Speaker 1: The Five Orange Pips. When I glance over my notes
Speaker 1: and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years
Speaker 1: eighty two and ninety, I am faced by so many
Speaker 1: which present strange and interesting features that it is no
Speaker 1: easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however,
Speaker 1: have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have
Speaker 1: not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my
Speaker 1: friend possessed in so high a degree, and which it
Speaker 1: is the object of these papers to illustrate. Some too,
Speaker 1: have baffled his analytical skill, and would be as narratives
Speaker 1: beginning without an ending, while others have been but partially
Speaker 1: cleared up, and have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture
Speaker 1: and surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was
Speaker 1: so dear to him. There is, however, one of these last,
Speaker 1: which was so remarkable in its details and so startling
Speaker 1: in its results, that I am tempted to give some
Speaker 1: account of it, in spite of the fact that there
Speaker 1: are points in connection with it which have never been
Speaker 1: and probably never will be entirely cleared up. The year
Speaker 1: eighty seven furnished us with a long series of cases
Speaker 1: of greater or less interest, of which I retain the
Speaker 1: records among my headings under this one twelve months, I
Speaker 1: find an account of the adventure of the Paradol Chamber
Speaker 1: of the Amateur Mendicant Society, who held a luxurious club
Speaker 1: in the lower vault of a furniture warehouse. Of the
Speaker 1: facts connected with the loss of the British bark Sophie Anderson,
Speaker 1: of the singular adventures of the Greis Pattersons in the
Speaker 1: island of Ufa, And finally of the Camberwell poisoning case.
Speaker 1: In the latter, as may be remembered, Schulock Holmes was able,
Speaker 1: by winding up the dead man's watch, to prove that
Speaker 1: it had been wound up two hours before, and that
Speaker 1: therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time,
Speaker 1: a deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing
Speaker 1: up the case. All these I may sketch out at
Speaker 1: some future date, but none of them present such singular
Speaker 1: features as the strange train of circumstances which I have
Speaker 1: now taken up my pen to describe. It was in
Speaker 1: the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales had
Speaker 1: set in with exceptional violence. All day, the wind had
Speaker 1: screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so
Speaker 1: that even here in the heart of great hand made London,
Speaker 1: we were forced to raise our minds for the instant
Speaker 1: from the routine of life, and to recognize the presence
Speaker 1: of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through
Speaker 1: the bars of his civilization, like untamed beasts in a cage.
Speaker 1: As evening drew in, the storm grew higher and louder,
Speaker 1: and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in
Speaker 1: the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of
Speaker 1: the fireplace, cross indexing his records of crime, while I
Speaker 1: at the other, was deep in one of Clark Russell's
Speaker 1: fine sea stories, until the howl of the gale from
Speaker 1: without seemed to blend with the text, and the splash
Speaker 1: of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash
Speaker 1: of the sea waves. My wife was on a visit
Speaker 1: to her mother's, and for a few days I was
Speaker 1: a dweller once more in my old quarters at Baker Street.
Speaker 1: Why said I, glancing up at my companion, That was
Speaker 1: surely the bell who could come up to night, some
Speaker 1: friend of yours perhaps, except yourself, I have none, he answered,
Speaker 1: I do not encourage visitors a client. Then if so
Speaker 1: it is a serious case. Nothing less would bring a
Speaker 1: man out on such a day and at such an hour.
Speaker 1: But I take it that it is more likely to
Speaker 1: be some crony of the landlady's Sherlock. Holmes was wrong
Speaker 1: in his conjecture, however, for there came a step in
Speaker 1: the passage, and a tapping at the door. He stretched
Speaker 1: out his long arm to turn the lamp away from
Speaker 1: himself and towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer
Speaker 1: must sit. Come in, said he. The man who entered
Speaker 1: was young, some two and twenty at the outside, well
Speaker 1: groomed and trimly clad, with something of refinement and delicacy
Speaker 1: in his bed. The streaming umbrella which he held in
Speaker 1: his hand, and his long shining waterproof told of the
Speaker 1: fierce weather through which he had come. He looked about
Speaker 1: him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and I
Speaker 1: could see that his face was pale, and his eyes heavy,
Speaker 1: like those of a man who is weighed down with
Speaker 1: some great anxiety. I owe you an apology he said,
Speaker 1: raising his golden pontene to his eyes. I trust that
Speaker 1: I am not intruding. I fear that I have brought
Speaker 1: some traces of the storm and rain into your snug chamber.
Speaker 1: Give me your coat and umbrella, said Holmes. They may
Speaker 1: rest here on the hook and will be dry. Presently.
Speaker 1: You have come up from the southwest. I see, yes,
Speaker 1: from Horsham. That clay and chalk mixture which I see
Speaker 1: upon your toe caps is quite distinctive. I have come
Speaker 1: for advice that is easily got, and help that is
Speaker 1: not always so easy. I have heard of you, mister Holmes.
Speaker 1: I heard from Major Prendergast how you saved him in
Speaker 1: the Bankerville club scandal. Ah. Of course he was wrongfully
Speaker 1: accused of cheating at cards. He said that you could
Speaker 1: solve anything. He said too much, that you are never beaten.
Speaker 1: I have been beaten four times, three times by men
Speaker 1: and once by a woman. But what is that compared
Speaker 1: with the number of your successes. It is true that
Speaker 1: I have been generally successful. Then you may be so
Speaker 1: with me. I beg that you will draw up your
Speaker 1: chair to the fire and favor me with some details
Speaker 1: as to your case. It is no ordinary one. None
Speaker 1: of those which come to me are. I am the
Speaker 1: last court of appeal. And yet I question, sir, whether,
Speaker 1: in all your experience you have ever listened to a
Speaker 1: more mysterious and inexplicable chain of events than those which
Speaker 1: have happened in my own family. You fill me with interest,
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Pray, give us the essential facts from the commencement,
Speaker 1: and I can afterwards question you as to those details
Speaker 1: which seemed to me to be most important. The young
Speaker 1: man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet
Speaker 1: out toward the blaze. My name, said, he is John Openshaw.
Speaker 1: But my own affairs have, as far as I can understand,
Speaker 1: little to do with this awful business. It is a
Speaker 1: hereditary matter. So in order to give you an idea
Speaker 1: of the facts, I must go back to the commencement
Speaker 1: of the affair. You must know that my grandfather had
Speaker 1: two sons, my uncle Elias and my father Joseph. My
Speaker 1: father had a small factory at Coventry, which he enlarged
Speaker 1: at the time of the invention of bicycling. He was
Speaker 1: a patentee of the open shore unbreakable tire, and his
Speaker 1: business met with such success that he was able to
Speaker 1: sell it and to retire upon a handsome competence. My
Speaker 1: uncle Elias emigrated to America when he was a young
Speaker 1: man and became a painter in Florida, where he was
Speaker 1: reported to have done very well. At the time of
Speaker 1: the war, he fought in Jackson's army and afterwards under Hood,
Speaker 1: where he rose to be a colonel. When Lee laid
Speaker 1: down his arms, my uncle returned to his plantation, where
Speaker 1: he remained for three or four years. About eighteen sixty
Speaker 1: nine or eighteen seventy he came back to Europe and
Speaker 1: took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham. He had
Speaker 1: made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his
Speaker 1: reason for leaving them was his aversion to the Negroes
Speaker 1: and his dislike of the Republican policy in extending the
Speaker 1: franchise to them. He was a singular man, fierce and
Speaker 1: quick tempered, very foul mouthed when he was angry, and
Speaker 1: of a most retiring disposition. During all the years that
Speaker 1: he lived at Horsham, I doubt if he ever set
Speaker 1: foot in the town. He had a garden and two
Speaker 1: or three fields round his house, and there he would
Speaker 1: take his exercise though very often for weeks on end,
Speaker 1: he would never leave his room. He drank a great
Speaker 1: deal of brandy and smoked very heavily, but he would
Speaker 1: see no society and did not want any friends, not
Speaker 1: even his own brother. He didn't mind me, in fact,
Speaker 1: he took a fancy to me, for at the time
Speaker 1: when he saw me first, I was a youngster of
Speaker 1: twelve or so. This would be in the year eighteen
Speaker 1: seventy eight, after he had been eight or nine years
Speaker 1: in England. He begged my father to let me live
Speaker 1: with him, and he was very kind to me in
Speaker 1: his way. When he was sober. He used to be
Speaker 1: fond of playing backgammon and drafts with me, and he
Speaker 1: would make me his representative both with the servants and
Speaker 1: with the trade people, so that by the time I
Speaker 1: was sixteen, I was quite master of the house. I
Speaker 1: kept all the keys and could go where I liked
Speaker 1: and do what I liked, so long as I did
Speaker 1: not disturb him in his privacy. There was one singular exception, however,
Speaker 1: for he had a single room, a lumber room up
Speaker 1: among the attics, which was invariably locked, and which he
Speaker 1: would never permit either me or any one else to
Speaker 1: enter with a boy's curiosity. I have peeped through the keyhole,
Speaker 1: but I was never able to see more than such
Speaker 1: a collection of old trunks and bundles as would be
Speaker 1: expected in such a room. One day, it was March
Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty three, a letter with a foreign stamp
Speaker 1: lay upon the table in front of the colonel's plate.
Speaker 1: It was not a common thing for him to receive letters,
Speaker 1: for his bills were all paid in ready money, and
Speaker 1: he had no friends of any sort from India, said he,
Speaker 1: as he took it up. Pond a cherry postmark. What
Speaker 1: can this be? Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five
Speaker 1: little dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate.
Speaker 1: I began to laugh at this, but the laugh was
Speaker 1: struck from my lips at the sight of his face.
Speaker 1: His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding, his skin
Speaker 1: the color of putty, and he glared at the envelope,
Speaker 1: which he still held in his trembling hand. Kay k kay,
Speaker 1: he shrieked. And then, my god, my god, my sins
Speaker 1: have overtaken me. What is it? Uncle? I cried deaf,
Speaker 1: said he, and rising from the table, he retired to
Speaker 1: his room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took up
Speaker 1: the envelope and saw scrawlding red ink upon the inner flap,
Speaker 1: just above the gum, the letter K three times repeated.
Speaker 1: There was nothing else save the five dried pips. What
Speaker 1: could be the reason of his overpowering terror? I left
Speaker 1: the breakfast table, and as I ascended the stair I
Speaker 1: met him coming down with an old rusty key which
Speaker 1: must have belonged to the attic, in one hand, and
Speaker 1: a small brass box like a cash box in the other.
Speaker 1: They may do what they like, but I'll checkmate them, still,
Speaker 1: said he, with an oath, tell Mary that I shall
Speaker 1: want a fire in my room to day and send
Speaker 1: down to Fordham, the Horsham lawyer. I did as he ordered,
Speaker 1: and when the lawyer arrived, I was asked to step
Speaker 1: up to the room. The fire was burning brightly, and
Speaker 1: in the grate there was a mass of black, fluffy
Speaker 1: ashes as of burned paper, while the brass box stood
Speaker 1: open an empty beside it. As I glanced at the box,
Speaker 1: I noticed with a start that upon the lid was
Speaker 1: printed the treblequet which I had read in the morning.
Speaker 1: Upon the envelope. I wish you, John, said my uncle,
Speaker 1: to witness my will. I leave my estate, with all
Speaker 1: its advantages and all its disadvantages, to my brother, your father.
Speaker 1: Whence it will no doubt descend to you, if you
Speaker 1: can enjoy it in peace, well and good. If you
Speaker 1: find you cannot take my advice, my boy, and leave
Speaker 1: it to your deadliest enemy, I am sorry to give
Speaker 1: you such a two edged thing, but I can't say
Speaker 1: what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the
Speaker 1: paper where mister Fordham shows you. I signed the paper
Speaker 1: as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him.
Speaker 1: The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest
Speaker 1: impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned
Speaker 1: it every way in my mind, without being able to
Speaker 1: make anything of it. Yet I could not shake off
Speaker 1: the vague feeling of dread which it left behind. Though
Speaker 1: the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed and
Speaker 1: nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives.
Speaker 1: I could see a change in my uncle. However, he
Speaker 1: drank more than ever, and he was less inclined for
Speaker 1: any sort of snens society. Most of his time he
Speaker 1: would spend in his room with the door locked upon
Speaker 1: me inside. But sometimes he would emerge in a sort
Speaker 1: of drunken frenzy, and would burst out of the house
Speaker 1: and tear about the garden with a revolver in his hand,
Speaker 1: screaming out that he was afraid of no man, and
Speaker 1: that he was not to be cooped up like a
Speaker 1: sheep in a pen by man or devil. When these
Speaker 1: hot fits were over, however, he would rush tumultuously in
Speaker 1: at the door, and lock and bar it behind him,
Speaker 1: like a man who can brazen it out no longer
Speaker 1: against the terror which lies at the root of his soul.
Speaker 1: At such times I have seen his face, even on
Speaker 1: a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it were
Speaker 1: new raised from a basin. Well, to come to an
Speaker 1: end of the matter, mister Holmes, and not to abuse
Speaker 1: your patience. There came a night when he made one
Speaker 1: of those drunken sallies, from which he never came back.
Speaker 1: We found him when we went to search for him,
Speaker 1: face downward in a little green, scummed pool which lay
Speaker 1: at the foot of the garden. There was no sign
Speaker 1: of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep.
Speaker 1: So that the jury, having regard to his known eccentricity,
Speaker 1: brought in a verdict of suicide. But I, who knew
Speaker 1: how he winced from the very thought of death, had
Speaker 1: much ado to persuade myself that he had gone out
Speaker 1: of his way to meet it. The matter passed, however,
Speaker 1: and my father entered into possession of the estate and
Speaker 1: of some fourteen thousand pounds which lay to his credit
Speaker 1: at the bank. One moment, Holmes interposed, your statement is
Speaker 1: I foresee, one of the most remarkable to which I
Speaker 1: have ever listened. Let me have the date of the
Speaker 1: reception by your uncle of the letter and the date
Speaker 1: of his supposed suicide. The letter arrived on March tenth,
Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three. His death was seven weeks later, upon
Speaker 1: the night of May second. Thank you, pray proceed. When
Speaker 1: my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request,
Speaker 1: made a careful examination of the attic, which had been
Speaker 1: always locked up. We found the brass box there, although
Speaker 1: its contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the
Speaker 1: cover was a paper label with the initials of K
Speaker 1: K K repeated upon it, and letters, memoranda, receipts, and
Speaker 1: a register written beneath these, we presume, indicated the nature
Speaker 1: of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw.
Speaker 1: For the rest, there was nothing of much importance in
Speaker 1: the attic, save a great many scattered papers and note
Speaker 1: books bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of
Speaker 1: them were of the war time and showed that he
Speaker 1: had done his duty well and had borne the repute
Speaker 1: of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during
Speaker 1: the reconstruction of the Southern States, and were mostly concerned
Speaker 1: with politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part
Speaker 1: in opposing the carpet bag politicians who had been sent
Speaker 1: down from the North Well. It was the beginning of
Speaker 1: eighty four when my father came to live at Horseham,
Speaker 1: and all went as well as possible until the January
Speaker 1: of eighty five. On the fourth day after the new year,
Speaker 1: I heard and my father give a sharp cry of
Speaker 1: surprise as we sat together at the breakfast table. There
Speaker 1: he was sitting with a newly opened envelope in one
Speaker 1: hand and five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm
Speaker 1: of the other one. He had always laughed at what
Speaker 1: he called my cock and bull story about the colonel.
Speaker 1: But he looked very scared and puzzled now that the
Speaker 1: same thing had come upon him. Why what on earth
Speaker 1: does this mean? John, he stammered, My heart had turned
Speaker 1: to lead. It is K K K, said I. He
Speaker 1: looked inside the envelope. So it is, he cried. Here
Speaker 1: are the very letters. But what is this written above them?
Speaker 1: Put the papers on the sun dial? I read, peeping
Speaker 1: over his shoulder. What papers? What sun dial? He asked,
Speaker 1: The sun dial in the garden. There is no other,
Speaker 1: said I. But the papers must be those that are destroyed. Pooh,
Speaker 1: said he, gripping hard at his courage. We are in
Speaker 1: a civilized land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of
Speaker 1: this kind. Where does the thing come from from? Dundee,
Speaker 1: I answered, glancing at the post mark. Some preposterous practical joke,
Speaker 1: said he. What have I to do with sun dials
Speaker 1: and papers? I shall take no notice of such nonsense.
Speaker 1: I should certainly speak to the police, I said, and
Speaker 1: be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort,
Speaker 1: then let me do so. No, I forbid you. I
Speaker 1: won't have a fuss made about such nonsense. It was
Speaker 1: in vain to argue with him for he was a
Speaker 1: very obstinate man. I went about, however, with a heart
Speaker 1: which was full of forebodings. On the third day after
Speaker 1: the coming of the letter, my father went from home
Speaker 1: to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who
Speaker 1: is in the command of one of the forts upon
Speaker 1: portsdown Hill. I was glad that he should go, for
Speaker 1: it seemed to me that he was further from danger
Speaker 1: when he was away from home. In that, however, I
Speaker 1: was in error. Upon the second day of his absence,
Speaker 1: I received a telegram from the Major employed me to
Speaker 1: come at once. My father had fallen over one of
Speaker 1: the deep chalk pits which abound in the neighborhood, and
Speaker 1: was lying senseless with a shattered skull. I hurried to him,
Speaker 1: but he passed away without ever having recovered his consciousness.
Speaker 1: He had, as it appears, been returning from Fareham in
Speaker 1: the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him
Speaker 1: and the chalk pit unfenced, the jury had no hesitation
Speaker 1: in bringing in a verdict of death from accidental causes. Carefully,
Speaker 1: as I examined every fact connected with his death, I
Speaker 1: was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea
Speaker 1: of murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks,
Speaker 1: no robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon
Speaker 1: the roads. And yet I need not tell you that
Speaker 1: my mind was far from at ease, and that I
Speaker 1: was well nigh certain that some foul plot had been
Speaker 1: woven around him. In this sinister way I came into
Speaker 1: my inheritance. You will ask me why I did not
Speaker 1: dispose of it. I answer because I was well convinced
Speaker 1: that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an
Speaker 1: incident in my uncle's life, and that the danger would
Speaker 1: be as pressing in one house as in another. It
Speaker 1: was in January of eighty five that my poor father
Speaker 1: met his end, and two years and eight months have
Speaker 1: elapsed since then. During that time I have lived happily
Speaker 1: at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that this
Speaker 1: curse had passed away from the family, and that it
Speaker 1: had ended with the last generation. I had begun to
Speaker 1: take comfort too soon. However, yesterday morning the blow fell
Speaker 1: in the very shape in which it had come upon
Speaker 1: my father. The young man took from his waistcoat a
Speaker 1: crumpled envelope, and turning to the table, he shook out
Speaker 1: upon it five little dried orange pips. This is the envelope,
Speaker 1: he continued. The postmark is London Eastern Division. Within are
Speaker 1: the very words which were upon my father's last message,
Speaker 1: K K K. And then put the papers on the
Speaker 1: sun dial. What have you done, asked Holmes. Nothing, nothing
Speaker 1: to tell the truth. He sank his face into his
Speaker 1: thin white hands. I have felt helpless. I have felt
Speaker 1: like one of those poor rabbits when the snake is
Speaker 1: riding toward it. I seem to be in the grasp
Speaker 1: of some resistless, inexorable evil which no foresight and no
Speaker 1: precautions can guard against. Tut tut, cried Sherlock Holmes. You
Speaker 1: must act, man, or you are lost. Nothing but energy
Speaker 1: can save you. This is no time for despair. I
Speaker 1: have seen the police ah, but then listen to my
Speaker 1: story with a smile. I am convinced that the inspector
Speaker 1: has formed the opinion that the letters were all practical jokes,
Speaker 1: and that the deaths of my relations were really accidents,
Speaker 1: as the jury stated, and were not to be connected
Speaker 1: with the warnings. Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air.
Speaker 1: Incredible imbecility, he cried. They have, however, allowed me a
Speaker 1: policeman who may remain in the house with me? Has
Speaker 1: he come with you tonight? No? His order were to
Speaker 1: stay in the house again. Holmes raved in the air.
Speaker 1: Why did you come to me, he cried, And above all,
Speaker 1: why did you not come at once? I did not know.
Speaker 1: It was only to day that I spoke to Major
Speaker 1: Prendergast about my troubles, and was advised by him to
Speaker 1: come to you. It is really two days since you
Speaker 1: have had the letter. We should have acted before this.
Speaker 1: You have no further evidence, I suppose, than that which
Speaker 1: you have placed before us, no suggestive detail which might
Speaker 1: help us. There is one thing, said John openshawl He
Speaker 1: rummaged in his coat pocket, and, drawing out a piece
Speaker 1: of discolored, blue tinted paper, he laid it out upon
Speaker 1: the table. I have some remembrance, said he, that on
Speaker 1: the day when my uncle burned the papers, I observed
Speaker 1: that the small, unburned margins which lay amid the ashes
Speaker 1: were of this particular color. I found this single sheet
Speaker 1: upon the floor of his room, and I am inclined
Speaker 1: to think that it may be one of the papers
Speaker 1: which has perhaps fluttered out from among the others, and
Speaker 1: in that way has escaped destruction. Beyond the mention of pips.
Speaker 1: I do not see that it helps us much. I
Speaker 1: think myself that it is a page from some private diary.
Speaker 1: The writing is undoubtedly my uncle's. Holmes moved the lamp
Speaker 1: and we both bent over the sheet of paper, which
Speaker 1: showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been
Speaker 1: torn from a book. It was headed March eighteen sixty nine,
Speaker 1: and beneath were the following enigmatical notices. Fourth Hudson came
Speaker 1: same old platform. Seventh set the pips on Macauley, Paramour,
Speaker 1: and John Swain of Saint Augustine ninth. Mc cauley cleared, tenth,
Speaker 1: John Swain cleared twelfth, visited Paramour. All well, thank you,
Speaker 1: said Holmes, folding up the paper and returning it to
Speaker 1: our visitor. And now you must, on no account lose
Speaker 1: another instant. We cannot spare time even to discuss what
Speaker 1: you have told me. You must get home instantly and act.
Speaker 1: What shall I do? There is but one thing to do.
Speaker 1: It must be done at once. You must put this
Speaker 1: piece of paper which you have shown us into the
Speaker 1: brass box which you have described. You must also put
Speaker 1: in a note to say that all the other papers
Speaker 1: were burned by your uncle, and that this is the
Speaker 1: only one which remains. You must assert that in such
Speaker 1: words as will carry conviction with them. Having done this,
Speaker 1: you must at once put the box out upon the
Speaker 1: sun dial as directed. Do you understand entirely? Do not
Speaker 1: think of revenge or anything of that sort at present.
Speaker 1: I think that we may gain that by means of
Speaker 1: the law. But we have our web to weave, while
Speaker 1: theirs is already woven. The first consideration is to remove
Speaker 1: the pressing danger which threatens you. The second is to
Speaker 1: clear up the mystery and to punish the guilty parties.
Speaker 1: I thank you, said the young man, rising and pulling
Speaker 1: on his overcoat. You have given me fresh life and hope.
Speaker 1: I shall certainly do as you advise, do not lose
Speaker 1: an instant, and above all, take care of yourself in
Speaker 1: the meanwhile, For I do not think that there can
Speaker 1: be a doubt that you are threatened by a very
Speaker 1: real and imminent danger. How do you go back by
Speaker 1: train from Waterloo? It is not yet nine. The streets
Speaker 1: will be crowded, so I trust that you may be
Speaker 1: in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself too closely.
Speaker 1: I am armed. That is well, to morrow I shall
Speaker 1: set to work upon your case. I shall see you
Speaker 1: at Hortammen. No, your secret lies in London. It is
Speaker 1: there that I shall seek it. Then I shall call
Speaker 1: upon you in a day, or in two days, with
Speaker 1: news as to the box and the papers. I shall
Speaker 1: take your advice in every particular. He shook hands with
Speaker 1: us and took his leave. Outside, the wind still screamed,
Speaker 1: and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows. This strange,
Speaker 1: wild story seemed to have come to us from amid
Speaker 1: the mad elements, blown in upon us like a sheet
Speaker 1: of seaweed in a game, and now to have been
Speaker 1: reabsorbed by them once more. Sherlock Holmes sat for some
Speaker 1: time in silence, with his head sunk forward and his
Speaker 1: eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then
Speaker 1: he lit his pipe, and, leaning back in his chair,
Speaker 1: he watched the blue smoke rings as they chased each
Speaker 1: other up to the ceiling. I think Watson. He remarked
Speaker 1: at last, that of all our cases we have had
Speaker 1: none more fantastic than this, save perhaps the sign of
Speaker 1: four well, yes, save perhaps that. And yet this John
Speaker 1: Openshaw seems to me to be walking amid even greater
Speaker 1: perils than did the Shoultos. But have you, i asked,
Speaker 1: formed any definite conception as to what these perils are?
Speaker 1: There can be no question as to their nature? He answered,
Speaker 1: Then what are they? Who is this K K K?
Speaker 1: And why does he pursue this unhappy family? Sherlock Holmes
Speaker 1: closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the arms
Speaker 1: of his chair, with his his finger tips together. The
Speaker 1: ideal reasoner, he remarked, would, when he had once been
Speaker 1: shown a single fact in all its bearings, deduce from
Speaker 1: it not only all the chain of events which led
Speaker 1: up to it, but also all the results which would
Speaker 1: follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole
Speaker 1: animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer,
Speaker 1: who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of
Speaker 1: incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones,
Speaker 1: both before and after. We have not yet grasped the
Speaker 1: results which the reason alone can attain to. Problems may
Speaker 1: be solved in the study which have baffled all those
Speaker 1: who have sought a solution by the aid of their senses.
Speaker 1: To carry the art, however, to its highest pitch. It
Speaker 1: is necessary that the reasoner should be able to utilize
Speaker 1: all the facts which have come to his knowledge, and
Speaker 1: this in itself implies, as you will readily see, a
Speaker 1: possession of all knowledge, which, even in these days of
Speaker 1: free education and encycloped medias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment.
Speaker 1: It is not so impossible, however, that a man should
Speaker 1: possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to
Speaker 1: him in his work. And this I have endeavored in
Speaker 1: my case to do. If I remember rightly, you, on
Speaker 1: one occasion in the early days of our friendship, defined
Speaker 1: my limits in a very precise fashion. Yes, I answered, laughing.
Speaker 1: It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were
Speaker 1: marked at zero. I remember botany variable, geology, profound as
Speaker 1: regards the mud stains from any region within fifty miles
Speaker 1: of town, Chemistry, eccentric anatomy, unsystematic sensational literature, and crime records,
Speaker 1: unique violin player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self poisoner by
Speaker 1: cocaine and tobacco. Those I think were the main points
Speaker 1: of my analysis. Holmes grinned at the last item. Well,
Speaker 1: he said, I say, now, as I said then, that
Speaker 1: a man should keep his little brain attic stocked with
Speaker 1: all the furniture that he is likely to use, and
Speaker 1: the rest he can put away in the lumber room
Speaker 1: of his library, where he can get at it if
Speaker 1: he wants it. Now, for such a case as the
Speaker 1: one which has been submitted to us to night, we
Speaker 1: need certainly to muster all our resources. Kindly hand me
Speaker 1: down the letter K of the American Encyclopedia, which stands
Speaker 1: upon the shelf beside you. Thank you. Now let us
Speaker 1: consider the situation and see what may be deduced from it.
Speaker 1: In the first place, we may start with a strong
Speaker 1: presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason for
Speaker 1: leaving America. Men at his time of life do not
Speaker 1: change all their habits and exchange willingly the charming climate
Speaker 1: of Florida for the lonely life of an English provincial town.
Speaker 1: His extreme love of solitude in England suggests the idea
Speaker 1: that he was in fear of something or some one.
Speaker 1: So we may assume, as a working hypothesis that it
Speaker 1: was fear of some one or something which drove him
Speaker 1: from America. As to what it was he feared, we
Speaker 1: can only deduce that by considering the formidable letters which
Speaker 1: were received by himself and his successors. Did you remark
Speaker 1: the post marks of those letters? The first was from Pondicherry,
Speaker 1: the second from Dundee, and the third from London, from
Speaker 1: East London. What do you deduce from that? They are
Speaker 1: all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship. Excellent,
Speaker 1: We have already a clue. There can be no doubt
Speaker 1: that the probability, the strong probability, is that the writer
Speaker 1: was on board of a ship. And now let us
Speaker 1: consider another point. In the case of Pondicherry, seven weeks
Speaker 1: elapsed between the threat and its fulfillments. In Dundee it
Speaker 1: was only some three or four days. Does that suggest
Speaker 1: anything a greater distance to travel? But the letter also
Speaker 1: had a greater distance to come. Then I do not
Speaker 1: see the point. There is at least a presumption that
Speaker 1: the vessel in which the man or men are is
Speaker 1: a sailing shop. It looks as if they always send
Speaker 1: their singular warning or token before them when starting upon
Speaker 1: their mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the
Speaker 1: sign when it came from Dundee. If they had come
Speaker 1: from Pondicherry in a steamer, they would have arrived almost
Speaker 1: as soon as their letter, But as a matter of fact,
Speaker 1: seven weeks elapsed. I think that those seven weeks represented
Speaker 1: the difference between the mail boat which brought the letter
Speaker 1: and the sailing vessel which brought the writer. It is possible,
Speaker 1: more than that, it is probable. And now you see
Speaker 1: the deadly urgency of this new case, and why I
Speaker 1: urged young Openshaw to caution. The blow has always fallen
Speaker 1: at the end of the time which it would take
Speaker 1: the senders to travel the distance. But this one comes
Speaker 1: from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay. Good God,
Speaker 1: I cried, what can it mean? This relentless persecution. The
Speaker 1: papers which open Shore carried are obviously of vital importance
Speaker 1: to the person or persons in the sailing ship. I
Speaker 1: think that it is quite clear that there must be
Speaker 1: more than one of them. A single man could not
Speaker 1: have carried out two deaths in such a way as
Speaker 1: to deceive a coroner's jury. There must have been several
Speaker 1: in it, and they must have been men of resource
Speaker 1: and determination. Their papers they mean to have be the
Speaker 1: holder of them, who it may in this way you
Speaker 1: see k K K ceases to be the initials of
Speaker 1: an individual and becomes the badge of a society. But
Speaker 1: of what society have you never, said Sherlock Holmes, bending
Speaker 1: forward and sinking his voice. Have you never heard of
Speaker 1: the ku klux Klan? I never have Holmes turned over
Speaker 1: the leaves of the book upon his knee. Here it
Speaker 1: is said he presently ku klux Klan, A name derived
Speaker 1: from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced by cocking
Speaker 1: a rival. This terrible secret Society was formed by some
Speaker 1: ex Confederate soldiers in the Southern States after the Civil War,
Speaker 1: and it rapidly formed local branches in different parts of
Speaker 1: the country, notably in Tennessee, Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.
Speaker 1: Its power was used for political purposes, principally for the
Speaker 1: terrorizing of the Negro voters and the murdering and driving
Speaker 1: from the country of those who were opposed to its views.
Speaker 1: Its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to
Speaker 1: the marked man in some fantastic but generally recognized shape
Speaker 1: a sprig of oak leaves in some parts, melon seeds
Speaker 1: or orange pips in others. On receiving this the victim
Speaker 1: might either openly abjure his former ways, or might fly
Speaker 1: from the country. If he braved the matter out, death
Speaker 1: would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange
Speaker 1: and unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organization of the society,
Speaker 1: and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a
Speaker 1: case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it
Speaker 1: with impunity, or in which any of its outrages were
Speaker 1: traced home to the perpetrators. For some years the organization flourished,
Speaker 1: in spite of the efforts of the United States government
Speaker 1: and of the better classes of the community in the South. Eventually,
Speaker 1: in the year eighteen sixty nine, the movement rather suddenly collapsed,
Speaker 1: although there have been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort
Speaker 1: since that date. You will observe, said Holmes, laying down
Speaker 1: the volume, that the sudden breaking up of the society
Speaker 1: was coincident with the disappearance of Openshaw from America with
Speaker 1: their papers. It may well have been cause and effect.
Speaker 1: It is no wonder that he and his family have
Speaker 1: some of the more implacable spirits upon their track. You
Speaker 1: can understand that this register and diary may implicate some
Speaker 1: of the first men in the south, and that there
Speaker 1: may be many who will not sleep easy at night
Speaker 1: until it is recovered. Then the page we have seen
Speaker 1: is such as we might expect it ran If I
Speaker 1: remember right, sent the lips to A, B and C,
Speaker 1: that is, sent the society's warning to them. Then there
Speaker 1: are successive entries that A and B cleared or left
Speaker 1: the country, and finally that sea was visited with I
Speaker 1: fear a sinister result for C. Well, I think, doctor,
Speaker 1: that we may let some light into this dark place.
Speaker 1: And I believe that the only chance young Openshaw has
Speaker 1: in the meantime is to do what I have told him.
Speaker 1: There is nothing more to be said or to be
Speaker 1: done to night. So hand me over my violin, and
Speaker 1: let us try to forget for half an hour the
Speaker 1: miserable weather and the still more miserable ways of our
Speaker 1: fellow men. It had cleared in the morning, and the
Speaker 1: sun was shining with a subdued brightness through the dim
Speaker 1: veil which hangs over the great city. Sherlock Holmes was
Speaker 1: already at breakfast when I came down. You will excuse
Speaker 1: me for not waiting for you, said he. I have
Speaker 1: I foresee a very busy day before me in looking
Speaker 1: into this case of young Openshaws. What steps will you take?
Speaker 1: I asked, It will very much depend upon the results
Speaker 1: of my first enquiries. I may have to go down
Speaker 1: to Horsham. After all, you will not go there first, No,
Speaker 1: I shall commence with the city. Just ring the bell
Speaker 1: and the maid will bring you up your coffee. As
Speaker 1: I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table
Speaker 1: and glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a
Speaker 1: heading which sent a chill to my heart. Holmes, I cried,
Speaker 1: you are too late, ah said he, laying down his cup.
Speaker 1: I feared as much. How is it done? He spoke calmly,
Speaker 1: but I could see that he was deeply moved. My
Speaker 1: eye caught the name of Openshaw and the heading Tragedy
Speaker 1: near Waterloo Bridge. Here is the account. Between nine and
Speaker 1: ten last night, police Constable Cook of the h Division,
Speaker 1: on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry for help
Speaker 1: and a splash in the water. The night, however, was
Speaker 1: extremely dark and stormy, so that in despite of the
Speaker 1: help of several passers by, it was quite impossible to
Speaker 1: effect a rescue. The alarm, however, was given and by
Speaker 1: the aid of the water police. The body was eventually recovered.
Speaker 1: It proved to be that of a young gentleman, whose name,
Speaker 1: as it appears from an envelope which was found in
Speaker 1: his pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham.
Speaker 1: It is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down
Speaker 1: to catch the last train from Waterloo station, and that
Speaker 1: in his haste and the extreme darkness, he missed his
Speaker 1: path and walked over the edge of one of the
Speaker 1: small landing places for river steamboats. The body exhibited no
Speaker 1: traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that
Speaker 1: the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident,
Speaker 1: which should have the effect of calling the attention of
Speaker 1: the authorities to the condition of the river side landing stages.
Speaker 1: We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed
Speaker 1: and shaken than I had ever seen him. That hurts
Speaker 1: my pride, Watson said at last. It is a petty feeling,
Speaker 1: no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a
Speaker 1: personal matter with me now, and if God sends me health,
Speaker 1: I shall set my hands upon this gang, that he
Speaker 1: should come to me for help and that I should
Speaker 1: send him away to his death. He sprang from his
Speaker 1: chair and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation, with
Speaker 1: a flush upon his sallow cheeks, and a nervous clasping
Speaker 1: and unclasping of his long, thin hands. They must be
Speaker 1: cunning devils, he exclaimed at last. How could they have
Speaker 1: decoyed him down there? The embankment is not on the
Speaker 1: direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt, was
Speaker 1: too crowded even on such a night for their purposes. Well, Watson,
Speaker 1: we shall see who will win in the long run.
Speaker 1: I am going out now to the police. No, I
Speaker 1: shall be my own police. When I have spun the web,
Speaker 1: they may take the flies, but not before. All day
Speaker 1: I was engaged in my professional work, and it was
Speaker 1: late in the evening before I returned to Baker Street.
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes had not come back yet. It was nearly
Speaker 1: ten o'clock before he entered. Looking pale and worn, he
Speaker 1: walked up to the sideboard, and, tearing a piece from
Speaker 1: the loaf, he devoured it voraciously, washing it down with
Speaker 1: a long draft of water. You are hungry, I remarked,
Speaker 1: starving it had escaped my memory. I have had nothing
Speaker 1: since breakfast, nothing, not a bite. I had no time
Speaker 1: to think about it. And how have you succeeded? Well,
Speaker 1: you have a clue. I have them in the hollow
Speaker 1: of my hand, Young Openshaw shall not long remain unavenged.
Speaker 1: Why Watson let us put their own devilish trade mark
Speaker 1: upon them? It is well thought of. What do you mean?
Speaker 1: He took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing it
Speaker 1: to pieces, he squeezed out the pips upon the table.
Speaker 1: Of these he took five and thrust them into an envelope.
Speaker 1: On the inside of the flap, he wrote s H
Speaker 1: for j O. Then he sealed it and addressed it
Speaker 1: to Captain James Calhoun bark lone Star Savannah, Georgia. That
Speaker 1: will await him when he enters port, said he, chuckling.
Speaker 1: It may give him a sleepless night. He will find
Speaker 1: it as sure a precursor of his fate as Openshaw
Speaker 1: did before him. And who is this, Captain Calhoun, the
Speaker 1: leader of the gang? I shall have the others? But
Speaker 1: he first? How did you trace it? Then he took
Speaker 1: a large sheet of paper from his pocket or covered
Speaker 1: with dates and names. I have spent the whole day said,
Speaker 1: he over Lloyd's registers and files of the old papers
Speaker 1: following the future career of every vessel which touched at
Speaker 1: Pondicherry in January and February in eighty three, there were
Speaker 1: thirty six ships of fair tonnage which reported there during
Speaker 1: those months. Of these, one, the Lone Star, instantly attracted
Speaker 1: my attention, since although it was reported as having cleared
Speaker 1: from London, the name is that which is given to
Speaker 1: one of the states of the Union, Texas. I think
Speaker 1: I was not and am not sure of which, but
Speaker 1: I know that the ship must have an American origin.
Speaker 1: What then I searched the Dundee records, and when I
Speaker 1: found that the Bark Lone Star was there in January
Speaker 1: of eighty five, my suspicion became a certainty. I then
Speaker 1: inquired as to the vessels which lay at present in
Speaker 1: the Port of London. Yes, the Lone Star had arrived
Speaker 1: here last week. I went down to the Albert Dock
Speaker 1: and found that she had been taken down the river
Speaker 1: by the early tide. This morning, homeward bound to Savannah,
Speaker 1: I wired to Gravesend and learned that she had passed
Speaker 1: some time ago, and as the wind is easterly. I
Speaker 1: have no doubt that she has now passed the good winds,
Speaker 1: and not very far from the Isle of Wight. What
Speaker 1: will you do, then, oh, I have my hand upon him.
Speaker 1: He and the two mates are, as I learn, the
Speaker 1: only native born Americans in the ship. The others are
Speaker 1: Finns and Germans. I know also that they were all
Speaker 1: three away from the ship last night. I had it
Speaker 1: from the stevedor who has been loading their cargo. By
Speaker 1: the time that their sailing ship reaches Savannah, the mail
Speaker 1: boat will have carried this letter, and the cable will
Speaker 1: have informed the police of Savannah that these three gentlemen
Speaker 1: are badly wanted here upon a charge of murder. There
Speaker 1: is a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans,
Speaker 1: and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive
Speaker 1: the orange pips which would show them that another as
Speaker 1: cunning and as resolute as themselves was upon their track.
Speaker 1: Very long and very severe were the Equinoctial gales that year.
Speaker 1: We waited long for news of the lone Star of Savannah,
Speaker 1: but none ever reached us. We did at last hear
Speaker 1: that somewhere far out in the Atlantic, a shattered stern
Speaker 1: post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough
Speaker 1: of a wave, with the letters L S carved upon it.
Speaker 1: And that is all we shall ever know of the
Speaker 1: fate of the lone star, end of the five Orange pips.