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Speaker 1: The Stranger's latch Key by R. Austin Freeman. The contrarity

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of human nature is a subject that has given a

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surprising amount of occupation to makers of proverbs and to

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those moral philosophers who make it their province to discover

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and expound the glaringly obvious. And especially have they been

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concerned to enlarge upon that form of perverseness which engenders

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dislike of things offered under compulsion, and arouses desire of

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them as soon as their attainment becomes difficult or impossible.

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They assure us that a man who has had a

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given thing within his reach and put it by will,

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as soon as it is beyond his reach, find it

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the one thing necessary and desirable, Even as the domestic cat,

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which has turned disdainfully from the preferred saucer, may presently

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be seen with her head jammed hard in the milk jug,

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or secretly and with horrible relish, slaking her thirst at

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the scullery sink. To this peculiarity of the human mind

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was due, no doubt the fact that no sooner had

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I abandoned the clinical side of my profession in favor

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of the legal, and taken up my abode in the

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chambers of my friend Thorndike, the famous medico legal expert,

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to act as his assistant or junior than my former

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mode of life, that of the locum tenens, or minder

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of other men's practices, which had, when I was following

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it seemed intolerably irksome, now appeared to possess many desirable features,

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and I found myself occasionally hankering to sit once more

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by the bedside, to puzzle out the perplexing train of symptoms,

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and to wield that power, the greatest after all possessed

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by man, the power to banish suffering and ward off

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the approach of death itself. Hence it was that, on

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a certain morning of the long vacation, I found myself

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installed at the larches Burling, in full charge of the

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practice of my old friend, doctor Hanshaw, who was taking

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a fishing holiday in Norway. I was not left desolate, however,

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for Missus Hanshaw remained at her post, and the roomy,

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old fashioned house accommodated three visitors. In addition. One of

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these was doctor Hanshaw's sister, a Missus Haldean, the widow

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of a wealthy Manchester cotton factor, the second was her

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niece by marriage, Miss Lucy Haldean, a very handsome and

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charming girl of twenty three, while the third was no

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less a person than Master Fred, the only child of

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missus Haldean and a strapping boy of six. It is

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quite like old times, and very pleasant old times too,

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to see you sitting at our breakfast table, doctor Jervis,

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with these gracious words and a friendly smile. Missus Hanshaw

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handed me my tea cup. I bowed. The highest pleasure

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of the altruist, I replied, is in contemplating the good

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fortune of others. Missus Haldean laughed, thank you, She said,

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you are quite unchanged. I perceive still as suave as

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shall I say oleaginous? No? Please don't, I exclaimed, in

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a tone of alarm. Then I won't. But what does

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doctor Thorndike say to this backsliding on your part? How

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does he regard this relapse from medical jurisprudence to common

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general practice? Thorndike said, I is unmoved by any catastrophe,

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and he not only regards the decline and fall off

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of the medical jurist with philosophic charm, but he even

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favors the relapse, as you call it. He thinks it

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may be useful to me to study the application of

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medico legal methods to general practice. That sounds rather unpleasant

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for the patience, I mean, remarked Miss Haldein very agreed

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her aunt most cold blooded. What sort of man is

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doctor Thorndike? I feel quite curious about him? Is he

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all human? For instance? He is entirely human, I replied,

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the accepted tests of humanity being as I understand the

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habitual adoption of the erect posture in locomotion and the

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relative position of the end of the thumb. I don't

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mean that, interrupted missus Haldean. I mean human in things

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that matter. I think those things matter. I rejoined. Consider

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Missus Haldean, what would happen if my learned colleague were

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to be seen in wig and gown walking towards the

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law courts in any posture other than the erect. It

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would be a public scandal. Don't talk to him, Mabel,

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said missus Henshaw. He is incorrigible. What are you doing

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with yourself this morning? Lucy, miss Haldean, who had hastily

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set down her cup to laugh at my imaginary picture

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of doctor Thorndyke, in the character of a quadruped considered

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a moment. I think I shall sketch that group of

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birches at the edge of Bradham Wood, she said. Then

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in that case, said I, I can carry your traps

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for you, for I have to see a patient in Bradham.

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He is making the most of his time, remarked missus

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Haldean maliciously to my hostess. He knows that when mister

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Winter arrives, he will retire into the extreme background. Douglas Winter,

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whose arrival was expected in the course of the week,

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was miss Haldean's fiancee. Their engagement had been somewhat protracted,

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and was likely to be more so unless one of

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them received some unexpected accession of means. For Douglas was

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a subaltern in the Royal Engineers, living with great difficulty

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on his pay, while Lucy Haldein subsisted on an almost

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invisible allowance left her by an uncle. I was about

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to reply to missus Haldean when a patient was announced,

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and as I had finished my breakfast, I made my

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excuses and left the table. Half an hour later, when

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I started along the road to the village of Bradham.

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I had two companions. Master Freddy had joined the party,

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and he disputed with me the privilege of carrying the traps,

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with the result that a compromise was effected by which

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he carried the camp stool, leaving me in possession of

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the easel, the bag, and a large bound sketching block.

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Where are you going to work this morning? I asked,

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when we had trudged on some distance, just off the

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road to the left, there at the edge of the wood,

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not very far from the house of the mysterious stranger.

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She glanced at me mischievously as she made this reply,

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and chuckled with delight. When I rose at the bait,

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What house do you mean, I inquired, Ha, she exclaimed,

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The investigator of mysteries is aroused. He saith ha ha

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amidst the trumpets, he smelleth the battle afar off. Explain instantly,

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I commanded, or I drop your sketch block into the

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very next puddle. You terrify me, she said, But I

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will explain only there isn't any mystery except to the

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bucolic mind. The house is called Lavender Cottage, and it

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stands alone in the fields behind the wood. A fortnight

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ago it was let furnish to a stranger named Whitelocke,

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who has taken it for the purpose of studying the

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botany of the district. And the only really mysterious thing

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about him is that no one has seen him. All

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arrangements with the house agent were made by letter, and

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as far as I can make out, none of the

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local trades people supply him, so he must get his

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things from a distance, even it is bread, which really

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is rather odd. Now, say I am an inquisitive, gossiping

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country bumpkin I was going to, I answered, but it

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is no use now. She relieved me of her sketching appliance,

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as with pretended indignation, and crossed into the meadow, leaving

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me to pursue my way alone. And when I presently

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looked back, she was setting up her easel and stool,

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gravely assisted by Freddy. My round, though not a long one,

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took up more time than I had anticipated, and it

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was already past the luncheon hour when I passed the

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place where I had left Miss Haldean. She was gone,

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as I had expected, and I hurried homewards, anxious to

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be as nearly punctual as possible. When I entered the

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dining room, I found missus Haldean and our hostess seated

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at the table, and both looked up at me expectantly.

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Have you seen Lucy, the form inquired, No, I answered,

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hasn't she come back? I expected to find her here?

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She had left the wood when I passed just now.

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Missus Haldean knitted her brows anxiously. It is very strange,

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she said, and very thoughtless of her. Freddy will be famished.

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I hurried over my lunch, for two fresh messages had

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come in from outlying hamlets, effectually dispelling my visions of

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a quiet afternoon. And as the minutes passed without bringing

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any signs of the absentees, Missus Haldean became more and

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more restless and anxious. At length, her suspense became unbearable.

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She rose suddenly, announcing her intention of cycling up the

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road to look for the defaulters. But as she was

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moving towards the door, it burst open, and Lucy Haldean

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staggered into the room. Her appearance filled us with alarm.

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She was deadly, pale, breathless, and wild eyed. Her dress

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was and torn, and she trembled from head to foot.

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Good God, Lucy gasped missus Haldean. What has happened? And

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where is Freddy? She added in a sterner tone. He

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is lost, replied Miss Haldeen in a faint voice, and

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with a catch in her breath. He strayed away while

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I was painting. I have searched the wood through and

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called to him, and looked in all the meadows. Oh

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where could he have gone? Her sketching kit with which

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she was loaded slipped from her grasp and rattled on

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to the floor. And she buried her face in her

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hands and sobbed hysterically. And you have dared to come

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back without him, exclaimed missus Haldean. I was getting exhausted.

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I came back for help, was the faint reply. Of

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course she was exhausted, said missus Henshaw. Come, Lucy, Come, Mabel,

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don't make mountains out of mole hills. The little man

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is safe enough. We shall find him presently, or he

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will come home by himself. Come and have some food, Lucy.

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Miss Haldean shook her head. I can't, missus Fanshaw, really

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I can't, she said, and, seeing that she was in

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a state of utter exhaustion. I poured out a glass

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of wine and made her drink it. Missus Haldean darted

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from the room and returned immediately, putting on her hat.

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You have got to come with me and show me

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where you lost him, she said. She can't do that,

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you know, I said, rather brusquely. She will have to

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lie down for the present. But I know the place

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and will cycle up with you very well, replied missus Haldeen.

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That will do. What time was it, she asked, turning

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to her niece, when you lost the child? And which way?

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She paused abruptly, and I looked at her in surprise.

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She had suddenly turned ashen and ghastly. Her face had

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set like a mask of stone, with parted lips and

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staring eyes that were fixed in horror on her knees.

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There was a deathly silence for a few seconds, then

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in a terrible voice, she demanded, what is that on

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your dress? Lucy? And after a pause, her voice rose

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into a shriek. What have you done to my boy?

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I glanced in astonishment at the dazed and terrified girl,

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and then I saw what her aunt had seen, A

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good sized blood stain half way down the front of

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her skirt, and another smaller one on her right sleeve.

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The girl herself looked down at the sinister patch of red,

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and then up at her aunt. It looks like like blood,

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she stammered, Yes, it is, I I think, of course

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it is. He struck his nose and it bled. Come interrupted.

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Missus Haldean let us go, and she rushed from the room,

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leaving me to follow. I lifted miss Haldean, who was

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half fainting with fatigue and agitation, on to the sofa,

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and whispering a few words of encouragement in her ear,

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turned to missus Hanshaw. I can't stay with missus Haldean,

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I said, there are two visits to me made at Rebworth.

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Will you send the dog cart up the road with

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somebody to take my place? Yes, she answered, I will

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send Giles or come myself if Lucy is fit to

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be left. I ran to the stables for my bicycle,

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and as I pedaled out into the road, I could

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see missus Haldean already far ahead, driving her machine at

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frantic speed. I followed at a rapid pace, but it

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was not until we approached the commencement of the wood

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when she slowed down somewhat that I overtook her. This

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is the place, I said. As we reached the spot

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where I had parted from Miss Haldean, we dismounted and

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wheeled our bicycles through the gate, and laying them down

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beside the hedge, crossed the meadow, and entered the wood.

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It was a terrible experience, and one that I shall

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never forget. The white faced, distracted woman tramping in her

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flimsy house shoes over the rough ground, bursting through the bushes,

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regardless of the thorny branches that dragged its skin and

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hair and dainty clothing, and sending forth from time to

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time a tremulous cry, so dreadfully pathetic in its mingling

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of terror and coaxing softness, that a lump rose in

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my throat, and I could barely keep my self control.

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Freddy FREDI, boy, Mommy's here, darling. The wailing cry sounded

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through the leafy solitude, but no answer came, save the

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whir of wings or the chatter of startled birds. But

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even more shocking than that terrible cry, more disturbing and

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eloquent with dreadful suggestion, was the way in which she

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peered furtively, but with fearful expectation, among the roots of

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the bushes, or halted to gaze upon every mole, hill

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and hummock, every depression or disturbance of the ground. So

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we stumbled on for a while, with never a word spoken,

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until we came to a beaten track or footpath leading

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across the wood. Here I paused to examine the footprints,

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of which several were visible in the soft earth, though

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none seemed very recent. But proceeding a little way down

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the track, I perceived crossing it a set of fresh imprints,

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which I recognized at once as miss Haldean's. She was wearing,

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as I knew, a pair of brown golf boots with

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rubber pads in the leather soles, and the prince made

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by them were unmistakable. Miss Holdean crossed the path here,

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I said, pointing to the footprints. Don't speak of her

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before me, exclaimed Missus Haldean. But she gazed eagerly at

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the footprints nevertheless, and immediately plunged into the wood to

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follow the tracks. You are very unjust to your niece,

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Missus Haldean, I ventured to protest. She halted and faced

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me with an angry frown. You don't understand, she exclaimed.

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You don't know, perhaps that if my poor child is

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really dead, Lucy Haldean will be a rich woman and

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may marry tomorrow if she chooses. I did not know that,

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i answered, But if I had, I should have said

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the same. Of course you would, she retorted bitterly. A

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00:14:59,519 --> 00:15:03,799
pretty face can muddle any man's judgment. She turned away

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abruptly to resume her pursuit, and I followed in silence.

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The trail which we were following zigzag through the thickest

254
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part of the wood, but its devious windings eventually brought

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us out on to an open space on the farther side.

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Here we at once perceived traces of another kind. A

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litter of dirty rags, pieces of paper, scraps of stale bread,

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00:15:24,919 --> 00:15:28,080
bones and feathers with hoof marks, wheel ruts, and the

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00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,320
ashes of a large wood fire pointed clearly to a

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gipsy encampment recently broken up. I laid my hand on

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the heap of ashes and found it still warm, and

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00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,559
on scattering it with my foot, a layer of glowing

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00:15:41,639 --> 00:15:45,080
cinders appeared at the bottom. These people have only been

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gone an hour or two, I said it would be

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well to have them followed without delay. A gleam of

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hope shone on the drawn white face as the bereaved

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mother caught eagerly at my suggestion. Yes, she exclaimed breathlessly,

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she may have bribed them to take him away. Let

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us see which way they went. We followed the wheel

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tracks down to the road and found that they turned

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towards London. At the same time I perceived the dog

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cart and the distance, with Missus Hanshaw standing beside it.

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And as the coachman observed me, he whipped up his

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horse and approached. I shall have to go, I said,

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but Missus Hanshaw will help you to continue the search,

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and you will make inquiries about the gypsies, won't you,

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00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,399
she said? I promised to do so, and as the

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dog cart came up, I climbed to the seat and

279
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drove off briskly up the London road. The extent of

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00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,919
a country doctor's round is always an unknown quantity. On

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00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,919
the present occasion I picked up three additional patients, and

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00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,399
as one of them was a case of incipient pleuracy

283
00:16:48,759 --> 00:16:52,120
which required to have the chest strapped, and another was

284
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the neglected dislocation of the shoulder. A great deal of

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time was taken up. Moreover, the gypsies, whom I ran

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to earth on red Worth Common, delayed me considerably, though

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I had to leave the rural constable to carry out

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the actual search, and as a result, the clock of

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00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:11,079
Burling Church was striking six as I drove through the

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00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:14,000
village on my way home. I got down at the

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front gate, leaving the coachman to take the dog cart round,

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and walked up the drive, and my astonishment may be imagined,

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when on turning the corner I came suddenly upon the

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inspector of the local police in earnest conversation with no

295
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less a person than John Thorndyke. What on earth has

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00:17:32,079 --> 00:17:35,279
brought you here? I exclaimed, my surprise, getting the better

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00:17:35,279 --> 00:17:39,680
of my manners. The ultimate motive force, he replied, was

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00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,720
an impulsive lady named missus Haldean. She telegraphed for me

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00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,240
in your name. She oughtn't to have done that, I said,

300
00:17:48,079 --> 00:17:50,559
perhaps not, but the ethics of an agitated woman are

301
00:17:50,559 --> 00:17:53,440
not worth discussing, and she has done something much worse.

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She has applied to the local j P, a retired

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00:17:56,799 --> 00:18:00,759
major general, and our gallant and unlearned friend has issued

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a warrant for the arrest of Lucy Holdeen on the

305
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:08,559
charge of murder. But there has been no murder. I exclaimed, that,

306
00:18:09,079 --> 00:18:12,440
said Thorndyke, is a legal subtlety that he does not appreciate.

307
00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:15,759
He has learned his law in the orderly room, where

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the qualifications to practice are an irritable temper and a

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00:18:18,799 --> 00:18:22,920
loud voice. However, the practical point is inspector that the

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00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,519
warrant is irregular. You can't arrest people for hypothetical crimes.

311
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The officer drew a deep breath of relief. He knew

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00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,599
all about the irregularity, and now joyfully took refuge behind

313
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:37,599
Thorndyke's great reputation. When he had departed with a brief

314
00:18:37,599 --> 00:18:40,640
note from my colleague to the General, Thorndyke slipped his

315
00:18:40,759 --> 00:18:44,720
arm through mine and we strolled toward the house. This

316
00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,359
is a grim business, Jervis said. He that boy has

317
00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,200
got to be found for everybody's sake. Can you come

318
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,160
with me when you have had some food? Of course

319
00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,000
I can. I have been saving myself all afternoon with

320
00:18:57,039 --> 00:19:00,640
a view to continuing the search. Good, said Thorke. Then

321
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,359
come in and feed a nondescript meal. Half tea and

322
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,079
half dinner was already prepared, and missus Hanshaw, grave but

323
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:12,240
self possessed, presided at the table. Mabel is still out

324
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,079
with Giles searching for the boy. She said, you have

325
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,559
heard what she has done. I nodded. It was dreadful

326
00:19:19,599 --> 00:19:22,400
of her, continued Missus Henshaw, But she is half mad,

327
00:19:22,559 --> 00:19:25,240
poor thing. You might run up and say a few

328
00:19:25,319 --> 00:19:27,200
kind words to poor Lucy while I make the tea.

329
00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,240
I went up at once and knocked at miss Haldane's door, and,

330
00:19:31,559 --> 00:19:34,680
being bidden to enter, found her lying on the sofa,

331
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,200
red eyed and pale, the very ghost of the merry,

332
00:19:37,279 --> 00:19:39,960
laughing girl who had gone out with me in the morning.

333
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,200
I drew up a chair and sat down by her side,

334
00:19:43,599 --> 00:19:45,319
and as I took the hand she held out to me,

335
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,359
she said, it is good of you to come and

336
00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,920
see a miserable wretch like me, and Jane has been

337
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,759
so sweet to me, Doctor Jervis. But at Mabel thinks

338
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I have killed Freddy. You know she does, and it

339
00:19:58,319 --> 00:20:01,160
was really my fault that he was long. I shall

340
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:05,000
never forgive myself. She burst into a passion of sobbing,

341
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,519
and I proceeded to chide her gently. You are a

342
00:20:08,559 --> 00:20:11,680
silly little woman, I said. To take this nonsense to heart.

343
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,680
As you are doing. Your aunt is not responsible just now,

344
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,640
as you must know. But when we bring the boy home,

345
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,759
she shall make you a handsome apology. I will see

346
00:20:20,759 --> 00:20:24,400
to that. She pressed my hand gratefully, and as the

347
00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,039
bell now rang for Tea, I bade her have courage

348
00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:30,599
and went downstairs. You need not trouble about the practice,

349
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,880
said missus Hanshaw. As I concluded my lightning repast and

350
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,000
Thorndyke went off to get our bicycles. Doctor Simons has

351
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,039
heard of our trouble and has called to say that

352
00:20:39,079 --> 00:20:41,519
he will take anything that turns up, so we shall

353
00:20:41,519 --> 00:20:44,720
expect you when we see you. How do you like Thorndyke,

354
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,000
I asked, He's quite charming, she replied, enthusiastically, so tactful

355
00:20:49,039 --> 00:20:51,559
and kind, and so handsome too. You didn't tell us that,

356
00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:55,000
but here he is. Good Bye and good luck. She

357
00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:57,039
pressed my hand, and I went out into the drive

358
00:20:57,279 --> 00:21:00,319
where Thorndyke and the coachman were standing with three bicycles.

359
00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:03,039
I see you have brought your outfit, I said, as

360
00:21:03,079 --> 00:21:05,799
we turned into the road for Thorndyke's machine bore a

361
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:10,799
large canvas covered case strapped on to a strong bracket. Yes,

362
00:21:10,839 --> 00:21:12,440
there are many things that we may want on a

363
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,400
quest of this kind. How did you find miss Haldean

364
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,640
very miserable? Poor girl? By the way, have you heard

365
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,519
anything about her pecuniary interest in the child's death? Yes,

366
00:21:24,839 --> 00:21:28,200
said Thorndyke. It appears that the late mister Haldean used

367
00:21:28,279 --> 00:21:31,119
up all his brains on his business and had none

368
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,920
left for the making of his will. As often happens,

369
00:21:35,559 --> 00:21:38,240
he left almost the whole of his property, about eighty

370
00:21:38,279 --> 00:21:41,319
thousand pounds, to his son, the widow, to have a

371
00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:44,039
life interest in it. He also left to his late

372
00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,359
brother's daughter Lucy fifty pounds a year, and to his

373
00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,119
surviving brother, Percy, who seems to have been a good

374
00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,960
for nothing, a hundred a year for life. But and

375
00:21:54,039 --> 00:21:56,359
here is the utter folly of the thing. If the

376
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,960
sun should die, the property was to be equally divided

377
00:22:00,039 --> 00:22:02,960
between the brother and the niece, with the exception of

378
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,799
five hundred a year for life to the widow. It

379
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,920
was an insane arrangement, quite I agreed, and a very

380
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,720
dangerous one for Lucy Holdeen, as things are at present

381
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,960
very especially if anything should have happened to the child.

382
00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,200
What are you going to do now? I inquired, seeing

383
00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,680
that Thorndyke rode on as if with a definite purpose.

384
00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,119
There is a footpath through the wood, he replied, I

385
00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:28,880
want to examine that, And there is a house behind

386
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,480
the wood which I should like to see, the house

387
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:36,359
of the mysterious stranger, I suggested, precisely, mysterious and solitary

388
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:41,039
strangers invite inquiry. We drew up at the entrance of

389
00:22:41,079 --> 00:22:43,880
the footpath, leaving Willett, the coachman in charge of the

390
00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,960
three machines, and proceeded up the narrow track. As we went,

391
00:22:48,079 --> 00:22:50,240
Thorndyke looked back at the prints of our feet and

392
00:22:50,279 --> 00:22:56,079
nodded approvingly. This soft loam, he remarked, yields beautifully clear impressions,

393
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,920
and yesterday's reign has made it perfect. We had not

394
00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:02,480
gone far when we perceived a set of footprints, which

395
00:23:02,519 --> 00:23:05,480
I recognized, as did Thorndyke also, for he remarked, Miss

396
00:23:05,519 --> 00:23:10,279
Haldean running and alone. Presently we met them again, crossing

397
00:23:10,279 --> 00:23:12,680
in the opposite direction, together with the prince of small

398
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,400
shoes with very high heels. Missus Haldean on the track

399
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,799
of her niece, was Thorndyke's comment, and a minute later

400
00:23:19,839 --> 00:23:22,920
we encountered them both again, accompanied by my own footprints.

401
00:23:23,839 --> 00:23:25,359
The boy does not seem to have crossed the path

402
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:27,960
at all, I remarked, as we walked on, keeping off

403
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,920
the track itself to avoid confusing the footprints. We shall

404
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,960
know when we have examined the whole length, replied Thorndyke,

405
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:38,319
plodding on with his eyes on the ground. Hah, here

406
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,240
is something new, he added, stopping short and stooping down eagerly.

407
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,839
A man with a thick stick, A smallish man, rather lame.

408
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,000
Notice the difference between the two feet and the peculiar

409
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:55,279
way in which he uses his stick. Yes, Jervis, there

410
00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,039
is a great deal to interest us in these footprints.

411
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,799
Do you notice anything very suggestive about them? Nothing but

412
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,319
what you have mentioned, I replied, What do you mean? Well, first,

413
00:24:08,319 --> 00:24:11,440
there is the very singular character of the prince themselves,

414
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,519
which we will consider presently. You observe that this man

415
00:24:15,559 --> 00:24:18,759
came down the path and at this point turned off

416
00:24:18,759 --> 00:24:22,440
into the wood. Then he returned from the wood and

417
00:24:22,559 --> 00:24:26,160
went up the path again. The imposition of the prince

418
00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,480
makes that clear. But now look at the two sets

419
00:24:29,519 --> 00:24:32,640
of prints and compare them. Do you see any difference?

420
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:41,119
The returning footprints seem more distinct, better impressions. Yes, they

421
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:46,160
are noticeably deeper. But there is something else. He produced

422
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:48,759
a spring tape from his pocket and took half a

423
00:24:48,799 --> 00:24:52,640
dozen measurements. You see, he said, the first set of

424
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,000
footprints have a stride of twenty one inches from heel

425
00:24:56,079 --> 00:24:59,319
to heel, a short stride. But he is a smallish

426
00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:03,640
man and lame. The returning ones have a stride of

427
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,759
only nineteen and a half inches. Hence, the returning footprints

428
00:25:07,799 --> 00:25:11,279
are deeper than the others, and the steps are shorter.

429
00:25:12,519 --> 00:25:16,200
What do you make of that? I would suggest that

430
00:25:16,279 --> 00:25:20,400
he was carrying a burden when he returned, I replied, yes,

431
00:25:20,799 --> 00:25:23,559
and a heavy one. To make that difference in the depth,

432
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,000
I think I will get you to go fetch Wille

433
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,960
and the bicycles. I strode off down the path to

434
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,240
the entrance, and taking possession of Thorndyke's machine with its

435
00:25:33,279 --> 00:25:36,559
precious case of instruments, bade Wille follow with the other two.

436
00:25:37,559 --> 00:25:40,240
When I returned my colleague was standing with his hands

437
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:44,480
behind him, gazing with intense preoccupation at the footprints. He

438
00:25:44,519 --> 00:25:46,680
looked up sharply as we approached and called out to

439
00:25:46,759 --> 00:25:49,720
us to keep off the path, if possible, stay here

440
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,720
with the machines, will it? He said? You and I, Jervis,

441
00:25:52,799 --> 00:25:54,839
must go and see where our friend went to when

442
00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,720
he left the path, and what was the burden that

443
00:25:57,839 --> 00:26:01,400
he picked up. We struck off into the wood, where

444
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,200
last year's dead leaves made the footprints almost indistinguishable, and

445
00:26:05,319 --> 00:26:08,680
followed the faint double track for a long distance between

446
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:13,279
the dense clumps of bushes. Suddenly my eye caught beside

447
00:26:13,279 --> 00:26:17,079
the double trail a third row of tracks, smaller in

448
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,759
size and closer together. Thorndyke had seen them too, and

449
00:26:20,839 --> 00:26:24,279
already his measuring tape was in his hand, eleven and

450
00:26:24,279 --> 00:26:27,200
a half inches to the stride, said he. That will

451
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,880
be the boy Jervis. But the light is getting weak.

452
00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:32,240
We must press on quickly or we shall lose it.

453
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,759
Some fifty yards farther on, the man's tracks ceased abruptly,

454
00:26:38,279 --> 00:26:41,440
but the small ones continued alone, and we followed them

455
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,079
as rapidly as we could in the fading light. There

456
00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:47,720
can be no reasonable doubt that these are the child's tracks,

457
00:26:47,799 --> 00:26:50,680
said Thorndyke, But I should like to find a definite

458
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:55,319
footprint to make the identification absolutely certain. A few seconds

459
00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:59,000
later he halted with an exclamation and stooped on one knee.

460
00:26:59,599 --> 00:27:02,359
A little heap of fresh earth from the surface barrew

461
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,079
of a mole had been thrown up over the dead leaves,

462
00:27:05,279 --> 00:27:08,359
and fairly planted on it with the clean and sharp

463
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,400
impression of a diminutive foot with a rubber heel showing

464
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:17,039
a central star. Thorndyke drew from his pocket a tiny

465
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,799
shoe and pressed it on the soft earth beside the footprint,

466
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,720
and when he raised it, the second impression was identical

467
00:27:24,759 --> 00:27:27,720
to the first. The boy had two pairs of shoes

468
00:27:27,759 --> 00:27:30,079
exactly alike, he said, so I borrowed one of the

469
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:34,119
duplicate pair. He turned and began to retrace his steps,

470
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,480
rapidly following our own fresh tracks, and stopping only once

471
00:27:38,559 --> 00:27:40,519
to point out the place where the unknown man had

472
00:27:40,559 --> 00:27:44,039
picked the child up. When we regained the path, we

473
00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,000
proceeded without delay until we emerged from the wood within

474
00:27:47,039 --> 00:27:50,920
a hundred yards of the cottage. I see missus Haldean

475
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,000
has been here with Giles, remarked Thorndyke, as he pushed

476
00:27:54,039 --> 00:27:57,000
open the garden gate. I wonder if they saw anybody.

477
00:27:58,559 --> 00:28:00,799
He advanced to the door and head first wrapped with

478
00:28:00,839 --> 00:28:03,720
his knuckles, and then kicked at it vigorously. Tried the

479
00:28:03,759 --> 00:28:08,240
handle locked, he observed, But I see the key is

480
00:28:08,279 --> 00:28:10,480
in the lock, so we can get in if we

481
00:28:10,519 --> 00:28:14,160
want to. Let us try the back. The back door

482
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,920
was locked too, but the key had been removed. He

483
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:22,319
came out this way, evidently, said Thorndyke, though he went

484
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:25,559
in at the front, as I suppose you noticed. Let

485
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,799
us see where he went. The back garden was a

486
00:28:28,839 --> 00:28:33,000
small fenced patch of ground with an earth path leading

487
00:28:33,039 --> 00:28:35,759
down to the back gate. A little way beyond the

488
00:28:35,759 --> 00:28:40,000
gate was a small barn or outhouse. We are in lock,

489
00:28:40,279 --> 00:28:43,720
Thorndyke remarked, with a glance at the path. Yesterday's rain

490
00:28:43,799 --> 00:28:47,119
has cleared away all old footprints and prepared the surface

491
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,480
for new ones. You see there are three sets of

492
00:28:50,559 --> 00:28:54,279
excellent impressions, two leading away from the house and one

493
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,799
towards it. Now you notice that both of the sets

494
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,640
leading from the house our character by deep impressions and

495
00:29:01,759 --> 00:29:05,039
short steps, while the set leading to the house has

496
00:29:05,119 --> 00:29:10,079
lighter impressions and longer steps. The obvious inference is that

497
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,200
he went down the path with a heavy burden, came

498
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,920
back empty handed, and went down again and finally with

499
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,119
another heavy burden. You observe too that he walked with

500
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:24,119
his stick on each occasion. By this time we had

501
00:29:24,119 --> 00:29:27,000
reached the bottom of the garden, opening the gate. We

502
00:29:27,119 --> 00:29:30,240
followed the tracks toward the outhouse, which stood beside a

503
00:29:30,279 --> 00:29:33,240
cart track. But as we came round the corner, we

504
00:29:33,279 --> 00:29:36,680
both stopped short and looked at one another on the

505
00:29:36,759 --> 00:29:39,960
soft earth with the very distinct impressions of the tires

506
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,880
of a motor car leading from the wide door of

507
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:47,200
the outhouse. Finding that the door was unfastened, Thorndyke opened

508
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,680
it and looked in to satisfy himself that the place

509
00:29:49,759 --> 00:29:53,720
was empty. Then he fell to studying the tracks. The

510
00:29:53,759 --> 00:29:56,759
course of events is pretty plain. He observed first the

511
00:29:56,839 --> 00:30:00,759
fellow brought down his luggage, started the engine and got

512
00:30:00,759 --> 00:30:03,279
the car out. You can see where it stood both

513
00:30:03,319 --> 00:30:06,119
by the little pool of oil and by the widening

514
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,880
and blurring of the wheel tracks from the vibration of

515
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,240
the free engine. Then he went back and fetched the

516
00:30:12,279 --> 00:30:15,759
boy carried him pickaback, I should say, judging by the

517
00:30:15,759 --> 00:30:18,160
depth of the toe marks in the last set of footprints,

518
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,839
that was a tactical mistake. He should have taken the

519
00:30:20,839 --> 00:30:23,960
boy straight into the shed. He pointed as he spoke

520
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,920
to one of the footprints beside the wheel tracks, from

521
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,720
the toe of which projected a small segment of the

522
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:33,880
print of a little rubber heel. We now made our

523
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,279
way back to the house, where we found Willet pensively

524
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:41,000
rapping at the front door with a cycle spanner. Thorndyke

525
00:30:41,039 --> 00:30:43,640
took a last glance with his hand in his pocket

526
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,359
at an open window above, and then to the coachman's

527
00:30:47,359 --> 00:30:50,279
intense delight brought forth what looked uncommonly like a small

528
00:30:50,279 --> 00:30:53,720
bunch of skeleton keys. One of these he inserted into

529
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,200
the keyhole, and as he gave it a turn, the

530
00:30:56,279 --> 00:31:00,559
lock clicked and the door stood open. The little sitting

531
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,079
room which we now entered was furnished with the barest necessaries.

532
00:31:04,839 --> 00:31:08,039
Its center was occupied by an oil cloth covered table,

533
00:31:08,359 --> 00:31:12,240
on which I observed with surprise a dismembered b clock,

534
00:31:12,759 --> 00:31:14,720
the works of which had been taken apart with a

535
00:31:14,799 --> 00:31:18,599
tin opener that lay beside them at a boxwood bird call.

536
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,519
At these objects, Thorndyke glanced and nodded, as though they

537
00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:26,960
fitted into some theory that he had formed, examined carefully

538
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,119
the oil cloth around the litter of wheels and pinions,

539
00:31:30,599 --> 00:31:33,759
and then proceeded on a tour of inspection round the room,

540
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,839
peering inquisitively into the kitchen and store cupboard. Nothing very

541
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,920
distinctive or personal here, he remarked, Let us go upstairs.

542
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,319
There were three bedrooms on the upper floor, of which

543
00:31:47,359 --> 00:31:50,559
two were evidently disused, though the windows were wide open.

544
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:55,000
The third bedroom showed manifest traces of occupation, though it

545
00:31:55,079 --> 00:31:57,640
was as bare as the others, for the water still

546
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,720
stood in the wash hand basin and the bed was unmade.

547
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:05,039
To the latter, Thorndyke advanced, and, having turned back the bedclothes,

548
00:32:05,279 --> 00:32:10,039
examined the interior attentively, especially at the foot and the pillow.

549
00:32:11,119 --> 00:32:14,000
The latter was soiled, not to say grimy, though the

550
00:32:14,079 --> 00:32:17,599
rest of the bed linen was quite clean. Hair dye,

551
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,839
remarked Thorndyke, noting my glance at it. Then he turned

552
00:32:21,839 --> 00:32:24,759
and looked out of the open window. Can you see

553
00:32:24,759 --> 00:32:30,039
the place where miss Haldeen was sitting to sketch. He asked, yes,

554
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,799
I replied, there is the place well in view, and

555
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,920
you can see right up the road. I had no

556
00:32:37,039 --> 00:32:40,559
idea this house stood so high. From the three upper

557
00:32:40,599 --> 00:32:43,920
windows you can see all over the country excepting through

558
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:49,000
the wood. Yes, Thorndyke rejoined, and he has probably been

559
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:50,640
in the habit of keeping watch up here with a

560
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,640
telescope or a pair of field glasses. Well, there is

561
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,640
not much of interest in this room. He kept his

562
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,319
effects in a cabin trunk which stood there under the window.

563
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,759
He shaved this morning. He has a white beard, to

564
00:33:05,839 --> 00:33:08,640
judge by the stubble on the shaving paper. And that

565
00:33:08,759 --> 00:33:12,640
is all. Wait, though there is a key hanging on

566
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,279
that nail, he must have overlooked that, for it evidently

567
00:33:16,319 --> 00:33:19,880
does not belong to this house. It is an ordinary

568
00:33:20,079 --> 00:33:24,680
town latch key. He took the key down, and, having

569
00:33:24,759 --> 00:33:27,079
laid a sheet of notepaper from his pocket on the

570
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,720
dressing table, produced a pin with which he began carefully

571
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:34,799
to probe the interior of the key barrel. Presently, there

572
00:33:34,839 --> 00:33:39,200
came forth, with much coaxing, a large ball of gray fluff,

573
00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:42,759
which Thorndyke folded up in the paper with infinite care.

574
00:33:43,839 --> 00:33:46,319
I suppose we mustn't take away the key, he said,

575
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,079
but I think we will take a wax mold of it.

576
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,440
He hurried downstairs, and, unstrapping the case from his bicycle,

577
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:56,640
brought it in and placed it on the table. As

578
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,599
it was now getting dark, he detached the powerful acetylene

579
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,960
lamp his machine, and, having lighted it, proceeded to open

580
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,599
the mysterious case. First he took from it a small

581
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,920
insufflator or powder blower, with which he blew a cloud

582
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,920
of light yellow powder over the table around the remains

583
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:18,280
of the clock. The powder settled on the table in

584
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,719
an even coating, but when he blew at it smartly

585
00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:25,559
with his breath, it cleared off, leaving, however, a number

586
00:34:25,559 --> 00:34:29,880
of smeary impressions which stood out in strong yellow against

587
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,920
the black oil cloth. To one of these impressions, he

588
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,239
pointed significantly it was the print of a child's hand.

589
00:34:40,119 --> 00:34:43,920
He next produced a small portable microscope and some glass

590
00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:47,440
slides and cover slips, and, having opened the paper and

591
00:34:47,599 --> 00:34:50,000
tipped the ball of fluff from the key barrel on

592
00:34:50,079 --> 00:34:52,440
to a slide, set to work with a pair of

593
00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:56,280
mounted needles to tease it out into its component parts.

594
00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,280
Then he turned the light of the lamp onto the

595
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:05,519
microscope and proceeded to examine the specimen. A curious and

596
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:10,280
instructive assortment this jervis, he remarked, with his eye at

597
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:15,159
the microscope, woolen fibers, no cotton or linen. He is

598
00:35:15,199 --> 00:35:19,599
careful of his health to have woolen pockets and two hares.

599
00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:23,679
Very curious ones too. Just look at them and observe

600
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,960
the root bulbs. I applied my eye to the microscope

601
00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,719
and saw, among other things, two hares, originally white, but

602
00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:35,679
encrusted with a black, opaque glistening stain. The root bulbs

603
00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:40,599
I noticed were shriveled and atrophied. But how on Earth,

604
00:35:41,039 --> 00:35:45,320
I exclaimed, did the hares get into his pocket? I

605
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,880
think the hairs themselves answer that question, he replied, when

606
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:53,719
considered with the other curios. The stain is obviously lead sulfide.

607
00:35:54,159 --> 00:35:58,159
But what else do you see? I see some particles

608
00:35:58,159 --> 00:36:01,960
of metal, a white metal, apparently, and a number of

609
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,280
fragments of woody fiber and starch granules. But I don't

610
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:11,599
recognize the starch. It is not wheat starch, nor rice

611
00:36:12,039 --> 00:36:17,559
nor potato. Do you make out what it is? Thorndyke chuckled,

612
00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:22,119
experientia does it? Said he. You will have Jervis to

613
00:36:22,199 --> 00:36:25,480
study the minute properties of dust and dirt. Their evidential

614
00:36:25,559 --> 00:36:28,880
value is immense. Let us have another look at that starch.

615
00:36:29,079 --> 00:36:32,400
It is all alike. I suppose it was, and Thorndyke

616
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,039
had just ascertained the fact when the door burst open

617
00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,239
and missus Haldean entered the room, followed by Missus Hanshaw

618
00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:41,440
and the police inspector. The former lady regarded my colleague

619
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,719
with a glance of extreme disfavor. We heard that you

620
00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,400
had come here, sir, said she, And we suppose that

621
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,280
you were engaged in searching for my poor child. But

622
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,000
it seems we were mistaken, since we find you here

623
00:36:53,039 --> 00:36:58,039
amusing yourselves fiddling with these nonsensical instruments. Perhaps, Mabel, said

624
00:36:58,039 --> 00:37:02,119
Missus Henshaw stiffly, it would be wiser and infinitely more

625
00:37:02,159 --> 00:37:06,559
polite to ask if doctor Thorndyke has any news for us.

626
00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:10,719
That is undoubtedly so, Madam, agreed the inspector, who had

627
00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:15,079
apparently suffered also from Missus Haldean's impulsiveness. Then perhaps the

628
00:37:15,159 --> 00:37:17,360
latter lady suggested, you will inform us if you have

629
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:21,599
discovered anything. I will tell you, replied Thorndyke, all that

630
00:37:21,679 --> 00:37:25,000
we know. The child was abducted by the man who

631
00:37:25,039 --> 00:37:28,360
occupied this house, and who appears to have watched him

632
00:37:28,559 --> 00:37:32,360
from an upper window, probably through a glass. This man

633
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,440
lured the child into the wood by blowing this bird call.

634
00:37:37,519 --> 00:37:40,119
He met him in the wood and induced him, by

635
00:37:40,119 --> 00:37:43,440
some promises, no doubt, to come with him. He picked

636
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,880
the child up and carried him on his back I think,

637
00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:48,719
up to the house and brought him in through the

638
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:52,480
front door, which he locked after him. He gave the

639
00:37:52,519 --> 00:37:55,639
boy this clock and the bird call to amuse him

640
00:37:55,679 --> 00:37:59,119
while he went upstairs and packed his trunk. He took

641
00:37:59,159 --> 00:38:01,719
the trunk out through the back door and down the

642
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,880
garden to the shed there in which he had a

643
00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,320
motor car. He got the car out and came back

644
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:09,960
for the boy, whom he carried down to the car,

645
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,519
locking the back door after him. Then he drove away.

646
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,599
You know he has gone, cried missus. Holdean, and yet

647
00:38:17,639 --> 00:38:20,559
you stay here playing with these ridiculous toys. Why are

648
00:38:20,599 --> 00:38:24,639
you not following him? We have just finished ascertaining the

649
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:27,599
facts Thorndyke replied calmly, and should by now be on

650
00:38:27,639 --> 00:38:31,159
the road if you had not come here, The inspector

651
00:38:31,159 --> 00:38:34,320
interposed anxiously. Of course, sir, you can't give any description

652
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:36,320
of the man. You have no clue to his identity.

653
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:41,480
I suppose we have only his footprints, Thorndyke answered, and

654
00:38:41,639 --> 00:38:44,239
this fluff, which I raked out of the barrel of

655
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:48,920
his latch key, and have just been examining. From these data,

656
00:38:49,079 --> 00:38:52,559
I conclude that he is a rather short and thin man,

657
00:38:53,039 --> 00:38:56,199
and somewhat lame. He walks with the aid of a

658
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,639
thick stick, which has a knob, not a crook, at

659
00:38:59,639 --> 00:39:03,079
the top, and which he carries in his left hand.

660
00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:07,000
I think that his left leg has been amputated above

661
00:39:07,079 --> 00:39:10,519
the knee, and that he wears an artificial limb. He

662
00:39:10,639 --> 00:39:15,599
is elderly. He shaves his beard, has white hair dyed

663
00:39:15,639 --> 00:39:20,679
a grayish black, is partly bald, and probably combs a

664
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,639
wisp of hair over the bald place. He takes snuff

665
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:29,880
and carries a leaden comb in his pocket. As Thorndyke's

666
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:34,760
description proceeded, the Inspector's mouth gradually opened whiter and whiter,

667
00:39:35,119 --> 00:39:37,880
until he appeared the very type and symbol of astonishment,

668
00:39:38,519 --> 00:39:42,239
but its effect on Missus Haldeen was much more remarkable.

669
00:39:43,039 --> 00:39:46,679
Rising from her chair, she leaned on the table and

670
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:51,280
stared at Thorndyke with an expression of awe even of terror.

671
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,079
And as he finished, she sank back into her chair

672
00:39:55,559 --> 00:40:01,280
with her hands clasped, and turned to Missus Henshaw Jane.

673
00:40:01,639 --> 00:40:05,519
She gasped, it is Percy, my brother in law. He

674
00:40:05,599 --> 00:40:09,119
has described him exactly, even to his stick and his

675
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:14,480
pocket comb. But I thought he was in Chicago. If

676
00:40:14,519 --> 00:40:17,840
that is so, said Thorndyke, hastily repacking his case. We

677
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,960
had better start at once. We have the dog cart

678
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:25,760
in the road, said Missus Henshaw. Thank you, replied Thorndyke.

679
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:28,400
We will ride on our bicycles, and the Inspector can

680
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:30,960
borrow willets. We go out at the back by the

681
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:34,199
cart track which joins the road farther on. Then we

682
00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:37,360
will follow in the dog cart, said Missus holdein Come Jane.

683
00:40:38,599 --> 00:40:41,159
The two ladies departed down the path while we made

684
00:40:41,199 --> 00:40:44,920
ready our bicycles and lit our lamps. With your permission, Inspector,

685
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:48,000
said Thorndyke. We will take the key with us. It's

686
00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:52,280
hardly legal, sir, objected the officer. We have no authority.

687
00:40:53,199 --> 00:40:56,400
It is quite illegal, answered Thorndyke. But it is necessary

688
00:40:56,639 --> 00:41:00,599
and necessity like your military j P. No no law.

689
00:41:02,119 --> 00:41:05,039
The inspector grinned and went out, regarding me with a

690
00:41:05,119 --> 00:41:08,519
quivering eyelid, as Thorndyke locked the door with his skeleton key.

691
00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:11,639
As we turned into the road, I saw the light

692
00:41:11,679 --> 00:41:14,199
of the dog cart behind us, and we pushed forward

693
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:16,679
at a swift pace, picking up the trail easily on

694
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:21,960
the soft moist road. What beats me, said the inspector confidentially,

695
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,639
as we rode along. Is how he knew the man

696
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:29,679
was bald? Was it the footprints or the latch key?

697
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:34,760
And that comb too, that was a regular knockout. These

698
00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:37,320
points were by now pretty clear to me. I had

699
00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:40,320
seen the hares with their atrofied bulbs, such as one

700
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:42,880
finds at the margin of a bald patch, and the

701
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,519
comb was used, evidently for the double purpose of keeping

702
00:41:45,559 --> 00:41:49,079
the bald patch covered and blackening the sulfur charged hair.

703
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:53,280
But the knobbed stick in the artificial limb puzzled me

704
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,159
so completely that I presently overtook Thorndyke to demand an

705
00:41:56,159 --> 00:42:01,719
explanation the stick, said, he is per simple. The ferrule

706
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:06,760
of a knobbed stick wears evenly all round. That of

707
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:11,519
a crooked stick wears on one side, the side opposite

708
00:42:11,519 --> 00:42:15,800
the crook. The impressions showed that the ferrule of this

709
00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:20,039
one was evenly convex. Therefore it had no crook. The

710
00:42:20,119 --> 00:42:23,960
other matter is more complicated. To begin with, an artificial

711
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,920
foot makes a very characteristic impression owing to its purely

712
00:42:28,119 --> 00:42:31,960
passive elasticity, as I will show you tomorrow. But an

713
00:42:32,039 --> 00:42:36,760
artificial leg fitted below the knee is quite secure, whereas

714
00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:40,119
one fitted above the knee, that is, with an artificial

715
00:42:40,199 --> 00:42:44,599
knee joint worked by a spring, is much less reliable. Now,

716
00:42:44,599 --> 00:42:47,719
this man had an artificial foot, and he evidently distrusted

717
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,679
his knee joint, as is shown by his steadying it

718
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:54,079
with his stick on the same side. If he had

719
00:42:54,119 --> 00:42:56,360
merely had a weak leg, he would have used the

720
00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:58,760
stick with his right hand with the natural swing of

721
00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:01,360
the arm. In fact, unless he had been very lame,

722
00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:05,079
which he evidently was not. Still, it was only a

723
00:43:05,159 --> 00:43:09,119
question of probability, though the probability was very great. Of course,

724
00:43:09,159 --> 00:43:11,920
you understand that those particles of woody fiber and starch

725
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:17,519
granules were disintegrated snuff grains. This explanation, like the others,

726
00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:20,159
was quite simple when one had heard it, though it

727
00:43:20,159 --> 00:43:22,880
gave me material for much thought as we peddled on

728
00:43:23,079 --> 00:43:27,079
along the dark road, with Thorndyke's light flickering in front

729
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,280
and the dog cart pattering in our wake. But there

730
00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:34,480
was ample time for reflection, for our pace rather precluded conversation,

731
00:43:35,159 --> 00:43:38,199
and we rode on mile after mile until my legs

732
00:43:38,239 --> 00:43:42,079
ached with fatigue. On and on we went through village

733
00:43:42,119 --> 00:43:45,639
after village, now losing the trail in some frequented street,

734
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:48,760
but picking it up again unfailingly as we emerged onto

735
00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:51,760
the country road, until at last, in the paved high

736
00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:54,719
street of the little town of Horsefield, we lost it

737
00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:59,239
for good. We rode on through the town out onto

738
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,480
the country road, but although there were several tracks of motors,

739
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:05,559
Thorndyke shook his head at the mall. I have been

740
00:44:05,599 --> 00:44:08,880
studying those tires until I know them by heart, he said, no.

741
00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:11,400
Either he is in the town or he has left

742
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,320
it by a side road. There was nothing for it

743
00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:16,000
but to put up the horse and the machines at

744
00:44:16,039 --> 00:44:19,760
the hotel while we walked round to reconnoiter. And this

745
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:22,159
we did, tramping up one street and down the other,

746
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,480
with eyes bent on the ground, fruitlessly searching for a

747
00:44:25,519 --> 00:44:29,239
trace of the missing car. Suddenly, at the door of

748
00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:33,360
the blacksmith's shop, Thorndyke halted. The shop had been kept

749
00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:35,960
open late for the shoeing of a carriage horse which

750
00:44:36,039 --> 00:44:38,559
was just being led away, and the smith came to

751
00:44:38,599 --> 00:44:42,360
the door for a breath of air. Thorndyke accosted him genially,

752
00:44:43,199 --> 00:44:45,559
good evening, you are just the man I wanted to see.

753
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,280
I have mislaid the address of a friend of mine

754
00:44:48,599 --> 00:44:51,719
who I think called on you this afternoon, a lame

755
00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:54,840
gentleman who walks with a stick. I expect he wanted

756
00:44:54,880 --> 00:44:56,920
you to pick a lock or make him a key.

757
00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:01,079
Oh I remember him, said the man. Yes, he had

758
00:45:01,119 --> 00:45:04,039
lost his latch key and one had the lock picked

759
00:45:04,079 --> 00:45:06,920
before he could get into his house. Had to leave

760
00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:09,840
his motor car outside while he came here. But I

761
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:11,880
took some keys round with me and fitted one to

762
00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:15,159
his latch. Then he directed us to a house at

763
00:45:15,159 --> 00:45:18,159
the end of a street close by, and having thanked him,

764
00:45:18,559 --> 00:45:21,960
we went off in high spirits. How did you know

765
00:45:22,079 --> 00:45:25,599
he had been there, I asked, I didn't, But there

766
00:45:25,639 --> 00:45:27,960
was a mark of a stick and part of a

767
00:45:28,079 --> 00:45:31,480
left foot on the soft earth inside the doorway, and

768
00:45:31,519 --> 00:45:34,719
the thing was inherently probable, so I risked a false shot.

769
00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:37,880
The house stood alone at the far end of a

770
00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:42,400
straggling street, and was enclosed by a high wall, in

771
00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:45,800
which on the side facing the street was a door

772
00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:50,440
and a wide carriage gate. Advancing to the former, Thorndyke

773
00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:53,880
took from his pocket the purloined key and tried it

774
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:58,239
in the lock. It fitted perfectly, and when he had

775
00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:01,440
turned it and pushed open the door, we entered a

776
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:05,599
small courtyard. Crossing this we came to the front door

777
00:46:05,599 --> 00:46:08,599
of the house, the latch of which fortunately fitted the

778
00:46:08,639 --> 00:46:12,320
same key, and this having been opened by Thorndyke, we

779
00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:15,920
trooped into the hall. Immediately we heard the sound of

780
00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:19,840
an opening door above, and a reedy nasal voice sang out,

781
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:26,159
Hello there, who's that below? The voice was followed by

782
00:46:26,159 --> 00:46:29,519
the appearance of a head projecting over the baluster rail.

783
00:46:31,480 --> 00:46:35,000
You are, mister Percy, holdeen, I think, said the inspector.

784
00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,639
At the mention of this name. The head was withdrawn,

785
00:46:39,079 --> 00:46:42,159
and a quick tread was heard, accompanied by the tapping

786
00:46:42,199 --> 00:46:45,559
of a stick on the floor. We started to ascend

787
00:46:45,639 --> 00:46:49,599
the stairs, the inspector leading as the authorized official, but

788
00:46:49,719 --> 00:46:52,280
we had only gone up a few steps when a fierce,

789
00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:55,960
wiry little man danced out on to the landing with

790
00:46:56,079 --> 00:46:59,079
a thick stick in one hand and a very large

791
00:46:59,159 --> 00:47:04,039
revolver in the other. Move another step, either of you,

792
00:47:04,519 --> 00:47:07,320
he shouted, pointing the weapon at the inspector, and I

793
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:11,280
let fly, and mind you when I shoot, I hit.

794
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:14,880
He looked as if he meant it, and we accordingly

795
00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:18,960
halted with remarkable suddenness, while the inspector proceeded to parley.

796
00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:22,840
Now what's the good of this, mister Holdean, said he

797
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:26,519
The game's up, and you know it. You clear out

798
00:47:26,519 --> 00:47:30,639
of my house and clear out sharp was the inhospitable rejoinder,

799
00:47:31,199 --> 00:47:33,199
or you'll give me the trouble of burying you in

800
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:37,639
the garden. I looked round to consult with Thorndyke, when,

801
00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:41,519
to my amazement I found that he had vanished, apparently

802
00:47:41,559 --> 00:47:45,079
through the open hall door. I was admiring his discretion

803
00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:49,079
when the inspector endeavored to reopen negotiations, but was cut

804
00:47:49,119 --> 00:47:53,239
short abruptly. I am going to count fifty, said mister Holdean,

805
00:47:53,639 --> 00:47:57,599
and if you aren't gone, then I shall shoot. He

806
00:47:57,679 --> 00:48:01,400
began to count deliberately, and the Inspector looked round at

807
00:48:01,440 --> 00:48:04,920
me in complete bewilderment. The flight of stairs was a

808
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:07,840
long one and well lighted by gas, so that to

809
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:12,239
rush it was an impossibility. Suddenly my heart gave a bound,

810
00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:14,559
and I held my breath for out of an open

811
00:48:14,679 --> 00:48:20,800
door behind our querry, a figure emerged slowly and noiselessly

812
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:27,320
on to the landing. It was Thorndyke, shoeless and in

813
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:33,360
his shirt sleeves. Slowly and with cat like stealthiness, he

814
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:36,760
crept across the landing until he was within a yard

815
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:41,199
of the unconscious fugitive. And still the nasal voice droned

816
00:48:41,239 --> 00:48:46,920
on monotonously, counting out the allotted seconds fort a one,

817
00:48:47,199 --> 00:48:52,400
forty two, forty three. There was a lightning like movement,

818
00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:56,199
a shout, a flash, a bang, a shower of falling plaster,

819
00:48:56,880 --> 00:49:00,480
and then the revolver came clattering down the stairs. The

820
00:49:00,559 --> 00:49:02,760
Inspector and I rushed up, and in a moment, the

821
00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:06,840
sharp click of the handcuffs told mister Percy Holdeen that

822
00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:11,880
the game was really up. Five minutes later, Freddie Boy,

823
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:16,239
half asleep but wholly cheerful, was born on Thorndyke's shoulders

824
00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:19,000
into the private sitting room of the Black Horse Hotel.

825
00:49:19,719 --> 00:49:23,519
A shriek of joy saluted his entrance, and a shower

826
00:49:23,559 --> 00:49:27,880
of maternal kisses brought him to the verge of suffocation. Finally,

827
00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:31,920
the impulse of missus Holdean, turning suddenly to Thorndyke, seized

828
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:34,639
both his hands, and for a moment I hoped that

829
00:49:34,719 --> 00:49:37,960
she was going to kiss him too, but he was spared,

830
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:41,559
and I have not yet recovered from the disappointment. And

831
00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:45,599
of the Stranger's latch Key by R. Austin Freeman