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Speaker 1: A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from

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the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. To Sherlock Holmes, she is

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always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her

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under any other name. In his eyes, she eclipses and

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predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that

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he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.

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All emotions, and that one particularly were abhorrent to his cold, precise,

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but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the

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most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen.

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But as a lover he would have placed himself in

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a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions,

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save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable

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things for the observer, excellent for drawing the veil from

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men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner, to

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admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted

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temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw

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a doubt upon all his mental results. Gret in a

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sensitive instrument or a crack in one of his own

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high power lenses would not be more disturbing than a

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strong emotion in a nature such as his. And yet

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there was but one woman to him, and that woman

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was the late Irene Adler, abdubious and questionable memory. I

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had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted

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us away from each other. My own complete happiness and

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the home centered interest which rise up round the man

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who first finds himself master of his own establishment, were

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sufficient to absorb all my attention. While Holmes, who loathed

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every form of society with his whole bohemian soul, remained

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in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books,

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and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition,

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the drowsiness of the drug and the fierce energy of

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his own keen nature. He was still, as ever, deeply

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attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his immense

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faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in following out those

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clues and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned

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as hopeless by the official police. From time to time

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I heard some vague account of his doings, of his

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summons to Odessa in the case of the trepof murder,

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of his clearing up, of the singular tragedy of the

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Atkinson brothers at Trincommie, and finally, of the mission which

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he had accomplished so delicately and successfully for the reigning

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family of Holland. Beyond these signs of his activity, however,

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which I merely share with all the readers of the

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Daily Press, I knew little of my former friend and companion.

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One night, it was on the twentieth of March eighteen

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eighty eight. I was returning from a journey to a patient,

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for I had now returned to civil practice. When my

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way led me through Baker Street. As I passed the

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well remembered door, which must always be associated in my

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mind with my wooing and with the dark incidents of

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the Study and Scarlet, I was seized with a keen

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desired see Holmes again and to know how he was

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employing his extraordinary powers. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and

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even as I looked up, I saw his tall, spare

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figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind.

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He was facing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head

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sunk upon his breast and his hands clasped behind him

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to me, who knew his every mood and habit, His

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attitude and manner told their own story. He was at

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work again. He had risen out of his drug created

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dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new problem.

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I rang the bell and was shown up to the

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chamber which had formerly been in part my own. His

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manner was not effusive, it seldom was, but he was

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glad I think to see me, With hardly a word spoken,

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but with a kindly eye. He waved me to an

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arm chair, threw across his case of cigars, and indicated

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a spirit case and a misogyny in the corner. Then

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he stood before the fire and looked me over in

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his singular introspective fashion. Wedlock suit you, He remarked, I think, Watson,

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that you have put on seven and a half pounds

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since I saw you seven. I answered, indeed, I should

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have thought a little more, just a trifle more. I

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fancy Watson, And in practice again I observed you did

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not tell me that you intended to go into harness.

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Then how do you know I see it? I deduce it.

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How do I know that you have been getting yourself

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very wet lately? And that you have a most clumsy

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and careless servant girl. My dear Holmes, said I, this

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is too much. You would certainly have been burned had

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you lived few centuries ago. It is true that I

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had a country walk on Thursday and came home in

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a dreadful mass, But as I have changed my clothes,

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I can't imagine how you deduce it. As to Mary Jane,

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she is incorrigible, and my wife has given her notice.

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But there again I failed to see how you work

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it out. He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long,

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nervous hands together. It is simplicity itself, said he. My

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eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe,

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just where the fire light strikes it, the leather is

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scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they have been

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caused by some one who has very carelessly scraped round

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the edges of the soul in order to remove crusted

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mud from it. Hence, you see my double deduction that

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you had been out in vile weather, and that you

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had a particularly malignant boot slitting specimen of the London

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slavey As to your practice, if a gentleman walks into

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my room smelling of video form, with a black mark

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of nightrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a

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bulge on the right side of his top hat to

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show where he has secreted his stethoscope. I must be dull, indeed,

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if I do not pronounce him to be an active

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member of the medical profession. I could not help laughing

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at the ease with which he explained his process of deduction.

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When I hear you give your reasons, I remarked, the

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thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple

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that I could easily do it myself, though at each

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successive instance of your reasoning, I am baffled until you

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explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes

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are quite as good as yours. Quite so, he answered,

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lighting a cigarette and throwing himself down into an arm chair.

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You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.

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For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead

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up from the hall to this room. Frequently, how often, well,

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some hundreds of times. Then how many are there? How many?

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I don't know. Quite so you have not observed, and

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yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now,

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I know that there are seventeen steps because I have

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both seen and observed by the way. Since you are

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interested in these little problems, and since you are good

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enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences,

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you may be interested in this. He threw over a

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sheet of thick, pink tinted note paper, which had been

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lying open upon the table. It came by the last post, said,

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He read it aloud. The note was undated, and without

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either signature or address. There will call upon you to

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night at a quarter to eight o'clock, it said, a

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gentleman who desired to consult you upon a matter of

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the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of

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the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are

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one who may safely be trusted with matters which are

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of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated. This account

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of you we have from all quarters received. Be in

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your chamber then at that hour, and do not take

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it amiss if your visitor wear a mask. This is

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indeed a mystery, I remarked, What do you imagine that

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it means? I have no data? Yet? It is a

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capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one

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begins to twist facts to shoot theories instead of theories,

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to shoot facts. But the note itself, what do you

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deduce from it? I carefully examined the writing and the

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paper upon which it was written. The man who wrote

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it was presumably well to do, I remarked, endeavoring to

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imitate my companion's processes. Such paper could not be bought

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under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong

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and stiff. Peculiar, that is the very word, said Holmes.

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It is not an English paper at all. Hold it

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up to the light. I did so, and saw a

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large E with a small G, a p E and

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a large G with a small T woven into the

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texture of the paper. What do you make of that?

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Asked Holmes. The name of the maker, no doubt, or

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his monogram, rather not at all. The G with the

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small T stands for Geselschaft, which is the German for company.

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It is a customary contraction like our c. O. P,

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of course stands for papier. No for the E. G

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let us glance at our continental gazetteer. He took down

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a heavy brown volume from his shelves, Iglo Egloniz. Here

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we are Egria. It is in a German speaking country

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in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad, remarkable as being the

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scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous

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glass factories and paper mills. Haha, my boy, what do

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you make of that? His eyes sparkled, and he sent

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up a great blue, triumphant cloud from his cigarette. The

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paper was made in Bohemia, I said, precisely. And the

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man who wrote the note is a German. Do you

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note the peculiar construction of the sentence. This account of

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you we have from all quarters received. A Frenchman or

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Russian could not have written that. It is the German

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who is so uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore,

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to discover what is wanted by this German who writes

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upon Bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing

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his face. And here he comes, if I am not mistaken,

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to resolve all our doubts. As he spoke, there was

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a sharp sound of horses hoofs and grating wheels against

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the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the bell.

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Holmes whistled a pair by the sound, said he yes.

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He continued glancing out the window a nice little bruffum

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and a pair of beauties a hundred and fifty guineas apiece.

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There's money in this case, Watson. If there is nothing else,

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I think that I had better go, Holmes, not a bit, doctor,

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stay where you are. I am lost without my boswell,

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and this promises to be interesting. It would be a

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pity to miss it. But your client never mind him.

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I may want your help, and so may he. Here

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he comes. Sit down in that arm chair, doctor, and

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give us your best attention. A slow and heavy step

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which had been heard upon the stairs and in the passage,

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paused immediately outside the door. Then there was a loud

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and authoritative tap. Come in, said Holmes. A man entered,

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who could hardly have been less than six feet six

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inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules,

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his dress, which was rich with a richness which would

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in England be looked upon as akin to bad taste.

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Heavy bands of astricum were slashed across the sea leaves

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and fronts of his devil breasted colt, while the deep

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blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined

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with a flame colored silk and secured at the neck

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with a brooch which consisted of a single flaming barrel.

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Boots which extended half way up his calves, and which

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were trimmed at the tops with rich brown fur, completed

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the impression of barbaric opulence, which was suggested by his

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whole appearance. He carried a broad brimmed hat in his hand,

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while he wore across the upper part of his face,

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extending down past the cheek bones, a black vizard mask,

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which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, for his

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hand was still raised to it as he entered from

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the lower part of the face. He appeared to be

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a man of strong character, with a thick, hanging lip

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and a long, straight chin, suggestive of resolution pushed to

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the length of obstinacy. You had my note, he asked,

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with a deep, harsh voice and strongly art German accent.

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I told you that I would call. He looked from

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one to the other office as if uncertain which to address. Pray,

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take a seat, said Holmes. This is my friend and colleague,

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doctor Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me

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in my cases. Whom have I the honor to address.

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You may address me is Count von cram A bohemian nobleman.

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I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man

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of honor and discretion, whom I may trust with a

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matter of the most extreme importance. If not, I should

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much prefer to communicate with you alone. I rose to go,

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but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me

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back into my chair. It is both or none, said he.

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You may say before this gentleman anything which you may

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say to me. The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. Then

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I must begin, said he, by binding you both to

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absolute secrecy for two years. At the end of that time,

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the matter will be of no importance at present. It

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is not too much to say that it is of

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such weight it may have an influence upon European history,

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I promise, said Holmes. And I you will excuse this mask,

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continued our strange visitor. The august person who employs me

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wishes his agent to be unknown to you. And I

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may confess at once that the title by which I

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have just called myself is not exactly my own. I

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was aware of it, said Holmes dryly. The circumstances are

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of great delicacy, and every precaution has to be taken.

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To quench what might grow to be an immense scandal

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and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of Europe.

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To speak plainly, the matter implicates the Great House of Ormstein,

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hereditary Kings of Bohemia. I was also aware of that,

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00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,600
murmured Holmes, settling him self down in his arm chair

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and closing his eyes. Our visitor glanced with some apparent

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surprise at the languid, lounging figure of the man who

246
00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,360
had been, no doubt depicted to him as the most

247
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incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. Holmes slowly

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00:15:17,799 --> 00:15:21,559
reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client.

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If your Majesty would condescend to state your case, he remarked,

250
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I should be better able to advise you. The man

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00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,159
sprang from his chair and paced up and down the

252
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room in uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation,

253
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he tore the mask from his face and hurled it

254
00:15:39,399 --> 00:15:42,679
upon the ground. You are right, he cried, I am

255
00:15:42,759 --> 00:15:47,000
the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it? Why? Indeed,

256
00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,480
murmured Holmes, your Majesty had not spoken before I was

257
00:15:50,519 --> 00:15:55,440
aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gotthriich, Sigismund uvon Ormstein,

258
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Grand Duke of Castelfelstein, and Hereditary Caing of Bohemia. But

259
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you can understand, said our strange visitor, sitting down once more,

260
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and passing his hand over his high white forehead. You

261
00:16:09,879 --> 00:16:13,039
can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such

262
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,039
business in my own person. Yet the matter was so

263
00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,879
delicate that I could not confide it to an agent

264
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without putting myself in his power. I have come incognito

265
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:27,600
from Prague for the purpose of consulting you. Then pray consult,

266
00:16:27,879 --> 00:16:31,679
said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. The facts are

267
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,639
briefly these. Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit

268
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to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well known

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adventurous Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you.

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Kindly look her up in my index, doctor murmured Holmes,

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without opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted

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a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things,

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so that it was difficult to name a subject or

274
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a person on which he could not at once furnish information.

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In this case, I found her biography sandwiched in between

276
00:17:05,759 --> 00:17:08,400
that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a staff

277
00:17:08,519 --> 00:17:12,440
commander who had written a monograph upon the deep sea fishes.

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Let me see, said Holmes hum born in New Jersey

279
00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:24,960
in the year eighteen fifty eight, contralto hum Lescola MM

280
00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:33,000
Primadonna Imperial Opera warsaw Yes retired from operatic stage a

281
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living in London. Quite so, your Majesty, as I understand,

282
00:17:38,839 --> 00:17:43,599
became entangled with this young person, wrote her some compromising

283
00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,240
letters and is now desirous of getting those letters back.

284
00:17:47,559 --> 00:17:52,599
Precisely so. But how was there a secret marriage? None?

285
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No legal papers or certificates. None. Then I failed to

286
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:02,119
follow your majesty. If this young person should produce her

287
00:18:02,279 --> 00:18:05,640
letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is she to

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00:18:05,759 --> 00:18:12,119
prove their authenticity? There is the writing POOFU forgery, my

289
00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:20,680
private notepaper, stolen, my own seal, imitated my photograph bot

290
00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,920
we were both in the photograph. Oh dear, that is

291
00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:31,640
very bad. Your majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion. I

292
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:38,160
was mad, insane. You have compromised yourself. Seriously, I was

293
00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,000
only a crown prince then I was young, I am,

294
00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:46,839
but thirty. Now it must be recovered. We have tried

295
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,119
and failed. Your majesty must pay. It must be bought.

296
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:57,000
She will not sell stolen. Then five attempts have been made.

297
00:18:57,519 --> 00:19:01,720
Twice burglars in my pay, ransacked her house once, we

298
00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:06,359
diverted her luggage when she traveled twice. She has been waylaid.

299
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,519
There has been no result, no sign of it, absolutely none,

300
00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:16,079
Holmes laughed. It is quite a pretty little problem, said he,

301
00:19:17,079 --> 00:19:20,519
But a very serious one to me, returned The king reproachfully,

302
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,680
very indeed, And what does she propose to do with

303
00:19:24,799 --> 00:19:30,200
the photograph? To ruin me? But how I am about

304
00:19:30,279 --> 00:19:35,480
to be married? So I have heard to Clotilda Lothmann

305
00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:40,640
bon Saxe Meningen, second daughter of the King of Scandinavia.

306
00:19:41,559 --> 00:19:44,799
You may know the strict principles of her family. She

307
00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,680
is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of

308
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,039
a doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter

309
00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:56,000
to an end. And ivery Nadler threatens to send them

310
00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,759
the photograph, and she will do it. I know that

311
00:20:00,039 --> 00:20:02,640
she will do it. You do not know her, but

312
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,079
she has a soul of steel. She has the face

313
00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:08,920
of the most beautiful of women and the mind of

314
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,359
the most resolute of men, rather than I should marry

315
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,400
another woman. There are no lengths to which she would

316
00:20:15,519 --> 00:20:19,359
not go none. You are sure that she has not

317
00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,200
sent it yet. I am sure, and why because she

318
00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:26,519
has said that she would send it on the day

319
00:20:26,599 --> 00:20:31,359
when the betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday. Oh,

320
00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:34,960
then we have three day shat, said Holmes with a yawn.

321
00:20:35,519 --> 00:20:38,640
That is very fortunate, as I have one or two

322
00:20:38,759 --> 00:20:42,240
matters of importance to look into just at present. Your

323
00:20:42,319 --> 00:20:45,319
Majesty will of course stay in London for the present.

324
00:20:45,799 --> 00:20:49,119
Certainly you will find me at the Langham under the

325
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,480
name of the Count Boncrombe. Then I shall drop you

326
00:20:52,559 --> 00:20:55,640
a line to let you know how we progress. Pray

327
00:20:55,759 --> 00:20:59,640
do so I shall be all anxiety. Then, as to

328
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:05,039
the you have carte blanc, absolutely I tell you that

329
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,799
I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom

330
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,920
to have that photograph and for present expenses. The King

331
00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:16,160
took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak

332
00:21:16,279 --> 00:21:19,519
and laid it on the table. There are three hundred

333
00:21:19,599 --> 00:21:22,839
pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes, he said.

334
00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,160
Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note

335
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,440
book and handed it to him and Mademoiselle's adress. He asked,

336
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:36,319
is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, Saint John's Wood. Holmes took

337
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,880
a note of it one other questions, said he was

338
00:21:40,039 --> 00:21:45,039
the photograph a cabinet. It was then good night, your majesty,

339
00:21:45,319 --> 00:21:47,920
and I trust that we shall soon have some good

340
00:21:48,039 --> 00:21:51,799
news for you. And good night Watson, he added, as

341
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,519
the wheels of the Royal Bruffam rolled down the street.

342
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,640
If you will be good enough to call tomorrow afternoon

343
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,759
at three o'clock, I should like to cat this little

344
00:22:00,839 --> 00:22:04,640
matter over with you. At three o'clock precisely, I was

345
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,359
at Baker Street, but Holmes had not yet returned. The

346
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,359
landlady informed me that he had left the house shortly

347
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,400
after eight o'clock in the morning. I sat down beside

348
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,839
the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him, however

349
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,599
long he might be. I was already deeply interested in

350
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,400
his inquiry, for though it was surrounded by none of

351
00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,119
the grim and strange features which were associated with the

352
00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,119
two crimes which I have already recorded, still the nature

353
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,920
of the case and the exalted station of his client

354
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,599
gave it a character of its own. Indeed, apart from

355
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,279
the nature of the investigation which my friend had on hand,

356
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,799
there was something in his masterly grasp of a situation

357
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,759
and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a pleasure

358
00:22:49,839 --> 00:22:52,200
to me to study his system of work and to

359
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,000
follow the quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the

360
00:22:56,079 --> 00:23:01,640
most inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable success,

361
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,920
that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to

362
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,480
enter into my head. It was close upon four before

363
00:23:08,519 --> 00:23:12,559
the door opened, and a drunken looking groom, ill camped

364
00:23:12,759 --> 00:23:16,480
and side whiskered, with an inflamed face and disreputable clothes,

365
00:23:17,039 --> 00:23:20,680
walked into the room. Accustomed as I was to my

366
00:23:20,759 --> 00:23:24,359
friend's amazing powers in the use of disguises, I had

367
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,160
to look three times before I was certain that it

368
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,200
was indeed he. With a nod, he vanished into the bedroom.

369
00:23:31,759 --> 00:23:35,920
Whence he emerged in five minutes, tweed suited and respectable

370
00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:38,799
as of old. Putting his hands into his pockets, he

371
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,680
stretched out his legs in front of the fire and

372
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,400
laughed heartily for some minutes. Well really, he cried and

373
00:23:46,519 --> 00:23:49,000
then choked and laughed again until he was obliged to

374
00:23:49,039 --> 00:23:52,880
slide back, limp and helpless in the chair. What is it?

375
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,559
It's quite too funny. I am sure you could never

376
00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,599
guess how I employed my mourning or what I ended

377
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,359
by doing. I can't imagine. I suppose that you have

378
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,319
been watching the habits, and perhaps the house of Miss

379
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,359
Irene Adler quite so, but the sequel was rather unusual.

380
00:24:11,079 --> 00:24:14,160
I will tell you, however. I left the house a

381
00:24:14,279 --> 00:24:16,799
little after eight o'clock this morning in the character of

382
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,279
a groom out of work. There is a wonderful sympathy

383
00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:23,920
and freemasonry among horsey men. Be one of them and

384
00:24:24,079 --> 00:24:26,599
you will know all that there is to know. I

385
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,640
soon found be on a lodge. It is a bije

386
00:24:29,839 --> 00:24:33,160
villa with a garden at the back, but built out

387
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,480
in front. Ride up to the road two stories Chubb

388
00:24:36,559 --> 00:24:39,680
blocked to the door, large sitting room on the right side,

389
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,240
well furnished with long windows almost to the floor, and

390
00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:48,079
those preposterous English window fasteners which a child could open behind.

391
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,160
There was nothing remarkable save that the passage window could

392
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,640
be reached from the top of the coach house. I

393
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,279
walked round it, and examined it closely from every point

394
00:24:58,319 --> 00:25:02,119
of view, but without knowing anything else of interest. I

395
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,079
then lounged down the street and found, as I expected,

396
00:25:05,519 --> 00:25:08,000
that there was a muse in a lane which runs

397
00:25:08,039 --> 00:25:10,839
down by one wall of the garden. I lent the

398
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,279
ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, and received

399
00:25:14,319 --> 00:25:17,559
an exchanged twopence, a glass of half and half, two

400
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,960
fills of shagged tobacco, and as much information as I

401
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,079
could desire about miss Adler, to say nothing of half

402
00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:27,039
a dozen other people in the neighborhood, in whom I

403
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,039
was not in the least interested, but whose biographies I

404
00:25:31,279 --> 00:25:34,559
was compelled to listen to. And what of Irene Adler,

405
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,920
I asked, Oh, she has turned all the men's heads

406
00:25:38,039 --> 00:25:41,079
down in that part. She is the daintiest thing under

407
00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:44,640
a bonnet on this planet, So say the serpentine muse

408
00:25:44,799 --> 00:25:49,480
to a man. She lived quietly, sings at concerts, drives

409
00:25:49,559 --> 00:25:52,799
out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp

410
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,960
for dinner. Seldom goes out at other times except when

411
00:25:57,039 --> 00:26:00,480
she sings. Has only one male visitor, but a good

412
00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:04,880
deal of him. He is dark, handsome and dashing, never

413
00:26:05,039 --> 00:26:08,359
calls less than once a day, and often twice. He

414
00:26:08,519 --> 00:26:11,839
is a mister Godfrey Norton of the Inner Temple. See

415
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,119
the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had

416
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:19,119
driven him home a dozen times from Serpentine muse and

417
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,359
knew all about him. When I had listened to all

418
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:23,680
they had to tell, I began to walk up and

419
00:26:23,799 --> 00:26:27,000
down near Brionny Lodge once more, and to think over

420
00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:31,200
my plan of campaign. This Godfrey Norton was evidently an

421
00:26:31,279 --> 00:26:34,880
important factor in the matter. He was a lawyer. That

422
00:26:35,279 --> 00:26:38,839
sounded ominous. What was the relation between them? And what

423
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,519
the object of his repeated visits? Was she his client,

424
00:26:42,759 --> 00:26:46,559
his friend or his mistress. If the former, she had

425
00:26:46,599 --> 00:26:50,599
probably transferred the photograph to his keeping. If the latter,

426
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,279
it was less likely. On the issue of this question

427
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,920
depended whether I should continue my work at Brionny Lodge

428
00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:01,880
or turn my attention to the gentleman's chambers in the Temple.

429
00:27:02,319 --> 00:27:05,400
It was a delicate point, and it widened the field

430
00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:08,200
of my inquiry. I fear that I bore you with

431
00:27:08,279 --> 00:27:11,000
these details, but I have to let you see my

432
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:14,880
little difficulties. If you are to understand the situation I

433
00:27:15,079 --> 00:27:19,240
am following you closely, I answered. I was still balancing

434
00:27:19,319 --> 00:27:22,119
the matter in my mind when a handsome cab drove

435
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,000
up to beyond a lodge, and a gentleman sprang out.

436
00:27:25,559 --> 00:27:29,759
He was a remarkably handsome man, dark aquiline and mustache,

437
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,160
evidently the man of whom I had heard. He appeared

438
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,000
to be in a great hurry, shouted to the cabman

439
00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,039
to wait, and brushed past the maid, who opened the

440
00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,440
door with the air of a man who was thoroughly

441
00:27:41,519 --> 00:27:44,039
at home. He was in the house about half an hour,

442
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:46,960
and I could catch glimpses of him in the windows

443
00:27:47,039 --> 00:27:50,720
of the sitting room, pacing up and down, talking excitedly,

444
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,599
and waving his arms of her I could see nothing.

445
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:59,799
Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than before, and

446
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,000
as he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a

447
00:28:02,079 --> 00:28:05,319
gold watch from his pocket and looked at it earnestly.

448
00:28:05,799 --> 00:28:09,119
Drive like the devil. He shouted, first to Gross and

449
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,200
Hankes in Regent Street, and then to the church at

450
00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:15,440
Saint Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if

451
00:28:15,519 --> 00:28:18,599
you do it in twenty minutes away they went, and

452
00:28:18,759 --> 00:28:21,599
I was just wondering whether I should not do well

453
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:23,920
to follow them. When up the lane came a neat

454
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,839
little Landau, the coachman with his coat only half buttoned

455
00:28:28,319 --> 00:28:31,480
and his tie under his ear, while all the tags

456
00:28:31,559 --> 00:28:34,039
of his harness were sticking out of the buckles. It

457
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,799
hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall

458
00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,079
door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of

459
00:28:40,119 --> 00:28:43,000
her at the moment, but she was a lovely woman

460
00:28:43,319 --> 00:28:46,160
with a face that a man might die for. The

461
00:28:46,359 --> 00:28:49,880
Church at Saint Monica, John, she cried, and half a

462
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,200
sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes. This was

463
00:28:53,359 --> 00:28:57,039
quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing

464
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,799
whether I should run for it or whether I should

465
00:29:00,279 --> 00:29:03,319
behind her Landau. When a cab came through the street.

466
00:29:03,759 --> 00:29:06,480
The driver looked twice at such a shabby fare, but

467
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,480
I jumped in before he could object. The Church at

468
00:29:09,559 --> 00:29:12,599
Saint Monica, said I, and half a sovereign if you

469
00:29:12,759 --> 00:29:15,839
reach it in twenty minutes. It was twenty five minutes

470
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,640
to twelve, and of course it twas clear enough what

471
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,000
was in the wind. My cabby drove fast. I don't

472
00:29:22,079 --> 00:29:24,880
think I ever drove faster, but the others were there

473
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:29,160
before us. The cab and the Landau with their steaming horses,

474
00:29:29,319 --> 00:29:31,720
were in front of the door. When I arrived. I

475
00:29:31,839 --> 00:29:34,640
paid the man and hurried into the church. There was

476
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,640
not a soul there save the two whom I had followed,

477
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,839
and a surpliced clergyman who seemed to be expostulating with them.

478
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,400
They were all three standing in a knot in front

479
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,559
of the altar. I lounged up the side aisle like

480
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,279
any other idler who has dropped into a church. Suddenly,

481
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,559
to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round

482
00:29:54,599 --> 00:29:57,759
to me, and Godfrey Norton came, running as hard as

483
00:29:57,839 --> 00:30:02,119
he could towards me. Thank goodness, he cried, you'll do Come?

484
00:30:02,319 --> 00:30:06,400
Come what? Then? I asked, come, man, come only three

485
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:09,680
minutes or it won't be legal. I was half dragged

486
00:30:09,759 --> 00:30:12,680
up to the altar, and before I knew where I was,

487
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,880
I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear,

488
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,960
and vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and

489
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,640
generally assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler

490
00:30:24,839 --> 00:30:29,079
Spinster to Godfrey Norton bachelor. It was all done in

491
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:32,039
an instant, and there was the gentleman thanking me on

492
00:30:32,119 --> 00:30:34,799
the one side and the lady on the other, while

493
00:30:34,839 --> 00:30:38,240
the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was the

494
00:30:38,319 --> 00:30:41,799
most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in

495
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,200
my life, and it was the thought of it that

496
00:30:44,359 --> 00:30:47,839
started me laughing. Just now. It seems that there had

497
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,640
been some informality about their license, that the clergyman absolutely

498
00:30:52,799 --> 00:30:55,920
refused to marry them without a witness of some sort,

499
00:30:56,519 --> 00:30:59,920
and that my lucky appearance saved the bridegroom from having

500
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,920
to sally out into the streets in search of a

501
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,880
best man. The bride gave me a sovereign and I

502
00:31:06,039 --> 00:31:08,519
mean to wear it on my watch chain in memory

503
00:31:08,599 --> 00:31:12,599
of the occasion. This is a very unexpected turn of affairs,

504
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,720
said I. And what then, Well, I found my plans

505
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,160
very seriously menaced. It looked as if the pair might

506
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:24,559
take an immediate departure, and so necessitate very prompt and

507
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,559
energetic measures on my part. At the church door, however,

508
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:31,920
they separated, he driving back to the temple and she

509
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,319
to her own house. I shall drive out in the

510
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,279
park at five as usual, she said. As she left him.

511
00:31:38,839 --> 00:31:42,480
I heard no more. They drove away in different directions,

512
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,960
and I went off to make my own arrangements, which

513
00:31:46,039 --> 00:31:50,160
are some cold beef and a glass of beer, he answered,

514
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,240
ringing the bell. I have been too busy to think

515
00:31:53,279 --> 00:31:56,319
of food, and I am likely to be busier still

516
00:31:56,519 --> 00:32:00,440
this evening. By the way, doctor, I shall want your operation.

517
00:32:01,279 --> 00:32:05,000
I shall be delighted. You don't mind breaking the law,

518
00:32:05,759 --> 00:32:08,799
not in the least your running a chance of arrest.

519
00:32:09,359 --> 00:32:12,960
Not in a good cause. Oh, the cause is excellent

520
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,400
that I am your man. I was sure that I

521
00:32:16,559 --> 00:32:19,440
might rely on you. But what is it you wish?

522
00:32:20,079 --> 00:32:22,880
When missus Turner has brought in the tray, I will

523
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,960
make it clear to you now, he said, as he

524
00:32:26,039 --> 00:32:29,759
turned hungrily on the simple fare that our landlady had provided.

525
00:32:30,599 --> 00:32:33,519
I must discuss it while I eat, for I have

526
00:32:33,759 --> 00:32:37,759
not much time. It is nearly five now. In two

527
00:32:37,839 --> 00:32:41,240
hours we must be on the scene of action. Miss

528
00:32:41,319 --> 00:32:45,880
Irene or Madame rather returns from her drive at seven.

529
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,559
We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her. And

530
00:32:49,839 --> 00:32:53,279
what then? You must leave that to me. I have

531
00:32:53,359 --> 00:32:56,799
already arranged what is to occur. There is only one

532
00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:01,400
point on which I must insist. You must not interfere. Come.

533
00:33:01,599 --> 00:33:06,359
What may you understand. I am to be neutral, to

534
00:33:06,519 --> 00:33:11,200
do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small and pleasantness.

535
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,160
Do not join in. It will end in my being

536
00:33:15,319 --> 00:33:19,240
conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards, the

537
00:33:19,359 --> 00:33:23,279
sitting room window will open. You are to station yourself

538
00:33:23,359 --> 00:33:27,440
close to that open window. Yes, you are to watch me,

539
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:31,680
for I will be visible to you. Yes. And when

540
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:35,000
I raise my hand so you will throw into the

541
00:33:35,079 --> 00:33:38,160
room what I give you to throw, and will at

542
00:33:38,279 --> 00:33:41,680
the same time raise the cry of fire. You quite

543
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:47,039
follow me entirely. It is nothing very formidable, he said,

544
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:51,119
taking a long cigar shaped roll from his pocket. It

545
00:33:51,279 --> 00:33:54,440
is an ordinary plumber's smoke rocket, fitted with a cap

546
00:33:54,559 --> 00:33:58,240
at either end to make itself lighting. Your task is

547
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,759
confined to that when you raise your cry of fire,

548
00:34:02,319 --> 00:34:04,960
it will be taken up by quite a number of people.

549
00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,680
You may then walk to the end of the street,

550
00:34:08,079 --> 00:34:11,519
and I will rejoin you in ten minutes. I hope

551
00:34:11,599 --> 00:34:15,440
that I have made myself clear. I am to remain neutral,

552
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,960
to get near the window, to watch you, and at

553
00:34:19,039 --> 00:34:22,480
the signal to throw in this object, then to raise

554
00:34:22,559 --> 00:34:25,320
the cry of fire, and to wait you at the

555
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:29,559
corner of the street. Precisely. Then you may entirely rely

556
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:34,000
on me. That is excellent. I think perhaps it is

557
00:34:34,079 --> 00:34:36,920
almost time that I prepare for the new role I

558
00:34:37,079 --> 00:34:41,559
have to play. He disappeared into his bedroom and returned

559
00:34:41,599 --> 00:34:44,239
in a few minutes in the character of an amiable

560
00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:49,840
and simple minded nonconformist clergyman. His broad black hat, his

561
00:34:50,079 --> 00:34:54,840
baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general

562
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:59,239
look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as mister

563
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,400
John Hare alone could have equalled. It was not merely

564
00:35:03,519 --> 00:35:08,440
that Holmes changed his costume, his expression, his manner, his

565
00:35:08,679 --> 00:35:12,239
very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that

566
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:16,159
he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as

567
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:20,519
science lost an acute reasoner when he became a specialist

568
00:35:20,679 --> 00:35:23,840
in crime. It was a quarter past six when we

569
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,440
left Baker Street, and it still wanted ten minutes to

570
00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:31,440
the hour when we found ourselves in Serpentine Avenue. It

571
00:35:31,639 --> 00:35:35,199
was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted

572
00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,559
as we paced up and down in front of Brionny Lodge,

573
00:35:39,039 --> 00:35:42,679
waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was

574
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,559
just such as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes

575
00:35:45,679 --> 00:35:49,840
succinct description, but the locality appeared to be less private

576
00:35:50,039 --> 00:35:53,559
than I expected. On the contrary, for a small street

577
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:58,159
in a quiet neighborhood, it was remarkably animated. There was

578
00:35:58,199 --> 00:36:01,199
a group of shabbily dressed mens, smoking and laughing in

579
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:05,480
a corner, a scissors grinder with its wheel, two guardsmen

580
00:36:05,639 --> 00:36:09,239
who were flirting with a nurse girl, and several well

581
00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:11,880
dressed young men who were lounging up and down with

582
00:36:12,079 --> 00:36:15,960
cigars in their mouths. You see, remarked Holmes, as we

583
00:36:16,119 --> 00:36:18,400
paced to and fro in front of the house. This

584
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:23,760
marriage rather simplifies matters. The photograph becomes a double edged weapon.

585
00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:27,119
Now the chances are that she would be as averse

586
00:36:27,199 --> 00:36:30,400
to its being seen by mister Godfrey Norton as our

587
00:36:30,519 --> 00:36:33,679
client is to its coming to the eyes of his princess.

588
00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,239
Now the question is where are we to find the

589
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:43,239
photograph where? Indeed, it is most unlikely that she carries

590
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:47,000
it about with her. It is cabinet size too large

591
00:36:47,159 --> 00:36:51,719
for easy concealment about a woman's dress. She knows that

592
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:54,920
the King is capable of having her waylaid and searched.

593
00:36:55,599 --> 00:36:59,079
Two attempts of the sort have already been made. We

594
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,039
may take it that she does not carry it about

595
00:37:02,119 --> 00:37:06,920
with her where then her banker or her liar. There

596
00:37:07,039 --> 00:37:11,360
is that double possibility. But I am inclined to think neither.

597
00:37:12,159 --> 00:37:15,360
Women are naturally secretive, and they like to do their

598
00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,559
own secreting. Why should she hand it over to any

599
00:37:18,599 --> 00:37:22,639
one else? She could trust her own guardianship, but she

600
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,559
could not tell what indirect or political influence might be

601
00:37:26,639 --> 00:37:31,239
brought to bear upon a business man. Besides, remember that

602
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,000
she had resolved to use it within a few days.

603
00:37:34,679 --> 00:37:37,559
It must be where she can lay her hands upon it.

604
00:37:38,119 --> 00:37:41,679
It must be in her own house. But it has

605
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:46,639
twice been burgled. Pshah, They did not know how to look.

606
00:37:47,679 --> 00:37:51,400
But how will you look? I will not look what

607
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,440
then I will get her to show me, but she

608
00:37:55,559 --> 00:37:59,559
will refuse. She will not be able to. But I

609
00:37:59,679 --> 00:38:02,840
hear the rumble of wheels. It is her carriage. Now

610
00:38:03,159 --> 00:38:06,440
carry out my orders to the letter. As he spoke,

611
00:38:06,639 --> 00:38:09,320
the gleam of the side lights of a carriage came

612
00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:12,599
round the curve of the avenue. It was a smart

613
00:38:12,679 --> 00:38:15,960
little Landau which rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge.

614
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,239
As it pulled up, one of the loafing men at

615
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,000
the corner dashed forward to open the door in the

616
00:38:22,119 --> 00:38:25,599
hope of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by

617
00:38:25,639 --> 00:38:29,400
another loafer who had rushed up with the same intention.

618
00:38:30,079 --> 00:38:33,239
A fierce quarrel broke out, which was increased by the

619
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:36,840
two guardsmen, who took sides with one of the loungers,

620
00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:40,679
and by the sitters grinder, who was equally hot upon

621
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,800
the other side. A blow was struck, and in an

622
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:46,920
instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was

623
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,960
the center of a little knot of flushed and struggling

624
00:38:50,039 --> 00:38:53,079
men who struck savagely at each other with their fists

625
00:38:53,199 --> 00:38:57,079
and sticks. Holmes dashed into the crowd to protect the lady,

626
00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,920
but just as he reached her, he gave a cry

627
00:39:00,199 --> 00:39:03,039
and dropped to the ground, with the blood running freely

628
00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:06,440
down his face. At his fall, the guardsmen took to

629
00:39:06,519 --> 00:39:09,679
their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other,

630
00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:12,880
while a number of better dressed people who had watched

631
00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:16,119
the scuffle without taking part in it, crowded in to

632
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:18,920
help the lady and to attend to the injured man.

633
00:39:19,599 --> 00:39:22,920
Irene Adler, as I will still call her had hurried

634
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,599
up the steps, but she stood at the top with

635
00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:29,079
her superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall,

636
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,199
looking back into the street. Is the poor gentleman much hurt?

637
00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:37,199
She asked? He is dead, cried several voices. No, no,

638
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,480
there's life in him, shouted another. But he'll be gone

639
00:39:40,639 --> 00:39:44,079
before we can get him to hospital. He's a brave fellow,

640
00:39:44,199 --> 00:39:47,159
said a woman. They would have had the lady's purse

641
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,840
and watch if it hadn't been for him. They were

642
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:53,800
a gang, and a rough one too. Ah, he's breathing now,

643
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,960
he can't lie in the street. May we bring him in,

644
00:39:57,079 --> 00:40:00,760
marm surely bring him into the sitting room. There is

645
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:05,280
a comfortable sofa this way, please, slowly and solemnly. He

646
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,320
was born into Brionny Lodge and laid out in the

647
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:12,159
principal room while I still observed the proceedings from my

648
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:15,480
post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but

649
00:40:15,599 --> 00:40:18,400
the blinds had not been drawn, so that I could

650
00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:21,440
see Holmes as he lay upon the couch. I do

651
00:40:21,639 --> 00:40:24,480
not know whether he was seized with compunction at that

652
00:40:24,639 --> 00:40:27,440
moment for the part he was playing, but I know

653
00:40:27,719 --> 00:40:30,719
that I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in

654
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:34,320
my life than when I saw the beautiful creature against

655
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:38,280
whom I was conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with

656
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:41,679
which she waited upon the injured man. And yet it

657
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:45,360
would be the blackest treachery to Holmes to draw back

658
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,920
now from the part which he had entrusted to me.

659
00:40:48,559 --> 00:40:51,280
I hardened my heart and took the smoke rocket from

660
00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,079
under my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not

661
00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:58,039
injuring her. We are but preventing her from injuring another.

662
00:40:58,559 --> 00:41:01,039
Holmes had sat up upon the couch, and I saw

663
00:41:01,119 --> 00:41:03,280
him motion like a man who was in need of air.

664
00:41:03,679 --> 00:41:06,480
A maid rushed across and threw open the window. At

665
00:41:06,519 --> 00:41:08,960
the same instant I saw him raise his hand, and

666
00:41:09,199 --> 00:41:11,840
at the signal, I tossed my rocket into the room

667
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:14,559
with a cry of fire. The word was no sooner

668
00:41:14,599 --> 00:41:17,039
out of my mouth than the whole crowd of spectators,

669
00:41:17,119 --> 00:41:21,880
well dressed and ill, gentlemen, ostlers and servant maids, joined

670
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,239
in a general shriek of fire. Thick clouds of smoke

671
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:28,199
curled through the room and out At the open window,

672
00:41:28,519 --> 00:41:31,079
I caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment

673
00:41:31,199 --> 00:41:34,119
later the voice of Holmes from within, assuring them that

674
00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,480
it was a false alarm. Slipping through the shouting crowd,

675
00:41:37,639 --> 00:41:39,719
I made my way to the corner of the street,

676
00:41:40,119 --> 00:41:43,039
and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my friend's

677
00:41:43,199 --> 00:41:45,800
arm in mine and to get away from the scene

678
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,960
of uproar. He walked swiftly and in silence for some

679
00:41:49,159 --> 00:41:51,280
few minutes until we had turned down one of the

680
00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:55,159
quiet streets which led towards the Edgeware Road. You did

681
00:41:55,199 --> 00:41:59,039
it very nicely, doctor, he remarked. Nothing could have been better.

682
00:41:59,519 --> 00:42:02,960
It is all all right. You have the photograph. I

683
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,360
know where it is. And how did you find out?

684
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,679
She showed me as I told you she would. I

685
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:12,440
am still in the dark. I do not wish to

686
00:42:12,519 --> 00:42:16,559
make a mystery, said he, laughing. The matter was perfectly simple. You,

687
00:42:16,679 --> 00:42:19,039
of course saw that every one in the street was

688
00:42:19,119 --> 00:42:22,199
in an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening.

689
00:42:22,559 --> 00:42:25,559
I guessed as much. Then when the row broke out,

690
00:42:25,719 --> 00:42:28,119
I had a little moist red paint in the palm

691
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:31,840
of my hand. I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my

692
00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:35,280
hand to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It

693
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:39,199
is an old trick that also I could fathom. Then

694
00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:41,719
they carried me in. She was bound to have me

695
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:45,119
in what else could she do? And into her sitting room,

696
00:42:45,199 --> 00:42:48,719
which was the very room which I suspected. It lay

697
00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:51,840
between that and her bedroom, and I was determined to

698
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:55,079
see which. They laid me on a couch. I motioned

699
00:42:55,119 --> 00:42:58,039
for air. They were compelled to open the window, and

700
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:01,400
you had your chance. How did that help you? It

701
00:43:01,599 --> 00:43:04,519
was all important. When a woman thinks that her house

702
00:43:04,639 --> 00:43:07,960
is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush

703
00:43:08,079 --> 00:43:10,960
to the thing which she values most. It is a

704
00:43:11,039 --> 00:43:14,679
perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have more than once taken

705
00:43:14,719 --> 00:43:17,920
advantage of it. In the case of the Darlington substitution

706
00:43:18,199 --> 00:43:21,519
scandal it was of use to me, and also in

707
00:43:21,599 --> 00:43:25,639
the Arnsworth Castle business. A married woman grabs at her baby,

708
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:29,119
an unmarried one reaches for her jewel box. Now it

709
00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:31,960
was clear to me that our lady of to day

710
00:43:32,199 --> 00:43:35,119
had nothing in the house more precious to her than

711
00:43:35,239 --> 00:43:38,000
what we are in quest of. She would rush to

712
00:43:38,119 --> 00:43:41,880
secure it. The alarm of fire was admirably done. The

713
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:45,199
smoke and shouting were enough to shake nerves of steel.

714
00:43:45,639 --> 00:43:49,840
She responded beautifully. The photograph is in a recess behind

715
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:53,760
a sliding panel just above the right bell pull. She

716
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,840
was there in an instant, and I caught a glimpse

717
00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:59,320
of it as she half drew it out. When I

718
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,440
cried out that it was a false alarm, she replaced it,

719
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:06,239
glanced at the rocket, rushed from the room, and I

720
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,360
have not seen her since I rose and making my

721
00:44:09,519 --> 00:44:14,280
excuses escape from the house. I hesitated whether to attempt

722
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:17,519
to secure the photograph at once, but the coachman had

723
00:44:17,559 --> 00:44:20,320
come in, and as he was watching me narrowly, it

724
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:25,280
seemed safer to wait a little over precipitance may ruin all.

725
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:30,239
And now I asked, our quest is practically finished. I

726
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:33,480
shall call with the king tomorrow and with you, if

727
00:44:33,519 --> 00:44:35,920
you care to come with us. We will be shown

728
00:44:36,039 --> 00:44:38,639
into the sitting room to wait for the lady. But

729
00:44:39,119 --> 00:44:41,679
it is probable that when she comes she may find

730
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:45,239
neither us nor the photograph. It might be a satisfaction

731
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:48,119
to his majesty to regain it with his own hand.

732
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,519
And when would you call? At eight in the morning,

733
00:44:52,079 --> 00:44:54,360
she will not be up, so that we shall have

734
00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:58,039
a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this

735
00:44:58,239 --> 00:45:01,880
marriage may mean a complete change in her life, and habits.

736
00:45:02,519 --> 00:45:06,159
I must wire to the king without delay. We had

737
00:45:06,239 --> 00:45:09,360
reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He

738
00:45:09,519 --> 00:45:12,159
was searching his pockets for the key when some one

739
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:16,039
passing said good night, mister Sherlock Holmes. There were several

740
00:45:16,119 --> 00:45:18,800
people on the pavement at the time, but the greeting

741
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:21,599
appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster

742
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:25,639
who had hurried by. I've heard that voice before, said Holmes,

743
00:45:25,679 --> 00:45:29,079
staring down the dimly lit street. Now I wonder who

744
00:45:29,199 --> 00:45:32,679
the deuce that could have been. I slept at Baker

745
00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:36,119
Street that night, and we were engaged upon our toast

746
00:45:36,199 --> 00:45:38,760
and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia

747
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:42,079
rushed into the room. You have really got it, he cried,

748
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:46,039
grasping Sherlock Holmes by either shoulder and looking eagerly into

749
00:45:46,079 --> 00:45:50,800
his face. Not yet, but you have hopes. I have hopes.

750
00:45:51,159 --> 00:45:54,360
Then come, I am all impatience to be gone. We

751
00:45:54,559 --> 00:45:58,559
must have a cab. No, my Bruffhelm is waiting. Then

752
00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:02,920
that will simplify matters. We descended and started off once

753
00:46:03,039 --> 00:46:08,360
more for Brionny Lodge. I reenn Adler is married, remarked Holmes. Married.

754
00:46:08,639 --> 00:46:13,440
When yesterday but to whom to an English lawyer named Norton,

755
00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:17,159
but she could not love him. I am in hopes

756
00:46:17,239 --> 00:46:21,360
that she does, and why in hopes, because it would

757
00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:25,599
spare your Majesty all fear of future annoyance. If the

758
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:29,400
lady loves her husband, she does not love your majesty.

759
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:32,599
If she does not love your Majesty, there is no

760
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:36,840
reason why she should interfere with your Majesty's plan. It

761
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:41,000
is true, and yet well I wish she had been

762
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:44,920
of my own station. What a queen she would have made.

763
00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:49,000
He relapsed into moody silence, which was not broken until

764
00:46:49,039 --> 00:46:52,159
we drew up in Serpentine Avenue. The door of Brionny

765
00:46:52,199 --> 00:46:56,079
Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood upon the steps.

766
00:46:56,719 --> 00:46:59,480
She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped

767
00:46:59,559 --> 00:47:03,920
from them. Mister Chulock Holmes, I believe, said she, I

768
00:47:04,039 --> 00:47:07,000
am Holmes, answered my companion, looking at her with a

769
00:47:07,119 --> 00:47:11,760
questioning and rather startled gaze. Indeed, my mistress told me

770
00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:14,639
that you were likely to call. She left this morning

771
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,840
with her husband by the five fifteen train from sharing

772
00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:22,800
Cross for the continent. What Sherlock holmestaggered back white withered

773
00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:26,320
Grian in surprise. Do you mean that she has left

774
00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:30,960
England never to return? And the papers asked the King hoarsely,

775
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:35,159
all is lost, we shall see. He pushed past the

776
00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:38,320
servant and rushed into the drawing room, followed by the

777
00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:42,360
King and myself. The furniture was scattered about in every direction,

778
00:47:42,679 --> 00:47:46,239
with dismantled shelves and open drawers, as if the lady

779
00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:50,400
had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight. Holmes rushed at

780
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:53,840
the bell, pull tore back a small slighting shutter, and

781
00:47:54,039 --> 00:47:57,079
plunging in his hand, pulled out a photograph and a letter.

782
00:47:57,519 --> 00:48:01,119
The photograph was of Irene Adler herself an evening dress.

783
00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:06,079
The letter was superscribed to Sherlock Holmes esquire to be

784
00:48:06,199 --> 00:48:09,719
left till called for. My friend tore it open and

785
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:12,760
we all three read it together. It was dated at

786
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:16,400
midnight of the preceding night, and ran in this way.

787
00:48:16,880 --> 00:48:20,840
You really did it very well. You took me in completely.

788
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:25,119
Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a suspicion.

789
00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:28,440
But then when I found how I had betrayed myself,

790
00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:32,039
I began to think I had been warned against you

791
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:35,039
months ago. I had been told that if the King

792
00:48:35,159 --> 00:48:38,880
employed an agent. It would certainly be you, and your

793
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:42,119
address had been given me. Yet with all this you

794
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,719
made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after

795
00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:48,519
I became suspicious, I found it hard to think evil

796
00:48:48,559 --> 00:48:51,400
of such a dear, kind old clergyman. But you know

797
00:48:52,119 --> 00:48:55,679
I have been trained as an actress myself. Mail costume

798
00:48:56,039 --> 00:48:58,960
is nothing new to me. I often take advantage of

799
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,239
the freedom which it gives. I sent John the coachman

800
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:06,199
to watch you, ran upstairs, got into my walking clothes,

801
00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:09,639
as I called them, and came down just as you departed. Well,

802
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:12,280
I followed you to your door, and so made sure

803
00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:14,679
that I was really an object of interest to this

804
00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:19,639
celebrated mister Sherlock Holmes. Then I rather imprudently wished you

805
00:49:19,800 --> 00:49:22,840
good night and started for the temple to see my husband.

806
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:26,760
We both thought the best resource was flight when pursued

807
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:30,199
by so formidable an antagonist. So you will find the

808
00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:33,719
nest empty when you call tomorrow. As to the photograph,

809
00:49:34,079 --> 00:49:37,440
your client may rest in peace. I love, and I

810
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,320
am loved by a better man than he. The King

811
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,199
may do what he will without hindrance from one whom

812
00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:46,840
he has cruelly wronged. I keep it only to safeguard

813
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:50,480
myself and to preserve a weapon which will always secure

814
00:49:50,559 --> 00:49:53,320
me from any steps which he might take in the future.

815
00:49:53,639 --> 00:49:56,280
I leave a photograph which he might care to possess,

816
00:49:56,719 --> 00:50:01,760
and I remained, dear mister Sherlock Holmes, truly yours Irene

817
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:06,559
Norton nay Adler. What a woman, Oh, what a woman,

818
00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:09,559
cried the King of Bohemia, when we had all three

819
00:50:09,639 --> 00:50:12,360
read this epistle. Did I not tell you how quick

820
00:50:12,559 --> 00:50:16,039
and resolute she was? Would she not have made an

821
00:50:16,239 --> 00:50:19,599
admirable queen? Is it not a pity that she was

822
00:50:19,719 --> 00:50:22,280
not on my level? From what I have seen of

823
00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:24,920
the lady, she seems indeed to be on a very

824
00:50:25,039 --> 00:50:28,599
different level to your Majesty, said Holmes coldly. I am

825
00:50:28,719 --> 00:50:30,840
sorry that I have not been able to bring your

826
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:35,239
Majesty's business to a more successful conclusion. On the contrary,

827
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:39,239
my dear sir, cried the King, nothing could be more successful.

828
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:43,599
I know that her word is in violate. The photograph

829
00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:46,480
is now as safe as if it were in the fire.

830
00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,679
I am glad to hear your Majesty say so. I

831
00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:53,119
am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what

832
00:50:53,360 --> 00:50:56,840
way I can reward you this ring. He slipped an

833
00:50:56,960 --> 00:50:59,880
emerald snake ring from his finger and held it out

834
00:51:00,079 --> 00:51:03,199
upon the palm of his hand. Your Majesty has something

835
00:51:03,239 --> 00:51:07,039
which I should value even more highly, said Rolmes. You

836
00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:10,760
have but to name it this photograph. The king stared

837
00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:15,159
at him in amazement. Irene's photograph. He cried, certainly, if

838
00:51:15,239 --> 00:51:18,480
you wish it, I thank your majesty, then there is

839
00:51:18,559 --> 00:51:20,880
no more to be done in the matter. I have

840
00:51:21,039 --> 00:51:24,360
the honor to wish you a very good morning. He bowed, and,

841
00:51:24,599 --> 00:51:27,599
turning away, without observing the hand which the King had

842
00:51:27,639 --> 00:51:30,400
stretched out to him, he set off in my company

843
00:51:30,639 --> 00:51:34,239
for his chambers. And that was how a great scandal

844
00:51:34,519 --> 00:51:38,000
threatened to affect the Kingdom of Bohemia, and how the

845
00:51:38,079 --> 00:51:41,079
best plans of mister Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a

846
00:51:41,199 --> 00:51:45,199
woman's wit. He used to make merry over the cleverness

847
00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:47,360
of women, but I have not heard him do it

848
00:51:47,440 --> 00:51:51,400
of late, And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or

849
00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:54,519
when he referred to her photograph, it is always under

850
00:51:54,519 --> 00:51:59,119
the honorable title of the woman. End of a Scandal

851
00:51:59,159 --> 00:52:01,639
in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle