1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:06,480
The Strange Orchid by H. G. Wells. The buying of orchids has

2
00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,919
always had in it a certain speculative
flavor. You have before you the brown

3
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,599
shriveled lump of tissue, And for
the rest you must trust your judgment,

4
00:00:14,919 --> 00:00:18,879
or the auctioneer, or your good
luck. As your taste may incline.

5
00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,719
The plant may be moribund or dead, or it may just be a respectable

6
00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,359
purchase, fair value for your money, or perhaps for the thing has happened

7
00:00:27,359 --> 00:00:32,359
again and again, There slowly unfolds
behof all the delighted eyes of the happy

8
00:00:32,359 --> 00:00:37,439
purchaser, day after day, some
new variety, some novel richness, a

9
00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:42,320
strange twist of the labellum, or
some subtler coloration, or unexpected mimicry.

10
00:00:43,119 --> 00:00:48,240
Pride, beauty, and profit blossom
together on one delicate green spike. And

11
00:00:48,359 --> 00:00:52,840
it may be even immortality. For
the new miracle of nature may stand in

12
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,280
need of a new specific name,
how what so convenient as that of its

13
00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:03,600
discoverer, John Smithia that have been
worse names. It was perhaps the hope

14
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,120
of some such happy discovery that made
Winter Wedderburn such a frequent attendant at these

15
00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:12,000
sales. That hope and also maybe
the fact they had nothing else of the

16
00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:17,239
slightest interest to do in the world. He was a shy, lonely,

17
00:01:17,239 --> 00:01:21,359
and rather ineffectual man, provided with
just enough income to keep off the spur

18
00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:26,120
of necessity, and not enough nervous
energy to make him seek any exacting employment.

19
00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:30,599
He might have collected stamps or coins, or translated horace or bound books,

20
00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,079
or invented new species of diatoms,
but as it happened, he grew

21
00:01:34,159 --> 00:01:41,040
orchids and had one ambitious little hot
house. I have a fancy, he

22
00:01:41,079 --> 00:01:44,640
said over his coffee, that something
is going to happen to me today.

23
00:01:45,159 --> 00:01:49,560
He spoke as he moved, and
thought slowly, Oh, don't say that

24
00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,840
to his outkeeper, who was also
his remote cousin. For something happening was

25
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,239
was a euphemism that meant only one
thing to her. You misunderstand me.

26
00:01:57,959 --> 00:02:05,120
I mean nothing pleasant, though what
I do mean I scarcely know today,

27
00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,120
he continued, after a pause,
peters are going to sell a batch of

28
00:02:08,159 --> 00:02:13,639
plants for the Andermans and the Indies. I shall go up and see what

29
00:02:13,719 --> 00:02:17,199
they have. It may be I
shall buy something good unawares, that may

30
00:02:17,199 --> 00:02:23,000
be it. He passed his cup
for a second cupful of coffee? Are

31
00:02:23,039 --> 00:02:27,439
these the things collected by that poor
young fellow who told me of the other

32
00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,400
day, asked his cousin as she
filled his cup. Yes, he said,

33
00:02:30,879 --> 00:02:36,599
and became meditative over a piece of
toast. Nothing ever, does happen

34
00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:39,400
to me, he remarked, presently, beginning to think aloud. I wonder

35
00:02:39,439 --> 00:02:45,960
why things enough happened to other people. There is Harvey only the other week

36
00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,400
on Monday he picked up sixpence.
On Wednesday, his chicks had the staggers.

37
00:02:51,199 --> 00:02:53,759
On Friday, his cousin came home
from Australia, and on Saturday he

38
00:02:53,879 --> 00:03:00,159
broke his ankle. What a whirl
of excitement compared to me. I think

39
00:03:00,199 --> 00:03:05,400
I would rather be without so much
excitement, said his housekeeper. It can't

40
00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,000
be good for you. I suppose
it's troublesome. Still, you see,

41
00:03:10,759 --> 00:03:15,080
nothing ever happens to me. When
I was a little boy, I never

42
00:03:15,159 --> 00:03:19,000
had accidents. I never fell in
love as I grew up, never married.

43
00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,680
Wonder how it feels to have something
happened to you, something really remarkable.

44
00:03:27,039 --> 00:03:30,800
That orchid collector was only thirty six, twenty years younger than myself when

45
00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:36,000
he died, and he had been
married twice and divorced once. He had

46
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,240
had malarial fever four times, and
once he broke his thigh, he killed

47
00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,879
the ballet once, and once he
was wounded by a poisoned dart, and

48
00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,879
in the end he was killed by
jungle leeches. It must have all been

49
00:03:47,039 --> 00:03:52,280
very troublesome, but then it must
have been very interesting, you know,

50
00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:58,120
except perhaps the leeches. I am
sure it was not good for him,

51
00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,159
said the lady with conviction. Perhaps
not. And then Wedderburn looked at his

52
00:04:02,199 --> 00:04:06,560
watch. Twenty three minutes path eight. I'm going up by the quarter to

53
00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:11,680
twelve train, so there's plenty of
time. I think I'll wear my alpacker

54
00:04:11,759 --> 00:04:15,919
jacket it is quite warm enough,
and my grave felt hat and brown shoes.

55
00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,519
I suppose. He glanced out of
the window at the serene sky and

56
00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:25,800
sunlit garden, and then nervously at
his cousin's face. I think you had

57
00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,439
better take an umbrella if you're going
to London, she said, in a

58
00:04:28,519 --> 00:04:31,560
voice that admitted of no denial.
There's all between here and the station coming

59
00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,560
back. When he returned, he
was in a state of mild excitement.

60
00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,399
He had made a purchase. It
was read that he could make up his

61
00:04:40,439 --> 00:04:44,199
mind quickly enough to buy, but
this time he had done so. There

62
00:04:44,199 --> 00:04:47,839
are van dass, he said,
and a du nobi and some palionopsis.

63
00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,160
He surveyed his purchases, loving me
as he consumed his soup. They were

64
00:04:51,199 --> 00:04:55,519
laid out on a spotless tablecloth before
him, and he was telling his cousin

65
00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,879
all about them as he slowly meandered
through his dinner. It was ascustomed to

66
00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,160
live all his visit to London over
again in the evening for her and his

67
00:05:01,199 --> 00:05:06,160
own entertainment. I knew something was
going to happen today, and I have

68
00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:11,639
bought all of these, some of
them, some of them. I feel

69
00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,360
sure. Do you know that some
of them will be remarkable? I don't

70
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,199
know how it is, but I
feel just as sure as if someone had

71
00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:27,720
told me that some of these will
turn out remarkable. That one, he

72
00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,319
pointed to, a shriveled rhizome,
was not identified. It may be a

73
00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:36,360
Palaeonopsis, or it may not,
may be a new species or even a

74
00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:44,600
new genus, And it was the
last that poor Patton ever collected. I

75
00:05:44,639 --> 00:05:47,160
don't like the look of it,
said his housekeeper. It's such an ugly

76
00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:53,639
shape to me. It's scarcely seems
to have a shape. I don't like

77
00:05:53,759 --> 00:05:58,199
those things that stick out, said
the housekeeper. It shall be put away

78
00:05:58,199 --> 00:06:02,319
in a pot tomorrow. It looks, said the housekeeper, like a spider

79
00:06:02,439 --> 00:06:08,800
shamming dead. Wedderburne smiled and surveyed
the root with his head on one side.

80
00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,680
It's certainly not a pretty lump of
stuff. But you never can judge

81
00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,759
of these things from their dry appearance. He may turn out to be a

82
00:06:15,879 --> 00:06:19,360
very beautiful orchid. Indeed, how
busy I shall be to morrow. I

83
00:06:19,439 --> 00:06:25,519
must see tonight just what to do
with these things, and tomorrow I shall

84
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,560
set to work. They found poor
Baton lying dead or dying in a mangrove

85
00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:36,240
swamp I forget which he began again
presently, and with one of those very

86
00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:41,399
orchids crushed up under his body.
He had been unwell for some days,

87
00:06:41,439 --> 00:06:46,800
with some kind of native fever,
and I suppose he fainted. Those mangrove

88
00:06:46,959 --> 00:06:50,399
swamps are very unwholesome. Every drop
of blood they say, was taken out

89
00:06:50,399 --> 00:06:56,040
of him by the jungle leeches.
It may be that very plant that cost

90
00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:00,439
him his life to obtain. I
think none the better of it for that

91
00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,759
man must work, though women may
weep, said Wedderbourne, with profound gravity.

92
00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:13,480
Fancy dying away from every comfort in
a nasty swamp, fancy being ill

93
00:07:13,519 --> 00:07:16,160
of fever with nothing to take but
Chlorodyne and Queeneen. If men were laughter

94
00:07:16,199 --> 00:07:19,600
themselves, they would live on Chlorodyne
and Queen. And no one around you

95
00:07:19,639 --> 00:07:24,920
but horrible natives. They say the
Andaman Island as the most disgustingly wretches.

96
00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:29,279
And anyhow they can scarcely make good
nurses, not having the necessary training.

97
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:36,879
And just for people in England to
have orchids. I don't suppose it was

98
00:07:36,959 --> 00:07:41,519
comfortable, but some men seem to
enjoy that kind of thing, said Bedobyrne.

99
00:07:41,959 --> 00:07:46,680
Anyhow, the natives of hip party
was sufficiently civilized to take core care

100
00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,920
of all his recollection into this colleague, who was an ornithologist, came back

101
00:07:49,959 --> 00:07:54,639
from the interior, though they could
not tell the species of the orchid,

102
00:07:54,879 --> 00:08:00,399
and had let it wither. And
it makes these things more interesting, it

103
00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,720
makes them disgusting. I should be
afraid of some malaria clinging to them.

104
00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,680
And just think there's been a dead
body lying across that ugly thing. I

105
00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,720
never thought of that before. There, I declare I canna eat another mouthful

106
00:08:11,759 --> 00:08:16,120
of dinner. I will take them
off the table, if you like,

107
00:08:16,759 --> 00:08:20,160
and put them in the window seat. I can see them just as well

108
00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:24,439
there. The next few days he
was indeed singularly busy in his steamy little

109
00:08:24,439 --> 00:08:28,079
hot house, fussing about with charcoal, lumps of teak moss, and all

110
00:08:28,079 --> 00:08:33,360
the other mysteries of the orchid cultivator. He considered he was having a wonderfully

111
00:08:33,399 --> 00:08:35,919
eventful time. In the evening,
he would talk about these new orchids to

112
00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:41,399
his friends, and over and over
again he reverted to his expectation of seeing

113
00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:46,799
something strange. Serrihl the vanda asked, and the drandrobium died under his care.

114
00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,759
But presently the strange orchid began to
show signs of life. He was

115
00:08:50,799 --> 00:08:54,320
delighted and took his housekeeper right away
from jam making to see it at once.

116
00:08:54,519 --> 00:08:58,120
Directly he made the discovery. That
is a bat, he said,

117
00:08:58,399 --> 00:09:03,080
And presently there will be a lot
of leaves there, And those little things

118
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:09,279
coming out here are aerial rootlets.
They look to me like little white fingers

119
00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,720
poking out of the brown. I
don't like them, said the housekeeper.

120
00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,759
Why not, I don't know they
look like fingers trying to get at you.

121
00:09:18,159 --> 00:09:22,039
I can't help my likes and dislikes. I don't know for certain,

122
00:09:22,159 --> 00:09:26,440
but I don't think there are any
orchids I know that have aerial rootlets quite

123
00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,639
like that. Maybe my fancy.
Of course, you see, they are

124
00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:35,919
a little flattened at the ends.
I don't like em, said the housekeeper,

125
00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,200
certainly shivering and turning away. I
know it's very silly of me,

126
00:09:39,279 --> 00:09:43,480
and I'm very sorry, particularly as
you'd liked the thing so much. But

127
00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:48,720
I can't help thinking of that corpse. But it may not be that particular

128
00:09:48,799 --> 00:09:52,720
plant that was merely a guess of
mine. This housekeeper shrugged her shoulders.

129
00:09:54,399 --> 00:09:58,000
Anyhow, I don't like it,
she said where it. Burne felt a

130
00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,840
little hurt at its to the plant, but that did not prevent his talking

131
00:10:01,879 --> 00:10:07,080
to her about orchids generally, and
this orchid in particular, whenever he felt

132
00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:11,200
inclined. There are such queer things
about orchids, he said, one day,

133
00:10:11,759 --> 00:10:18,120
such possibilities of surprises, you know. Darwin studded their fertilization and showed

134
00:10:18,159 --> 00:10:22,279
that the whole structure of an ordinary
orchid flower was contrived in order that moths

135
00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,279
might carry the pollen from plant to
plant. While it seems there are a

136
00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:31,080
lot of orchids known, the flower
of which cannot possibly be used for fertilization

137
00:10:31,159 --> 00:10:35,919
in that way. Some of the
Cypridians, for instance, there are no

138
00:10:35,039 --> 00:10:39,080
insects known that could possibly fertilize them, and some of them have never been

139
00:10:39,159 --> 00:10:45,440
found for the seed. But how
do they form new plants? By runners

140
00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:50,759
and tubers and that kind of outgrowth
that is easily explained. The puzzle is

141
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,759
what are the flowers? For?
Very likely, he added, my orchid

142
00:10:54,799 --> 00:10:58,639
may be something extraordinary in that way. If so, I shall study it.

143
00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,000
I have often thought of making researches
as Darwin dead. For in further

144
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,759
two, I have not found the
time, or something else has happened to

145
00:11:07,759 --> 00:11:11,799
prevent it. The leaves are beginning
to unfold. Now. I do wish

146
00:11:11,799 --> 00:11:16,159
you would come and see it.
But she said that the orchid house was

147
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,960
so hot it gave her the headache. She had seen the plant once again,

148
00:11:20,159 --> 00:11:22,080
and the aerial rootlets, which were
now some of them more than a

149
00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:26,720
foot long, had unfortunately reminded her
of tentacles reaching out after something, and

150
00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:31,799
they had got into her dreams,
growing after her with incredible rapidity, so

151
00:11:31,879 --> 00:11:33,879
that she had settled to her entire
satisfaction. She would not see that plant

152
00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,799
again, and Wedderburn had to admire
its leaves alone. They were of the

153
00:11:39,919 --> 00:11:43,360
ordinary broad form, and a deep
glossy green, with splatches and dots of

154
00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,360
deep red about the base. He
knew of no other leaves quite like them.

155
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,200
The plant was placed on a low
bench near the thermometer, and close

156
00:11:52,279 --> 00:11:56,480
by a simple arrangement by which tap
dripped on the hot water pipes. Jim

157
00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:01,159
kept the air steamy, and he
spent his afternoons with some regularity meditating on

158
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:07,879
the approaching flowering of his strange plant. And at last the great thing happened.

159
00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,440
Directly he entered their little glass house. He knew that the spike could

160
00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:16,480
burst, And although his great polyanthus
low eye hid the corner where the new

161
00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:18,960
darling stood, there was a new
odor in the air, a rich,

162
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,720
intensely sweet scent that overpowered every other
in that crowded, steaming little greenhouse.

163
00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,840
Directly he noticed this, he hurried
down to the strange orchid, and behold

164
00:12:30,279 --> 00:12:35,000
the trailing green spikes bore now three
great splashes of blossom, from which this

165
00:12:35,159 --> 00:12:39,879
overpowering sweetness proceeded. He stopped before
them in an ecstasy of admiration. The

166
00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:45,320
flowers were white, with sticks of
gold and orange upon the petals. The

167
00:12:45,399 --> 00:12:50,080
heavy labellum was coiled into an intricate
projection, and a wonderful bluish purple mingled

168
00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,879
there with the gold. He could
see at once that the genius was altogether

169
00:12:52,919 --> 00:12:58,039
a new one, and the insufferable
scent. How hot the place was.

170
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:03,000
The blossoms swam before his eyes.
He would see if the temperature was right.

171
00:13:03,399 --> 00:13:07,720
He made a step towards the thermometer. Suddenly everything appeared unsteady. The

172
00:13:07,759 --> 00:13:11,000
bricks on the floor were dancing up
and down, then the white blossoms,

173
00:13:11,039 --> 00:13:15,000
the green leaves behind him. The
whole greenhouse seemed to sweep sideways, and

174
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:20,759
then in a curve upward. At
half past four, his cousin made the

175
00:13:20,759 --> 00:13:24,720
tea according to their invariable custom,
But Whaderburn did not come in for his

176
00:13:24,759 --> 00:13:28,799
tea. He is worshiping that horrid
orchid, she told herself, and waited

177
00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:33,519
ten minutes. I will go and
call him. She went straight to the

178
00:13:33,519 --> 00:13:35,360
hot house, and opening the door, called his name. There was no

179
00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,639
reply. She noticed that the air
was very close and loaded with an intense

180
00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:45,360
perfume. Then she saw something lying
on the bricks between the hot water pipes.

181
00:13:45,799 --> 00:13:50,399
For a minute, perhaps she stood
motionless. He was lying face upward

182
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,399
at the foot of the strange orchid. The tentacle like aerial rootlets no longer

183
00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,039
swayed freely in the air, but
were crowded together a tangle of gray ropes,

184
00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:03,200
and stretched tight, with their ends
closely applied to his chin and neck

185
00:14:03,399 --> 00:14:07,559
and hands. She did not understand. And then she saw from under one

186
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,840
of the exultant tentacles upon his cheek
that trickled a little thread of blood.

187
00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,320
With an inarticulate cry, she ran
towards him and tried to pull him away

188
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,159
from the leech like suckers. She
snapped two of these tentacles in the sap

189
00:14:20,279 --> 00:14:24,320
dripped red. Then the overpowering scent
of the blossom began to make her head

190
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,960
reel. How they clung to him. She tore at the top ropes,

191
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:33,200
and here the white inflorescence swam about
her. She felt she was fainting,

192
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,120
knew she must not. She left
him and hastily opened the nearest door,

193
00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,159
And after she had panted for a
moment in the fresh air. She had

194
00:14:39,159 --> 00:14:43,320
a brilliant inspiration. She caught up
a flower pot and smashed in the windows

195
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,840
at the end of the green house. Then she re entered. She tugged,

196
00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:52,039
now with renewed strength that Wedderburne's motionless
body, and brought the strange orchid

197
00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,559
crashing to the floor. It still
clung with grimaced tenacity to its victim.

198
00:14:56,879 --> 00:15:01,039
In a frenzy, she lugged it
and him into the open air. Then

199
00:15:01,039 --> 00:15:03,679
she thought of tearing through the succor
rootlets one by one, and in another

200
00:15:03,679 --> 00:15:07,000
minute she had released him and was
dragging him away from the horror. He

201
00:15:07,159 --> 00:15:13,120
was white and bleeding from a dozen
circular patches. The odd jobman was coming

202
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,480
up the garden, amazed at the
smashing of glass, and saw her emerge,

203
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:20,559
holding the inanimate body with red stained
hands. For a moment he thought

204
00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,679
impossible things. Bring some water,
she cried, and her voice dispelled his

205
00:15:24,759 --> 00:15:28,919
fancies. When with unnatural alacrity he
returned with the water, he found a

206
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,840
weeping with excitement, and with Wedderbourne's
head upon her knee, wiping the blood

207
00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,799
from his face. What's the matter? Said Wederbourn, opening his eyes feebly

208
00:15:37,919 --> 00:15:43,279
and closing them again. At once, go and tell Annie to come out

209
00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,279
here to me, and then go
for doctor Haddon. At once, she

210
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,960
said to the odd jobman, as
soon as he brought the water and add

211
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,799
it. Seeing he hesitated, I
will tell you all about it when you

212
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,840
come back. Presently, Wederbourne opened
his eyes again, and, seeing that

213
00:15:54,919 --> 00:15:58,840
he was troubled by the puzzle of
his exposition, she explained to him,

214
00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:03,679
you fainted in the hot house and
the orchid I will see to that.

215
00:16:03,799 --> 00:16:08,360
She said. Weather Bird had lost
a great deal of blood, but beyond

216
00:16:08,399 --> 00:16:14,360
that he had suffered no very great
injury. They gave him brandy mixed with

217
00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,440
some pink extract of meat, and
carried him upstairs to bed. His housekeeper

218
00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,080
told her incredible story and fragments to
doctor Haddon. Come to the orchid house

219
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,519
and see, she said. The
cold outer air was blowing in through the

220
00:16:26,559 --> 00:16:32,720
open door, and the sickly perfume
was almost dispelled. Most of the torn

221
00:16:32,799 --> 00:16:37,039
aerial rootlets lay already withered amongst a
number of dark stains upon the bricks.

222
00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,840
The stem of the inflorescence was broken
by the fall of the plant, and

223
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,000
the flowers were growing limp and brown. At the edges of the petals.

224
00:16:44,399 --> 00:16:47,879
The doctor stooped towards it, then
saw that one of the aerial rootlets still

225
00:16:47,879 --> 00:16:52,159
stirred feebly and hesitated. The next
morning, the strange orchids still lay there,

226
00:16:52,399 --> 00:16:59,279
black now and purescent. The door
banged intermittently in the morning breeze,

227
00:16:59,559 --> 00:17:03,319
and all the array of Wedderburn's orchids
was shriveled and prostrate. But Wedderbourn himself

228
00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:10,119
was bright and garrulous upstairs in the
story of his strange adventure. End of

229
00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:10,960
the Strange Orchid