1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:05,719 Speaker 1: The Lost Special by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The confession 2 00:00:05,719 --> 00:00:08,480 of Herbert de Lernac, now lying under sentence of death 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,119 at Marseilles, has thrown a light upon one of the 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,080 most inexplicable crimes of the century, an incident which is 5 00:00:15,119 --> 00:00:18,679 I believe absolutely unprecedented in the criminal annals of any country. 6 00:00:19,719 --> 00:00:22,079 Although there is a reluctance to discuss the matter in 7 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,800 official circles, and little information has been given to the press, 8 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,079 there are still indications that the statement of this arch 9 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,840 criminal is corroborated by the facts, and that we have 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,880 at last found a solution for a most astonishing business. 11 00:00:37,079 --> 00:00:39,200 As the matter is eight years old, and as its 12 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,200 importance was somewhat obscured by a political crisis which was 13 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,320 engaging the public attention at the time, it may be 14 00:00:45,359 --> 00:00:46,960 as well to state the fact as far as we 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,280 have been able to ascertain them. They are collated from 16 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,320 the Liverpool papers of that date, from the proceedings at 17 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,200 the inquest upon John Slatter, the engine driver, and from 18 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,880 records of the London and West Coast Railway Company, which 19 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,439 had been courteously put at my disposal. Briefly, they are 20 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,799 as follows on the third of June eighteen ninety a 21 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:13,439 gentleman who gave his name as Monsieur Louis Caratal desired 22 00:01:13,439 --> 00:01:16,480 an interview with mister James Bland, the superintendent of the 23 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:21,599 London and West Coast Central Station in Liverpool. He was 24 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,239 a small man, middle aged and dark, with stoop which 25 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,760 was so marked that it suggested some deformity of the spine. 26 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:31,400 He was accompanied by a friend, a man of imposing physique, 27 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,200 whose deferential manner and constant attention showed that his position 28 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,000 was one of dependents. His friend or companion, whose name 29 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,519 did not transpire, was certainly a foreigner, and probably from 30 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,640 his swarthy complexion, either a Spaniard or a South American. 31 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,319 One peculiarity was observed in him. He carried in his 32 00:01:49,439 --> 00:01:53,760 left hand a small black leather despatch box, and it 33 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,040 was noticed by a sharp eyed clerk in the central 34 00:01:56,079 --> 00:01:58,959 office that this box was fastened to his wrist by 35 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,439 a strap. No importance was attached to the fact at 36 00:02:02,439 --> 00:02:05,799 the time, but subsequent events endowed it with some significance. 37 00:02:06,519 --> 00:02:09,520 Monsieur Carrettal was shown up to mister Bland's office, while 38 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:15,280 his companion remained outside. Mister Bland struck the electric bell, 39 00:02:15,439 --> 00:02:19,280 summoned mister potter Hood, the traffic manager, and had the 40 00:02:19,319 --> 00:02:22,759 matter arranged in five minutes. The train would start in 41 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:24,960 three quarters of an hour. It would take that time 42 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,759 to ensure that the line should be clear. The powerful engine, 43 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,479 called Roachdale number two forty seven on the company's register, 44 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,159 was attached to two carriages, with a guard's van behind. 45 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:39,919 The first carriage was solely for the purpose of decreasing 46 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:44,439 the inconvenience arising from the oscillation. The second was divided 47 00:02:44,479 --> 00:02:48,159 as usual into four compartments, a first class, a first 48 00:02:48,159 --> 00:02:51,960 class smoking, a second class and a second class smoking. 49 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,360 The first compartment, which was nearest to the engine, was 50 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,159 the one allotted to the travelers. The other three were empty. 51 00:02:59,599 --> 00:03:02,280 The guard of the special train was James mc pherson, 52 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,719 who had been some years in the service of the company. 53 00:03:05,319 --> 00:03:10,000 The stoker, William Smith, was a new hand Monsieur Carettel. 54 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,000 Upon leaving the superintendent's office, rejoined his companion, and both 55 00:03:14,039 --> 00:03:17,800 of them manifested extreme impatience to be off. Having paid 56 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,840 the money asked, which amounted to fifty pounds five shillings 57 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,719 at the usual special rate of five shillings a mile, 58 00:03:24,439 --> 00:03:27,080 they demanded to be shown the carriage, and at once 59 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,439 took their seats in it, although they were assured that 60 00:03:29,479 --> 00:03:31,479 the better part of an hour must elapse before the 61 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,319 line could be cleared. In the meantime, a singular coincidence 62 00:03:35,319 --> 00:03:38,280 had occurred in the office which Monsieur Carretel had just quitted. 63 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,159 A request for a special is not a very uncommon 64 00:03:42,159 --> 00:03:46,000 circumstance in a rich commercial center, but the two should 65 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:49,800 be required upon the same afternoon was most unusual. It 66 00:03:49,879 --> 00:03:52,400 so happened, however, that mister Bland had hardly dismissed the 67 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,039 first traveler before a second entered with a similar request. 68 00:03:57,039 --> 00:04:00,360 This was a mister Horace Moore, a gentlemanly man of 69 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,080 military appearance, who alleged that the sudden serious illness of 70 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,199 his wife in London made it absolutely imperative that he 71 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,159 should not lose an instant in starting upon the journey. 72 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,960 His distress and anxiety were so evident that mister Bland 73 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,800 did all that was possible to meet his wishes. A 74 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,959 second special was out of the question, as the ordinary 75 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,839 local service was already somewhat deranged by the first. There 76 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,800 was the alternative, however, that mister Moore should share the 77 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,600 expense of Monsieur Carretel's train, and should travel in the 78 00:04:30,639 --> 00:04:35,480 other empty first class compartment, if Monsieur Carretel objected to 79 00:04:35,519 --> 00:04:38,639 having him in the one which he occupied. It was 80 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,399 difficult to see any objection to such an arrangement. And 81 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,319 yet Monsieur Carretel, upon the suggestion being made to him 82 00:04:44,319 --> 00:04:48,160 by mister potter Hood, absolutely refused to consider it for 83 00:04:48,199 --> 00:04:52,800 an instant. The train was his, he said, and he 84 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,519 would insist upon the exclusive use of it. All argument 85 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,920 failed to overcome his ungracious objections, and finally the pl 86 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,439 had to be abandoned. Mister Horace Moore left the station 87 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:06,519 in great distress after learning that his only course was 88 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,759 to take the ordinary slow train which leaves Liverpool at 89 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:14,040 six o'clock. At four thirty one, exactly by the station clock, 90 00:05:14,079 --> 00:05:17,759 the special train containing the crippled Monsieur Carattel and his 91 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:22,759 gigantic companion steamed out of the Liverpool station. The line 92 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:24,720 was at that time clear and there should have been 93 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,959 no stoppage. Before Manchester. The trains of the London and 94 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,199 West Coast Railway run over the lines of another company 95 00:05:32,199 --> 00:05:35,079 as far as this town, which should have been reached 96 00:05:35,079 --> 00:05:38,480 by a special rather before six o'clock. At a quarter 97 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,040 after six, considerable surprise and some consternation were caused amongst 98 00:05:42,079 --> 00:05:45,439 the officials at Liverpool by the receipt of a telegram 99 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,639 from Manchester to say that it had not yet arrived. 100 00:05:49,319 --> 00:05:52,480 An inquiry directed to Saint Helens, which is a third 101 00:05:52,519 --> 00:05:54,759 of the way between the two cities, elicited the following 102 00:05:54,800 --> 00:06:00,240 reply to James Bland, Superintendent Central l and W see 103 00:06:00,319 --> 00:06:04,079 Liverpool Special passed here at four fifty two, well up 104 00:06:04,079 --> 00:06:09,199 to time, Dowster Saint Helen's. This telegram was received at 105 00:06:09,199 --> 00:06:12,800 six forty. At six fifty a second message was received 106 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:17,160 from Manchester, no sign of special as advised by you, 107 00:06:18,439 --> 00:06:22,519 and then ten minutes later a third more bewildering. Presume 108 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,480 some mistake as to propose running of special local train 109 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,319 from Saint Helen's. Time to follow. It has just arrived 110 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,120 and has seen nothing of it. Kindly, wire advises Manchester. 111 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,319 The matter was assuming a most amazing aspect, although in 112 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:41,600 some respects the last telegram was a relief to the 113 00:06:41,639 --> 00:06:45,360 authorities at Liverpool. If an accident had occurred at the special, 114 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,240 it seemed hardly possible that the local train could have 115 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,720 passed down the same line without observing it, And yet 116 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:55,199 what was the alternative? Where could the train be had 117 00:06:55,199 --> 00:06:57,639 it possibly been sidetracked for some reason in order to 118 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,279 allow the slower train to go past. Such an explanation 119 00:07:01,439 --> 00:07:03,800 was possible if some small repair had to be effected. 120 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,120 A telegram was despatched to each of the stations between 121 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,519 Saint Helens and Manchester, and the superintendent and traffic manager waited, 122 00:07:11,519 --> 00:07:14,720 in the utmost suspense at the instrument for the series 123 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,120 of replies which would enable them to say for certain 124 00:07:17,759 --> 00:07:20,879 what had become of the missing train. The answers came 125 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,399 back in the order of questions, which was the order 126 00:07:24,439 --> 00:07:28,639 of the stations, beginning at Saint Helen's End. Special Past 127 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:33,519 here five o'clock, Collins Green Special Past here, six past five, 128 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:39,560 Earlstown Special Past here five ten, Newton Special Past here 129 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:45,120 five twenty Kenyon Junction. No special train has passed here. 130 00:07:45,399 --> 00:07:49,560 Barton Moss. The two officials stared at each other in amazement. 131 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,519 This is unique in my thirty years of experience, mister 132 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:59,560 Plann said, absolutely unprecedented and inexplicable, Sir, The special has 133 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:04,199 gone wrong between Kenyon Junction and Barton Mosse, and yet 134 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,199 there is no siding so far as my memory, Sir 135 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,399 has made between the two stations. The Special must have 136 00:08:09,639 --> 00:08:13,160 run off the metals. But how could the four fifty 137 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,480 Parliamentary pass over the same line without observing it. There 138 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,839 is no alternative, mister Hood. It must be so. Possibly 139 00:08:20,879 --> 00:08:23,399 the local train may have observed something which may throw 140 00:08:23,439 --> 00:08:26,399 some light upon the matter. We'll wire to Manchester for 141 00:08:26,439 --> 00:08:29,720 more information, and to Kenyon Junction with instructions that the 142 00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:34,120 line be examined instantly as far as Barton Moss. The 143 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:37,559 answer from Manchester came within a few minutes. No news 144 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,039 of missing special, driver and guard of slow train positive. 145 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,519 No accident between Kenyon Junction and Barton Moss line quite clear, 146 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:51,240 and no sign of anything unusual. Manchester, that driver and 147 00:08:51,279 --> 00:08:54,759 guard will have to go, said mister Bland grimly. There 148 00:08:54,759 --> 00:08:57,039 has been a wreck and they have missed it. The 149 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,000 Special has obviously run off the metals without disturbing the line. 150 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,600 How it could have done so passes my comprehension. But 151 00:09:03,759 --> 00:09:05,519 so it must be, and we shall have a wire 152 00:09:05,519 --> 00:09:08,000 from Kenyon or Barton Moss presently to say that they 153 00:09:08,039 --> 00:09:11,559 have found her at the bottom of an embankment, but 154 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,000 mister Bland's prophecy was not destined to be fulfilled. Half 155 00:09:15,039 --> 00:09:17,320 an hour passed and then there arrived the following message 156 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,960 from the station master of Kenyon Junction. There are no 157 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,639 traces of the missing Special. It is quite certain that 158 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,440 she passed here and that she did not arrive at 159 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,000 Barton Moss. We have detached engine from goods train and 160 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,399 have myself ridden down the line. But all is clear 161 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,519 and there is no sign of an accident. Mister Bland 162 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,320 tore his hair in his perplexity. This is rank lunacyhood, 163 00:09:42,399 --> 00:09:45,320 he cried. Does a train vanish into thin air in 164 00:09:45,399 --> 00:09:49,960 England in broad daylight? The thing is preposterous. An engine 165 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,639 at tender, two carriages, a van, five human beings and 166 00:09:53,759 --> 00:09:57,440 all lost on a straight line of railway. Unless we 167 00:09:57,519 --> 00:09:59,759 get something positive within the next hour, I'll take in 168 00:09:59,759 --> 00:10:03,399 space to Collins and go down myself. And then at 169 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,480 last something positive did occur. It took the shape of 170 00:10:06,519 --> 00:10:10,200 another telegram from Kenyon Junction, regret to report that the 171 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,799 dead body of John Slater, driver of the Special train, 172 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,440 has just been found among the Gorse bushes at a 173 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,600 point two and a quarter miles from the junction, had 174 00:10:19,639 --> 00:10:22,279 fallen from his engine, pitched down the embankment, and rolled 175 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,519 among the bushes. Injuries to his head from the fall 176 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,480 appear to be cause of death. Grounds has now been 177 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,000 carefully examined, and there is no trace of the missing train. 178 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:38,559 The country, of course, was, as has already been stated, 179 00:10:38,919 --> 00:10:41,879 in the throes of a political crisis, and the intention 180 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,399 of the public was further distracted by the importance and 181 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,600 sensational developments in Paris, where a huge scandal threatened to 182 00:10:48,639 --> 00:10:51,039 destroy the government and to wreck the reputations of many 183 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,399 of the leading men in France. The papers were full 184 00:10:54,399 --> 00:10:56,840 of these events, and the singular disappearance of the special 185 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,600 train attracted less attention than would have been the case 186 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,639 in more peaceful times. The grotesque nature of the event 187 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,799 helped to detract from its importance, for the papers were 188 00:11:06,799 --> 00:11:10,480 disinclined to believe the facts as reported to them. More 189 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,840 than one of the London journals treated the matter as 190 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:17,840 an ingenious hoax until the coroner's inquest upon the unfortunate driver, 191 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,000 an inquest which elicited nothing of importance, convinced them of 192 00:11:22,039 --> 00:11:26,720 the tragedy of the incident. Mister Bland, accompanied by Inspector Collins, 193 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:29,080 the senior detective officer in the service of the company, 194 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,120 went down to Kenyon Junction the same evening, and their 195 00:11:32,159 --> 00:11:35,919 research lasted throughout the following day, but was attended with 196 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,480 purely negative results. Not only was no trace found of 197 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,559 the missing train, but no conjecture could be put forward 198 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,000 which would possibly explain the facts. At the same time, 199 00:11:46,039 --> 00:11:50,200 Inspector Collins's official report, which lies before me, as I write, 200 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,759 served to show that the possibilities were more numerous than 201 00:11:53,879 --> 00:11:59,080 might have been expected. Inspector Collins writes, in the stretch 202 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,840 of railway between these two points, the country is dotted 203 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,480 with iron works and collieries. Of these, some are being worked, 204 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,080 and some have been abandoned. There are no fewer than 205 00:12:09,159 --> 00:12:12,440 twelve which have small gage lines which run trolley cars 206 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,080 down to the main line. These can of course be disregarded. 207 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,879 Beside these, however, there are seven which have or have 208 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,720 had proper lines running down and connecting with points to 209 00:12:23,759 --> 00:12:27,159 the main line, so as to convey their produce from 210 00:12:27,279 --> 00:12:30,519 the mouth of the mine to the great centers of distribution. 211 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,120 In every case these lines are only a few miles 212 00:12:34,159 --> 00:12:37,679 in length. Out of the seven, four belong to collieries 213 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,679 which are worked out, or at least two shafts which 214 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,639 are no longer used. These are the Red Gauntlet, Hero 215 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:50,600 Slov Despond and Heart's Ease mines, the latter having ten 216 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,080 years ago been one of the principal mines in Lancashire. 217 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,399 These four side lines may be eliminated from our inquiry, 218 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,000 for to prevent possible accidents. The rail nearest to the 219 00:13:01,039 --> 00:13:04,120 main line have been taken up and there is no 220 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:08,960 longer any connection. There remain three other side lines, leading 221 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:14,559 A to the Carnstock Iron Works, B to the big 222 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:20,639 Ben colliery C to the Perseverance Colliery. Of these, the 223 00:13:20,639 --> 00:13:22,639 big Ben line is not more than a quarter of 224 00:13:22,639 --> 00:13:25,440 a mile long and ends at a dead wall of 225 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:29,320 coal waiting removal from the mouth of the mine. Nothing 226 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,480 had been seen or heard there of any special. The 227 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,720 Carnstock Iron Works line was blocked all day upon the 228 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:40,000 third of June by sixteen truck loads of hematite. It's 229 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,480 a single line and nothing could have passed at the 230 00:13:43,519 --> 00:13:48,080 Perseverance line, a large double line which does a considerable 231 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,879 traffic for the output of the mine is very large. 232 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:54,080 On the third of June, this traffic proceeded as usual. 233 00:13:54,639 --> 00:13:57,480 Hundreds of men, including a gang of railway plate layers, 234 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,480 were working along the two lines and a quarter which 235 00:14:00,519 --> 00:14:03,840 constituted the total length of the line, and it is 236 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,399 inconceivable that an unexpected train could have come down there 237 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,919 without attracting universal attention. It may be remarked in conclusion 238 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,200 that this branch line is nearer to Saint Helens than 239 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,320 the point at which the engine driver was discovered, so 240 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,159 that we have every reason to believe that the train 241 00:14:19,279 --> 00:14:23,159 was past that point before his fortune overtook her. As 242 00:14:23,159 --> 00:14:25,759 to John Slater, there is no clue to be gathered 243 00:14:25,759 --> 00:14:28,919 from his appearance or injuries. We can only say that, 244 00:14:29,039 --> 00:14:30,720 so far as we can see, he met his end 245 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,759 by falling off his engine. Though why he fell or 246 00:14:33,799 --> 00:14:36,559 what became of the engine after his fall is a 247 00:14:36,639 --> 00:14:39,080 question upon which I do not feel qualified to offer 248 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,679 an opinion. In conclusion, the inspector offered his resignation to 249 00:14:43,679 --> 00:14:47,679 the board, being much nettled by an accusation of incompetence 250 00:14:47,679 --> 00:14:52,039 in the London papers. A month elapsed during which both 251 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:54,879 the police and the company prosecuted their inquiries without the 252 00:14:54,919 --> 00:14:58,679 slightest success. A reward was offered and a pardon promised 253 00:14:58,679 --> 00:15:02,519 in case of crime, but they were both unclaimed. Every 254 00:15:02,639 --> 00:15:05,080 day the public opened their papers with a conviction that 255 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,559 so grotesque a mystery would at last be solved. But 256 00:15:08,279 --> 00:15:11,360 week after week passed by, and a solution remained as 257 00:15:11,399 --> 00:15:15,279 far off as ever. In broad daylight upon a June afternoon, 258 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,639 in the most thickly inhabited portion of England, a train 259 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,480 with its occupants had disappeared, as completely as if some 260 00:15:22,639 --> 00:15:27,960 master of subtle chemistry had volatilized it into gas. Indeed, 261 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,279 among the various conjectures which were put forward in the 262 00:15:30,279 --> 00:15:34,480 public press, there were some which seriously asserted that supernatural 263 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:39,320 or at least preternatural agencies had been at work, and 264 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,480 that the deformed Monsieur Caratal was probably a person who 265 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,639 was better known under a less polite name. Others fixed 266 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,519 upon his swarthy companion as being the author of the mischief, 267 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,720 but what it was exactly which he had done could 268 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:58,279 never be clearly formulated in words. Among the many suggestions 269 00:15:58,279 --> 00:16:02,039 put forward by various newspapers or private individuals, there were 270 00:16:02,039 --> 00:16:04,080 one or two which were feasible enough to attract the 271 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,879 attention of the public. One which appeared in the Times 272 00:16:06,919 --> 00:16:09,799 over the signature of an amateur reasoner of some celebrity 273 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,120 at that date, attempted to deal with the matter in 274 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,559 a critical and semi scientific manner. An extract must suffice, 275 00:16:17,559 --> 00:16:19,720 although the curious can see the whole letter in the 276 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,240 issue of the third of July. It's one of the 277 00:16:23,279 --> 00:16:27,240 elementary principles practical reasoning. He remarked that when the impossible 278 00:16:27,279 --> 00:16:31,399 has been eliminated, the residuum, however improbable, must contain the truth. 279 00:16:32,519 --> 00:16:35,559 It is certain that the train left Kenyon Junction. It 280 00:16:35,639 --> 00:16:39,080 is certain that it did not reach Barton Moss. It 281 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,639 is in the highest degree unlikely, but still possible, that 282 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,279 it may have taken one of the seven available sidelines. 283 00:16:45,279 --> 00:16:47,879 It's obviously impossible for a train to run where there 284 00:16:47,879 --> 00:16:51,639 are no rails, and therefore we may reduce our improbables 285 00:16:51,679 --> 00:16:55,320 to the three open lines, namely the Carnstock Iron Works, 286 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:59,000 the Big Ben and the Perseverance. Is there a secret 287 00:16:59,039 --> 00:17:03,240 society of Klia an English camorra which is capable of 288 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,839 destroying both train and passengers. Now it's improbable, but it 289 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,000 is not impossible. I confess that I am unable to 290 00:17:11,039 --> 00:17:14,759 suggest any other solution. I should certainly advise the company 291 00:17:14,799 --> 00:17:17,720 to direct all their energies toward the observation of those 292 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:21,640 three lines, and of the workmen at the end of them. 293 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,039 A careful supervision of the pawnbrokers shops of the district 294 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,519 might possibly bring some suggestive facts to light. The suggestion, 295 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,160 coming from a recognized authority upon such matters, created considerable 296 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,640 interest and a fierce opposition from those who considered such 297 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,960 a statement to be a preposterous libel upon an honest 298 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,200 and deserving set of men. The only answer to this 299 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:46,839 criticism was it challenged to the objectors to lay any 300 00:17:46,839 --> 00:17:50,599 more feasible explanations before the public. In reply to this, 301 00:17:50,799 --> 00:17:55,480 two others were forthcoming the Times July seventh and ninth. 302 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,759 The first suggested that the train might have run off 303 00:17:58,759 --> 00:18:02,319 the metals and belying merged in the Lancashire and Staffordshire Canal, 304 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,640 which runs parallel to the railway for some hundreds of yards. 305 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,119 This suggestion was thrown out of court by the published 306 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,599 depth of the canal, which was entirely insufficient to conceal 307 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,599 so large an object. The second correspondent wrote, calling attention 308 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:19,799 to the bag which appeared to be the sole luggage 309 00:18:19,799 --> 00:18:23,000 which the travelers had brought with them, and suggesting that 310 00:18:23,039 --> 00:18:26,440 some novel explosive of immense and pulverizing power might have 311 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:31,039 been concealed in it. The obvious absurdity, however, of a 312 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,240 supposing that the whole train might be blown to dust 313 00:18:34,599 --> 00:18:38,599 while the metals remained uninjured, reduced any such explanation to 314 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,759 a farce. The investigation had drifted into this hopeless position 315 00:18:43,319 --> 00:18:47,039 when a new and most unexpected incident occurred. This was 316 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:50,400 nothing less than the receipt by Missus mc pherson of 317 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,599 a letter from her husband, James mc pherson, who had 318 00:18:53,599 --> 00:18:56,480 been the guard on the missing train. The letter, which 319 00:18:56,519 --> 00:19:00,240 was dated July fifth, eighteen ninety, was posted from New 320 00:19:00,319 --> 00:19:04,799 York and came to hand upon July fourteenth. Some doubts 321 00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:07,799 were expressed as to its genuine character, but Missus mc 322 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,799 pherson was positive as to the writing, and the fact 323 00:19:10,839 --> 00:19:13,000 that it contained a remittance of a hundred dollars and 324 00:19:13,079 --> 00:19:15,519 five dollar notes was enough in itself to discount the 325 00:19:15,559 --> 00:19:18,759 idea of a hoax. No address was given in the letter, 326 00:19:18,799 --> 00:19:22,559 which ran in this way, my dear wife, I've been 327 00:19:22,599 --> 00:19:25,559 thinking a great deal, and I find it very hard 328 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,680 to give you up. The same with Lizzie. I try 329 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:30,640 to fight against it, but it will always come back 330 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,240 to me. I send you some money which will change 331 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,400 into twenty English pounds. This should be enough to bring 332 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,440 both Lizzie and you across the Atlantic, and you'll find 333 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,440 the Hamburg boats which stop at Southampton, very good boats 334 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,720 and cheaper than Liverpool. If you could come here and 335 00:19:45,759 --> 00:19:48,640 stop at the Johnston House, I would try and send 336 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,319 you word how to meet. But things are very difficult 337 00:19:51,319 --> 00:19:53,799 with me at present, and I am not very happy 338 00:19:53,839 --> 00:19:56,680 finding it hard to give you both up. So no 339 00:19:56,799 --> 00:20:02,000 more at present from your loving husband, James mc For 340 00:20:02,039 --> 00:20:05,039 a time it was confidently anticipated that this letter would 341 00:20:05,079 --> 00:20:07,599 lead to the clearing up of the whole matter, the 342 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,079 more so as it was ascertained that a passenger who 343 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:13,359 bore a close resemblance to the missing guard had traveled 344 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,680 from Southampton under the name of Somers in the Hamburg 345 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,440 and New York liner Vistula, which started upon the seventh 346 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,160 of June. Missus mc pherson and her sister Lizzie Dalton 347 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,960 went across to New York as directed, and stayed for 348 00:20:27,039 --> 00:20:30,319 three weeks at the Johnston House without hearing anything from 349 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:34,119 the missing man. It's probable that some injudicious comments in 350 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,559 the press may have warned him that the police were 351 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,119 using them as a bait. However this may be, it's 352 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,279 certain that he neither wrote nor came, and the women 353 00:20:42,279 --> 00:20:45,920 were eventually compelled to return to Liverpool. And so the 354 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,759 matter stood and has continued to stand up to the 355 00:20:48,799 --> 00:20:53,279 present year eighteen ninety eight. Incredible as it may seem, 356 00:20:53,559 --> 00:20:56,839 nothing has transpired during these eight years which has shed 357 00:20:56,839 --> 00:20:59,799 the least light upon the extraordinary disappearance of the special 358 00:20:59,799 --> 00:21:05,400 tree which contained Monsieur Carretel and his companion. Careful inquiries 359 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,039 into the antecedents of the two travelers have only established 360 00:21:08,079 --> 00:21:11,240 the fact that Monsieur Carretal was well known as a 361 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:15,599 financier and political agent in Central America, and that during 362 00:21:15,599 --> 00:21:19,279 his voyage to Europe he had betrayed extraordinary anxiety to 363 00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:22,839 reach Paris. His companion, whose name was entered upon the 364 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:27,440 passenger list, says Eduardo Gomez, was a man whose record 365 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:29,680 was a violent one and whose reputation was that of 366 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,319 a bravo and a bully. There was evidence to show, however, 367 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,359 that he was honestly devoted to the interests of Monsieur Carretal, 368 00:21:37,279 --> 00:21:39,960 and that the latter, being a man of puny physique, 369 00:21:40,519 --> 00:21:43,400 employed the other as a guard and protector. It may 370 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,440 be added that no information came from Paris as to 371 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,759 what the objects of Monsieur Carratill's hurried journey may have been. 372 00:21:51,039 --> 00:21:54,119 This compromises all the facts of the case. Upon the 373 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:58,240 publication in the Marseilles papers of the recent confession of 374 00:21:58,319 --> 00:22:01,920 Herbert de Lernac, now under sentence of death for the 375 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:05,559 murder of a merchant named bon Balow. This statement may 376 00:22:05,599 --> 00:22:10,279 be literally translated as follows. It is not out of 377 00:22:10,319 --> 00:22:13,799 mere pride or boasting that I give this information, for 378 00:22:13,839 --> 00:22:16,400 if that were my object, I could tell a dozen 379 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,400 actions of mine which are quite as splendid. But I 380 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,640 do it in order that certain gentlemen in Paris may 381 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,640 understand that I, who am able here to tell about 382 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,000 the fate of Monsieur Caratal, can also tell in whose 383 00:22:28,039 --> 00:22:31,440 interest and at whose request the deed was done, unless 384 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,200 the reprieve which I am awaiting comes to me very quickly. 385 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:39,039 Take warning, monsieurs, before it is too late. You know 386 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,480 Herbert de Lernac, and you are aware that his deeds 387 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,720 are as ready as his words. Hasten then, or you 388 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:49,799 are lost at present, I shall mention no names. If 389 00:22:49,799 --> 00:22:52,720 you only heard the names, what would you not think? 390 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,599 But I shall merely tell you how cleverly I did it. 391 00:22:56,559 --> 00:22:58,640 I was true to my employers then, and no doubt 392 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,559 they will be true to me now. I hope so. 393 00:23:03,319 --> 00:23:05,440 And until I am convinced that they have betrayed me, 394 00:23:06,039 --> 00:23:09,559 these names, which would convulse Europe, shall not be divulged. 395 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:16,400 But on that day where I say no more in 396 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,519 a word. Then there was a famous trial in Paris 397 00:23:18,559 --> 00:23:20,880 in the year eighteen ninety, in connection with a monstrous 398 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,359 scandal in politics and finance. How monstrous that scandal was 399 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,519 can never be known save by such confidential agents as myself. 400 00:23:29,519 --> 00:23:31,839 The honor and careers of many of the chief men 401 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,680 in France were at stake. You have seen a group 402 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,799 of nine pins standing also rigid and prim and bending. 403 00:23:38,559 --> 00:23:41,160 Then there comes the fall from far away and pop 404 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,079 pop pop. There he are nine pins on the floor. Well, 405 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,400 imagine some of the greatest men in France as these 406 00:23:47,519 --> 00:23:51,200 nine pins. And then this Monsieur Caratal, was the ball 407 00:23:51,759 --> 00:23:55,319 which could be seen coming from far away. If he arrived, 408 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,240 then it was pop pop, pop, for all of them, 409 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:03,839 it was determined that he should not arrive. I do 410 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,000 not accuse them all of being conscious of what was 411 00:24:06,039 --> 00:24:09,079 to happen. There were, as I have said, great financial 412 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,400 as well as political interests at stake, and as syndicate 413 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,480 was formed to manage the business. Some subscribed to the 414 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,200 syndicate who hardly understood what were its objects. But others 415 00:24:19,279 --> 00:24:23,519 understood very well, and they can rely upon it that 416 00:24:23,599 --> 00:24:27,200 I have not forgotten their names. They had ample warning 417 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,640 that Monsieur Carretell was coming, long before he left South America, 418 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:33,000 and they knew that the evidence which he held would 419 00:24:33,079 --> 00:24:36,640 certainly mean ruin to all of them. The Syndicate had 420 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,559 the command of an unlimited amount of money, absolutely unlimited. 421 00:24:40,559 --> 00:24:43,319 You understand. They looked round for an agent who was 422 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:47,079 capable of wielding this gigantic power. The man chosen must 423 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:51,640 be inventive, resolute, adaptive, a man in a million, and 424 00:24:51,839 --> 00:24:55,920 they chose Herbert de Lernac, and I admit that they 425 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,480 were right. My duties would to choose my subordinates, to 426 00:24:59,559 --> 00:25:02,319 use freely the power which money gives, and to make 427 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:06,480 certain that Monsieur Carretel should never arrive in Paris with 428 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,359 characteristic energy. I set about my commission within an hour 429 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,440 of receiving my instructions, and the steps which I took 430 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,759 were the very best for the purpose which could possibly 431 00:25:14,799 --> 00:25:19,079 be devised. A man whom I could trust was dispatched 432 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:23,440 instantly to South America travel home with Monsieur Carretel. Had 433 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,000 he arrived in time, the ship would never have reached Liverpool. 434 00:25:26,039 --> 00:25:29,720 But alas it had already started before my agent could 435 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,880 reach it, I fitted out a small armed brig to 436 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,000 intercept it. But again I was unfortunate. Like all great organizers, 437 00:25:37,039 --> 00:25:40,359 I was, however, prepared for failure, and had a series 438 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,039 of alternatives prepared, one or the other of which must succeed. 439 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,039 You must not underrate the difficulties of my undertaking, or 440 00:25:48,079 --> 00:25:51,160 to imagine that a mere commonplace assassination would meet the case. 441 00:25:52,279 --> 00:25:56,799 We must destroy not only Monsieur Carretel, but Monsieur Carrattel's 442 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:01,920 documents and Monsieur Carretel's companion also, if we had reason 443 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,200 to believe that he had communicated his secrets to them, 444 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:07,519 and you must remember that they were on the alert 445 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,519 and keenly suspicious of any such attempt. It was a 446 00:26:11,559 --> 00:26:13,960 task which was in every way worthy of me, for 447 00:26:14,039 --> 00:26:17,160 I am always most masterful where another would be appalled. 448 00:26:18,839 --> 00:26:21,680 I was all ready for Monsieur Carotell's reception in Liverpool, 449 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:23,960 and I was the more eager because I had reason 450 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,519 to believe that he had made arrangements by which he 451 00:26:26,559 --> 00:26:28,680 would have a considerable guard from the moment that he 452 00:26:28,799 --> 00:26:32,039 arrived in London. Anything which was to be done must 453 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:34,160 be done between the moment of his setting foot upon 454 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,359 Liverpool Quay and that of his arrival at the London 455 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:42,839 and West Coast terminus. In London. We prepared six plans, 456 00:26:42,839 --> 00:26:45,559 each more elaborate than the last. Which plan would be 457 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,160 used would depend upon his own movements do what he would. 458 00:26:49,279 --> 00:26:52,119 We were ready for him if he stayed in Liverpool. 459 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,559 We were ready if he took an ordinary train and 460 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,359 express or a special All was ready. Everything had been 461 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:03,400 foreseen and provided for. You may imagine that I could 462 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,480 not do all this myself. What could I know of 463 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,559 the English railway lines. But money can procure willing agents 464 00:27:10,599 --> 00:27:13,079 all the world over, and I soon had one of 465 00:27:13,079 --> 00:27:16,440 the acutest brains in England to assist me. I will 466 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,799 mention no names, but it would be unjust to claim 467 00:27:18,839 --> 00:27:22,440 all the credit for myself. My English ally was worthy 468 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,119 of such an alliance. He knew the London and West 469 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,960 Coast line thoroughly, and he had the command of a 470 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,160 band of workers who were trustworthy and intelligent. The idea 471 00:27:32,279 --> 00:27:35,319 was his, and my own judgment was only required in 472 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:40,359 the details. We bought over several officials, amongst whom the 473 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:44,160 most important was James mac Pherson, whom we had ascertained 474 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,200 to be the guard most likely to be employed upon 475 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,759 a special train. Smith the Stoker was also in our 476 00:27:49,799 --> 00:27:53,440 employ John Slater, the engine driver, had been approached, but 477 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,000 had been found to be obstinate and dangerous, so he desisted. 478 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,559 We had no certainty that Monsieur Carretel would take a 479 00:28:00,599 --> 00:28:04,359 special but we thought it very probable, for it was 480 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,519 of the utmost importance to him that he should reach 481 00:28:06,559 --> 00:28:10,559 Paris without delay. It was for this contingency, therefore, that 482 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,480 we made special preparations, preparations which were complete down to 483 00:28:14,519 --> 00:28:17,759 the last detail, long before his steamer had sighted the 484 00:28:17,759 --> 00:28:20,640 shores of England. You will be amused to learn that 485 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:22,880 there was one of my agents in the pilot boat 486 00:28:23,279 --> 00:28:27,839 which brought that steamer to its moorings the moment that 487 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,039 Cantel arrived in Liverpool. We knew that he suspected danger 488 00:28:31,079 --> 00:28:33,640 and was on his guard. He had brought with him 489 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,880 as an escort a dangerous fellow named Gomez, a man 490 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,039 who carried weapons and was prepared to use them. This 491 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:44,119 fellow carried Carotel's confidential papers for him and was ready 492 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:49,039 to protect them, either them or his master. The probability 493 00:28:49,079 --> 00:28:52,240 was that Caratal had taken him into his counsels, and 494 00:28:52,279 --> 00:28:54,880 that to remove Carotel without removing Gomez would be a 495 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,240 mere waste of energy. It was necessary that they should 496 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:00,880 be involved in a common fate, and our plans to 497 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,759 that end were much facilitated by their request for a 498 00:29:03,759 --> 00:29:07,599 special train. On that special train, you will understand that 499 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:09,960 two out of the three servants of the company were 500 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,160 really in our employ at a price which would make 501 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,440 them independent for a lifetime. I do not go so 502 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:18,359 far as to say that the English are more honest 503 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,119 than any other nation, but I have certainly found them 504 00:29:21,119 --> 00:29:24,920 more expensive to buy. I have already spoken of my 505 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,240 English agent, who was a man with a considerable future 506 00:29:27,279 --> 00:29:29,640 before him, unless some complaint of the throat carries him 507 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,720 more before his time. He had charge of all arrangements 508 00:29:32,759 --> 00:29:35,920 at Liverpool, while I was stationed at the Inn at Kenyon, 509 00:29:36,359 --> 00:29:39,640 where I awaited a cipher's signal to act. When the 510 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,920 special was arranged for, my agent instantly telegraphed to me 511 00:29:43,599 --> 00:29:45,920 and warned me how soon I should have everything ready. 512 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,559 He himself, under the name of Horace Moore, applied immediately 513 00:29:49,599 --> 00:29:52,240 for a special, also in the hope that he would 514 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,319 be sent down with Monsieur Carretaut, which might, under certain circumstances, 515 00:29:56,359 --> 00:29:59,240 have been helpful to it. If, for example, our great 516 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:02,319 coup had failed, it might then have become the duty 517 00:30:02,359 --> 00:30:04,359 of my agent, who have shot them both and destroyed 518 00:30:04,359 --> 00:30:08,119 their papers. Cannatell was on his guard, however, and refused 519 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,440 to admit any other traveler. My agent then left the station, 520 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,599 returned by another entrance, entered the guards van on the 521 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,559 side farthest from the platform, and traveled down with McPherson 522 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,880 the guard. In the meantime, you will be, of course 523 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:26,079 interested to know that my movements were Everything had been 524 00:30:26,119 --> 00:30:29,720 prepared for days before, and only the finishing touches were needed. 525 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:32,680 The side line which we had chosen had once joined 526 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,839 the main line, but it had been disconnected. We had 527 00:30:35,839 --> 00:30:38,359 only to replace a few rails to connect it once more. 528 00:30:39,039 --> 00:30:41,200 These rails had been laid down as far as could 529 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,240 be done without danger of attracting attention, and now it 530 00:30:44,319 --> 00:30:46,480 was merely a case of completing a juncture with the 531 00:30:46,519 --> 00:30:49,920 line and arranging the points as they had been before. 532 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,039 The sleepers had never been removed in the rails. Fish 533 00:30:53,039 --> 00:30:55,799 plates and rivets were all ready for. We had taken 534 00:30:55,839 --> 00:30:57,839 them from a siding on the abandoned portion of the 535 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,960 line with my small but comp but a band of workers. 536 00:31:01,039 --> 00:31:04,880 We had everything ready long before the special arrived. When 537 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,240 it did arrive, it ran off upon the small side 538 00:31:07,279 --> 00:31:10,200 lines so easily that the jolting of the points appears 539 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,160 to have been entirely unnoticed by the two travelers. Our 540 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:17,000 plan had been that Smith the Stoker should chloroform John 541 00:31:17,039 --> 00:31:19,680 Slater and the driver, so that he should vanish with 542 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,480 the others in this respect, and in this respect only 543 00:31:22,519 --> 00:31:27,000 our plans miscarritt I expect the criminal folly of Macpherson, 544 00:31:27,039 --> 00:31:32,000 in writing home to his wife Arstoker did his business 545 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,079 so clumsily that Slater and his struggles fell off the engine, 546 00:31:35,799 --> 00:31:38,559 and through fortune was with us so far that he 547 00:31:38,599 --> 00:31:41,480 broke his neck in the fall. Still he remained as 548 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,720 a blot upon that which would otherwise have been one 549 00:31:43,759 --> 00:31:46,880 of the most complete masterpieces, which are only to be 550 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:51,400 contemplated in silent admiration. The criminal expert will find him, 551 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,680 John Slater, the one floor in all our admirable combinations, 552 00:31:55,519 --> 00:31:57,640 a man who has had as many triumphs as I 553 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:00,359 can afford to be frank. And I therefore or lay 554 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:04,000 my finger upon John Slater and proclaim him to be 555 00:32:04,039 --> 00:32:07,799 a floor. But now I have got our special train 556 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,880 upon the small line two kilometers or rather more than 557 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,440 one mile in length, which leads, or rather used to 558 00:32:13,559 --> 00:32:17,440 lead to the abandoned Heartsea's Mine, once one of the 559 00:32:17,519 --> 00:32:20,640 largest coal mines in England. You'll ask how it is 560 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,079 that no one saw the train upon this unused line, 561 00:32:23,599 --> 00:32:25,880 And I answered that along its entire length it runs 562 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,720 through a deep cutting, and that unless some one had 563 00:32:28,759 --> 00:32:30,920 been on the edge of that cutting, he could not 564 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,599 have seen it. There was some one on the edge 565 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,799 of that cutting. I was there, and now I will 566 00:32:36,799 --> 00:32:40,160 tell you what I saw. My assistant had remained at 567 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,359 the points in order that he might superintend the switching 568 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,519 off of the train. He had four armed men with him, 569 00:32:45,559 --> 00:32:48,119 so that the train ran off the line. We thought 570 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:51,039 it probably because the points were rusty, we might still 571 00:32:51,039 --> 00:32:54,440 have resources to fall back upon. Having once seen it 572 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,279 safely on the side line, he handed over the responsibility 573 00:32:57,279 --> 00:33:00,000 to me. I was waiting at a point which overlook 574 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,799 the mouth of the mine, and I was also armed, 575 00:33:02,799 --> 00:33:05,720 as were my two companions. Come. What might you say? 576 00:33:05,759 --> 00:33:10,119 I was always ready. The moment that the train was 577 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:12,839 fairly on the side line, Psmith the stoker slowed down 578 00:33:12,839 --> 00:33:15,319 the engine, and then, having turned it on to the 579 00:33:15,319 --> 00:33:18,480 fullest speed again, he and mac Pherson with my English 580 00:33:18,559 --> 00:33:21,640 lieutenant sprang off before it was too late. It may 581 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:24,920 be that it was this slowing down which first attracted 582 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,640 the attention of the travelers, But the train was running 583 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,880 at full speed again before their heads appeared at the 584 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:33,240 open window. It makes me smile to think how bewildered 585 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,279 they must have been. Picture to yourself your own feelings. If, 586 00:33:36,519 --> 00:33:39,240 on looking out of your luxurious carriage, you suddenly perceived 587 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:43,000 that the lines upon which you ran were rusted and corroded, 588 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,920 red and yellow with disuse and decay. What a catch 589 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,200 must have come in their breath, as in a second 590 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,759 it flashed upon them that it was not Manchester, but death, 591 00:33:53,799 --> 00:33:55,480 which was waiting for them at the end of that 592 00:33:55,559 --> 00:33:59,400 sinister line. But the train was running with frantic speed, 593 00:33:59,519 --> 00:34:02,200 rolling on the rocking over the rotten line, while the 594 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,680 wields made a frightful screaming sound upon the rusted surface. 595 00:34:06,599 --> 00:34:08,559 I was close to them and could see their faces. 596 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,719 Carratelle was praying. I think there was something like a 597 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,800 rosary dangling out of his hand. The other roared like 598 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,119 a bull who smells the blood of the slaughter house. 599 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,079 He saw us standing on the bank, and he beckoned 600 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,960 to us like a madman. Then he tore at his 601 00:34:23,039 --> 00:34:25,480 wrist and threw his despatch box out the window in 602 00:34:25,519 --> 00:34:29,400 our direction. Of course, his meaning was obvious. Here was 603 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:31,719 the evidence, and they would promise to be silent if 604 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:35,079 their lives were spared. It would have been very agreeable 605 00:34:35,119 --> 00:34:38,280 if we could have done so, but business is business. Besides, 606 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:40,880 the train was now as much beyond our controls as theirs. 607 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:45,480 He ceased howling when the train rattled round the curb, 608 00:34:46,079 --> 00:34:49,559 and they saw the blank mouth of the mine yawning 609 00:34:49,599 --> 00:34:52,599 before them. We had removed the boards which had covered it, 610 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,800 and we had cleared the square entrance. The rails had 611 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,079 formerly run very close to the shaft for the convenience 612 00:34:58,079 --> 00:35:00,599 of loading the coal, and we had only to add 613 00:35:00,599 --> 00:35:02,480 two or three lengths of rail in order to lead 614 00:35:02,519 --> 00:35:05,519 to the very brink of the shaft. In fact, as 615 00:35:05,519 --> 00:35:08,079 the lynks would not quite fit, our line projected about 616 00:35:08,079 --> 00:35:11,280 three feet over the edge. We saw the two heads 617 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,960 at the window Caratal below Gomez above that they had 618 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,920 both been struck silent by what they saw, and yet 619 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,440 they could not withdraw their heads. The sight seemed to 620 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:24,320 have paralyzed them. I have wondered how the train, running 621 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:26,400 at great speed would take the pit into which I 622 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:29,719 had guided it, and I was much interested in watching it. 623 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:32,920 One of my colleagues thought that it would actually jump it, 624 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:36,800 and indeed it was not very far from doing so. Fortunately, however, 625 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,119 it fell short and the buffers of the engine struck 626 00:35:39,159 --> 00:35:42,360 the other lip of the shaft with a tremendous crash. 627 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,800 The funnel flew off into the air. The tender carriages 628 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,719 and van were all smashed up into one jumble, which, 629 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,320 with the remains of the engine, choked for a minute 630 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:54,360 or so the mouth of the pit. Then something gave 631 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,360 way in the middle, and the whole mass of green 632 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,840 iron smoking coals, brass fittings, wheels would work, and cushions 633 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:05,440 all crumbled together and crashed down into the mine. We 634 00:36:05,519 --> 00:36:08,320 heard the rattle, rattle, rattle as the debris struck against 635 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:12,159 the walls, and then quite a long time afterwards, there 636 00:36:12,159 --> 00:36:14,639 came a deep roar as the remains of the train 637 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:19,119 struck the bottom. The boiler may have burst, for a 638 00:36:19,159 --> 00:36:22,440 sharp crash came after the roar, and then a dense 639 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,880 cloud of steam and smoke swirled up out of the 640 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:28,000 black depths, falling in a spray as thick as rain 641 00:36:28,079 --> 00:36:32,000 all around us. Then the vapors shedded off into thin wisps, 642 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,440 which floated away in the summer sunshine, and all was 643 00:36:35,519 --> 00:36:39,440 quiet again in the hearts eased mine, And now having 644 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,880 carried out our plans so successfully, it only remained to 645 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,239 leave no trace behind us. Our little band of workers 646 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:47,199 at the other end had already ripped up the rails 647 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:51,280 and disconnected the sideline, replacing everything as it had been before. 648 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,480 We were equally busy at the mine. The funnel and 649 00:36:54,519 --> 00:36:57,440 other fragments were thrown in, The shaft was planked over 650 00:36:57,480 --> 00:36:59,760 again as it used to be, and the lines which 651 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,840 led to it were torn up and taken away. Then, 652 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,119 without furry, but without delay, we all made our way 653 00:37:06,159 --> 00:37:09,239 to the countrary, most of us to Paris, my English 654 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:13,239 colleague to Manchester, and Macpherson to Southampton. Whence he emigrated 655 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:16,760 to America. That the English papers of that date tell 656 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,639 how thoroughly we had done our work, and how completely 657 00:37:19,679 --> 00:37:22,559 we had thrown the cleverest of their detectives off our track. 658 00:37:25,199 --> 00:37:27,519 You will remember that Gomez threw his bag of papers 659 00:37:27,519 --> 00:37:29,559 out of the window, and I need not say that 660 00:37:29,599 --> 00:37:32,559 I secured that bag and brought them to my employers. 661 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,480 It may interest my employers now, however, to learn that 662 00:37:36,519 --> 00:37:38,480 out of that bag I took one or two little 663 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,840 papers as a souvenir of the occasion. I have no 664 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:44,800 wish to publish these papers. But still it is every 665 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,280 man for himself in this world. And what else can 666 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:48,880 I do if my friends will not come to my 667 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:52,400 aid when I want them. Messieurs, you may believe that 668 00:37:52,679 --> 00:37:55,400 Herbert de Lernac is quite as formidable when he is 669 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,079 against you as when he is with you, and that 670 00:37:58,119 --> 00:37:59,920 he is not a man to go to the guillotine 671 00:38:00,599 --> 00:38:02,360 until he has seen that every one of you is 672 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:06,119 all out for new Caledonia. For your own sake, if 673 00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:10,280 not for mine, make haste, Monsieur de Blanc and General 674 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:14,119 Blanc and Baron Blanc. You can fill up the blanks 675 00:38:14,159 --> 00:38:17,719 for yourselves as you read this, I promise you that 676 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:22,119 in the next edition there will be no blanks to fill. P. S. 677 00:38:22,559 --> 00:38:24,639 As I look over my statement, there is only one 678 00:38:24,639 --> 00:38:28,480 omission which I can see. It concerns the unfortunate man Macpherson, 679 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:30,880 who was foolish enough to write to his wife and 680 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:33,519 to make an appointment with her in New York. It 681 00:38:33,559 --> 00:38:35,880 can be imagined that when the interests like ours were 682 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,280 at stake, we could not leave them to the chance 683 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:40,280 of whether a man in that class of life would 684 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:42,599 or would not give away his secrets to a woman. 685 00:38:43,679 --> 00:38:45,960 Having once broken his oath by writing to his wife, 686 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:49,280 we could not trust him any more. We took steps, therefore, 687 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,480 to ensure that he should not see his wife. I 688 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:55,039 have sometimes thought that it would be a kindness to 689 00:38:55,079 --> 00:38:57,239 write to her and assure her that there is no 690 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:03,119 impediment to her marrying again. End of the Lost Special 691 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:04,639 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle