WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:07.759 The adventure of the retired color man. Sherlock Holmes was 2 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:13.039 in a melancholy and philosophic mood that morning. His alert, 3 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:18.160 practical nature was subject to such reactions. Did you see him, 4 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:21.600 he asked? You mean the old fellow who has just 5 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:26.079 gone out? Precisely, Yes, I met him at the door. 6 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:33.840 What did you think of him? A pathetic, futile, broken creature? Exactly, Watson, 7 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:40.880 pathetic and futile. But is not all life pathetic and futile? 8 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:47.119 Is not his story a microcosm of the whole we reach, 9 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:51.320 we grasp, and what is left in our hands at 10 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:58.640 the end a shadow, or worse than a shadow? Misery? 11 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:03.759 Is he one of your clients? Well, I suppose I 12 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.280 may call him so. He has been sent on by 13 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:12.280 the yard, just as medical men occasionally send their incurables 14 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:16.280 to a quack. They argue that they can do nothing more, 15 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:20.799 and that whatever happens, the patient can be no worse 16 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:25.439 than he is. What is the matter? Holmes took a 17 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:31.560 rather soiled card from the table, Josiah Amberley. He says 18 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:35.920 he was junior partner of Brickfall and Amberley, who are 19 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:40.840 manufacturers of artistic materials. You will see their names upon 20 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:45.959 paint boxes. He made his little pile, retired from business 21 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:50.560 at the age of sixty one, bought a house at Lewisham, 22 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:55.159 and settled down to rest. After a life of ceaseless grind. 23 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:02.079 One would think his future was tolerably assured. Indeed, Holmes 24 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.680 glanced over some notes which he had scribbled on the 25 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.319 back of an envelope. Retired in eighteen ninety six. Watson 26 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:13.719 early in eighteen ninety seven he married a woman twenty 27 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:18.680 years younger than himself, a good looking woman too, if 28 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:24.800 the photograph does not flatter a competence, a wife leisure. 29 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.759 It seemed a straight road which lay before him. And 30 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:33.680 yet within two years he is as you have seen, 31 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:38.439 as broken and miserable, a creature as crawls beneath the sun. 32 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:43.599 But what has happened the old story Watson, a treacherous 33 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:47.879 friend and a fickle wife. It would appear that Amberley 34 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.360 has one hobby in life, and it is chess. Not 35 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:55.879 far from him at Lewisham there lives a young doctor 36 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:00.639 who is also a chess player. I have no his name, 37 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:05.759 as doctor Ray Ernest. Ernest was frequently in the house, 38 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:09.639 and an intimacy between him and missus Amberley was a 39 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:14.360 natural sequence. For you must admit that our unfortunate client 40 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.919 has few outward graces, whatever his inner virtues may be. 41 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:25.400 The couple went off together last week, destination untraced. What 42 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:29.080 is more, the faithless spouse carried off the old man's 43 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.759 deed box as her personal luggage, with a good part 44 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:37.120 of his life savings within. Can we find the lady? 45 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:41.400 Can we save the money? A commonplace problem so far 46 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.560 as it has developed, and yet a vital one for 47 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:49.360 Josiah Amberley. What will you do about it? Well, the 48 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.879 immediate question, my dear Watson, happens to be what will 49 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:57.000 you do if you will be good enough to understudy me? 50 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:00.960 You know that I am preoccupied with this case of 51 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.919 the two Coptic patriarchs, which should come to a head 52 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:08.319 to day. I really have not time to go out 53 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:12.199 to Lewisham, and yet evidence taken on the spot has 54 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:16.399 a special value. The old fellow was quite insistent that 55 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:20.560 I should go, but I explained my difficulty. He is 56 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:24.839 prepared to meet a representative by all means, I answered, 57 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:27.279 I confess I don't see that I can be of 58 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:29.480 much service, but I am willing to do my best. 59 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.199 And so it was that on a summer afternoon I 60 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:37.399 set forth to Lewisham, little dreaming that within a week 61 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.720 the affair in which I was engaging would be the 62 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:45.560 eager debate of all England. It was late that evening 63 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:49.120 before I returned to Baker Street and gave an account 64 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:53.439 of my mission. Holmes lay with his gaunt figure stretched 65 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:58.480 in his deep chair, his pipe curling forth slow wreaths 66 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:03.120 of acrid tobacco, while his eyelids drooped over his eyes 67 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:07.079 so lazily that he might almost have been asleep, were 68 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:10.839 it not that at any halt or questionable passage of 69 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:16.639 my narrative, they half lifted, and two gray eyes, as 70 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:21.759 bright and keen as rapiers, transfixed me with their searching glance. 71 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:27.040 The Haven is the name of mister Josiah Amberley's house, 72 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:31.560 I explained. I think it would interest you, Holmes. It 73 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:36.319 is like some penurious patrician who was sunk into the 74 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:41.920 company of his inferiors. You know that particular quarter, the 75 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:47.680 monotonous brick streets, the weary suburban highways. Right in the 76 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:51.279 middle of them, a little island of ancient culture and 77 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.680 comfort lies this old home, surrounded by a high sun 78 00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:59.680 baked wall, mottled with lichens and topped with moss, the 79 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:04.000 sort of wall cut out the poetry, Watson, said Holmes severely. 80 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:09.720 I note that it was a high brick wall. Exactly, 81 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:13.800 I should not have known which was the haven had 82 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:17.240 I not asked a lounger who was smoking in the street. 83 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.560 I have a reason for mentioning him. He was a tall, dark, 84 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:26.759 heavily mustached, rather military looking man. He nodded in answer 85 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:30.319 to my inquiry and gave me a curiously questioning glance, 86 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.800 which came back to my memory A little later. I 87 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:37.839 had hardly entered the gateway before I saw mister Amberley 88 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:41.199 coming down the drive. I only had a glimpse of 89 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:44.560 him this morning, and he certainly gave me the impression 90 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:48.160 of a strange creature. But when I saw him in 91 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:53.800 the full light, his appearance was even more abnormal. I have, 92 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:58.040 of course studied it, and yet I should be interested 93 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:02.639 to have your impressions, said Holmes. He seemed to me 94 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:06.439 like a man who was literally bowed down by care. 95 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.920 His back was curved, as though he carried a heavy burden. 96 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.439 Yet he was not the weakling that I had at 97 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:19.959 first imagined, for his shoulders and chest have the framework 98 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.240 of a giant, though his figure tapers away into a 99 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:29.920 pair of spindled legs, left shoe wrinkled, right one smooth. 100 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:33.879 I did not observe that, No, you wouldn't. I spotted 101 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:39.439 his artificial limb, but proceed I was struck by the 102 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:43.319 snaky locks of grizzled hair which curled from under his 103 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:48.000 old straw hat, and his face with its fierce, eager expression, 104 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:52.519 and the deeply lined features. Very good Watson, what did 105 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:56.519 he say? He began pouring out the story of his grievances. 106 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:00.279 We walked down the drive together, and of course course 107 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:03.360 I took a good look round. I have never seen 108 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:07.279 a worse kept place. The garden was all running to seed, 109 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.120 giving me an impression of wild neglect, in which the 110 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.920 plants had been allowed to find the way of nature 111 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:18.480 rather than of art. How any decent woman could have 112 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:22.600 tolerated such a state of things, I don't know. The house, too, 113 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:26.720 was slattern late to the last degree, but the poor 114 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:29.639 man seemed himself to be aware of it, and to 115 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:32.720 be trying to remedy it. For a great pot of 116 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:36.759 green paint stood in the center of the hall, and 117 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:39.519 he was carrying a thick brush in his left hand. 118 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:43.360 He had been working on the woodwork. He took me 119 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.399 into his dingy sanctum and we had a long chat. 120 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:50.440 Of course, he was disappointed that you had not come yourself. 121 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:56.559 I hardly expected, he said, that so humble an individual 122 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:01.279 as myself, especially after my heavy financial loss, could obtain 123 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:05.080 the complete attention of so famous a man as mister 124 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:09.639 Sherlock Holmes. I assured him that the financial question did 125 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:15.039 not arise. No, of course, it is art for art's 126 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:19.879 sake with him, said he. But even on the artistic 127 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:23.679 side of crime, he might have found something here to study. 128 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:29.919 And human nature, doctor Watson, the black ingratitude of it all, 129 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.639 When did I ever refuse one of her requests? Was 130 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:37.440 ever a woman so pampered? And that young man he 131 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:40.519 might have been my own son. He had the run 132 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:45.120 of my house. And yet see how they have treated me, Oh, 133 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:50.159 doctor Watson, it is a dreadful, dreadful world. That was 134 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.039 the burden of his song. For an hour or more 135 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.840 he had it seems no suspicion of an intrigue. They 136 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:01.519 lived alone, save for a woman who comes in by 137 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:05.480 the day and leaves every evening at six. On that 138 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:10.440 particular evening, Old Amberley, wishing to give his wife a treat, 139 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:15.159 had taken two upper circle seats at the Haymarket Theater. 140 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:19.559 At the last moment, she had complained of a headache 141 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:24.840 and had refused to go. He had gone alone. There 142 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:26.799 seemed to be no doubt about the fact, for he 143 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.679 produced the unused ticket which he had taken for his wife. 144 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:36.080 That is remarkable, most remarkable, said Holmes, whose interest in 145 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:39.399 the case seemed to be rising. Pray continue, Watson, I 146 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:45.200 find your narrative most arresting. Did you personally examine the ticket? 147 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:49.840 You did not perchance take the number? It so happens 148 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:54.240 that I did, I answered, with some pride. It chanced 149 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.000 to be my old school number thirty one, and so 150 00:10:57.159 --> 00:11:01.480 is stuck in my head. Excellent Watson. His seat then 151 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:06.879 was either thirty or thirty two, quite so, I answered, 152 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:12.120 with some mystification, and on b row, that is most satisfactory. 153 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:15.240 What else did he tell you? He showed me his 154 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.000 strong room, as he called it. It really is a 155 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.480 strong room like a bank, with iron door and shutter 156 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:26.200 burglar proof, as he claimed. However, the woman seems to 157 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:30.039 have had a duplicate key, and between them they had 158 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:35.240 carried off some seven thousand pounds worth of cash and securities. Securities. 159 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:39.080 How could they dispose of those? He said that he 160 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.480 had given the police a list, and that he hoped 161 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:45.360 they would be unsaleable. He had got back from the 162 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.720 theater about midnight and found the place plundered, the door 163 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.639 and window open, and the fugitives gone. There was no 164 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:56.120 letter or message, nor has he heard a word since 165 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.879 he at once gave the alarm to the police. Holmes 166 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:06.559 brooded for some minutes. You say he was painting. What 167 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:11.360 was he painting? Well, he was painting the passage, but 168 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.559 he had already painted the door and wood work of 169 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:17.399 this room. I spoke of, Does it not strike you 170 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:22.080 as a strange occupation In the circumstances, one must do 171 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:26.000 something to ease an aching heart? And that was his 172 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:30.480 own explanation. It was eccentric, no doubt, But he is 173 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:33.600 clearly an eccentric man. He tore up one of his 174 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:38.120 wife's photographs in my presence, tore it up furiously in 175 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.440 a tempest of passion. I never wished to see her 176 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:49.000 damned face again. He shrieked. Anything more Watson. Yes, one 177 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:53.000 thing which struck me more than anything else. I had 178 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.679 driven to black Heath's station and had caught my train there, 179 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:01.279 when just as it was starting, I saw a man 180 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:05.519 dart into the carriage next to my own. You know 181 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:08.519 that I have a quick eye for faces homes. It 182 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.799 was undoubtedly the tall, dark man whom I had addressed 183 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:15.559 in the street. I saw him once more at London Bridge, 184 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.559 and then I lost him in the crowd. But I 185 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:24.320 am convinced that he was following me, no doubt, No doubt, 186 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.799 said Holmes, A tall, dark, heavily mustached man. You say, 187 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:35.879 with gray tinted sunglasses. Holmes, you are a wizard. I 188 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:40.120 did not say so. But he had gray tinted sunglasses 189 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:46.879 and a Masonic tie pin. Holmes. Quite simple, my dear Watson. 190 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:51.440 But let us get down to what is practical. I 191 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:54.720 must admit to you that the case which seemed to 192 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:57.720 me to be so absurdly simple as to be hardly 193 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:02.480 worth my notice, as rapidly assuming a very different aspect. 194 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:05.759 It is true that though in your mission you have 195 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:10.240 missed everything of importance, yet even those things which have 196 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:15.200 obtruded themselves upon your notice give rise to serious thought, 197 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.879 what have I missed? Don't be hurt, my dear fellow. 198 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:23.519 You know that I am quite impersonal. No one else 199 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:28.559 would have done better, some possibly not so well. But 200 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:32.600 clearly you have missed some vital points. What is the 201 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:36.320 opinion of the neighbors about this man Amberly and his wife? 202 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:43.480 That surely is of importance. What of doctor Ernest? Was 203 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:49.519 he the gay lethario one would expect with your natural advantages, Watson, 204 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:54.559 every lady is your helper and accomplice. What about the 205 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:58.559 girl at the post office or the wife of the greengrocer? 206 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:04.360 Picture you whispering soft nothings with the young lady at 207 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:10.960 the blue anchor, and receiving hard somethings in exchange. All 208 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:14.840 this you have left undone. It can still be done. 209 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:19.039 It has been done. Thanks to the telephone and the 210 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:23.240 help of the yard. I can usually get my essentials 211 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:27.080 without leaving this room. As a matter of fact, my 212 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:32.039 information confirms the man's story. He has the local repute 213 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:35.279 of being a miser as well as a harsh and 214 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:40.039 exacting husband. That he had a large sum of money 215 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:43.799 in that strong room of his is certain. So also 216 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:48.080 is it that young doctor Ernest an unmarried man played 217 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:53.039 chess with Amberley, and probably played the fool with his wife. 218 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:57.639 All this seems plain sailing, and one would think that 219 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:02.320 there was no more to be said. And yet, and 220 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:07.879 yet where lies the difficulty in my imagination? Perhaps well 221 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:11.799 leave it there, Watson, Let us escape from this weary, 222 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:17.559 workaday world by the side door of music. Carina sings 223 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:20.919 to night at the Albert Hall, and we still have 224 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:26.320 time to dress, dine, and enjoy. In the morning. I 225 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.679 was up betimes, but some toast crumbs and two empty 226 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:33.559 egg shells told me that my companion was earlier. Still 227 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:38.399 I found a scribbled note upon the table. Dear Watson, 228 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:41.519 there are one or two points of contact which I 229 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:45.440 should wish to establish with mister Josiah Amberley. When I 230 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:48.279 have done so, we can dismiss the case or not. 231 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:51.279 I would only ask you to be on hand at 232 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:54.519 three o'clock, as I conceive it possible that I may 233 00:16:54.519 --> 00:17:00.399 want you s h. I saw nothing of homes all day, 234 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:05.519 but at the hour named he returned grave, preoccupied and aloof. 235 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:09.839 At such times it was wiser to leave him to himself. 236 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:16.000 Has Amberley been here yet? No Ah, I am expecting him. 237 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:19.519 He was not disappointed. For presently the old fellow arrived 238 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:23.599 with a very worried and puzzled expression upon his austere face. 239 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:27.079 I've had a telegram, mister Holmes. I can make nothing 240 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:31.440 of it. He handed it over and Holmes read it aloud. 241 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.799 Come at once, without fail, can give you information as 242 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:41.680 to your recent loss. Elman. The vicarage dispatched out two 243 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:47.519 ten from Little Purlington, said Holmes. Little Purlington is in Essex. 244 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:51.839 I believe not far from Frinton. Well, of course you 245 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:55.880 will start at once. This is evidently from a responsible person, 246 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.319 the vicar of the place. Where is my Crockford? Yes, 247 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:04.519 here we have him J. C. Elman, m A living 248 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:09.279 of Mossmore. Come Little Purlington. Look up the trains, Watson, 249 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:15.599 there is one at five twenty from Liverpool Street. Excellent. 250 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.279 You had best go with him, Watson. He may need 251 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:23.039 help or advice. Clearly we have come to a crisis 252 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:27.119 in this affair, but our client seemed, by no means 253 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:31.319 eager to start. It's perfectly absurd, mister Holmes, he said, 254 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.480 what can this man possibly know of what has occurred? 255 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.839 It is waste of time and money. He would not 256 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.279 have telegraphed you if he did not know something. Why 257 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.000 are at once that you are coming? I don't think 258 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:48.759 I shall go, Holmes assumed his sternest aspect. It would 259 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.759 make the worst possible impression, both on the police and 260 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:56.119 upon myself. Mister Amberley, if when so obvious a clue arose, 261 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.799 you should refuse to follow it up, we should feel 262 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:02.799 that that you were not really in earnest in this investigation. 263 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:08.240 Our client seemed horrified at the suggestion. Why of course 264 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:10.279 I shall go if you look at it in that way, 265 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:14.359 said he. On the face of it, it seems absurd 266 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:18.559 to suppose that this parson knows anything. But if you think, 267 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.799 I do, think, said Holmes with emphasis. And so we 268 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:26.759 were launched upon our journey. Holmes took me aside before 269 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:29.519 we left the room and gave me one word of counsel, 270 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.119 which showed that he considered the matter to be of importance. 271 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:38.599 Whatever you do see that he really does go, said he. 272 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:42.759 Should he break away or return, get to the nearest 273 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:47.720 telephone exchange and send the single word bolted. I will 274 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:51.200 arrange here that it shall reach me wherever I am. 275 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.000 Little Purlington is not an easy place to reach, for 276 00:19:56.119 --> 00:20:00.000 it is on a branch line. My remembrance of the journey. 277 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.880 He is not a pleasant one, for the weather was hot, 278 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.720 the train slow, and my companion sullen and silent, hardly 279 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:11.680 talking at all save to make an occasional sardonic remark 280 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:15.720 as to the futility of our proceedings. When we at 281 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:19.000 last reached the little station. It was a two mile 282 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:23.279 drive before we came to the vicarage, where a big, solemn, 283 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:29.119 rather pompous clergyman received us in his study. Our telegram 284 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:33.640 lay before him. Well, gentlemen, he asked, what can I 285 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:37.160 do for you? We came, I explained, in answer to 286 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:41.200 your wire my wire, I sent no wire. I mean 287 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:44.519 the wire which you sent to mister Josiah Amberley about 288 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:47.559 his wife and his money. If this is a joke, sir, 289 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:50.880 it is a very questionable one, said the vicar angrily. 290 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.599 I have never heard of the gentleman you name, and 291 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:57.680 I have not sent a wire to anyone. Our client 292 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:01.759 and I looked at each other in amazement. Perhaps there 293 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:05.599 is some mistake, said I are there perhaps two vicarages. 294 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.759 Here is the wire, itself, signed Elman and dated from 295 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:14.279 the vicarage. There is only one vicarage, sir, and only 296 00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:19.039 one vicar, and this wire is a scandalous forgery, the 297 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:23.680 origin of which shall certainly be investigated by the police. Meanwhile, 298 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:26.839 I can see no possible object in prolonging this interview. 299 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:31.119 So mister Ambley and I found ourselves on the roadside 300 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:34.160 in what seemed to me to be the most primitive 301 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:39.279 village in England. We made for the telegraph office, but 302 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:43.680 it was already closed. There was a telephone, however, at 303 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:47.880 the little railway arms, and by it I got in 304 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.680 touch with Holmes, who shared in our amazement and the 305 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:57.240 result of our journey. Most singular, said the distant voice, 306 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.240 most remarkable. I much fear, my dear Watson, that there 307 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:05.920 is no return train to night. I have unwittingly condemned 308 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:09.400 you to the horrors of a country inn. However, there 309 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:16.680 is always nature, Watson, Nature, and Josiah Amberley. You can 310 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:21.519 be in close commune with both. I heard his dry 311 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:25.400 chuckle as he turned away. It was soon apparent to 312 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:30.599 me that my companion's reputation as a miser was not undeserved. 313 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:34.640 He had grumbled at the expense of the journey, but 314 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:39.680 insisted upon traveling third class, and was now clamorous in 315 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.759 his objections to the hotel bill. Next morning, when we 316 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:47.160 did at last arrive in London, it was hard to 317 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:50.400 say which of us was in the worse humor. You 318 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:53.359 had best take Baker Street as we pass, said I, 319 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:57.440 mister Holmes, may have some fresh instructions. If they are 320 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.319 not worth more than the last ones, they are not 321 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:05.279 of much, you, said Amberley with a malevolent scowl. Nonetheless, 322 00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:09.480 he kept me company. I had already warned homes by 323 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:13.720 telegram of the hour of our arrival, but we found 324 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.960 a message waiting that he was at Lewisham and would 325 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:22.240 expect us there. That was a surprise. But an even 326 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:24.880 greater one was to find that he was not alone. 327 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:28.880 In the sitting room of our client, A stern looking, 328 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:33.880 impassive man sat beside him, a dark man with gray 329 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:39.640 tinted glasses and a large Masonic pin projecting from his tie. 330 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:43.839 This is my friend, mister Barker, said Holmes. He has 331 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:48.559 been interesting himself also in your business, though we have 332 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:52.599 been working independently. But we both have the same question 333 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:57.559 to ask you. Mister Amberley sat down heavily. He sensed 334 00:23:57.640 --> 00:24:01.960 impending danger. I read it in his straining eyes and 335 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:06.240 his twitching features. What is the question, mister Holmes, only this, 336 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:11.920 What did you do with the bodies? The man sprang 337 00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:15.559 to his feet with a hoarse scream. He clawed into 338 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:19.000 the air with his bony hands. His mouth was open, 339 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:22.440 and for the instant he looked like some horrible bird 340 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:25.680 of prey. In a flash, we got a glimpse of 341 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:31.279 the real Josiah Amberly, a misshapen demon with a soul 342 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:35.440 as distorted as his body. As he fell back into 343 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:38.839 his chair, he clapped his hands to his lips as 344 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:42.559 if to stifle a cough. Holmes sprang at his throat 345 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.599 like a tiger, and twisted his face towards the ground. 346 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:51.039 A white pellet fell from between his gasping lips. No shortcuts, 347 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:56.240 Josiah Amberly. Things must be done decently and in order. 348 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:59.880 What about it, Barker, I have a cab at the 349 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:04.400 aw said our taciturn companion. It is only a few 350 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:08.000 hundred yards to the station. We will go together. You 351 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.160 can stay here, Watson. I shall be back within half 352 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.000 an hour. The old color man had the strength of 353 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:18.640 a lion in that great trunk of his, but he 354 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:22.559 was helpless in the hands of the two experienced man handlers, 355 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:27.079 wriggling and twisting. He was dragged to the waiting cab, 356 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:31.039 and I was left to my solitary vigil in the 357 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:35.319 ill omened house. In less time than he had named. However, 358 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:40.079 Holmes was back in company with a smart young police inspector. 359 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:44.559 I've left Barker to look after the formalities, said Holmes. 360 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:48.480 You had not met Barker Watson. He is my hated 361 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:52.880 rival upon the Surrey shore. When you said a tall 362 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:56.480 dark man, it was not difficult for me to complete 363 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:59.960 the picture. He has several good cases to his crew, 364 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:06.000 has he not, Inspector? He has certainly interfered several times. 365 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:11.359 The inspector answered with reserve. His methods are irregular, no doubt, 366 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:16.519 like my own. The irregulars are useful sometimes, you know. You, 367 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:20.319 for example, with your compulsory warning about whatever he said 368 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:24.039 being used against him, could never have bluffed this rascal 369 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:28.920 into what is virtually a confession. Perhaps not, but we 370 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:31.759 gather all the same. Mister Holmes. Don't imagine that we 371 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.519 had not formed our own views of this case, and 372 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:37.160 that we would not have laid our hands on our man. 373 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:40.839 You will excuse us for feeling sore when you jump 374 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:44.400 in with methods which we cannot use, and so rob 375 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:48.279 us of the credit. There shall be no such robbery. MacKinnon, 376 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:51.480 I assure you that I effaced myself from now onward. 377 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:55.440 And as to Barker, he has done nothing save what 378 00:26:55.559 --> 00:27:00.400 I told him. The inspector seemed considerably relieved. That is 379 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:03.960 very handsome of you, mister Holmes. Praise or blame can 380 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.440 matter little to you, but it is very different to 381 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:10.680 us when the newspapers begin to ask questions. Quite so, 382 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:14.599 but they are pretty sure to ask questions anyhow, so 383 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.359 it would be as well to have answers. What will 384 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.519 you say? For example, when the intelligent and enterprising reporter 385 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:25.119 asks you what the exact points were which aroused your 386 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:28.559 suspicion and finally gave you a certain conviction as to 387 00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:33.359 the real facts, the inspector looked puzzled. We don't seem 388 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:36.359 to have got any real facts yet, mister Holmes. You 389 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:39.400 say that the prisoner, in the presence of three witnesses, 390 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:44.559 practically confessed by trying to commit suicide, that he had 391 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:47.880 murdered his wife and her lover. What other facts have 392 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:51.519 you have you arranged for a search? There are three 393 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:54.920 constables on their way, then you will soon get the 394 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:58.680 clearest fact of all. The bodies cannot be far away. 395 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:02.440 Try the seller and the garden. It should not take 396 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:05.960 long to dig up the likely places. This house is 397 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.640 older than the water pipes. There must be a disused 398 00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:13.519 well somewhere. Try your luck there. But how did you 399 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:16.799 know of it? And how is it done? I'll show 400 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:19.559 you first how it was done, and then I will 401 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:22.960