amon onds ds,, had ha d  be  b e e n receiv rec eived ed by a paw pa w n b rok ro k er in W es estm tmin inste sterr R o a d . T h e m an who brought it in was a large man who looked like a priest, and gave ga ve a nam na m e and address address wh ic ich h were w ere clearly fal false se.. T h e  pa  p a w n b ro rok k e r had ha d n o t n o ti ticc e d his ear, b u t we were we re sure th thaa t th thee description was that of Peters the Priest. Philip Green had already come to see us twice, anxiously hoping for news. The third time he came, we were able to tell him something at last. ‘Peters has taken tak en som somee o f Lady Frances’ Fra nces’ss jew elle ellery ry to a

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 paw  p aw n b rok ro k er er’’s sho sh o p/ H olm ol m es to told ld him hi m . ‘We ‘We are go goin ing g to catch ca tch h im now/ ‘But does this mean that any harm has come to Lady Frances?’ asked Green. Holmes gave him a very serious look. ‘If Peters and Annie Fraser have kept her a prisoner until now, they cannot set her free without danger to themselves. I fear the worst, Mr Green.’ ‘Please give me something to do, Mr Holmes!’ said Green. ‘Do these people know you?’ asked Holmes. ‘No.’ ‘Peters will probably go back bac k to the sam samee paw nbrok nb roker’ er’ss w he hen n he needs money again. I will give you a letter to the pawnbroker, and he will let you wait wa it in the shop. shop. If Peters comes in, you must m ust follow him home. But you must not let him see you. And of course you must not attack him. Please do nothing without telling me.’ ♦

For two days Green bro ught ug ht us no news. news. T hen, he n, on the evening of the third day, he rushed into ou ourr sitting sitting room, pale pale and trembling with excitement. ‘We have caught him!’ he cried.‘We have caught him!’ wasansoarmchair. excited that he could hardly speak. Holmes pushed himHeinto ‘Please Please,, M r Green,’ Gree n,’ he said said,, ‘tell us w ha t has hap h appe pened ned.’ .’ ‘She came into the shop an hour ago. It was the wife this time,  bu  b u t th thee pi piec ecee o f jew  je w elle el lery ry she b ro u g h t was ju s t like the th e othe ot her. r. She is a tall, tall, pale w om an, an , wit w ith h eyes eyes like a ra r a t’s t’s.’ ‘That is the woman,’ said Holmes. ‘She left the shop and I followed her. She walked up Kennington Road. Then she went into another shop. Mr Holm Ho lmes, es, it was was an un derta de rtake ker’ r’ss!’ I could cou ld see the th e shoc s hock k on H olm ol m es’ es ’s fac face. e.

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‘Go on/ he said, forcing himself to speak calmly. ‘I went in too/ said Green. ‘She was talking to the undertaker inside. I heard her say: ‘It is late/ The undertaker replied: ‘It has  prob  pr obab ably ly ar arri rive ved d by now. It to o k lon lo n g er tha th a n an ordi or dina nary ry on onee would wo uld take/ T he n they bo th stopped and looked at me. So I aske asked d the undertaker the way to Waterloo Station and then left the shop/ ‘You have done well, Mr Green/ said Holmes. ‘Very well! And what happened next?’ ‘The woman came out. I had hidden in the doorway of anoth an other er shop. shop. I think thin k she was was suspici suspicious ous o f me, because I saw saw her lookin loo king g roun ro und d for me. T h en she she called called a carriage and got g ot in. I managed to get another and so to follow hers. She got out at 36 Poultney Square, in Brixton. I drove past, left the carriage at the corn er o f the squar quare, e, and watched the house/ ‘D id you y ou see anyone?’ anyone ?’ asked Holmes. Holm es. ‘There was only one light on, in a window on the ground floor. I could not see in. I was standing there, wondering what to do next, w he n a cart cart stopped outside the house house.. Two m men en got out, took something som ething ou t o f the cart, cart, and carried it up the step stepss to the front door. Mr Holmes, it was a coffin!’ ‘Ah!’ ‘For a m om ent en t I tho ugh t o f rushing into into the house. house. Th e door had been opened to let in the men with the coffin. It was the woman who had opened it. But as I stood there, she saw me. I think she recognized me. I saw her face change, and she closed the door immediately. I remembered my promise to you, and here I am.’ ‘You have done excellent work/ said Holmes. He wrote a few words on a half-sheet o f paper. ‘Pleas Pleasee take this note n ote to M r Lestrade at ScotlandYard.We need to search the place and he will arrange everything. There may be some difficulty, but the matter o f the jewellery jewellery is good enough enou gh proo pr oo f o f some crime, crime, I think.’

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‘But Frances may be murdered before then!’ said Green. ‘That coffin must surely be for her.’ ‘We will do everything that th at can be done, M Mrr Green. We will n o t waste any time. Now, W atson/ atson / he sa said id,, aass G Gree reen n h u rrie rr ied d away, ‘to me the situation seems so terrible that we must act now, without the help of the law. You and I are the unofficial police of London Lon don.. We mu must st go to P Poultney oultney Squa Square re immediately/ When we were in the carriage, travelling at high speed over Westminster Bridge, Holmes gave me his views on Peters the P ri riee s t’s t’s plans. ‘These evil people have persuaded this poor lady to dismiss her servant ser vant aand nd to come to L Lond ondon on w ith them . If sh shee ha hass w ritte ritten n any letters, they have been stolen and destroyed. The criminals have rented a house. They have made her a prisoner, and now they have taken possession of her jewellery, the original reason for their interest in Lady Frances. Already they have begun to get money for it from the pawnbroker. They do not know that she has friends who are tracking them. They cannot set her free, and they ca cann nnot ot keep he herr a pri prison soner er for eve ever. r. So they mu must st kill her. her.’’ ‘That seems very clear,’ I said. ‘And the arrival of the coffin proves, I fear, that she is already dead. Oh O h , Watso Watson, n, the there re is the un de derta rtak k er er’’s, I thin think. k. Stop, dri driver! ver! Will you go in, Wat Watson son?? As Ask k the und undertak ertaker er w whe he n the Poultne Poultney y Square funeral is going to take place.’ The man in the shop told me that it was arranged for eight o’clock the next morning. When I reported this to Holmes he looked unhappy. ‘I ca can’ n’tt un unde derst rstan and d it at aall ll,’ ,’ he said said.‘ .‘M M urd urdere erers rs usually b bur ury y the th e  b  bo o d y in a ho hole le in th thee ba back ck gar garde den. n. These  murderers seem to fear nothing nothing! ! We must st goatforward attack, k, Watson. Are y you ou arm armed? ed?’’ ‘I have mymu stick, least.’ and attac ‘Well Well,, well well,, we sh shal alll be strong eno enoug ugh.W h.W e simply ca cann nnot ot aff afford ord to wait for the police. Thank you, driver; you can go.’

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Holmes rang the bell of a great dark house in the centre of Poultney Square. The door was opened immediately by a tall woman. ‘Well, what do you want?’ she said rudely. ‘I wa want nt to speak to D r Schlessi Schlessinger,’ nger,’ sai said d Holm Holmes. es. ‘There is no Dr Schlessinger here,’ she answered. Then she tried to close the door, but Holmes had put his foot in the way. ‘Well, I want to see the man who lives here. I don’t care what he calls himself,’ he said firmly. Shee th Sh thoug oug ht for a m om oment. ent. T he n she p pulled ulled the d oor wide open. ‘Well, come in!’ she said. ‘My husband is not afraid to see any man ma n in the w world.’ orld.’ She clos closed ed the do door or be behin hind d us us,, and to took ok us into a sitting room on the right of the hall. Before she left us she turned up the gas light in the room. ‘Mr Peters will be with you soon,’ she said. Almost immediately a man entered the dusty sitting room. Peters the Priest was a big man with a large fat red face, who would have looked pleasant if he had not had such a cruel mouth. ‘You have surely made a mistake, gentlemen,’ he said in an oily voice. voi ce. ‘I thin think k you ha have ve com comee to the w ron rong g house. If you tried further down the street, perhaps . . .’ ‘You are wasting your breath,’ said my friend. ‘My name is Sherlock Holmes.You ar aree H en ry Pete Peters, rs, o f Adela Adelaide ide,, form formerly erly D r Schl Sc hless essin inge gerr o f Baden-B Baden-Baden aden and South America. America.’’ ‘I am n ot af afra raid id o f you, M r Holmes. W ha hatt is your bu busi sines nesss in my house?’ ‘I want to know what you have done with Lady Frances Carfax, who came away with you from Baden-Baden.’ ‘I would be very glad if you  could tell me where she is,’ Peters

answered calmly. ‘She borrowed nearly a hundred pounds from me, and has not paid it back. All I have until she pays her debt is some almost worthless jewellery. I paid her hotel bill at Baden-

 

Baden and I bou gh ghtt he herr a ticket ffrom rom there to L Londo ondon. n. We lost lost herr at Victor he Victoria ia Stat Station. ion. If you can find her, M r Holm Holmes, es, I sh shal alll be very grateful to you.’ ‘I am going to find her,’ said Sherlock Holmes. ‘I am going to search this house until I do  find her.’ Holmes took out a gun from his pocket. ‘So you are a common thief!’ said Peters. ‘That is right. And my friend Watson is also a dangerous man. We are now going to search your house together.’ Peters opened the door. ‘Call a policeman, Annie!’ he called out. We heard the woman run across the hall and go out through the front door. ‘We have very little time, Watson,’ said Holmes. ‘If you try to stop us, us, Peters Peters,, you will certainly get h hur urt. t. W Whe he re is the coffi coffin n that was brought into this house?’ ‘Why do you want to look at the coffin?’ Peters asked. ‘It is in use. There is a body in it.’ ‘I must see that body.’ ‘I refuse to show it to you!’ B ut Holmes Holm es had pushed h him im ou outt o f the wa way. We we went nt tog together ether into the next room. It was the dining room of the house. The gas light was burning low, but we saw the coffin immediately. It was on the table. Holmes turned up the gas and opened the coffin. Deep down at the bottom there was the body of a small, very thin, and very, very old woman. It was certainly not Lady Frances Carfax. ‘T ha nk G od! od!’’ wh whisper ispered ed Holm Holmes. es. ‘It is som eon eonee els lsee.’

‘You have m made ade a bad mistake, have haven’ n’tt you you,, M r Ho Holm lmes? es?’’ sai said d Peters, who had followed us into the room. ‘W h o is this dead w wom om an an?’ ?’ asked Ho Holme lmes. s. ‘You have no ri rig g h t to as ask, k, b u t I will tell you. She is m y w wife ife’’s old nurse, nurse, Ros Rosee Spend Spender. er. We fo found und he herr in a hospital hospital for old

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 pe ople  peop le in B ri rix x to ton n , and an d b ro u g h t h e r he here. re. We calle called d in a D r Horsom.Yes Horso m.Yes,, pl pleas easee w rite dow n his aadd ddre ress ss in your n noteb oteb oo ook, k, M r Holmes! It iiss 13 Firbank Stre Street. et. H e too k g goo ood d care o off her, bu t on the third day she died. She was ninety years old, after all. The funeral iiss to be at eight o ’cloc funeral clock k tom orro orrow w m orning. Th e undertaker is Mr Stimson, of Kennington Road.’ ‘I am going to search your house;’ said Holmes. ‘I d o n ’t th in ink k yo you u ar are, e,’’ sa said id Peters Peters,, w ho had heard p police olicem m en in the hall. ‘Come in here, please!’ he called out to them. ‘These men are in my house without permission. Help me to get rid of them.’ Holm es to ok ou outt one o f hi hiss ca card rds. s. ‘This is my name and address,’ he said to the policemen, ‘and this gentleman is my friend, Dr Watson.’ ‘We know you very well, sir,’ said one of the policemen, ‘but you can’t stay here and search the house without a court order.’ ‘O f cour course se no not. t. I reali realize ze th that,’ at,’ sai said d Holmes. Holm es. ‘Take him to the police station!’ cried Peters. ‘We kn know ow w her heree to find this gen gentlem tleman an i f he is wan wanted,’ ted,’ said said the policeman in reply; ‘but you must go now, Mr Holmes. That is the law.’ We went next to the hospital in Brixton. There we were told that two kind people had claimed a dying woman as a former servant of theirs, and had received permission to take her away with them. We then went to see Dr Horsom, who had looked after the

old woman immediately before her death. ‘I was with her when she died,’ he told us. ‘Old age was the cause of death. There was nothing suspicious about it at all.’ ‘Did you notice anything suspicious in the house?’ asked Holmes. ‘No. Only that Mr and Mrs Peters had no servants. That is unusual for people of their class.’

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The doctor was unable to tell us anything more. Finally Fin ally we w ent en t to Scotland Yard Yard.. We were w ere told that the co cour urtt order allowing a search of the house would probably not be signed until next morning at about nine. Sherlock Sherl ock Holmes did no t go to bed that night night.. H e smoked for for hours, and wandered abo about ut the th e house. At twenty twe nty past past seven seven in the morning he rushed into my room. ‘T h e funera funerall is aatt eight, eigh t, Watson! Watson! It is 7.20 now. A nd my thoughts on the Carfax mystery have only just become clear! We m ust h hurry. urry. IIff we are too late . . .’ In less than five minutes we were in a carriage. But it was twenty-five to eight aass we w ent over Westminster Bridge, and ten  past ei eigh ghtt w h e n w e ar arri rive ved d in P oult ou ltne ney y Square. Squar e. F or ortu tun n atel at ely y th thee unde un derta rtake ker’ r’s m en were al also so a little late late,, and we were in ttim imee to see them carrying the coffin out of the house. Holmes rushed forward. ‘Take that coffin back!’ he cried, pu ttin g his hand on the chest of the first man to push him back into the hall. ‘Take it back immediately!’ Then Peters appeared behind the coffin. His red face was very angry. ‘M r Holmes H olmes,, you ha have ve no right rig ht to give give orders here!’ h ere!’ he shouted. shoute d. ‘Show m mee your y our cou court rt order!’ order!’ ‘It is on its way,’ Holmes answered. ‘This coffin must remain in

the house until it comes.’ T he firmness in Hol H olm m es es’’s voice had ha d iits ts effect effect on the th e unde un derta rtake ker’ r’ss m en. Peters had su suddenly ddenly disappeared, disappeared, and tthey hey obeyed these new instructions. They put the coffin back on the dining-room table. In less than a minute we had managed to open it. As we did so, a strong smell of chloroform came out. There was a body in the coffin. T he head wa wass wrapped wrapp ed in bandage bandages, s, wh ich were sti still ll wet we t w with ith the chloroform. Holmes unwrapped the bandages and there was the

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face of an attractive middle-aged woman. He quickly lifted the  bo  b o d y to a sit sitti ting ng po posi sitio tion. n. ‘Is she alive alive,, Watson? Surely we w e are n o t to o late!5 late !5 For half an hour it seemed that we were. But in the end our efforts to bring the lady back to life were successful. Her  brea  br eath thin ing g re retu turn rned ed;; h e r eyes eyes bega be gan n to open op en.. A carr ca rriag iagee ha had d ju s t arrived, and Holmes went to the window and looked out. ‘Here is Lestrade with his court order,5he said. ‘But Peters the Priest and Annie Fraser have already escaped. And here is a man who has a better right to nurse this lady than we have! Good morning, Mr Green. I think Lady Frances should be taken away from here as soon as possi possibl ble. e. N o w the funeral may continue con tinue.. T he  po  p o o r old ol d w o m an at the th e b o tto tt o m o f that th at coff coffin in can n o w be b u ri riee d  —al  — alon one! e!5 5 ♦

‘I have bee n very v ery stupid, Watson,5 said said Holm Ho lmes es th that at evening. ‘I knew that I had heard something important, but I did not know what it was until seven o'clock this morning. It was something the undertaker said to Annie Fraser. Our friend Green heard him say it . 66It took took longer ,” ,” the man said, “ than an ordinary one would   take."   O f course he was talking about abou t the coff coffin. in. It was was an

unusual one. Its measurements were not the ordinary ones. It had  be  b e e n m ad adee specially — b u t why? why ? W hy hy?? T h e n I sudde sud denl nly y remembered the deep sides, and the thin little body at the  bo  b o tto tt o m . W h y had ha d such su ch a large coffin coff in b een ee n m ade ad e fo forr such suc h a small  body?  bod y? ‘There could be only one explanation. It was to leave room for another body: the body of Lady Frances Carfax.5

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The Three Garridebs

The case of the three Garridebs began late in June 1902, soon afterr the end o f the South afte Sou th African War. War. Sherlock Holmes Holm es had just jus t spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to time, but that morning he came out o f his bedroom with a pile pile o f handwritten papers in his hand and a look of amusement in his grey eyes. ‘M y dear Watson, here is a chance for you yo u to make some money,’ he said. ‘Have you ever heard the name Garrideb?’ I admitted that I had not. ‘Well, Well, if you can find a man ma n call called ed Garrideb, bo th you and he will be rich.’ ‘How can that be so?’ I asked. ‘Ah, tha t’s a long story - rather an amusing one, too. Q uite unusual, in fact. A man is coming to see me about it in a few minutes, so I won’t begin the story until he arrives. But Garrideb is the name we want.’

The telephone book was on the table beside me, and I turned over the pages pages in rather rath er a hopel hopeless ess hu nt for a Garrideb. But to my my surprise there was this strange name in its correct place. ‘Here you are, Holmes! Here it is!’ Holmes took the book from my hand. ‘ “ Garrideb, Gar rideb, N.,” he re read ad,‘ ,‘ “ 136 136 Little R y d e r Street.” I am sorry s orry to disappoint you, Watson, Watson, but bu t this Garrideb G arrideb is the perso p erson n w ho is employing em ploying me. T ha t is the addre address ss on hi hiss letter. We w ant anoth an oth er Garrideb to match him.’ Just then our housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, came in and handed me a card. ‘Why, here is another!’ I cried.‘The first name is different.This is John Garrideb, a lawyer from Kansas in America.’

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Holmes smiled as he looked at the card. ‘I am afraid you must make one more effort,Watson/ he said.‘I already know about this gentleman, though I certainly did not expect to see him here this morning. But he will be able to tell us a good deal that I want to know/ A moment later he was in the room. Mr John Garrideb was a short, powerful man with a round fresh face. It was easy to believe that he wa wass an Am erican busines businessman sman or o r la lawy wyer er.. H Hee looke looked d rathe ratherr childlike, and had a broad, fixed smile on his face. But his eyes were surprising. I h have ave rare rarely ly seen a pair o f hu hum m an eyes wh which ich were brighter, quicker not very noticeably so. or sharper. His speech was American, but ‘Mr Holmes?’ he asked, looking at each of us in turn. ‘Ah, yes! T he photog photographs raphs o f you in the newspa newspapers pers aare re not unli unlike ke you you,, sir, if I may say so. I believe you have had a letter from another Garrideb Garri deb - M r Nathan Garri Garrideb deb - hav haven’ en’t you? you?’’ ‘Please sit down,’ said Sherlock Holmes. ‘I think we have a good go od deal to dis discu cuss. ss.’’ H e p picke icked d up the pile o f pa pape pers rs.‘ .‘You You ar are, e, o f course, cour se, the M r Jo John hn Garrideb w ho is m en ention tioned ed in these lleg egal al

documents. But surely you have been in England for some time?’ ‘W hy do yo you u say tthat, hat, M r H olmes?’ A sudd sudden en loo k o f suspicion appe appeared ared iin n th thee m a n’ n’ss eyes eyes.. ‘Because all your clothes are English.’ M r Ga Garrid rrideb eb laugh laughed ed uncom uncomfortably. fortably. ‘I ’ve read o f yo your ur cle clever ver tricks as a detective, Mr Holmes, but I never thought I would be the subject of them myself. How do you know my clothes are English?’ ‘By the shoul shoulders ders o f you yourr coat, the to toes es o f yo your ur sho shoes es - how could anyone doubt it?’ ‘Well, well, I had no idea that I looked so much like an Englishman. But I came to England on business some time ago, and so - as you sa say y - nearly aalll my cloth clothes es were b bou ough ghtt in London. But I suppose your time is valuable, and I am not here

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to talk about fashions! Please let us now discuss those papers which you have in your hand/ It was was clea clearr that in some way Holm es had annoyed o ur visi visitor tor,, who now had a much less friendly expression on his round childlike face. ‘Have patience, Mr Garrideb!’ said my friend gently. ‘Dr Watson could tell you that these little tricks of mine are sometimes very useful in the end, in solving mysteries. But why hasn’tt M hasn’ Mrr Nath an Garrideb G arrideb com e with you?’ ‘Why did he bring you into the affair at all?’ asked our visitor, with sudden anger. ‘What have you to do with it? Here was a bit o f pr prof ofes essi siona onall bus busin ines esss betw between een tw two o gentlemen gentlem en - and now no w one o f them th em is employin employing g a private detective! detective! I saw saw hi him m this this morn m orning ing,, and he told me m e o f the stupid thing he had d one - and tha that’ t’s why wh y I’m here. But I do feel annoyed about it!’ ‘Nobody suspects you of anything, Mr Garrideb. Mr Nathan Garrideb is only anxious to achieve something which, I believe, is eequa quall lly y im importan portan t to b oth o f you. H e knew kne w that I had means

o f getting inform ation, and therefore it was was natur natural al that he h e should come to me.’ T he anger gradually disappeared from ou r visito visitor’ r’s face face.. ‘Wel Well, l, I’m I’m be begin ginnin ning g to und unders erstand tand now,’ now,’ he said said.. ‘W h e n I went to see him this morning and he told me he had written to a private detective, I just asked for your address and came along immediately. I do n ’t want wan t the police mixed mix ed up in a private matter. B ut if i f you ar aree happy just ju st to help us find find the man, there can be no harm in that.’ ‘Well, that is exactly what I am going to do,’ said Holmes. ‘And now, sir, as you are here, you had better give us a clear account of the whole affair. My friend here, Dr Watson, knows nothing of the details.’ Mr Garrideb looked at me in a way that was not particularly friendly.

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‘N ee d h hee kno know w ?’ he as aske ked. d. ‘We usually work together,’ said Holmes. ‘Well, th ther ere’ e’ss no reason w why hy it shou s hould ld be kept ke pt secret. I ’ll tell tell you the ma main in fact facts, then. I f you came from Kansa Kansass I w would ould not no t need to explain to you who Alexander Hamilton Garrideb was. ‘He made his money by buying and selling houses and land, and afterwards he made a second fortune in the Chicago wheat market. marke t. T he n he spent the m oney in buying m ore la land, nd, alon along g the Arkansas River, west of Fort Dodge —and in the end he owned a pie piece ce o f lan land dland, as as big Ken Kentt and or Sus Sussex sex here in and Englan En gland. d. for IIt’ t’ss sheep-farming andaass forest mining land, land growing grow ing crops on - in fact it’ it’ss m ore or le lesss every sort o f land th that at  brin  br ings gs dollars to th thee m an th that at owns ow ns it. ‘H e had no rela relativ tives es - or or,, if he had, I never heard o f any. B ut he took a kind of pride in his unusual name. That was what  bro  b rou u g h t us to toge geth ther er.. I was a llaw awyer yer at Topek Top eka, a, and an d one on e day I ha had d

a visit from the old man, who was very excited about meeting another m an w with ith his own name. And he wa wass determ ined to find out if there were any more Garridebs in the world. “Find me another!” he said. I told him I was a busy man and could not spend my life wandering round the world in search of Garridebs. “But that is exactly what you are going to do if everything goes according to my plan,” he replied. I thought he was joking, but I soon discovered that he was extremely serious. ‘He died less than a year later, and after his death a will was found. It was the strangest will that had ever been seen in the State o f Kans State Kansas as.. His prop erty was was divided into int o three parts, parts, and I was to have one on condition that I found two Garridebs who would share the rest. Each of the three shares is worth five million dollars, but until I have found two other Garridebs none of the money is to be paid out. ‘It was such an opportunity for me that I simply left my  prac  pr actic ticee as a lawye law yerr and a nd set o u t to lo loo o k for fo r G a rrid rr idee bs bs.T .The here re is no no t

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a single one in the United States. I searched the whole country very thoroughly, sir, but discovered no Garridebs at all. Then I tried Englan England, d, where I found the name o f M r Nath an Garrideb in the London telephone book. I went to see the gentleman two days ago and explained the whole matter to him. But, like myself, he is alone in the world, with some female relatives, but no men. Accordin Ac cording g to the old m an an’’s wil will, l, the three Garrideb Garridebss m must ust al alll be adult men. So you se seee we sti tilll nee need d one mo more re man, and iiff you can help us to find him we will be very ready to pay your charges.’ ‘Well,Watson,’ said Holmes, with a smile. ‘I said this was rather an amusing amu sing ca case se,, didn di dn ’t I? M r G Garride arrideb, b, I th thin ink k th thee first th thin ing g you should do is to put a small advertisement in the newspapers.’ ‘I have done that already, Mr Holmes. There were no replies.’ ‘Oh, how disappointing! Well, it is certainly a very interesting

little problem. I may look into it for you if I have time. It is interesting, Mr Garrideb, that you should come from Topeka. I had a fri friend end th there ere who us used ed tto o w rite to me - he iiss de dead ad now old D r Lys Lysand ander er S Sta tarr rr,, w ho wa wass a m em ber o f the tow n council in 1890.’ ‘Good old Dr Starr!’ said our visitor. ‘His name is still honoure hon oured. d. We Well ll,, M r Holmes, I supp suppose ose the only thin thing g we can do is to rep report ort to you and let you kno know w ho how w we prog progre ress ss.. Yo You u will  proba  pro babl bly y he hear ar from fr om us w it ith h in a day o r two two.’ .’ T h e n th thee A m eric er ican an left. Holmes had lit his pipe, and he sat for some time with a strange smile on his face. ‘Well, what do you think about all that?’ I asked at last. ‘I am won wondering, dering, Wats Watson on - just won dering!’ ‘About what?’ Holmes took his pipe from his lips. ‘I w was as won wonde dering ring,, Watson, w ha hatt this ma man n cou could ld poss possibl ibly y ho hope pe to achieve by telling us such a large number of lies. I nearly asked him what his real purpose was —there are times when a sudden,

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sharp attack iiss the best wa sharp way y o f deal dealing ing w ith such a person - bu t I decided that it would be better to let him think he had tricked us. Here is a man with an English coat and English trousers, both showing signs of having been worn for at least a year: but according accordin g to hi hiss pile o f papers, and aaccording ccording also also to his ow own n account, he is an American from Kansas who has only recently arrived in London. Lond on. Th There ere ha have ve been no adver advertis tisements ements about Garridebs. Garride bs. You kn ow that I mis isss nothing no thing o f that sor sort. t. T he sm smal alll advertisements have often been useful to me in my cases, and I could not possibly have failed to notice one like that. I never knew kne w a D r Lys Lysand ander er Starr o f Top Topeka eka.. Almost everything our

visitor said was a He. I think he really is an American, but he has  b  bee e n in L o n d o n fo forr years, aand nd his v voic oicee has gra gradua dually lly b e co com m e less less and les less Am American. erican. W ha t is hi hiss aim, then? W h at is the pur purpos posee o f this strange search for Garridebs? The problem is worth our attention. Clearly this man is a criminal, but he is a strange and imaginati imagi native ve one. We m must ust now find ou outt if ou r o othe therr Garrideb is a liar too. Just ring him up, Watson, please.’ I did so, and heard a weak voice, rather like that of a goat, at the other end of the line. ‘Yes, yes, I am Mr Nathan Garrideb. Is Mr Holmes there? I should very much like to have a word with Mr Holmes.’ My friend took the telephone from me and I heard his half of the conversation that followed. ‘Yes, he ha hass been here here.. I be belie lieve ve you do n’ n’tt kn ow h im . . . H ow lo n g? . . . O nl lon nly y two days!.. . Yes, y yees, o f course course,, to rece receive ive fiv five million dol dollar larss wo would uld be very nice. W ill you b bee at ho m e th this is evening? I suppose Mr John Garrideb will not be there?... Very good, we will come then. I would rather see you in his absence .. . D r Watso Watson n wil willl come w ith m e .. . Yes, in your letter you m entione entioned d you did not go ou t o fte n .. . We Well ll,, we shall all b bee w ith you at about si six x o ’cl clock. ock. You need n ot m en ention tion it to the America Am erican n law ye yer... r... Ve Verry good. Goodbye!’

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O n that lovely lovely spring evening, evening, even even Little Little R yd er Street, Street, off the Edgware Road (in the rather dull area near Tyburn, where men and women were once cruelly hanged in public), looked golden and beautif beautiful ul in the setting setting sun.The particular particular house to w hich we were directed was a large, old-fashioned eighteenth-century  bri  b ricc k buil bu ildi ding ng.. O n th thee g ro u n d fl floo oorr ther th eree w ere er e two tw o tall, w ide id e windows: these belonged to the very large living room of the  per  p erso son n w e had ha d com co m e to see, see, w h o had ha d only on ly the th e g ro u n d floo fl oorr o f the house. house. As we went w ent up to the doo r Holmes p ointe ointed d to the

name GARRIDEB on a small plate. ‘T ha t name n ame plate has has been bee n there for years years,, W atson/ atson / he remarked. ‘Its surface is quite worn, and it has lost its original colour. So at least Garrideb is hi hiss  real name!’ The house had a common hall and staircase, and there were a number of names painted in the hall. Some of these names were those of offices; others were those of private persons. No families li live ved d in the house; house; the people w ho did liv livee there were unm u nm arried gentlemen gentl emen o f independent habi habits ts.. Mr Nathan Garrideb Garrideb opened the door for us himself, explaining that the housekeeper left at four o’clock. He was a very tall, thin man with a bent back. He seemed to be about sixty years old. He had no hair on his head, and the skin of his face looked dull and dead. It was easy to see that he never took any exercise. He wore large round glasses and had a smal smalll beard: beard: but bu t th ough ou gh he looke l ooked d rather rath er strange strange,, he seemed  pleasant.  pleasa nt. The room was as strange as Mr Nathan Garrideb himself. It looked like a kind of shop. It was both broad and deep and there were cupboards and glass cases everywhere, crowded with old  bone  bo ness and an d pieces pie ces o f stone. ston e. O n ei eith ther er side o f the th e d o o r ther th eree st stoo ood d a case case o f flying flying insect insects, s, pi pinn nned ed onto on to card cards. s. All kinds o f things w were ere scatter scat tered ed on a la larg rgee table table in the centre centre o f the room. A m ong them I noticed several powerful magnifying glasses. As I looked round, I was surprised at the number of different subjects Mr Garrideb

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was interested in. Here was a case of ancient coins. There was a collection o f tools tools from the Stone Age. Age. On O n a shelf behin be hind d the ta table ble I saw saw a row o f model mo del heads heads o f monkeys or ancient anc ient m men, en, w ith names such as ‘N ea eand nderth erthal’ al’,, ‘H eidelberg eide lberg’’ and ‘C ‘C rom ag agno non’ n’ written on cards below them. As he stood in front of us now, he held a piece of soft leather in his right hand with which he was  polis  po lishi hing ng a coin. co in.

Fro m Syr From Syracu acuse se.. A nd o f the best period per iod,, he explained, holding hold ing it up. up. ‘T he quality quality became m uch worse late later. r. In my opinio op inion n there are no finer coins than these Syracusan ones, though some people  pref  pr efer er thos th osee fr from om A lexan lex andr dria. ia. You w ill fi find nd a chai ch airr th there ere,, M r Holmes. One moment, please: I will just put those bones somewhere els lsee. An And d you, sir sir - ah, ah, ye yes, Dr Watson - would wo uld you mind putting that Japanese flowerpot out of your way? You see round me all the little interests of my life. My doctor is always telling me I ought to take more exercise, but why should I go out? There are so many things to keep me here! Just to make a  pro  p rop p er fist fist o f all the th e thing thi ngss in o ne o f the these se cu cupb pboa oard rdss w o u ld take at least three months.’ Holmes looked round him with interest. ‘But do you never  go   go out?’ he asked. ‘Hardly ever. Now and then I take a carriage and go and buy some new things for my collection, but I very rarely leave this room for any other reason. I am not very strong, and my scientific studies keep me very busy. But you can imagine, Mr Holmes, what a shoc shock k - what a  plea  pleasant  sant   shock shock - it was was for me wh en I heard of this piece of good luck. Only one more Garrideb is needed to make the affair complete, and surely we can find one. I had a brother, but he is dead, and women relatives do not count. But there must be other Garridebs in the world. I had heard that you hand h andled led strange strange case casess, and that tha t was was wh why y I wrote wro te to you. O f course, this American gentleman is quite right, and I should have taken his advice first. But I acted with the best intentions.’

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‘I thin th ink ky you ou acted very v ery wisely/ wisely/ said said Holme Ho lmes. s. ‘B ut are you reall really y anxious anxi ous to becom e the ow ner o f a la larg rgee piece o f land along the the Arkansas River in America?’ ‘Certainly not, sir. Nothing could make me leave my collection. But this gentleman, Mr John Garrideb, has promised

to buy b uy my m y share share o f the p prop roperty erty from me as soon as as we ha have ve  be  b e c o m e the th e owne ow ners rs o f the G arri ar rid d e b land. lan d. Five m illio ill ion n dollars dolla rs was the am oun ountt o f money mo ney he mentioned. me ntioned. T here are are seve severa rall unusual unusual things on the market at the present moment which I need for my collection, but which I cannot buy because I lack a few hund hu ndred red pounds. pound s. Just think w hat I could do w ith fi fiv ve million million dollars! I already have the beginnings of a great national collection!’ The eyes behind his glasses were shining. It was very clear that Mr N Nathan athan Garrideb was was re ready ady to take take any amoun amo untt o f troubl troublee to find the third Garrideb. ‘I just called to meet you, Mr Garrideb,’ said Holmes, ‘and there is no reason why I should interrupt your studies for more than a few minutes. I like to be in personal touch with those I work for. There are very few questions I need to ask you. I have your letter, with its very clear account, in my pocket, and I heard more of the matter when the American gentleman called. I  believ  bel ievee tha th a t u n ti till this w e ek you yo u had ha d n o id idea ea o f his exist ex isten ence ce?’ ?’ ‘That is so. He called last Tuesday.’ ‘Did he tell you of his visit to me today?’ ‘Yes, he came straight here after seeing you. He had been very angry before that.’ ‘Why should he be angry?’ ‘He seemed to think that my employing a detective was an insult to him as a ma man n o f honour hon our.. B ut he h e wa wass qu quite ite cheerful again again when he returned.’ ‘Did he suggest any course of action?’ ‘No, sir, he did not.’

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‘Has he received, or asked for, any money from you?’ ‘No, sir, never!’ ‘And you can see no possible purpose he may have?’

‘No, No , none, none, Mr Holmes; except what he has has told me - to find a third Garrideb.’ ‘Did you tell him of our appointment this evening?’ ‘Yes, sir, I did.’ Holmes sat in silence for a few moments. I could see that the affair was still a mystery to him. ‘Have you any very valuable things in your collection?’ ‘No, sir. I am not a rich man. It is a good collection, but not a very valuable one.’ ‘You have no fear of thieves?’ ‘None at all.’ ‘How long have you lived in these rooms?’ ‘For nearly five years.’ Holm Ho lmes’ es’ss questions questions were inte rrupte rru pte d by a lou d knoc kn ocking king at the door. As soon as it was opened, the American lawyer burst excitedly into the room. ‘Here you are!’ he cried, waving a newspaper high in the air. ‘Mr Nathan Garrideb, you are a rich man, sir! Our business is happily finished and all is well. As for you, Mr Holmes, we can only say we are sorry to have put you to all this trouble for nothing.’ He handed the newspaper to the old man, who stood reading an advertisement which the American had marked. Holmes and I leaned forward and read it over his shoulder. This was it: HOWARD GARRIDEB MAKER OF FARM MACHINERY 

Steam and hand plows, farmers’ carts and all other appliances Grosvenor Building Buildings, s, Aston, Birm Birmingh ingham am

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Excellent!’ cried our excited host. ‘So now we have found our

third man.’ ‘I had begun making inquiries in Birmingham,’ said the American, ‘and I have just been sent this advertisement from a loca lo call paper paper.. We must hurr h urry y and get in tou ch w ith this this M r Howard Ho ward Garrideb. I have already written to him to say that you will see him in his office tomorrow afternoon at four o’clock.’ ‘You want me to see see him ?’ said said M r N ath an Garrideb, Ga rrideb, as as if this this suggestion were a great shock to him. ‘Well, Wel l, w h a t ’s  your   opinion, M r Holmes?’ aske asked d M r Joh n Garrideb. Garride b. ‘D o n ’t you think it would be better b etter for h im to go go?? Here He re am I, a w andering and ering Am erican w ith a stra strange nge stor story. W hy should Mr Howard Garrideb believe what I tell him? But you, Mr Garrideb, are an Englishman with an honourable position in the world, and he will certainly take what you say seriously. I would wo uld go to Birm ingham w ith you i f you wishe w ished, d, but bu t I hav havee a very busy busy day day tom orrow orro w - and I could easi easily ly come and jo in you there later if you needed me.’ me.’ ‘Why, I have not made such a journey for years!’ said Mr  Naa tha  N th a n G ar arri ride deb. b. ‘It is the easiest little journey in the world, Mr Garrideb. I have already alr eady found foun d ou t the th e time o f your yo ur train. You lleav eavee at twelve o’clock and should be in Birmingham soon after two. Then you can com e back bac k hom ho m e in i n the th e evening. You only have to see see th this is man, explain the matter, and get a signed statement of his existence. Good heavens!’ he added a little angrily. ‘Considering thatt I’ tha I’ve ve com c om e all all the way from fro m Americ Am erica, a, it’ it ’s surely a very ve ry small small thing thin g to ask ask you to do - to trave travell a hund hu nd red miles miles in order ord er to find the last of the three Garridebs!’ ‘M r Jo h n Garrideb Ga rrideb is quite right,’ said said Holme Ho lmes. s. ‘I think thi nk w hat ha t he says is very true.’ Mr Nathan Garridebs back seemed to become more bent than ever as he said sadly: ‘Well, I will go if I must. It is certainly

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hard for me to refuse you anything, Mr Garrideb, considering the hope that you have brought into my life.5 ‘Then that is agreed,’ said Holmes, ‘and no doubt you will let me have a report as soon as you can.’ ‘I’ll arrange that,’ said the American. ‘Well,’ he added, looking at his watch, ‘I must go now. I’ll call here tomorrow,’ he said to Mr Nathan Garrideb, ‘and see you off at the station. Are you coming my way, Mr Holmes? No? Well, then, goodbye! We may have good news for you tomorrow night.’ I noticed that my friend seemed happier when the American left the room. The thoughtful look had disappeared from his face. ‘I wish I could examine your collection, Mr Garrideb,’ he said. ‘In my profession all sorts of strange bits of knowledge can be useful usef ul and thi thiss ro om o f yours is fu full ll o f inform information.’ ation.’ Mr Garrideb seemed to shine with pleasure and his eyes were  bri  b rig g h t b e h in d his big bi g glas glasse ses. s. ‘I had alw alway ayss hear heard, d, ssir ir,, th that at y you ou we were re a ver very y in intel tellig ligen entt ma man,’ n,’ he sa said id.. ‘I ccould ould show y you ou ever everything ything now now,, if you hav havee the time.’ ‘Unfortunately,’ Holmes answered, ‘I have not. But your collections are all so well arranged that they hardly need your  pers  pe rson onal al ex expl plan anati ation on.. I f I called he here re tom to m or orro row w , I su suppo ppose se yo you u would not object to my looking round in your absence?’ ‘O f ccourse ourse not! You wou would ld be very welcome. M y rooms will will,, of course, be shut up, but Mrs Saunders is always in the house until four o’clock and would let you in with her key.’ ‘Wel Well, l, it sso o happens that I am ffree ree tom or orro row w aftern afternoo oon. n. IIff you w ould kindly explain to Mrs Saunde Saunders rs that I will be here, I would  be ve very ry gra gratefu teful. l. - O h , M r G ar arrid rideb eb,, w h a t is th thee na nam m e o f the th e company through which you rented these rooms?’ Garrideb was surprised at this sudden question. ‘Hollow Holloway ay Ian and d Steele, e, in the Edgware R o ad ad.. Wof h y houses, do y you ou as ask? k?’’ ‘Because amSteel interested in the history Mr Garrideb,’ Holmes replied, laughing. ‘I was wondering if this one

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was built in the days o f Q ueen ue en Anne, or o r o f King George the Firs First. t.’’ ‘Oh, King George, without any doubt.’ ‘Really? I should have thought it was built a little earlier. But I can easi easily ly find find ou t for certain. Well, Well, goodbye goodbye,, M r Garrideb. Ga rrideb. I wish you success in your journey to Birmingham!’ We saw the prop p rop erty ert y com co m pany pa ny’’s offi office cess as as we walked walk ed along alo ng the Edgware Road, but they were closed for the day, so we made our way back to Baker Street. It was not until after dinner that Holmes mentioned the Garrideb affair again. ‘O u r little little problem prob lem is nearly solve solved,’ d,’ he said.‘N said.‘N o do ub t you too to o have worked it out in your own mind.’ ‘I don’t understand it at all, Holmes,’ I replied. ‘Everything will be clear tomorrow. Did you notice anything strange about that advertisement?’ ‘I saw that the word “plough” was wrongly spelt.’ ‘O h, you yo u did notice that, did you? Wel Welll done, Watson: Watson: you improve all th thee time. Yes, “plow “pl ow ” is bad English E nglish bu b u t go good od Am erican .The p rinte r had copied the advertisement advertisement exactly exactly as as he received it. it. It was was in fact an Am erican advertisement, but we were expected to believe that it was put in by an Englishman. How do you explain that?’ ‘I can only suppose that this American lawyer put the advertisement in himself. But I have no idea what his aim in doing so can have been.’ ‘Well, there are three possible explanations. One thing is very cl clea ear: r: he wanted wa nted good go od old M r Nath an Garrideb to go off to Birmingha Birm ingham. m. O f course I could have have told told the old man that his his  j  jo o u r n e y was useless. useless. B u t I deci de cid d ed it w o u ld b e b e tte tt e r to let le t h im go, and allow the affair to develop according to the intentions of the Kans Kansas as lawy lawyer er.. Tomorrow, Watson - tom orrow or row will be a day day o f action!’ action!’ ♦

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Holmes was was up and out o ut ear early ly the next m orning. W he n he returned at lunchtime I noticed he had a very serious expression on his face. ‘Th This is is a mo more re dang dangerous erous aff affair air tha than n I had exp expecte ected, d, Watson,’ he said. ‘I have to warn you, though I know that the danger will only be an additional attraction to you! I think I know my Watson by now. But there is danger, and you should realize this.’ ‘Well, this will not be the first danger that we have shared, Holmes. And I hope it will not be the last! What is the particular danger this time?’ ‘I have found out who Mr John Garrideb, the Kansas lawyer, really rea lly is. H e is the murderer, mu rderer, “K “Killer” iller” Evan Evanss - an evil and tterrib errible le man.’ ‘I am afraid I have never heard of him.’ ‘Ah, it iiss no nott pa part rt o f your yo ur profession to keep these details details o f the history of crime in your memory! I have been down to see our friend Les Lestra trade de at Scotland Ya Yard rd.. Th e Lo ndo ndon n police may lack imagination, but they are remarkably thorough, and I had an idea that I might get on the track of our American friend “Mr John Garrideb” by looking through their records. I soon found a  ph  p h o tog to g ra rap p h o f his ro rou u n d , smilin sm iling g face. T h e na name mess u n d e r it w ere er e James W inter, M orecroft, and Killer Ev Evan ans. s.’’ Holm Holmes es pulled ou outt an envelope from h envelope his is po ck et.‘ et.‘II noted note d dow n a few few o f the oth other er points about him. He is forty-four years old. He was born in Chicago. He is known to have shot three men in the United States, but he got out of prison by means of political influence. He came to Lond Lo ndon on in 18 1893. 93. In January 1895 1895 he shot a man in a quarrel over a card card game game in a nightclub in the Waterloo Roa R oad. d. T he man di died, ed,  bu  b u t he was sh show own n to have starte sta rted d the th e qu quar arrel rel.. T h e de dead ad m an was Rodger Prescott, who was famous as a forger in Chicago. Killer Evans was sent to prison, but came out last year. Since then the  po licee have b e e n w a tc  polic tch h in ing g his m ov ovem emen ents, ts, b u t h e seems to have  be  b e e n le lead adin ing g an h o n e st life life.. H e is a ve very ry da dang ngero erous us m an an,, usual usually ly

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carries a gun, and a nd is no t afraid afraid to fi fire re it. T h a t is our ou r man, m an, Watson!’ ‘But what is his aim in this Garrideb affair?’ I asked. ‘Well, that is becoming clearer. I have been to the property office. Mr Nathan Garrideb, as he told us, has been at Little R yd er Street for fiv fivee yea years rs.. T h e rooms were w ere empty emp ty for a year year  befo  be fore re h e m o ved ve d in. Befo Be fore re that, th at, they th ey were we re let le t to a myste my sterio rious us gentleman gentlema n cal called led Waldron, w ho was was well rememb reme mbered ered at the office. He suddenly disappeared and nothing more was heard of him. He was a tall, very dark man with a beard. Now, Prescott, the man whom Killer Evans shot, was, according to our friends at Scotland Sco tland Yard, Yard, also also a tall, tall, dark m an w ith a beard. My M y guess guess is that Prescott, the American criminal, used to five in Little Ryder Street, in the room where old Mr Garrideb keeps his collection. So at last we have a connection, you see.’ ‘And where is the next clue?’ ‘Well, we must go now and look for that.’ He took a gun from the drawer and handed it to me. ‘I have my own gun with me,’ he said. ‘If Killer Evans begins shooting we must be prepared. I’ll give you an hour for your afternoo after noon n sleep sleep,, Watson, Watson, and then th en I think it will will be time tim e for our o ur Little Ryder Street adventure.’ It was just four o’clock when we reached Mr Nathan G arrideb arrid eb s strange hom e. Mrs Saunders was about abo ut to leave, leave, bu t she let us in. The door shut with a spring lock and Holmes  p  pro rom m ised is ed to make ma ke sure tha th a t ever ev eryt ythi hing ng was safe safe befo be fore re w e left. Soon afterwards the front door of the house closed and we saw Mrs Saunders Saunders pas pass the windows. window s. We were now no w alone in the lower low er  p  par artt o f the th e house ho use.. H o lmes lm es m ade ad e a rapi ra pid d exam ex am inat in atio ion n o f the th e rooms.There was one cupboard in a dark corner which stood out a little from the wall. It was behind this that we hid, while Holmes spoke to me in a whisper.

‘Evan Evanss wanted wa nted to get the old gentleman out ou t o f his his room ro om —that is very clear; clear; bu t as the collector colle ctor never ne ver w ent en t out, o ut, Evans’s proble pro blem m

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was not an easy one to solve. It seems that all his lies about the Garrideb will and the Garrideb land had no other purpose than to get Mr Nathan Garrideb away from the house for one day O n e has to admit, adm it, Watson, Watson , that th at Evans’ Evan s’s lies lies did d id have a certain cer tain cl clev evern ernes esss about abo ut them the m - thoug tho ugh h the old collector’s collector’s unusual name gave him an opportunity which he could hardly have expected.’ ‘But what can the man possibly want here?’ I asked. ‘Well, that is what we are here to find out. I don’t think it has anything whatever to do with our client. It is something connec co nnected ted with the man m an that Eva Evans ns killed killed - a man w ho may have have  b  bee e n involv inv olved ed w ith it h h im in cr crim imin inal al activities activi ties o f some som e kind ki nd.. T h e re is some guilty secret in this room, I think. At first I thought Mr  N a tha  Na th a n G a rr rrid ideb eb m igh ig h t have som so m e thin th ing g in his colle co llect ctio ion n that th at was more valua valuabl blee than he reali realized zed - something wo rth the attention a ttention of a big criminal. But when I discovered that the evil Rodger Prescott used to five here, I realized that there must be some quite different diff erent explanation. Well,Wats Well,Watson, on, the the only thing thin g we can do now is to have patience and wait and watch.’ We did not have to wait long. A few moments later we heard the front door of the house open and shut. Then there was the sound of a key in the lock, and the American was in the room. He closed the door quietly behind him, gave a quick look round the room to check that he was alone, threw off his. coat, and walked walk ed up to the table table in in the centre centre o f the room roo m w ith the firm step of a man who knows exactly what he has to do and how to do it. He pushed the table to one side and pulled up the floor covering on which it stood. Then he rolled it completely back, took a tool from his inside pocket, and knelt down to work on the floor. A moment later we heard the sound of sliding boards,

and a square hole appeared in the floor. Evans struck a match, lit a lamp, and disappeared down the hole. This was was clear clearly ly our ou r opportunity. op portunity. Holmes touch tou ched ed my m y wrist as as a signal, and together we moved quietly across the room towards

 

the hole. But in spite of our efforts to make no noise, Evans must have heard a slight sound as we passed over the old floorboards, si since nce his his head suddenly came up out ou t o f the open op en spac spacee and he looked anxiousl anxiously y roun d the room. W he n he saw us a look o f anger, disappointment and hatred appeared on his face. This gradually changed to a broad smile as he realized that two guns were aimed at his head. ‘Well, well!’ he said coldly as he climbed up out of the hole. ‘You have been too clever for me, Mr Holmes. I suppose you realized from fr om the first first that th at I was telling lies. lies. Well, sir, sir, you yo u have  bea  b eate ten n m e and an d . . ’ In a sudden movement he pulled out a gun from an inside  po  p o c k e t and an d fired fir ed two tw o shots. I felt a sudd su dden en h o t tea te a rin ri n g pain pa in,, as i f a red-ho red -ho t iron had been b een press pressed ed agai agains nstt the top o f my leg. leg. There was a crash as as H o lm e s’s s’s gun gu n came ca me d ow n on o n Evans Ev ans’’s head. hea d. I saw saw the man lying on the floor with blood running down his face, while Holm es searched him for other oth er weapons. T h en my friend frie nd’’s arms were round me and he was leading me to a chair. ‘You’re You’re n o t hu rt, Watson? Watson? O h, please please say that y o u ’re n o t h u rt!’ rt! ’ I did did not mind the w ound oun d - I would no t hav havee minded many wounds —because if I had not been hit I should never have known the loyalty and love that Holmes felt for me, feelings which he almost always hid beneath his unemotional expression and manner. For a moment I saw tears in those clear, hard eyes of his; and the firm lips were shaking. I suddenly realized that Holmes had a great heart as well as a great mind. That moment of realization was my reward for years of service.

‘It It’’s noth no thin ing, g, Holm H olmes. es. I t’s t’s jus ju s t a small small woun wo und. d.’’ He had made a long tear in my trousers with his pocket knife. ‘You are right!’ he cried.‘The skin is hardly broken.’ He turned to our ou r prisoner prison er and gave ave him a cold cold,, hard loo lo o k .‘ .‘It It is is a lucky thing thin g for you. you. If you had killed killed Watson Watson,, you w ould no t have have got go t out ou t o f this room alive. Now, sir, what have you got to say?’

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H e had noth n othing ing to sa say. H e only la lay there there and looked looke d at us us with a child’s child’s anger. anger. I leaned leane d on o n H olm es’ es ’s arm, arm , and toge to gethe therr we looke loo ked d dow n into the small small room roo m at the botto b ottom m o f the hole in the floor floor.. It was still lit by the lamp which Evans had taken down with him. We saw saw a lot o f old machinery, great roll rollss o f paper, a quantity qua ntity o f  bottl  bo ttles es,, and an d - tidily tid ily ar arra rang nged ed o n a small table - a n u m b e r o f neat ne at little piles. ‘A prin p rinting ting pres presss - for printin pr inting g forged notes,’ sa said id Holmes. ‘Yes, sir,’ said our prisoner, struggling to his feet and then sinking into a chair. ‘Prescott was the greatest forger there has ever been in London Lon don.. T h at’s at’s his his machine, m achine, and those pi pile less on the table are 2,000 of his bank notes. Each of them is worth a hund hu ndred red pound p oundss and is is good enoug eno ugh h to pas pass for rea reall money. money. Help yourselves, gentle ge ntlem m en, en , and let m e go. go. Let’ Le t’ss make a deal!’ Holmes laughed. ‘We d o n ’t do things like tha t hatt in this country, cou ntry, M r Evans. Evans. You shot this man Prescott, didn’t you?’ ‘Yes, sir, and I was sent to prison for five years for doing it, thoug tho ugh h it was he w ho pulled o ut his his gun g un first first.. Fiv Fivee yea years rs in prison - w hen he n I ought oug ht to have have been given given a reward reward by the King King!! There isn’tt a man isn’ ma n living w ho could cou ld see see the difference difference betw be tween een a Prescott note n ote and a Bank o f England one, and if I ha hadn dn’’t kill killed ed him he would have filled London with them. I was the only man in the the w orld who knew w here he made them. Can you blame blame me

for wanting to get to the place? And when I found the old bone collector with the unusual name sitting right on top of it, of course I had to do wha w hatt I could to get rid o f him. Perhaps Perhaps it would have been wiser simply to shoot him. It would have been very easy to do that, but I have a soft heart and can’t begin shooting unless the other man has a gun too. But, Mr Holmes, what have I done wrong? I haven’t used that machinery down there. I haven’t haven’t hu h u rt old M r Garrideb. G arrideb. W hat ha t crim e are are you charging me with?’

 

‘O nl nly y aatte ttem m pt pted ed mur murder, der, I think,’ thin k,’ sai said d Holmes. Holm es. ‘B ut that tha t isn’t isn’t ou r job. It will be a matter m atter for fo r Scotland S cotland Ya Yard rd.. Just ring r ing the m up, up, Watson, would you, please? The call won’t be completely unexpected.’ So those were the facts about Killer Evans and his invention of the three Garri Garridebs debs.. We heard la later ter that our ou r po or old friend M r  Naa tha  N th a n G ar arri ride deb b ne neve verr got go t over ove r th thee di disa sapp ppoi oint ntm m ent en t o f n o t receiving any of the Garrideb money. He lost his mind and was taken away to a special hospital in Brixton. It was was a happy day at at Scotland Yard Yard w wh h en the Prescott machinery was discovered; they knew that it existed, but after Pres cott’’s death they had never been Prescott bee n able to find ou t where wh ere it was. wa s. M any high offic official ialss at the Yard Yard could cou ld now n ow sleep sleep more m ore  peacef  pea cefull ully y at nigh ni ght, t, and an d felt so gr grate ateful ful to Evans Evan s for fo r lead le adin ing g th thee m to Pres P resco cott’ tt’ss pre press ss that they th ey w wou ould ld gladly have given him hi m the reward of which he had spoken. But the judge took a less favourable view of the case, and Killer Evans was sent back to the  p  pri riso son n w h ich ic h he ha had d so re rece cent ntly ly left.

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Wisteria House

It was was a cold and w windy indy da day y to toward wardss the end o f March. Sherlock Holmes and I were sitting at lunch when there was a knock at the door and a telegram was brought in. Holmes read it and quickly wrote a reply, but he said nothing to me about it. The matter must have remained in his thoughts, though, as he kept looking at the telegram. At last, after lunch, he read it out loud to me: HAVE JUST HAD A STRANGE EXPERIENCE. MAY I CONSULT YOU?  SCOTT ECCLES, POST OFFICE, CHARING CROSS.

‘Is Scott Eccles a man or a woman?’ I asked. ‘O h, a man, of cour course! se! N o woma wo man nw would ould ever send a telegram like that. A woman would have come straight to me.’ ‘And did you agree to see Mr Scott Eccles?’ ‘My dear Watson, need you ask? You know how much I enjoy exercising my brain.’ exercising brain.’Just Just th en there wa wass the sound sou nd o f footsteps footsteps on on the stairs. ‘Ah! Here comes our visitor now.’

The visitor was tall, fat and very serious. His grey hair stuck out from his head and his red face seemed to be swollen with anger. ‘I have had a very strange and unpleasant experience, Mr Holmes,’ he said immediately, ‘and I have come to you for an explanation!’ ‘Please sit down, Mr Scott Eccles,’ said Holmes gently. ‘Now tell me exactly why you have come to me.’ ‘Well, sir, there has been no crime, and so I could not go to the  police.  poli ce. B u t w h e n you yo u have he hear ard d th thee facts, you yo u m us ustt adm ad m it th that at I could n ot lea leave ve the matter m atter where wh ere it w was as.. O f course I have have never had any dealings with a private detective before, but ...’

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‘W hy didn’ did n’tt you come immediately?’ inter int erru rupte pte d Holmes. Holme s. ‘What do you mean?’ asked Mr Scott Eccles. Holmes looked at his watch. ‘It is now a quarter past two,’ he said. ‘Your telegram was sent from Charing Cross at about one o’clock. But your clothing and appearance show that your bad experience experien ce happen hap pened ed as as soon as as you w oke up this this morning mo rning.’ .’ Scott Eccles looked down at his untidy clothes, smoothed down his unbrushed hair and felt his rough chin. ‘You are right, Mr Holmes. I had no time to think about my appearance this morning. I wanted to get out of that house as quickly as as I coul could! d! B ut I made some inquiries o f my own o wn before coming com ing to you. I went to the property p roperty company firs firstt. They Th ey told me that Mr Garcia has paid his rent and that everything is in order at W isteria isteria House.’ ‘My dear sir,’ Holmes said with a laugh, ‘you are like my friend Dr Watson, who has a bad habit of beginning his stories at the end. Please arrange your thoughts and let me know exactly what those events events are are whic w hich h have sent you ou t in search of o f advice advice and help. Begin at the beginning.’

But there was an interruption. Mrs Hudson showed Tobias Gregson and another police officer into the room. Gregson was a Scotland Yard Yard detect detective. ive. H e shook shoo k hands w ith Holmes, Holm es, and introduced the other officer as Mr Baynes of the Surrey police. Then he turned to Mr Scott Eccles. ‘Are you M r John Jo hn Scott Ecc Eccle les, s, of Popham House, Lee Lee?’ ?’ ‘Yes, I am.’ ‘We have been following you about all morning.’ ‘But why? What do you want?’ he asked. ‘We wan w antt a statement statem ent from you,’ you ,’ said said Gregs Gre gson on,‘ ,‘ab abou outt the death o f M r Alo Aloys ysiu iuss Garci Garcia, a, o f W isteria House, near Esher.’ Esher.’ M r Scott S cott Eccles’ Ec cles’ss face was was white wh ite now. now. ‘Dead? D id you y ou say say he was dead?’ ‘Yes, sir, he died last night.’

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‘But how did he die? Was it an accident?’ ‘It was murder, without any doubt.’ ‘O h God! This is terrible! terrible! You do n’t n’t m ean - you do n ’t mean mea n that I am suspected?’ ‘A letter lette r o f yours was found fou nd in the dead m an ’s pocket. poc ket. It shows that you were intending to spend last night at his house.’ ‘And so I did.’ ‘Ah!’ Gregson took to ok ou t his his notebo no tebook ok.. ‘Wait a moment, Gregson,’ said Holmes. ‘You want a plain statement from M r Scott Eccl Eccles es,, do n ’t you?’ ‘And An d it is is my duty to warn wa rn M r Scott S cott Eccle Eccless that tha t it may be used against him.’ ‘Mr Scott Eccles was going to tell us about it when you entered en tered the room. roo m. Give Give ou r frien fr iend d a gl glass o f brandy, brandy, plea please se,, Watson. Now, sir, please try to forget the presence of these police officers and tell us everything.’ Our visitor swallowed his brandy, and the colour began to

return to his face. ‘I am unm un m arried arr ied,’ ,’ he began, ‘and I have have many friends. One On e o f these is Mr Melville, an older gentleman who lives in Kensington. A few weeks ago I went to dinner at the Melvilles and they introduced me to a young man called Garcia. He told me that he worked for the Spanish government in London, but he spoke  perf  pe rfec ectt Englis En glish. h. H e was very ve ry g o o d - loo lo o k ing in g and an d had ha d exce ex celle llent nt manners. He seemed to like me very much, and only two days later he came to see me at Lee. Before long he invited me to spend a few few day days at his his house, W isteria House, Hou se, betwee betw een n Esher E sher and an d Oxshott in Surrey. I arranged to begin my visit yesterday evening. ‘Garcia had already described his household to me. There was a Spanish servant and an excellent American-Indian cook. ‘I hired a carriage at Esher Station. W isteria House Ho use is about abou t two miles away, on the south side of the village. It is quite a big house, in its own grounds, but is in extremely poor condition.

 

‘Garcia opened the door to me himself, and gave me a very friendly welcome. Then the Spanish servant showed me to my  b  bee d roo ro o m . H e se seem emed ed as da dark rk an and d sad as th thee h ou ouse se itself. ‘At dinner I was the only guest. Garcia did his best to entertain me, but I could see that his thoughts were wandering. He bit his nail na ilss and kept drum d rum m ing with w ith his finge fingers rs on the ta tabl ble. e. H e seemed to be very impatient. Th e meal its itself elf was neithe neitherr well well cooked no norr well served. Many times that evening I wished I was back at home. ‘Towards the end of dinner the servant brought Garcia a note. I noticed that my hosts behaviour became even more strange after he had read it. He no longer attempted to make conversation, but only sat and smoked. At about eleven o’clock I went to bed. Some time later Garcia looked in at my door and

asked me if I had rung the bell. I said that I had not. He said he was sorry about coming to my room so late; it was, he told me, nearly one on e o ’clock. W h en he h had ad go gone ne I ffel elll asl aslee eep, p, and I did no t wake up until almost nine. I had asked the Spanish servant to call me at eight, and I was surprised at his forgetfulness. I jumped out o f bed be d and rang the bel bell. l. N ob od y ca came. me. I rang agai again n and ag agai ain, n,  b  bu u t still n o th thin ing g ha happ ppen ened ed.. I th o u g h t th that at perh pe rhap apss th thee bel belll was outt o f order. ou order. I dres dressed sed quickly quickly and the then n ran angrily downstairs downstairs to order some hot water, but there was no one there. I shouted in the hall. There was no answer. Then I ran from room to room. There Th ere was no nobo body dy anywhere. I kn knock ocked ed at Garcia’s be bedro droom om door. o re rep pthe ly. ly. Ibed tu turn rned ed not the handle and in. walked in in.. had T he gone! roo room m The was empty,N and had been slept He too foreign host, host, tthe he foreign se servan rvant, t, the foreign ccoo ook k - all had disappea dis appeared red in the th e nig night! ht! T ha hatt wa wass the end o f my visi visitt to Wisteria House.’ Sherlock Holmes rubbed his hands with pleasure. ‘And what did you do next?’ he asked. ‘I was very angry. At first I thought it was a joke. I packed my

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 bag, left th thee ho hous use, e, an and d w alk alked ed in into to Esher. Eshe r. I called calle d at Allan Brothers, the main property company in the village, and asked some questi questions ons abo about ut M r Gar Garci ciaa and Wisteria House. I tho thoug ught ht that perhaps Garcia had gone away suddenly in order to avoid  payi  pa ying ng th thee re rent nt.. B u t th thee m an th ther eree tha th a n k ed m e fo forr w arn ar n in ing g them, and told me that Garcia had paid the rent several months ahead ahe ad.. T he n I returne returned d to L Lond ondon on and made some inquir inquiries ies about Spanish government employees.The man was unknown to any officials. After this I went to see Melville, at whose house I had first met Garcia, but he really knew very little about the man. Then I sent that telegram to you. A friend of mine had mentioned your name to me: he said you gave advice in difficult

cases. ses.’’ M r Sco Scott tt Ec Eccles cles tu turn rned ed no now w to Gregson. ‘I have have told the whole truth, officer. I know nothing more about Mr Garcia and his death. I only want to help the police in every possible way.’ T m sure o f that, M r Sco Scott tt Ecc Eccles les,’ ,’ answered Gregson. ‘Your story agrees perfectly with all the facts of the case. For example, there was was that n note ote w hich arriv arrived ed d during uring dinne dinnerr at Wisteria House. W hat ha t did Gar Garcia cia do w with ith it aft after er he had read iit?’ t?’ ‘He rolled it up and threw it into the fire.’ ‘Well, Mr Baynes?’ asked Gregson, turning to the other police officer. Baynes was a country detective, a fat man with a red face and brigh bri ght, t, cle clever ver eey yes. H e smiled and took to ok a sm smal alll piece o f paper pap er out of his pocket. Its edges were burnt. ‘Garcia threw badly,’ he said. ‘The letter was only slightly  b  bu u rn t, as iitt fell iin n to th thee fire fireplac placee an and d n o t in into to the th e fire. Shall I read rea d it out loud to these gentlemen, Mr Gregson?’ ‘Certainly, Mr Baynes.’ ‘It says: “Our own colours, green and white. Green open, white shut. Main stairs, first passage, seventh on the right, green door. D.” The note is written on cream-coloured paper. It has  be  b e e n fo fold lded ed ove overr th thre reee tim times es and an d is addresse addr essed d to M r Garcia, Wisteria House. T he letter is in a wo m an’ an’ss handw hand w riting, but we

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think the address was written by someone else.’ ‘But what has happened to Garcia?’ asked Mr Scott Eccles. ‘He was found dead this morning in a field near Oxshott, about a mile from his home. All the bones in his head had been crush cru shed ed by several several blows from fro m some so me large heavy h eavy weap w eapon on.. It’ It ’s a lonely place, and the nearest house is a quarter of a mile away.’ ‘H ad he bee b een n ro robbe bbed?’ d?’ as asked ked Holmes. ‘No, there was no attempt at robbery,’ replied Baynes. ‘All this is very painful pain ful and terrible,’ terrib le,’ said said M r Sc Scott ott Eccles, ‘bu t why am I mixed up in the affair?’

‘Because the th e only pa paper per in M r Garcia’s pock po cket et was your yo ur letter, sir,’ answered Baynes.‘It was the envelope of this letter which gave us the dead m an ’s name nam e and addres address. s. W h e n we w e reache rea ched d his house at half past past nine thi this morning, mo rning, we found fo und neithe r you no r anyone else inside. Mr Gregson tracked you down at Charing Cross Post Office by means of your telegram.’ ‘And now, sir,’ said Gregson, ‘you must come with us to Scotland Yard Yard and give give us your you r statem ent in writin writing.’ g.’ ‘Certainly, I will come immediately. But I still wish you to help me, Mr Holmes. I want to know the truth about this affair!’ ‘M r Baynes Baynes,, do you k now no w exactly exactly whe w he n the t he m an was killed?’ killed?’ asked Holmes. ‘H e had bee b een n lying in th thee field since one o ’clock. T here he re was was rain at about that time, and the murder certainly happened before the rain.’ ‘But that is quite impossible, Mr Baynes!’ cried Scott Eccles. ‘He spoke to me in my bedroom at one o’clock.’ ‘It is certainly strange,’ said Sherlock Holmes with a smile, ‘but not impossible.’

‘Have you y ou form fo rm ed any opini op inion on abo ut this affa affair ir,, Watson?’ Wa tson?’ asked asked Holmes, later the same afternoon.

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‘As the servants have disappeared, I think that perhaps they were conc co ncer erne ned d in the crime,’ I sai said d. ‘It is possible,’ he said. ‘But why should they attack him on the one night when he had a guest?’ ‘But why did they run away?’ I objected. ‘That, Th at, Watson, Watson , is is the problem prob lem.. M r Scott Sc ott Eccles’ Ecc les’ss strange experien exp erience ce is also also a myst myster ery. y. W hy should sho uld a pleasant youn yo ung g man m an

like the friendship a ttrather stupid middle-aged  pe  pers rso oGarcia n like Swant cott co tt Eccles? W h a t isofS cott co Eccle Ec cles’ s’ss m os ost t notic no ticea eabl blee quality? He is clearly an honest man, an old-fashioned Englishman w ho m oth er Englishmen E nglishmen bel believe ieve and trust. trust. Yo You u saw how those two policemen accepted his strange story! Garcia wanted wa nted him hi m as a witness, witness, Watson.’ ‘But what was he supposed to witness?’ ‘He could have sworn that his host was at home at one o’clock this th is m orning. ornin g. W he n Garcia Garcia told him h im it w waas one, o ne, it was was probably probably no later than midnight.’ ‘What is your explanation of the message? “Our own colours, gree gr een n and an d wh w h ite— ite —” ’ ‘That sounds like a horse race,’ Holmes replied. ‘And “Green open, white shut” must be a signal. The rest of the note seems to  be an app ap p o in intm tm ent. en t. Th T h e re may be a jeal je alou ouss hu husb sban and d so som m ewhe ew here re in this case. case. T h e n ther th eree is the signature— signa ture—’ ‘The man was a Spaniard. Perhaps the letter D stands for Dolores, since that is a common female name in Spain.’ ‘Good, Go od, Watson, Watson, very very good goo d - bu t quite impos impossib sible le.. A Spaniar Spaniard d would write to another Spaniard in Spanish. The writer of this note is certainly English. The affair is still very mysterious. I have sent a telegram which may bring us some helpful information.’ ♦

W h e n the t he answer to H olm es’s es’s telegra telegram m came, he passed passed it acro across ss to me. It was only a lis listt o f names and an d addr address esses. es. “ ‘Lord Lo rd

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Harringby,” ’ I read, ‘ “The Dingle; Sir George Ffolliott, Oxshott Towers; Mr Hynes, Purdey Place; Mr James Baker-Williams, Forton Old Hall; Mr Henderson, High Gable; Mr Joshua Stone,  N e th e r Walsling.” I d o n ’t q ui uite te unde un ders rsta tand nd,, H Hol olm m es es.’ .’ ‘M y dear friend, hav havee you forgo forgotten tten the mes messa sage ge tha thatt “D ” sent

to Garcia cia? “Main ssttairs, fir irsst passage, se seven venth th on the r i g h t . . The house we are looking for has more than one staircase, and one of the passages contains at least seven doors. It must be a very large house, Watson Watson,, and it iiss p probably robably within w ithin a mile o orr tw two o o f Ox Oxshott. shott. My telegram was to Allan Brothers, the property company. I aske as ked d them the m to send me a fis istt o f all the lar large ge houses in the O xsh xshott ott area, and here it is.’ ♦

We travelled down to Esher by train later in the afternoon and took too k rooms in the vil villag lagee at the Bull H Hotel. otel. We w en entt along to Wisteria House with Mr Baynes that evening. The house was in darkness except for a low light in one window on the ground floor. ‘T h e re ’s a pol police icem m an insid inside,’ e,’ Baynes exp explained. lained. ‘‘II ’ll k kno nock ck at the window.’ He crossed the grass and knocked on the glass. I heard a cry and saw a policeman jump up nervously from his chair. A moment later he opened the front door to us. He was shaking violently. ‘W h a t’s t’s the ma matte tter, r, Walters?’ asked Baynes. ‘I am glad you have com come, e, ssir ir.. It has be been en a lon lo n g wait; it it’’s a lonely, silent house, and that strange thing in the kitchen, too. When you knocked at the window, I thought the devil had come again.’ ‘What do you mean?’ Baynes asked sharply. ‘The devil, sir. It was at the window.’ ‘What was at the window, and when?’ ‘It was about two hours ago. It was just beginning to get dark.

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I was reading. I don’t know what made me look up, but there was a horrible face at the window. I shall see it in my dreams, sir, I know I shall.’ ‘A policeman should never talk in that way, Walters.’

‘I know know,, ssir ir.. B ut it really frig fr ighte htene ned d me. It It w wasn asn’’t black, ssir ir,, and it wasn’ wasn ’t w white. hite. It wa wass a kind kin d o f light b brow rown, n, the co colou lourr o f clay. A nd it wa wass very lar large ge,, sir sir - twice the size ize o f yo your ur face face. A nd it had  big  b ig eyes, eyes, and a nd gr grea eatt w h it itee te teee th like a w ild il d anim an imal al’’s.’ ‘I th thin ink ky you ou mu must st have b bee een n dreaming drea ming,, Walters!’ sai said d Bay Baynes. nes. ‘We can easily find out,’ said Holmes. He lit his small pocket lamp and looked closely at the grass outside the window. ‘Yes, a size twelve shoe, I think. He must have been a big man.’ ‘Where did he go?’ I asked. ‘He seems to have walked through these bushes.’ ‘Well,’ said Baynes, ‘we have other things to think of now, Mr Holmes. Let me show you the kitchen.’ This wa wass a high, dark roo m at the back o f the house. We sa saw wa  pile  pi le o f stra straw w an and d a few fe w be bedc dclo loth thes es.. It ap appe pear ared ed tha th a t th thee c o o k slept there. The table was covered with dirty plates and half-eaten food - the re remai mains ns o f the m meal eal w hich M r Scott E Ecc ccle less had shar shared ed tthe he  prev  pr eviou iouss eve evenin ning. g. ‘Look at this,’ said Baynes. ‘What do you think it is?’ He held up his lamp to let us see a strange object on top of a cupboard. It was a black, leathery, dried-up thing shaped like a  ba by o r a small mo  baby monk nkey. ey. A do doub uble le b a n d o f seashells was tie ti e d round it. ‘Interesting!’ said Holmes. ‘Very interesting! Is there anything else?’ In silence silence B Bayn aynes es led the way to the other oth er si side de o f the kitche kitchen n and held up his lamp again. There, on a small table, we saw the legs, wings, head and body of a large white bird. The feathers were still on them, but the bird had been torn to pieces. ‘How strange!’ said Holmes. ‘This really is a very unusual case.’

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Mr Baynes had kept the most horrible thing of all until the last. He bent down and pulled a bucket out from under the small

table. It was full of blood. ‘We also also fou found nd some b u rn t bones,’ bon es,’ he sa said id.. ‘A youn yo ung g goa goatt seems see ms to have be been en killed here. A yo youn ung g go goat at an and d a whit w hitee bird.’ ‘Very strange,’ said Holmes. ‘Very strange and very interesting. Well,, tthere Well here is nothin g more m ore for me to do here. here. T hank ha nk you, M Mrr Baynes. Good night and good luck!’ ♦

AfP

Ov er the next few days, Holmes told me noth ing o f the resu Over result ltss o f his inquiries. One day he visited a library in London, but he spent most of his time in country walks around Esher and Oxshott. He pretended to be a collector of rare plants, but he spent many hours in conversation with the village people. His  plan  pl antt bo box x was usually usual ly almost alm ost em pt pty y in th thee evenin ev enings gs w h e n he came back to the hotel where we were staying. About five days after the crime I opened my morning paper and saw in large letters: THE OXSHOTT MYSTERY A SOLU S OLU TION M U R D E R E R C AU AU G GH HT W he n I re read ad tthi hiss out o ut to Holmes, he jum pe d ou outt o f his his chair as if he had been stung. ‘Good heavens!’ he cried. ‘So Baynes has got him?’ ‘It appears that he has,’ I replied, and read the report out loud to him. ‘Great excite exciteme ment nt was was ca cause used d in Esher and the n neig eighb hbou ouring ring ar area ea last night when a man was charged in connection with the Oxshott murder. Our readers will remember that Mr Garcia, of 

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Wisteria House, was found dead near Oxshott last week. His  bo  b o d y sh show owed ed signs o f ex extr trem em e vi viol olen ence. ce. O n th thee same ni nig g h t his servant and his cook disappeared. Their flight seemed to show that they had something to do with the murder. The police thought that the dead man might have had gold or jewels in the house, and that robbery was the real reason for the crime. Mr Baynes of the Surrey police made great efforts to track the two servants down. He believed that they had not gone far, and that it would wo uld be ea easy sy to find their hiding h iding place place.. T he cook coo k in particular wass a man o f very noticeable appearan wa appearance, ce, a la large rge,, dark-s dark-skinn kinned ed foreigner. This man was seen by one of Bayness men, Walters, at Wisteria House on the day after the crime. After this, Mr Baynes decided to move his men from the house to the grounds, where they hid behi b ehind nd the tr trees ees every every eve evening ning.. T he cook coo k walked into this trap last night. In the struggle Downing, another policeman, was badly bitten, but the man was overpowered and taken to the  polic  po licee statio sta tion. n. We are to told ld th that at th thee p ri riso son n e r has b e e n char ch arge ged d with the murder of Mr Garcia.’ ‘We must see Baynes immediately!’ cried Holmes, picking up his hat. The house where Baynes was staying was only a short distance away. We hu rr rrie ied d dow do w n the th e villa village ge street and fo foun und d th a t h hee was was  ju s t leaving. leavin g. ‘You’ You ’ve seen th e paper, M r H olm olmes?’ es?’ he aske asked, d, holdin hol ding g one out ou t to us. ‘Yes, Baynes, I’ve seen it. Please don’t be angry with me if I give you a word of friendly warning.’ ‘O f warni warning, ng, M r Holmes?’ ‘I have looked into the case very carefully, and I think you may  be m akin ak ing g a mista mistake. ke. I d o n ’t w an antt you yo u to do an anyt ythi hing ng unless yo you u are sure.’ ‘You’ Yo u’re re very k kind, ind, M r H Holm olmes.’ es.’

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‘I am only speaking for your own good.’ It seemed seem ed to me that tha t M r Bay Baynes nes closed one o f hi hiss eyes eyes for a moment and gave a slight smile. ‘You have your methods, Mr Holmes, and I have mine.’ ‘O h, very good good,’ ,’ said said Holmes. Holm es. ‘B ut d o n ’t blame blam e m e i f things go wrong.’ ‘No, sir. I believe you mean well. But I am dealing with this case in my own way.’ ‘Let us say no more about it ...’ ‘B ut let me m e tell you ab abou outt the cook. H e ’s a wil wild d man, m an, as as strong as a carthorse cartho rse and as violen vio lentt aass the dev devil. il. H e nearly bi bitt D ow nin ni n g’s g’s thum thu m b off before they could master him. He hardl hardly y sp spea eaks ks a word o f English, and only makes noises in his his thro at like an animal. animal.’’ ‘And you think that he murdered his master?’ ‘I did d idn n ’t sa say y sso o, M r Holm H olmes; es; I d id idn’ n’tt say say so.We so.We all have o u r ow o wn methods.You can try yours and I will try mine.’ ♦

MP

‘I don’t understand Baynes at all,’ said Holmes as we walked away together. ‘H ‘H e seems seems to be on completely com pletely the w rong ro ng track. Well, Well, as he says, eac each h o f us mus m ustt ttry ry his ow o w n wa way. y. We shal shalll see the th e results!’ When we were back in our sitting room at the Bull Hotel, Holmes asked me to sit down. ‘I have many m any things to tell you ab abou ou t this case case,, Watson,’ Watso n,’ he said said.. ‘And I may need your help tonight. ‘First of o f all ll,’ ,’ he w ent en t on, o n, ‘I have have been bee n th ink ing abou ab outt the th e note no te that Garcia received on o n the t he evening o f the murder. murd er. We can dis dismi miss ss the idea that his servants had anything to do with his death. It was Garcia who was planning a crime that night. It was he who invited Scott Eccles, the perfect witness. And it was he who lied to him about the time. I believe Garcia died in the course of a criminal adventure. ‘Who, then,’ Holmes continued, ‘is most likely to have taken

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his li life fe?? Surely the per p erso son n against w h o m Garcia’ Garcia ’s criminal crim inal plan was directed. ‘We can now see a reason for the disappearance of the people in Garcia’ Garc ia’s house. T hey he y were w ere all all involved in his pl plan. an. If I f the plan had succeeded, Garcia would have returned home and Scott Eccles would have been useful to him as a witness. All would have  b  bee e n well. Bu B u t the th e at atte tem m p t was a dan d ange gero rous us one, on e, and an d i f Garcia Garc ia did not   return by a certain time the servants would know he was  prob  pr obab ably ly dead. dead . It had ha d b e e n arran arr ange ged, d, ther th eref efor ore, e, tha th a t in such su ch a case case they would escape to their hiding place. From that hiding place they could make another ano ther attempt to carry out ou t the plan. plan. Th That at w ould ou ld fully explain the fact facts, s, w ou ldn’ ld n’tt it?’ The mystery seemed much clearer to me now. I wondered, as I always did with Holmes, why I had not thought of the explanation myself. ‘But why should one of the servants return to Wisteria House?’ I objected. ‘I think that perhaps in the confusion o f flight flight something valuable, something he could not bear to lose, had been left  beh  b ehin ind d . T h a t w o u ld expla ex plain in b o th his visits, visits, w o u ldn ld n ’t it? it?’’ ‘Yes, you’re right,’ I said. ‘But you were going to tell me about the note that Garcia received at dinner on the evening of the murder.’ ‘Ah, yes. That note shows that the woman who wrote it was involved in the plan too. But where was she? I have already shown you that the place could only be some large house, and that the th e num nu m ber be r of o f large large houses is is limited. Since Since we arrived a rrived in Esher I have looked at all these houses and made inquiries about their owners. One house, and only one, especially attracted my attention. atten tion. This was the famous old house called called High Hig h Gable, Gable, one mile out of Oxshott. High Gable is less than half a mile from the  plac e w h er  place eree Garc Ga rcia’ ia’ss b o d y was foun fo und. d. T h e o the th e r b ig houses hou ses  b  bee lo lon n g to ordinary ord inary,, oldol d-fa fash shio ione ned d peop pe ople le to w h o m n o thin th ing g

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exciting ever happens. But Mr Henderson, of High Gable, is certainl certa inly y an unusual man - a man w ho wo uld be li likel kely y to have have strange adventures. I therefore decided to give all my attention to Mr Henderson and the people in his house. ‘Th ey are are a strange strange set set o f people, Watson. T he m an him himself self is the strange strangest st o f them the m all. I managed to think thin k o f a reason reason for asking asking to see him. But I think he guessed my real purpose. He is about fifty years old, strong and active, with grey hair and dark, deepset, se t, trouble trou bled d eye eyes. H e is a strong, hard, masterful man. man . Either Eith er he is a foreigner or else he has spent most of his life in very hot countries. His face is like leather.There is no doubt that his friend and secretary, Mr Lucas, is a foreigner. He is chocolate brown, a cat-like person with a very gentle, polite voice. Gentle, but  poi  p oiso sono nous us,, and an d evil, I am sure. You see, W atson ats on,, w e n o w k n o w o f two separ separate ate groups o f foreigners foreigners —one at W isteria H House ouse and the other at High Gable. I think we shall find the solution of our mystery in the connection between these two groups. ‘Henderson and Lucas, who are close and trusted friends, are at the the centre o f the H igh Gable Gable group. group. B ut there iiss one o ther  pers  pe rso o n w h o ma may y be even ev en m o re im p o rt rtaa n t to us in o u r pres pr esen entt inquiries. Henderson has two young daughters. One is thirteen and the other is eleven. They are taught by a lady called Miss Burnet. She is an Englishwoman, about forty years old. I am  parti  pa rticu cular larly ly in inte tere rest sted ed in Miss B u rn e t, Watso Wa tson. n. T h e re is also one on e  pers  pe rson onal al serv se rvan antt —a man. ma n. ‘This little group forms the real family. They all travel about together. Henderson is a great traveller and is always on the move. It is only within the last few weeks that he has returned to High Gable after being away away for a w ho hole le year. year. H e is extrem extremely ely rich, ric h, you see. He can easily afford to satisfy any desire as soon as he  beco  be com m es cons co nscio cious us o f it. ‘T he house is full full o f other oth er servan servants ts o f every kind. You kno k now w what the servants of a large English country house are like. They

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have very little work to do, but they eat meat four times a day! ‘Servants can be very useful to a detective, you know. There is no better way of getting information than making friends with one o f them. I was was lucky enough enou gh to find a form er gardener of H end enderso ersons. His nameofistemper. John Jo hn Warner. Warne r. Hen derson derso nstill dism dismi issed ssfriends ed him recently inns. a moment Luckily Warner has among the High Gable servants, who all greatly fear and dislike their master. So I had a key to all the secrets of the place. ‘A nd w hat ha t a strange group gro up o f people peo ple it is is, Wat Watson! son! I do d o n ’t understand everything yet, but it is certainly unusual. There are two wings to the house. T h e servants servants li live ve on one si side de and the famil fam ily y on the other. other. T he only connection con nection betwee b etween n the two is is H e n d e rs rso o n ’s ow n persona pers onall servant, w h o serves serves the family’ fa mily’ss meals. meals. Eve rything is carried Everything carrie d to a certain door do or in the servants’ servants’ wing. This door is the only one that communicates with the other wing of the house. T he girl girlss and their the ir teacher teache r hardly ever ever go out, except into the garden. And Henderson never goes out alone. His dark secretary is like his shadow. The servants say that their master is terribly terr ibly afraid afraid o f something. som ething. W arn arner er sa say ys that he ha hass sold his his soul to the devil in exchange excha nge for money. “T “Th h e master’ ma ster’ss afraid afraid ttha hatt the ground will open and that the devil will come up to claim him!” he says. Nobody knows where the Hendersons came from, or w ho they are. re. They Th ey are are very violent v iolent people. Twice Hen H ende derso rson n has struck people with his whip, and has had to pay them a lot of money in order to stay out of the courts. ‘Well, Well, now, now, Watson, all all this this new n ew infor inf orm m at atio ion n sho s hould uld help h elp us to  jud  ju d g e the th e situa si tuatio tion. n. It seems certa ce rtain in th that at th thee le lett ttee r came ca me o u t o f this strange house. I believe it was an invitation to Garcia to carry outt some attempt w hich had al ou alrea ready dy been planned. W ho can hav havee written the note? It was someone inside the house, and it was a woman. Isn’t the only possible person Miss Burnet, the teacher?

All our reasoning seems seems to suppo sup port rt that tha t idea. idea. B ut Miss B u rn e t’s t’s age and character make any idea of a love affair impossible.

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‘If she wrote the note, she must have been involved in her friend frien d Garcia’s plan. plan. N o w he died in trying tryin g to carry o ut that plan. plan. So she must have felt great bitterness and hatred towards their enemies.. She m ust want enemies w ant revenge, revenge, Watson. Could Co uld we see see her, then, and try to use her? ‘That was my first thought. But Miss Burnet has not been seen since the nigh n ightt o f the murder. murd er. She has has complete com pletely ly disappeared. Is she still still al aliv ive? e? O r was she she perhaps perh aps killed o n the th e n ight ig ht o f Garcia’ Garc ia’ss death? Or is she only being kept prisoner somewhere? If so, her life may still be in danger. ‘Unfortun Un fortunately ately the police police cannot canno t help us here. here. It would wo uld not n ot be  possibl  po ssiblee to get ge t a c o u rt o rde rd e r to search sea rch the th e place. plac e. We still lack lac k  pro  p roof of.. So I am w a tchi tc hin n g the th e hous ho use. e. I am empl em plo o yin yi n g W arn ar n e r to stand on guard near ne ar the gate gates. s. B ut we w e can’ can ’t let this this situation continue. If I f the law can do nothing, noth ing, we must mu st take take the risk risk ourselves.’ ‘What do you suggest?’ I asked. ‘I know kn ow w hich hic h Miss Miss Bu B u rn et’ et ’s room ro om is. There Th ere is a low ro roof outside the window. My suggestion is that you and I go there tonight and climb in.’ This idea idea did not no t seem very very attrac attracti tive ve to me. T he thoug tho ught ht o f that old house with its frightening owner and its connections w ith violent death w orried orrie d me. And An d I did no t real really ly want wan t to break the law. But I could never refuse Holmes anything; his reasoning always persuaded me. I knew that his plan was the only way of solving the th e myster m ystery y o f Garcia’ Garcia ’s death. I pressed his his hand ha nd silently to show that I would be ready for even the wildest adventure. But our inquiries did not have such an adventurous ending. It was about five o’clock, and the shadows of the March evening

were beginning to fall, when a countryman rushed into our sitting room in a state of great excitement. ‘T he y’ve y’ve gone, M r H olmes. They Th ey w ent en t by the last last train. train. Th e lady ran awa away, and an d I’ I ’ve got go t her he r in a carriage carria ge dow do w n below.’

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‘Excellent, Warner!’ cried Holmes, jumping to his feet. ‘We shal sh alll know kn ow the solution very soon now, now, Watson.’ Watson.’ The woman in the carriage seemed to be very weak and tired. Her head hung down, but she slowly raised it to look up at us. Her face was thin and sad. In the centre of each of her dull eyes I saw the signs of opium. She had been drugged! ‘I watched the gates, as you told me to, Mr Holmes,’ said Warner, Hend He nder erso son’ n’ss form for m er gardener gardener.. ‘W he n the carriage carriage came out I followed it to the station. She was like a person walking in her sleep. But when they tried to get her into the train she came to life and struggled. They pushed her in, but she fought her way ou t agai again. n. I took too k her h er arm ar m and an d helped helpe d her. I got her he r into a carri carriage, age, an d here and h ere we are. are. I shan’ sha n’tt easily easily forget forge t the th e maste ma ster’ r’ss face at the w indow ind ow o f that train train!! I could cou ld see see murd m urder er in his his eye eyes. T he black eyed devil!’ We carried Miss Burnet upstairs and laid her on one of the  beds.  bed s. Two Tw o cups o f the th e str stron onge gest st coffee coff ee quic qu ickl kly y clear cle ared ed h e r brai br ain n from the mist mistss o f opium. M r Bayne Baynes, s, w ho m we had sent for immed immedia iate tely ly,, shook Holmes  by the th e hand ha nd.. ‘Wel ‘Welll done do ne,, M r Holm Ho lmes es!! I was o n the th e same trac tr ack k as you from the first.’ ‘What! You were after after Hend H enderso erson?’ n?’ ‘T h at at’’s right. W hile you y ou were w ere hiding h iding in the garden at High Hig h Gable I was up in one of the trees. I saw you down below.’ ‘T h en w hy did you lock up Garcia’s cook?’ cook ?’ Baynes laughed. ‘I took the wrong man in to make Henderson think he was

safe,’ he sai saf said. ‘H e w ould ou ld think thi nk we w eren er en’’t w watch atching ing him. I knew kn ew he w ould ou ld be likely likely to ru r u n away away then. Th at wou w ould ld give give us a chance o f getti getting ng hold o f Miss iss Burnet.’ ‘Tell me, Baynes, who is H enderson?’ enderson?’ ‘Henderson is really Juan Murillo, who was once known as “the Tiger Tige r o f San San Pedro” Pedro ” . H e was an evil evil Central Am erican ruler 

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who escaped from the area after an uprising against him, taking with him many valuables belonging to the nation that he had governed with fear. He was a cruel, cold-hearted thief and everybody hated him. ‘Yes,’ Baynes co nti ntinu nu ed , ‘he escaped. H Hee com ple pletely tely disappeared, and none of his enemies knew where he was. But they wanted revenge, and they did not rest until they found him. ‘The national colours of San Pedro are green and white, as in Miss Burnets letter. Murillo called himself Henderson, but he had other names in Paris, Rome, Madrid and Barcelona. His enemies have only recently found his hiding place.’ him awith yearkeen ago,’attention. said Miss‘This Burnet, had sat ‘They up anddiscovered was listening timewho Garcia has been killed, but before long our plan will succeed and the Tig er o f San Pedro will be p ut to death!’ H er th thin in hand handss tightened with the violence of her hatred. ‘But why are you mixed up in these foreign political affairs, Miss Burnet?’ Holmes asked. ‘One does not expect to find an English lady concerned in murder.’ ‘I must  take   take part!’ she cried. ‘Through me this criminal will be  puni  pu nish shed ed.. Ju Justi stice ce wi will ll be do done ne.. H e has c arri ar ried ed o u t m an any y mu murd rder erss and stolen so many valuables. To you his robberies and murders are just crimes that are done in some faraway place. But we know. We have have learn learned ed th thee tru th in sorro sorrow w an and d in suffe sufferin ring. g. To us tthere here is no devil as bad as Juan Murillo. For us there can be no peace

until we have had our revenge.’ ‘N o do ub t h hee was a very b bad ad ruler,’ sa said id Holme Holmes. s. ‘B ut ho how w ar aree you concerned in the affairs of the State of San Pedro?’ ‘I will tell you everything. M My y rea reall nam e is Mrs Vic Victor tor Durando. My husband was the London representative of the San Pedro government. He met me and married me in this country. Oh, he was a fine, honest man! And because he was so honest, Murillo had him shot. All his property was taken away too.

107 10 7

 

I ‘T h en came the uprising. A secr secret et soc society iety was was form ed w ith the aim of punishing Juan Murillo for all his crimes. At last we managed manag ed to find find ou outt that M r H enderson o f High Ga Gabl ble, e, Oxshott, was really the Tiger of San Pedro. I was given the job of getting closer to him and watching all his movements. I smiled at him, carried out my duties with his children, and waited. The society had attempted to kill him in Paris ofrce before, but had failed. ‘It was not easy to plan our revenge. Aloysius Garcia and his two se serv rvan ants ts,, aalll o off w ho m had suff suffere ered d unde un derr the ev evil il rule o f M urillo, ca came me to fiv five in the ar area ea.. B ut Garc Garcia ia could do little du during ring the day, as the Tiger was very careful. He never went out alone. His friend Lucas, whose real name is Lopez, always went with him.. Bu him Butt at nig night ht he slept al alone. one. This ga gav ve us o our ur chance. We arranged to make our o ur attem pt on a ccertain ertain ev eveni ening. ng. M urillo often changed his bedroom, and it was necessary to send Garcia a note on the day itself. The signal of a green light in a window would mean that the doors were open and that it was safe. A white light would mean “D on ’t come in tonight” . ‘But everything went wrong for us. Lopez, the secretary,  beca  be cam m e suspi suspiciou cious. s. H e ca cam m e up b e h in ind d m e quie qu ietl tly y as I was writing the note, and jumped on me as soon as I had finished it. He and his master dragged me to my room, and then discussed

whether or not to murder me with their knives there and then. In the end they decided that it would be too dangerous. But Garcia had to die! Murillo twisted my arm until I gave them the address. Lopez addressed the note which I had written. Then he sent Jos Jose, e, the ser servant vant,, w with ith it. it. Mu Murillo rillo must ha have ve been be en res respons ponsibl iblee for the actual murder, as Lopez remained to guard me. ‘After that terrible night, they kept me locked in my room. Oh, they treated me very cruelly! Look at these red marks on my arms! Once I tried to call out from the window, but they tied a thick cloth across my mouth. For five days this cruel treatment continued contin ued.. T he hey y hardly ga gav ve me any food. This afte afterno rnoon on a good

108 10 8

 

meal was brought in to me, but it must have contained opium. The journey to the station was like a dream. But my energy came  ba ck at th  back thee stat st atio ion n an and d I m an anag aged ed to br brea eak k away away,, w wit ith h the th e he help lp o f that kind gardener.’ ♦

About six months later Lord Montalva and Mr Rulli, his secretary, were murdered in their rooms at the Hotel Escorial in Madrid. The murderers were never caught. Mr Baynes came to see us in Baker Street, and showed us the newspaper report. The descriptions o f the two m en showed cle descriptions clearl arly y w ho they rea reall lly y were. Justice had come at last last to M urillo and Lopez Lopez.. ‘It has hasn’ n’tt be been en a very ne neat at ca case se,, Watson,’ sai said d H olm es late later. r. ‘B ut every ev erythi thing ng seems clear now, now, do does esn’ n’tt it?’ ‘I ssti till ll d o n ’t unde understand rstand w why hy th that at ccook ook ret retur urne ne d to W isteria House,’ I said. ‘There are some strange religions in the State of San Pedro, Watson.. Per Watson Perhaps haps you ha have ve heard o f one cal called led Voodooism?* Loo Look k in this book here.’

I turned to a page that was already marked, and read: In Voo Voodoo dooism ism ccertai ertain n animal animalss m must ust be killed to plea please se the go gods. ds. The usual animals are a white bird, which is torn to pieces while it is still alive, and a black goat, whose throat is cut and whose  b  bo o d y is b bu u rn rnee d .

I looked up. ‘But what about the leathery black baby that we found?’ I asked. ‘O h, th that at was only one on e o f the co o k ’s god gods,’ s,’ replie replied d Ho Holmes. lmes. ‘Nothing out of the ordinary.’ * Voodooism: religious beliefs beliefs and practice practices, s, Wes estt African African in origin, found fou nd  mainly in Haiti, and characterized by magical practices involving dead animals.

 

 ACTIVITIES  ACTIVIT IES The Man Man w ith t he Twisted Twisted Lip

Before you read 1  Discuss these questions. a What famous detectives do you know? Are they real or fictional? b Why do some people go to private detectives with their problems instead of to the police? 2 Look at the Wo Word rd List at the back bac k of the book. Which W hich are word words s for: a people? b thing things s that tha t can be dangerous?

c things that are commonly foun found d in a field?

While you read 3 Circle the correct corr ect an answe swer. r. a Dr Watson looks for fo r an old school friend friend/a /a patient  at the Bar of

Gold. b Sherlock Holmes’s enemy owns the Bar o f Gold/a Go ld/a large large hous house e 

in Kent. c

Mrs Saint Clair’s husband is a popu popular lar man I an an opium addict. addict.  

d Mrs Saint Clair went to London on business/to see her  

husband. e The police belie believe/d ve/do o not n ot belie believe ve  Mrs Saint Clair’s story, f

Holmes thinks that Neville Saint Clair is alive/dead. alive/dead.  

g A beggar/sailor   is a possible suspect for Neville Saint Clair’s murder. h  At  A t th the e polic po lice e statio sta tion, n, Hugh Boo Boone ne refuses refu ses to speak/wash speak/wash   properly. i

Neville Saint Clair became a beggar because he lost his  his 

 job  jo b /ne /n e e d e d to earn earn more mone money. y.    j

Neville Nevil le Saint Clair will have to find anoth another er jo b /g o to pri prison son..

Ill

 

 Aft  A fte e r you yo u read rea d   4 How a are re these impor important tant iin n the story? a money

d toys

b blood

e a ring

c acting

f

a wet cloth

5 Work with another ano ther student. Was Neville Neville Saint Clair right not to tell his wife about his new job? Have this imaginary conversation between them, before the start of the story. Student A\  A\  You are Nevil Neville. le. You You want wa nt to give up your you r job jo b as a newspaper reporter and become a beggar. Tell your wife why. Student B :

Yo You u are Neville Neville’’s wife. You You do not want wa nt your yo ur husb husband and to work as a beggar. Tell him why.

The Engineer’s Thumb Before you read 6 Discuss these questions with another student, a How might an engineer lose his thumb? b Which would wou ld you least least like like to lose - your thumb or your bi big g toe? Why? While Whi le you read 7 When When does Hatherl Hatherley ey do the these se things? Number them 1-10. a He wakes up by a roadside. b He meets Captain Stark. c

He ttravels ravels in a carriage carriage with windows windo ws of coloured glass ............

d He examines a machine. e He hears about Fuller’s earth. f

He loses his thumb.

g He ignores a woman’s advice. h He travels to Eyford with Holmes and Watson. i  j

He sees a burning house. He meets Mr Ferguson.

112 11 2  

 A ft fte e r you yo u read rea d 8 Who is talking, to whom? What W hat ar are e they talking talking about? a This has been done by a very sharp, heavy instrument.’ b ‘I do not see what connection these things have with my professional ability.’ / c

‘In this way we would earn enough money to buy the neighbouring fields.’ field s.’

d ‘Do not say a word abou aboutt itit to anyb anybody!’ ody!’ e ‘W ‘Was as it tired-looking tired-looking,, or fresh?’

f g

There is no good here for you to do. ‘I

saw that it was coated with anothersort anothersort of metal, in a fine

powder.’ h

‘I

attempted attemp ted to tie a piece of cloth round roundit.’ it.’

i

‘I

don’t agree with any of them.’

 j

‘He’s the fattest man in the village.’

9 Work with another stude student. nt. Have this conve conversation. rsation. Student A:  A:  You You are Stark. Y You ou think thi nk that th at the failure of the plan is Elise’s fault. Say why. Student B:  B:  You You a are re Eli Elise se.. You You think th ink tha thatt the failure of the plan is Stark’s fault. Say why. 10 Discuss these questions with another student, a Do you feel sorry for Hatherley? Why (not)? b What mistakes did the forgers make? c

If you were a judge, how would you punish the forgers? Why?

The Patient Before you read 11 One of the characters characte rs in this st story ory seems to have catalep catalepsy. sy. (Check the meaning of catalepsy catalepsy   in the Word List at the back of the book.) book.) Catalepsy C atalepsy sometimes lasts for only a few minutes. minutes. Then the patient ‘wakes up’ and can move normally. What problems do you imagine that people with catalepsy have in daily life? Is there anything that they should never do? Why?

113 11 3  

While you read 12 Are these statements stateme nts about Blessington true ((// ) or false (X)? a He is richer ric her than Dr T Trev revelyan elyan.. b He never leaves his room, c

He seems to have catalepsy,

d He is upset ups et because becaus e Dr Treve Trevelyan lyan goes into his room, e He suggests visiting Sherlock Holmes, f He does not trust banks, g Holmes does not believe him. h He keeps a rope under his bed. i  j

Blessington is his real name, He knew his murderers.

 Afte  Af terr you read 13 Answer Answ er these questions. Where: a does Blessington keep his money? b does Blessington’s money really come from? How: c does Blessington die? d does Holmes know that Blessington has not killed himself? Why: e is Trevelyan’s name known to Watson? f

does Dr Trevelyan accept Blessington’s money?

g is Blessington murdered? h is Blessington not killed immediately? Who: i  j

opens the door fo forr Blessing Blessington’ ton’s s killers? killers? is Sutton?

14 Discuss these statements. Do you ag agree ree with them? Why (n (not ot)? )? Blessington would not have died if: a Dr Trevelyan had been more observant, b Blessi Blessington ngton had had told Sherlock Holme Holmes s the truth, c he had kept his money in a bank, d there had not been a rope under his bed.

114 11 4  

The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

Before you read 15 Make a list of reasons reasons why a wom woman an might migh t disapp disappear ear a by choice. b against her will. will. While Whi le you yo u read 16 Who or what wh at are these sentences about? a Lady Frances carries them with her  everywhere.

b c d e f

..... She is given fifty pounds. ...................................... ..... Lady Frances is proud to meet him. ..... This does not amuse Dr Watson. ..... Dr Watson fights him in the street. ..... He is an Australian criminal. .....

g It is delivered to a house in Brixton. h It has been arranged for eight o’clock in the

.....

morning. .................................................................. ..... i  j

He lies to Sherlock Holmes........................................ Lady Frances is discovered inside this.

.....

 Aft  A fte e r you yo u rea read d 17 How are are these places import important ant iin n the story? a Lausanne

d an Adelaide hotel

b Baden-Baden c Montpellier 

e 36 Poultney Square f  a hospital in Brixton

How are these people important importa nt in the story? a Miss Dobney

f 

b Marie Devine

9 a pawnbroker  h Mr Stimson of Kennington Road

c

Dr Schlessinger 

d a French workman

i

e Philip Green

115

 

Henry Peters

Rose Spender 

19 Work with another ano ther student. Have Have this conversation, conversa tion, at the end of the story. You a are re Philip Philip Green. Green. You You want wa nt to marry m arry Lady Student A:  A:  You Frances. Tell her why. Student B :

You You are Lady Frances. You You are worrie wo rried d about abo ut Philip Green’s past and do not want to marry him. Tell him why.

The Three Garridebs Before you read 20 This story is about abo ut a very unusual unusual family fam ily name, name, Garrideb. More common English family names often come, originally, from: •

the name of the father (for example, Johnson = son of John)

•

the name of a job (for example, Thomas Cook Co ok.. Harry Potter) Potter)

•

a geographical geograp hical feature (for (for example, George Bush. Wayne Wayne Bridge)

•

physical description, descr iption, including hair or eye colour co lour (for example, John Brown. Hilary Black)

Think of three more common English family names for each group. Do family names in your country also fit into these groups? While Whi le you read 21 Write the missing word(s) in each sentence. sentence . a ........................ Garrideb wants Sherlock Holmes’s help. he finds two more b John Garrideb will become .......................... if he male Garridebs.

c Holmes thinks that John Garrideb is an imaginative but ........................ criminal. d John

Garrideb

is

when

Nathan

conta co ntacts cts

Sherlock Holmes. Nathan to go t o  ........................... e John Garrideb wants Nathan f

John Garrideb is not a lawyer but a  ...........................

g The man who lived in the Nathan Garrideb’s rooms before him was wa s a fam o us

..........................

116 11 6

in Chicago.

 

h There is a   ..................

under the floor boards in Nathan’s

room. i

Nathan Garrideb goes

at the end of the story.

 Aft  A fte e r yo u re read ad 22 How do these help Sherlock H Holmes olmes? ?

23

a Dr Lysander Starr

c

b  Am  Ameri erica can n spe spellin lling g

d Scotland Yard records

Discuss these

Holloway and Steele Steele

questions with another student.

a Why does John Garrideb invent the story abo about ut the Three Thr ee Garridebs’? b How does Nathan feel when he returns from Birmingham? Why? c

How many words do you know that are spelt differently in British and American English? Continue this list. British English

Am erican English

colour

color 

theatre

theater 

Wisteria House Before you read 24

Yo You u have now

read read a num number ber of She Sherlock rlock Holmes stories, so how

much can you guess abo about ut the next one? Think about: a Dr Watson’s part in the story b other characters

c d

the stages in the story the ending

While Whi le yo you u re read ad 25 Underli Underline ne the mistakes in these sentences and write the correct words in the spaces. a  Ac  Acco cord rdin ing g to Sh Sher erloc lock k Holm Holmes, es, men usu usually ally prefer to visit him than to send telegrams.

..........................

b Scott Eccles is invited to spend a few days at a house two miles away from Kensington ................................ c During dinner with Scott Eccles, Garcia is very talkative.

..........................

117 11 7

 

! d The police find a letter written by a Spanish woman and addressed to Garcia in the fireplace, e The policeman at Wisteria House saw a horrible face in a dream, f

Holmes finds a strange, monkey-like thing, a dead animal and a bucket of blood in the kitchen at Wisteria House,

g The police catch Garcia’s gardener in the grounds of Wisteria House, h Miss Burnet is trying to kill Garcia, i

Henderson used to be a powerful Central  Ameri  Am erican can bus busine inessm ssman, an,

 j

Garcia is killed for trying to rob Henderson.

 Aft  A fte e r yo you u re read ad How are these peo people ple imp important ortant in the story? a Scott Eccles

d Victor Durando

b John Warner 

e

Lopez

c Juan Murillo

f 

Lord Montalva

Discuss these questions. a Why does Garcia invite Scott Eccles to his house? b Why do the police take away Garcia’ Garcia’s s cook? c Why is there a dead bird in the kitchen at Wisteria House? Writing 28 (T (Th h e Man with the Twisted Li Lip’) p’) Yo You u are Neville Saint Cl Clair air.. Write a letter to the newspaper that you used to work for, asking for your old job back. Explain honestly why you left them and why your experiences have made you a better journalist. 29 (T (Th h e Man with th the e Twisted Lip ’) Yo You u a are re Mrs Sain Saintt Cla Clair. ir. Write a letter to Sherlock Holmes, thanking him for his help in solving the mystery. How has your life changed since your husband stopped begging?

118

 

30 (T (The he Engineer’s Engineer’s Thu mb ’) What happens to ‘the beautif beautiful ul woman, the cruel German and the bad-tempered Englishman’ after the fire? Write their story. 31

(T (The he Engineer’ Engineer’s s Th Thum umb’) b’) Hatherl Hatherley ey cannot can not remem ber anything from the time he fainted until he woke up by the side of the road. Describe what happened to him.

32 (T (The he Pa Patien tient’) t’) You You are a journ journalist. alist. Yo You u thin think k that tha t if Holmes Holme s an and d Dr Trevelyan had acted differently, Blessington would not have died. Explain why in a report for your newspaper. 33 (The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax’) You are Lady Frances. Write a letter to Marie Devine, persuading her to work for you again. Explain why you treated her so badly. 34 (T (The he Disappearance of Lady Franc Frances es Carfax Carfax’) ’) Write about abo ut Philip Philip Green’s early life, when he ‘made a few mistakes and got into trouble’. Why did Lady Frances refuse to speak to him again? 35 (T (Th h e Three Ga Garride rridebs’) bs’) Yo You u are John G arrideb arrid eb’’s lawye lawyerr at his his trial. You think that he should not be punished because he has not done anything re reall ally y wrong. Write yo your ur speech tto o th the e ju jury ry.. 36 (‘Wisteria (‘Wisteria House’) Describe how Mrs Victor Victo r Durando finally got revenge on Murillo and Lopez in Madrid. 37 Which of these stories do you like like best? Why? Write about abo ut it for yourr school o you orr college magazi magazine. ne.