Speaker 1: The stockbroker's clerk. Shortly after my marriage, I had bought
Speaker 1: a connection in the Paddington district. Old mister Farquhar, from
Speaker 1: whom I purchased it, had at one time an excellent
Speaker 1: general practice, but his age and an affliction of the
Speaker 1: nature of Saint Vitus's dance from which he suffered, had
Speaker 1: very much thinned it. The public not unnaturally, goes on
Speaker 1: the principle that he who would heal others must himself
Speaker 1: be whole, and looks askance at the curative powers of
Speaker 1: the man whose own case is beyond the reach of
Speaker 1: his drugs. Thus, as my predecessor weakened, his practice declined,
Speaker 1: until when I purchased it from him it had sunk
Speaker 1: from twelve hundred to little more than three hundred a year.
Speaker 1: I had confidence, however, in my own youth and energy,
Speaker 1: and was convinced that in a very few years the
Speaker 1: concern would be as flourishing as ever. For three months
Speaker 1: after taking over the practice, I was kept very closely
Speaker 1: at work and saw little of my friend Sherlock Holmes,
Speaker 1: for I was too busy to visit Baker Street, and
Speaker 1: he seldom went anywhere himself save upon professional business. I
Speaker 1: was surprised therefore, when one morning in June, as I
Speaker 1: sat reading the British Medical Journal after breakfast, I heard
Speaker 1: a ring at the bell, followed by the high, somewhat
Speaker 1: strident tones of my old companion's voice. Ah, my dear Watson,
Speaker 1: said he striding into the room. I am very delighted
Speaker 1: to see you. I trust that missus Watson has entirely
Speaker 1: recovered from all the little excitements connected with our adventure
Speaker 1: of the Sign of the Foe. Thank you. We're both
Speaker 1: doing very well, said I, shaking him warmly by the hand.
Speaker 1: And I hope also, he continued, sitting down in the
Speaker 1: rocking chair, that the cares of medical practice have not
Speaker 1: entirely obliterated the interest to which you used to take
Speaker 1: in our little deductive problems. On the contrary, I answered,
Speaker 1: it was only last night that I was looking over
Speaker 1: my old notes and classifying some of our past results.
Speaker 1: I trust that you don't consider your collection closed, not
Speaker 1: at all. I should wish nothing better than to have
Speaker 1: some more of such experiences to day, for example, yes,
Speaker 1: to day if you like, and as far off as Birmingham, certainly,
Speaker 1: if you wish it, and the practice I do my neighbors.
Speaker 1: When he goes, he's always ready to work off the debt. Hah,
Speaker 1: nothing could be better, said Holmes, leaning back in his
Speaker 1: chair and looking keenly at me from under his half
Speaker 1: closed lids. I perceive that you have been unwell lately.
Speaker 1: Summer colds are always a little trying. I was confined
Speaker 1: to the house by a severe chill for three days
Speaker 1: last week. I thought, however, that I had cast off
Speaker 1: every trace of it. So you have you look remarkably robust.
Speaker 1: How then did you know it, my dear fellow, You
Speaker 1: know my methods. You deduced it, then, certainly? And from what?
Speaker 1: From your slippers? I glanced down at the new patent
Speaker 1: leathers which I was wearing. How on earth I began?
Speaker 1: But Holmes answered my question before it was asked. Your
Speaker 1: slippers are new, He said, you could not have had
Speaker 1: them more than a few weeks. The soules which you
Speaker 1: are at this moment presenting to me are slightly scorched.
Speaker 1: For a moment I thought they might have got wet
Speaker 1: and been burned in the drying. But near the instep
Speaker 1: there is a small circular wafer of paper with the
Speaker 1: shopman's hieroglyphics upon it. Damp would of course have removed this.
Speaker 1: You had then been sitting with your feet outstretched to
Speaker 1: the fire, which a man would hardly do even in
Speaker 1: so wet a june as this, if he were in
Speaker 1: his full health. Like all Holmes's reason, the thing seemed
Speaker 1: simplicity itself. When it was once explained. He read the
Speaker 1: thought upon my features, and his smile had a tinge
Speaker 1: of bitterness. I am afraid that I rather give myself
Speaker 1: away when I explain, said he. Results, without causes are
Speaker 1: much more impressive. You are ready to come to Birmingham, then,
Speaker 1: certainly what is the case? You shall hear it all
Speaker 1: in the train. My client is outside in a four wheeler.
Speaker 1: Can you come at once? In an instant, I scribbled
Speaker 1: a note to my neighbor, rushed upstairs to explain the
Speaker 1: matter to my wife, and joined Holmes upon the doorstep.
Speaker 1: Your neighbor is a doctor, said he, nodding at the
Speaker 1: brass plate. Yes, he bought a practice as I did,
Speaker 1: an old established one, just the same as mine. Both
Speaker 1: have been ever since the houses were built. Ah, then
Speaker 1: you got hold of the best of the two. I
Speaker 1: think I did. But how do you know by the
Speaker 1: steps my boy, yours are worn three inches deeper than his.
Speaker 1: But this gentleman in the cab is my client, mister
Speaker 1: hall Pyecroft. Allow me to introduce you to him. Whip
Speaker 1: your horse up, cabby, for we have only just time
Speaker 1: to catch our train. The man whom I found myself
Speaker 1: facing was a well built, fresh complexioned young fellow with
Speaker 1: a frank, honest face and a slight, crisp yellow mustache.
Speaker 1: He wore a very shiny top hat and a neat
Speaker 1: suit of sober black, which made him look what he was,
Speaker 1: A smart young city man of the class who had
Speaker 1: been labeled cockneys, but who give us our crack volunteer regiments,
Speaker 1: and who turn out more fine athletes and sportsmen than
Speaker 1: any body of men in these islands. His round, ruddy
Speaker 1: face was naturally full of cheeriness, but the corners of
Speaker 1: his mouth seemed to me to be pulled down in
Speaker 1: a half comical distress. It was not, however, until we
Speaker 1: were all in our first class carriage and well started
Speaker 1: upon our journey to Birmingham, that I was able to
Speaker 1: learn what the trouble was which had driven him to
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. We have a clear run here of seventy minutes.
Speaker 1: Holmes remarked, I want you, mister Hall Pycroft, to tell
Speaker 1: my friend your very interesting experience, exactly as you have
Speaker 1: told it to me, or with more detail, if possible.
Speaker 1: It will be of use to me to hear the
Speaker 1: succession of events again. It is a case, Watson, which
Speaker 1: may prove to have something in it, or may prove
Speaker 1: to have nothing, but which at least presents those unusual
Speaker 1: and utree features which are as dear to you as
Speaker 1: they are to me. Now, mister Pycroft, I shall not
Speaker 1: interrupt you again. Our young companion looked at me with
Speaker 1: a twinkle in his eye. The worst of the story
Speaker 1: is said he that I should show myself up as
Speaker 1: such a confounded fool. Of course it may work out
Speaker 1: all right, and I don't see that I could have
Speaker 1: done otherwise. But if I've lost my crib and got
Speaker 1: nothing in exchange, I shall feel what a soft johnny
Speaker 1: I've been. I'm not very good at telling a story,
Speaker 1: Dr Watson, but it is like this with me. I
Speaker 1: used to have a billet at Cox and Woodhouses of
Speaker 1: Drapers Gardens, but they were let in early in the
Speaker 1: spring through the Venezuelan loane. There's no doubt you remember,
Speaker 1: and came a nasty cropper. I've been with him five years,
Speaker 1: and old Coxon gave me a ripping good testimonial when
Speaker 1: the smash came. But of course week clerks were all
Speaker 1: turned adrift for twenty seven of us. I tried here
Speaker 1: and tried there, but there were lots of other chaps
Speaker 1: on the same lay as myself, and it was a
Speaker 1: perfect frost. For a long time. I've been taking three
Speaker 1: pounds a week at Coxon's, and I'd saved about seventy
Speaker 1: of them. But I soon worked my way through that
Speaker 1: and out the other end. I was fairly at the
Speaker 1: end of my tether at last, and could hardly find
Speaker 1: the stamps to answer the advertisements, all the envelopes to
Speaker 1: stick them to. I'd worn up my boots paddling up
Speaker 1: off his stairs, and are seen just as far from
Speaker 1: getting a billet as ever. At last I saw vacancy
Speaker 1: at Mawson and Williams, the great stock broking firm in
Speaker 1: Lombard Street. I dare say e c is not much
Speaker 1: in your line, but I can tell you that this
Speaker 1: is about the richest house in London. The advertisement was
Speaker 1: to be answered by a letter only. I sent him
Speaker 1: my testimonial an application, but without the least hope of
Speaker 1: getting in back. Came an answer by return saying if
Speaker 1: I would appear next Monday, I might take over my
Speaker 1: new duties at once, provided that my appearance was satisfactory.
Speaker 1: No one knows how these things are worked. Some people
Speaker 1: say that the manager just plunges his hand into the
Speaker 1: heap and takes the first that comes. Anyhow, it was
Speaker 1: my innings that time, and I don't have a wish
Speaker 1: to feel better pleased. The screw was a power the
Speaker 1: week rise, and the dew is just about the same
Speaker 1: as at Coxwain's. And now I come to the queer
Speaker 1: part of the business. I was in Diggings out Amstead Way,
Speaker 1: seventeen potters Terrace, Well. I was sitting doing a smoke
Speaker 1: that very evening, after I had been promised the appointment,
Speaker 1: when up came my landlady with a card which had
Speaker 1: Arthur Pinner, financial Agent printed upon it. I never heard
Speaker 1: the name before and could not imagine what he wanted
Speaker 1: with me, but of course I asked her to show
Speaker 1: him up In he walked a middle size dark haired,
Speaker 1: dark eyed, black bearded man with a touch of the
Speaker 1: sheeny about his nose. He had a brisk kind of
Speaker 1: way with him, and he spoke sharply, like a man
Speaker 1: who knew the valley of time. Mister old by Craft,
Speaker 1: I believe, said he. Yes, sir, I answered, pushing a
Speaker 1: chair towards him, lately engaged at Coxon and Woodhouse's. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: now on the staff of Morson's. Quite so will, said he.
Speaker 1: The fact is that I have heard some really extraordinary
Speaker 1: stories about your financial ability. You remember Parker, who used
Speaker 1: to be Coxwain's manager. You can never say enough about it.
Speaker 1: Of course, I was pleased to hear this. I'd always
Speaker 1: been pretty sharp in the office, but I never dreamed
Speaker 1: that I was talked about in the city in this fashion.
Speaker 1: You have a good memory, said he, pretty fair, I
Speaker 1: answered modestly. Have you kept in touch with the market
Speaker 1: while you've been out of work? He asked, yes, I
Speaker 1: read the stock exchange list every morning. Now that shows
Speaker 1: real application, he cried, This is the way to prosper.
Speaker 1: You won't mind me testing you, will you let me
Speaker 1: see our airshes one hundred and six and a quarter
Speaker 1: two hundred and five and seven eighths and New Zealand
Speaker 1: consolidated one hundred and four and British brokenhels seven to
Speaker 1: seven and six. Wonderful, he cried, with his hands up.
Speaker 1: This quite fits in with all that i'd heard. My boy,
Speaker 1: my boy, you're very much too good to be a
Speaker 1: clerk at Morson's. This outburst rather astonish me. As you
Speaker 1: can think, well, said I. Other people don't think quite
Speaker 1: so much of me as you seem to do, mister Pinner.
Speaker 1: I had hard enough fight to get this berth, and
Speaker 1: I'm very glad to have it. Pooh man, you should
Speaker 1: soar above it. You're not in your true sphere. Now,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you how it stands with me. What I
Speaker 1: have to offer is little enough when measured by your ability,
Speaker 1: but when compared with Morsons, it's light to dark. Let
Speaker 1: me see, when do you go to Mawson's on Monday? Ah?
Speaker 1: I think I would risk a little sporting flutter that
Speaker 1: you don't go there at all, not go to Morson's, No, sir,
Speaker 1: that day you'll be the business manager of the Franco
Speaker 1: Midland Hardware Company Limited, with a hundred and thirty four
Speaker 1: branches in the towns and villages of France, not counting
Speaker 1: one in Brussels and one in San Remo. This took
Speaker 1: my breath away. I never heard of it, said I
Speaker 1: very likely not. It has been kept very quiet, for
Speaker 1: the capital was all privately subscribed, and it's too good
Speaker 1: a thing to let the public into. My brother Harry
Speaker 1: Pinner is promoter and joins the board after allotment as
Speaker 1: managing director. He knew I was in the swim down here,
Speaker 1: and asked me to pick up a good man, cheap,
Speaker 1: a young pushing man with plenty of snap about him.
Speaker 1: Parker spoke of you, and that brought me here to night.
Speaker 1: We can only offer you a beggarly five hundred to
Speaker 1: start with, five hundred a year, I shouted, only there
Speaker 1: at the beginning. But you ought to have an overriding
Speaker 1: commission of one percent on all business done by your agents,
Speaker 1: and you may take my word for it that this
Speaker 1: will come to more than your salary. But I know
Speaker 1: nothing about hardware, Tuck, my boy, You know about figures.
Speaker 1: My head buzzed and I could hardly sit still in
Speaker 1: my chair. But suddenly a little chill of doubt came
Speaker 1: upon me. I must be frank with you, said I.
Speaker 1: Mawson only gives me two hundred. But Mawson is safe. Now.
Speaker 1: Really I know so little about your company that ah, smart, smart,
Speaker 1: he cried, in a kind of ecstasy of delight. You
Speaker 1: are the very man for us. You are not to
Speaker 1: be talked over, and quite right too. Now here's a
Speaker 1: note for a hundred pounds, and if you think that
Speaker 1: we can do business, you may just slip it into
Speaker 1: your pocket as an advance upon your salary. This is
Speaker 1: very handsome, said I. When should I take over my
Speaker 1: new duties? Be in Birmingham to morrow at one? Said he.
Speaker 1: I have a note in my pocket here which you
Speaker 1: will take to my brother. You'll find him at one
Speaker 1: twenty six B Corporation Street, where the temporary offices of
Speaker 1: the company are situated. Of course he must confirm your engagement,
Speaker 1: but between ourselves it will be all right. Really, I
Speaker 1: hardly know how to express my gratitude, mister Pinner, said I,
Speaker 1: not at all, my boy. You've only got your desserts.
Speaker 1: There are one or two small things, mere formalities, which
Speaker 1: I must arrange with you. You have a bit of
Speaker 1: paper beside you there, kindly write upon it. I am
Speaker 1: perfectly willing to act as business manager to the Franco
Speaker 1: Midland Hardware Company Limited, at a minimum salary of five
Speaker 1: hundred pounds. I did as he asked, and he put
Speaker 1: the paper in his pocket. There is one other detail,
Speaker 1: said he, What do you intend to do about Morsons.
Speaker 1: I had forgotten all about Morsons in my joy. I'll
Speaker 1: write and resign, said I, precisely what I don't want
Speaker 1: you to do. I had a row over you with
Speaker 1: Mawson's manager. I've gone up to ask him about you,
Speaker 1: and he was very offensive, accused me of coaxing you
Speaker 1: away from the service of the firm, and that sort
Speaker 1: of thing. At last, I've fairly lost my temper. If
Speaker 1: you want good men, you should pay them a good price,
Speaker 1: said I. He would rather have our small price than
Speaker 1: your big one, said he. I'll lay you a fiver,
Speaker 1: said I that when he has my offer, you'll never
Speaker 1: so much as hear from him again. Done, said he.
Speaker 1: We picked him out of the gutter and he won't
Speaker 1: leave us so easily. Those were his very words. The
Speaker 1: impudent scoundrel. I cried, I've never so much as seen
Speaker 1: him in my life. Why should I consider him in
Speaker 1: any way. I shall certainly not write if you would
Speaker 1: rather I didn't. Good that's a promise, said he, rising
Speaker 1: from his chair. Well, I'm delighted to have got so
Speaker 1: good a man from my brother. Here's your advance of
Speaker 1: a one hundred pounds, and here is a letter. Make
Speaker 1: a note of the address one twenty six B Corporation Street,
Speaker 1: and remember that one o'clock tomorrow is your appointment. Good night,
Speaker 1: and may you have all a fortune that you deserve.
Speaker 1: That's just about all that passed between us, as near
Speaker 1: as I can remember. You can imagine Dr Watson, how
Speaker 1: pleased I was at such an extraordinary bit of good fortune.
Speaker 1: I sat up after night I give myself over it.
Speaker 1: And next day I was off to Birmingham in a
Speaker 1: train that would take me in plenty time for my appointment.
Speaker 1: I took my things to a hotel in New Street,
Speaker 1: and then I made my way to the address which
Speaker 1: had given me. It was a quarter of an hour
Speaker 1: before my time. I thought that would make no difference.
Speaker 1: One twenty six B was a passage between two large
Speaker 1: shops which led to a winding stone stair from which
Speaker 1: there were many flats. Let us offices to companies or
Speaker 1: professional men. The names of the occupants were painted at
Speaker 1: the bottom on the wall, but there was no such
Speaker 1: name as the Franco Midland Hardware Company. I stood for
Speaker 1: a few minutes with my eye in my boots, wondering
Speaker 1: whether the whole thing was an elaborate oaks or not.
Speaker 1: When up came a man and addressed me. He was
Speaker 1: very like the chap i'd seen the night before, the
Speaker 1: same figure and voice, but he was clean shaven and
Speaker 1: his hair was lighter. Are you mister Allpiecraft, he asked? Yes,
Speaker 1: said I, oh, I was expecting you, but you're a
Speaker 1: trifle before your time. I had a note from my
Speaker 1: brother this morning in which he sang your praises very loudly.
Speaker 1: I was just looking for the offices when you came.
Speaker 1: We have not got our name up yet, for we
Speaker 1: only secured these temporary premises last week. Come up with
Speaker 1: me and we'll talk the matter over. I followed him
Speaker 1: to the top of a very loft stare, and there,
Speaker 1: right under the slates were a couple of empty, dusty
Speaker 1: little rooms, uncarpeted and uncurtained, into which he led me.
Speaker 1: I thought of a great office with shining tables, and
Speaker 1: rows of clerks such as I was used to, and
Speaker 1: I dare say I stayed rather straight at the two
Speaker 1: deal chairs and one little table, which with a ledger
Speaker 1: and a waste paper basket made up the whole furniture.
Speaker 1: Don't be disheartened, mister Pycroft, said my new acquaintance, seeing
Speaker 1: the length of my face. Rome was not built in
Speaker 1: a day, and we have lots of money at our backs,
Speaker 1: though we don't cut much dash yet in offices. Pray,
Speaker 1: sit down and let me have your letter. I gave
Speaker 1: it to him, and he read it over very carefully.
Speaker 1: You seem to have made a vast impression upon my brother, Arthur,
Speaker 1: said he, and I know that he is a pretty
Speaker 1: shrewd judge. He swears by London, you know, and eye
Speaker 1: by Burningham. But this time I shall follow his advice. Pray,
Speaker 1: consider yourself definitely engaged. What are my duties, I asked.
Speaker 1: You will eventually manage the great depot in Paris, which
Speaker 1: will pour a flood of English crockery into the shops
Speaker 1: of one hundred and thirty four agents in France. The
Speaker 1: purchase will be completed in a week, and meanwhile you'll
Speaker 1: remain in Birmingham, may make yourself useful. How for answer,
Speaker 1: he took a big red book out of a draw
Speaker 1: This is a directory of Paris, said he, with the
Speaker 1: trades after the names of the people. I'll want you
Speaker 1: to take it own with you and to mark off
Speaker 1: all the hardware sellers with their addresses. It will be
Speaker 1: of the greatest use to me to have them. Surely
Speaker 1: they are classified lists, I suggested, not reliable ones. Their
Speaker 1: system is different from ours. Stick at it and let
Speaker 1: me have the list by Monday at twelve. Good day,
Speaker 1: mister Pyecroft. If you continue to show zeal And intelligence,
Speaker 1: you'll find the company a good master. I went back
Speaker 1: to the hotel with a big book under my arm,
Speaker 1: and with very conflicting feelings in my breast. On the
Speaker 1: one hand, I was definitely engaged, and I had hundred
Speaker 1: pounds in my pocket. On the other, the look of
Speaker 1: the offices, the absence of name on the wall, another
Speaker 1: of the points which would strike a businessman, had left
Speaker 1: a bad impression as to the position of my employers. However,
Speaker 1: come what might, I had my money, so I settled
Speaker 1: down to my task. All Sunday I was kept hard
Speaker 1: at work, and yet by Monday, I had only got
Speaker 1: as far as h I went round to my employer,
Speaker 1: found him in the same dismantled kind of room, and
Speaker 1: was told to keep at it until Wednesday and then
Speaker 1: come again. On Wednesday. It was still unfinished, so I
Speaker 1: am at douay until Friday, nay is yesterday. Then I
Speaker 1: brought it round to mister Harry Pinner. Thank you very much,
Speaker 1: said I fear that I underrated the difficulty of the task.
Speaker 1: This list will be of very material assistance to me.
Speaker 1: It took some time, said I, and now said he.
Speaker 1: I want you to make a list of the furniture shops,
Speaker 1: for they all sell crockery very good. And you can
Speaker 1: come up to morrow evening at seven and let me
Speaker 1: know how you're getting on. Don't overwork yourself. A couple
Speaker 1: of hours at day's music all in the evening would
Speaker 1: do you no arm after your labors. He laughed as
Speaker 1: he spoke, and I saw with a thrill that his
Speaker 1: second tooth, upon the left hand side, had been very
Speaker 1: badly stuffed with gold. Sherlock Holmes rubbed his hands with delight,
Speaker 1: and I stared with astonishment at our client. You may
Speaker 1: well look surprised doctor Watson. But it is this way,
Speaker 1: said he. When I was speaking to the other chap
Speaker 1: in London at the time that he laughed at my
Speaker 1: not going to Morson's, I appened to notice that his
Speaker 1: tooth was stuffed in this very identical fashion. The glint
Speaker 1: of the gold in each case caught my eye. You see,
Speaker 1: when I put that, with the voice and figure being
Speaker 1: the same, and only those things altered which might be
Speaker 1: changed by a razor or a wig, I could not
Speaker 1: doubt that it was the same man. Of course, you
Speaker 1: expect two brothers to be alike, but not that they
Speaker 1: should have the same tooth stuffed in the same way.
Speaker 1: He bowed me out, and I found myself in the street,
Speaker 1: hardly knowing whether I was on my head or my heels.
Speaker 1: Back I went to my hotel, put my head in
Speaker 1: a basin of cold water and try to think it out.
Speaker 1: Why had he sent me from London to Birmingham, Why
Speaker 1: had he got there before me, and why had he
Speaker 1: written a letter from himself to himself. It was altogether
Speaker 1: too much for me, and I could make no sense
Speaker 1: of it. And then suddenly it struck me that what
Speaker 1: was dark to me might be very light to mister
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. I had just time to get up to
Speaker 1: town by the night train to see him this morning,
Speaker 1: and to bring you both back with me to Birmingham.
Speaker 1: There was a pause after the stockbroker's clerk had concluded
Speaker 1: his surprising experience. Then Sherlock Holmes cocked his eye at me,
Speaker 1: leaning back on the cushions with a pleased and yet
Speaker 1: critical face, like a connoisseur who has just taken his
Speaker 1: first sip of a Comet vintage. Rather fine Watson, is
Speaker 1: it not? Said he? There are points in it which
Speaker 1: please me. I think that you will agree with me
Speaker 1: that an interview with mister Arthur Harry Pinner in the
Speaker 1: temporary offices of the Franco Midland Hardware Company Limited would
Speaker 1: be a rather interesting experience for both of us. But
Speaker 1: how can we do it? I asked? Oh? Easily enough,
Speaker 1: said Hall Pyecroft, cheerily. You are two friends of mine
Speaker 1: who are in want of a billet, and what could
Speaker 1: be more natural than that I should bring you both
Speaker 1: round to the managing director. Quite so, of course, said Holmes.
Speaker 1: I should like to have a look at the gentleman
Speaker 1: and see if I can make anything of his little game.
Speaker 1: What qualities have you, my friend, which would make your
Speaker 1: services so valuable? Or is it possible that he began
Speaker 1: biting his nails and staring blankly out of the window,
Speaker 1: and we hardly drew another word from him until we
Speaker 1: were in New Street at seven o'clock that evening. We
Speaker 1: were walking the three of us down Corporation Street to
Speaker 1: the company's offices. It is no use our being at
Speaker 1: all before our time, said our client. He only comes
Speaker 1: there to see me, apparently, for the place is deserted
Speaker 1: up to the very hour he names. That is suggestive,
Speaker 1: remarked holmes By Jove. I told you so, cried the clerk.
Speaker 1: That's ay walk ahead of us there He pointed to
Speaker 1: a smallish, dark, well dressed man who was bustling along
Speaker 1: the other side of the road. As we watched him,
Speaker 1: he looked across at a boy who was bawling out
Speaker 1: the latest edition of the evening paper and running over
Speaker 1: among the cabs and buses. He brought one from him, then,
Speaker 1: clutching it in his hand, he vanished through a doorway.
Speaker 1: There he goes, cried hall Pyecroft. These are the company's
Speaker 1: offices into which he is gone, come with me, and
Speaker 1: I'll fix it up as easily as possible. Following his lead,
Speaker 1: we ascended five stories until we found ourselves outside a
Speaker 1: half open door, at which our client tapped a voice
Speaker 1: within bade us enter, and we entered a bare, unfurnished room,
Speaker 1: such as hall Pyecroft had described. At the single table
Speaker 1: sat the man whom we had seen in the street,
Speaker 1: with his evening paper spread out in front of him,
Speaker 1: And as he looked up at us, it seemed to
Speaker 1: me that I had never looked upon a face which
Speaker 1: bore such marks of grief, and of something beyond grief,
Speaker 1: of a horror such as comes to a few men
Speaker 1: in a line lifetime. His brow glistened with perspiration, his
Speaker 1: cheeks were of the dull, dead white of a fish's belly,
Speaker 1: and his eyes were wild and staring. He looked at
Speaker 1: his clerk as though he failed to recognize him, and
Speaker 1: I could see, by the astonishment depicted upon our conductor's
Speaker 1: face that this was, by no means the usual appearance
Speaker 1: of his employer. You look ill, mister Pinner, he exclaimed. Yes,
Speaker 1: I'm not very well, answered the other, making obvious efforts
Speaker 1: to pull himself together, and licking his dry lips before
Speaker 1: he spoke, Who are these gentlemen whom you've brought with you.
Speaker 1: One is mister Harris of Bermondsey, and the other is
Speaker 1: mister Price of this town, said our clerk glibly. They're
Speaker 1: friends of mine and gentlemen of experience, but they've been
Speaker 1: out of a place for some little time, and they
Speaker 1: hoped that perhaps you might find an opening for them
Speaker 1: in the company's employment. Very possibly, very possibly, cried mister Pinner,
Speaker 1: with a ghastly smile. Yes, I have no doubt that
Speaker 1: we shall be able to do something for you. What
Speaker 1: is your particular, lie, mister Harris, I am an accountant,
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Ah, yes, we shall want something of the sort.
Speaker 1: And you, mister Price, a clerk, said I. I have
Speaker 1: every hope that the company may accommodate you. I will
Speaker 1: let you know about it as soon as we come
Speaker 1: to any conclusion. And now I beg that you will go,
Speaker 1: for God's sake, leave me to myself. These last words
Speaker 1: were shut out of him, as though the constraint which
Speaker 1: he was evidently setting upon himself had suddenly and utterly
Speaker 1: burst asunder. Holmes and I glanced at each other and
Speaker 1: Aul Pyecroft took a step towards the table. You forget,
Speaker 1: mister Pinner, the army, and by appointment to receive some
Speaker 1: directions from you, said he. Certainly, mister Pyecroft, certainly, the
Speaker 1: other resumed in a calmer tone. You may wait here
Speaker 1: a moment, and there is no reason why your friends
Speaker 1: should not wait with you. I will be entire at
Speaker 1: your service in three minutes. If I may tresp us
Speaker 1: upon your patience. So far he rose, with a very
Speaker 1: courteous air, and bowing to us. He passed through a
Speaker 1: door at the farther end of the room, which he
Speaker 1: closed behind him. What now, whispered Holmes, Is he giving
Speaker 1: us a slip? Impossible, answered Pyecroft. Why so that door
Speaker 1: leads into an inner room. There is no exit, none,
Speaker 1: is it furnished, It was empty yesterday? Then what on
Speaker 1: earth can he be doing? There is something which I
Speaker 1: don't understand in this manner. If ever a man was
Speaker 1: three parts mad with terror, that's man's name is Pinna,
Speaker 1: What can have put the shivers on him? He suspects
Speaker 1: that we're detectives. I suggested, see it, I Croft, Holmes
Speaker 1: shook his head. He did not turn pale. He was
Speaker 1: pale when we entered the room, said he. It is
Speaker 1: just possible that his words were interrupted by a sharp
Speaker 1: rat tat from the direction of the inner door. What
Speaker 1: the deuce is he knocking his own door for, cried
Speaker 1: the clerk again, and much louder came the rat tat tat.
Speaker 1: We all gazed expectantly at the closed door. Glancing at Holmes,
Speaker 1: I saw his face turn rigid, and he leaned forward
Speaker 1: in intense excitement. Then suddenly came a low, guggling, gargling
Speaker 1: sound and a brisk drumming upon woodwork. Holmes sprang frantically
Speaker 1: across the room and pushed at the door. It was
Speaker 1: fastened on the inner side. Following his example, we threw
Speaker 1: ourselves upon it with all our weight. One hinge snapped,
Speaker 1: then the other, and down came the door, with a crash.
Speaker 1: Rushing over it, we found ourselves in the inner room.
Speaker 1: It was empty, but it was only for a moment
Speaker 1: that we were at fault. At one corner, the corner
Speaker 1: nearest the room which we had left, there was a
Speaker 1: second door. Homes sprang to it and pulled it open.
Speaker 1: A coat and waistcoat were lying on the floor, and
Speaker 1: from a hook behind the door, with his own braces
Speaker 1: round his neck, was hanging the managing director of the
Speaker 1: Franco Midland Hardware Company. His knees were drawn up, his
Speaker 1: head hung at a dreadful angle to his body, and
Speaker 1: the clatter of his heels against the door made the
Speaker 1: noise which had broken in upon our conversation. In an
Speaker 1: instant I had caught him round the waist and held
Speaker 1: him up, while Holmes and Pyecroft untied the elastic bands
Speaker 1: which had disappeared between the livid creases of skin, and
Speaker 1: we carried him into the other room, where he lay
Speaker 1: with a clay colored face, puffing his purple lips in
Speaker 1: and out with every breath, a dreadful wreck of all
Speaker 1: that he had been but five minutes before. What do
Speaker 1: you think of him? Watson asked Holmes. I stooped over
Speaker 1: him and examined him. His pulse was feeble and intermittent,
Speaker 1: but his breathing grew longer, and there was a little
Speaker 1: shivering of his eyelids, which showed a thin white slit
Speaker 1: of ball beneath. It has been touch and go with him,
Speaker 1: said I. But he'll live now. Just open that window
Speaker 1: and hand me the water. Ceroff, I undered his collar,
Speaker 1: poured the cold water over his face, and raised and
Speaker 1: sank his arms until he drew a long, natural breath.
Speaker 1: It's only a question of time, now, said I, as
Speaker 1: I turned away from him. Holmes stood by the table,
Speaker 1: with his hands deep in his trousers pockets and his
Speaker 1: chin upon his breast. I suppose we ought to call
Speaker 1: a police in now, said he. And yet I confess
Speaker 1: that I'd like to give them a complete case when
Speaker 1: they come. It's a blessed mystery to me, cried Pyecroft,
Speaker 1: scratching his head. Whatever they wanted to bring me all
Speaker 1: the way up here for? And then pooh, all that
Speaker 1: is clear enough, said Holmes impatiently. It is this last
Speaker 1: sudden move you can understand the rest. Then, I think
Speaker 1: that it is fairly obvious. What do you say, Watson,
Speaker 1: I shrugged my shoulders. I must confess I am out
Speaker 1: of my debts, said I. Oh, surely, if you consider
Speaker 1: the events at first, they can only point to one conclusion.
Speaker 1: What do you make of them? Well, the whole thing
Speaker 1: hinges upon two points. The first is the making of
Speaker 1: pyecroft right declaration, by which he entered the service of
Speaker 1: this preposterous company. Do you not see how very suggestive
Speaker 1: that is? I am afraid I mister point well, why
Speaker 1: did they want him to do it? Not as a
Speaker 1: business matter? For these arrangements are usually verbal, and there
Speaker 1: was no earthly business reason why this should be an exception.
Speaker 1: Don't you see, my young friend, that they were very
Speaker 1: anxious to obtain a specimen of your handwriting and had
Speaker 1: no other way of doing it. And why? Quite so?
Speaker 1: Why when we answer that we have made some progress
Speaker 1: with our little problem, why there can be only one
Speaker 1: adequate reason. Someone wanted to learn to imitate your writing
Speaker 1: and had to procure a specimen of it first. And
Speaker 1: now if we pass on to the second point, we
Speaker 1: find that each throws light upon the other. That point
Speaker 1: is the request made by Pinner that you should not
Speaker 1: resign your place, but should leave the manager of his
Speaker 1: important business in the full expectation that a mister hall Pyecroft,
Speaker 1: whom he had never seen, was about to enter the
Speaker 1: office upon the Monday morning. My God, cried our client,
Speaker 1: What a blind beat love been? Now you see the
Speaker 1: point about the handwriting. Suppose that some one turned up
Speaker 1: in your place who wrote a completely different hand from
Speaker 1: that in which you had applied for the vacancy. Of course,
Speaker 1: the game would have been up, but in the interval
Speaker 1: the rogue had learned to imitate you, and his position
Speaker 1: was therefore secure. As I presume that nobody in the
Speaker 1: office had ever set eyes upon you, not a soul,
Speaker 1: groaned hal Pyecroft. Very good. Of course, it was of
Speaker 1: the utmost importance to prevent you from thinking better of it,
Speaker 1: and also to keep you from coming into contact with
Speaker 1: any one who might tell you that your double was
Speaker 1: at work in Mowson's office. Therefore they gave you a
Speaker 1: handsome advance on your salary and ran you off to
Speaker 1: the Midlands, where they gave you enough work to do
Speaker 1: to prevent you going to London, where you might have
Speaker 1: burst their little game up. That is all plain enough.
Speaker 1: But why should this man pretend to be his own brother? Well,
Speaker 1: that is pretty clear. Also. There are evidently only two
Speaker 1: of them in it. The other is impersonating you at
Speaker 1: the the office. This one acted as your engager, and
Speaker 1: then found that he could not find you an employer
Speaker 1: without admitting a third person into his plot. That he
Speaker 1: was most unwilling to do. He changed his appearance as
Speaker 1: far as he could, and trusted that the likeness which
Speaker 1: you could not fail to observe, would be put down
Speaker 1: to a family resemblance. But for the happy chance of
Speaker 1: the gold stuffing, your suspicions would probably never have been aroused.
Speaker 1: Hall Pyecroft shook his clinched hands in the air. Good lord,
Speaker 1: he cried, while I have been fooled in this way.
Speaker 1: What has this other Hall Pyecroft been doing at Mawson's.
Speaker 1: What shall we do? Mister Holmes, tell me what to do.
Speaker 1: We must wire to Morson's. They shut at twelve on Saturdays.
Speaker 1: Never mind, there may be some door keeper or attendant. Ah, yes,
Speaker 1: and I keep a permanent guard there on account of
Speaker 1: the value of the securities that they old. I remember
Speaker 1: hearing it talk in the city. Very good. We shall
Speaker 1: wire to him and see if all is well. And
Speaker 1: if a clerk of your name is working there. That
Speaker 1: is clear enough. But what is not so clear as why,
Speaker 1: at the sight of us one of the rogue should
Speaker 1: instantly walk out of the room and hang himself. The
Speaker 1: paper croaked a voice behind us. The man was sitting up,
Speaker 1: blanched and ghastly, with returning reason in his eyes and hands,
Speaker 1: which rubbed nervously at the broad red band which still
Speaker 1: encircled his throat. The paper, of course, yelled Holmes, in
Speaker 1: a paroxysm of excitement. Idiot that I was. I thought
Speaker 1: so much of our visit that the paper had never
Speaker 1: entered my head for an instant. To be sure the
Speaker 1: secret must be there, he flattened it upon the table,
Speaker 1: and a cry of triumph burst from his lips. Look
Speaker 1: at this, Watson, he cried. It is a London paper,
Speaker 1: an early edition of the Evening Standard. Here is what
Speaker 1: we want. Look at the headlines crime in the city,
Speaker 1: murder at Mawson and Williams, gigantic attempted robbery, capture of
Speaker 1: the criminal. Here, Watson, we are all equally anxious to
Speaker 1: hear it, so kindly read it aloud to us. It appeared,
Speaker 1: from its position in the paper to have been the
Speaker 1: one event of importance in town, and the account of
Speaker 1: it ran in this way. A desperate attempt at robbery
Speaker 1: culminating in the death of one man and the capture
Speaker 1: of the criminal occurred this afternoon in the city. For
Speaker 1: some time back, Mawson and Williams, the famous financial house,
Speaker 1: have been the guardians of securities which amount in the
Speaker 1: aggregate to a sum of considerably over a million sterling.
Speaker 1: So conscious was the manager of the responsibility which devolved
Speaker 1: upon him in consequence of the great interest at stake,
Speaker 1: that safes of the very latest construction have been employed,
Speaker 1: and an armed watchman has been left day and night
Speaker 1: in the building. It appears that last week a new
Speaker 1: clerk named hall Pyecroft was engaged by the firm. This
Speaker 1: person appears to have been none other than Beddington, the
Speaker 1: famous forger and cracksman, who, with his brother had only
Speaker 1: recently emerged from a five year spell of penal servitude.
Speaker 1: By some means which are not yet clear, he succeeded
Speaker 1: in winning, under a false name, this official position in
Speaker 1: the office, which he utilized in order to obtain moldings
Speaker 1: of various locks and a thorough knowledge of the position
Speaker 1: of the strong room and the safes. It is customary
Speaker 1: at Mawson's for the clerks to leave at midday on Saturday.
Speaker 1: Sergeant Tuson of the City Police was somewhat surprised, therefore,
Speaker 1: to see a gentleman with a carpet bag come down
Speaker 1: the steps at twenty minutes past one. His suspicions being aroused,
Speaker 1: the sergeant followed the man, and with the aid of
Speaker 1: Constable Pollock, succeeded after a most desperate resistance, in arresting him.
Speaker 1: It was at once clear that a daring and gigantic
Speaker 1: robbery had been committed. Nearly a hundred thousand pounds worth
Speaker 1: of American Railway bonds, with a large amount of scrip
Speaker 1: in mines and other companies, was discovered in the bag.
Speaker 1: On examining the premises, the body of the unfortunate watchman
Speaker 1: was found doubled up and thrust into the largest of
Speaker 1: the safes, where it would not have been discovered until
Speaker 1: Monday morning had it not been for the prompt action
Speaker 1: of Sergeant Tewson. The man's skull had been shattered by
Speaker 1: a blow from a poker delivered from behind. There could
Speaker 1: be no doubt that Beddington had obtained entrance by pretending
Speaker 1: that he had left something behind him, and having murdered
Speaker 1: the watchman, rapidly rifled a large safe and then made
Speaker 1: off with his booty. His brother, who usually works with him,
Speaker 1: has not appeared in this job as far as can
Speaker 1: at present be ascertained, although the police are making energetic
Speaker 1: inquiries as to his whereabouts. Well, we may save the
Speaker 1: police some little trouble in that direction, said Holmes, glancing
Speaker 1: at the haggard figure huddled up by the window. Human
Speaker 1: nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You see that even
Speaker 1: a villain and murderer can inspire such affection that his
Speaker 1: brother turns to suicide when he learns that his neck
Speaker 1: is forfeited. However, we have no choice as to our action.
Speaker 1: The doctor and I will remain on guard, mister Pyecroft,
Speaker 1: if you will have the kindness to step out for
Speaker 1: the police. End of the Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk