WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:06.480 The adventure of silver Blaze. I am afraid, Watson, that 2 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:09.720 I shall have to go, said Holmes, as we sat 3 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:14.199 down together to our breakfast one morning, go where too, 4 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:20.920 to Dartmoor, to King's Piland. I was not surprised. Indeed, 5 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.359 my only wonder was that he had not already been 6 00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:26.839 mixed up in this extraordinary case, which was the one 7 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.879 topic of conversation through the length and breadth of England 8 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:33.560 for a whole day. My companion had rambled about the 9 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:37.039 room with his chin upon his chest and his brows knitted, 10 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:42.200 charging and recharging his pipe with the strongest black tobacco, 11 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.479 and absolutely deaf to any of my questions or remarks. 12 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:49.679 Fresh editions of every paper had been sent up by 13 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:53.520 our newsagent, only to be glanced over and tossed down 14 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:57.560 into a corner. Yet, silent as he was, I knew 15 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:00.439 perfectly well what it was over which he was brooding. 16 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:04.319 There was but one problem before the public which could 17 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:08.120 challenge his powers of analysis, and that was the singular 18 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:12.040 disappearance of the favorite for the Wessex Cup and the 19 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:17.040 tragic murder of its trainer. When therefore he suddenly announced 20 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.640 his intention of setting out for the scene of the drama. 21 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:23.879 It was only what I had both expected and hoped for. 22 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:27.480 I should be most happy to go down with you 23 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.719 if I should not be in the way, said I, 24 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:33.560 my dear Watson. You would confer a great favor upon 25 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:36.200 me by coming, and I think that your time will 26 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.959 not be misspent, for there are points about the case 27 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:43.159 which promised to make it an absolutely unique one we have. 28 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:46.400 I think just time to catch our train at Paddington, 29 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:50.239 and I will go further into the matter upon our journey. 30 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:53.120 You would oblige me by bringing with you your very 31 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.959 excellent field glass. And so it happened that an hour 32 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.599 or so later I found myself in the corner of 33 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:03.319 a first class carriage flying along en route for Exeter, 34 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.719 while Sherlock Holmes, with his sharp, eager face framed in 35 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:11.599 his ear flapped traveling cap, dipped rapidly into the bundle 36 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:15.680 of fresh papers which he had procured at Paddington. We 37 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.759 had left reading far behind us before he thrust the 38 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.439 last one of them under the seat and offered me 39 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:25.960 his cigar case. We are going well, said he, looking 40 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.120 out of the window and glancing at his watch. Our 41 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:31.639 rate at present is fifty three and a half miles 42 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.039 an hour. I have not observed the quarter mile posts, 43 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:39.159 said I. Nor have I. But the telegraph posts upon 44 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:42.479 this line are sixty yards apart, and the calculation is 45 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:45.439 a simple one. I presume that you have looked into 46 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:48.560 this matter of the murder of John Straker and the 47 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:52.840 disappearance of silver Blaze. I have seen what the telegraph 48 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:55.599 and the chronicle have to say. It is one of 49 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.080 those cases where the art of the reasoner should be 50 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.400 used rather for the sifting of detailils than for the 51 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:06.120 acquiring of fresh evidence. The tragedy has been so uncommon, 52 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:09.919 so complete, and of such personal importance to so many people, 53 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.919 that we are suffering from a plethora of surmise, conjecture 54 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:19.159 and hypothesis. The difficulty is to detach the framework of fact, 55 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:26.000 of absolute undeniable fact, from the embellishments of theorists and reporters. Then, 56 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:30.240 having established ourselves upon this sound basis, it is our 57 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.439 duty to see what inferences may be drawn, and what 58 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:36.319 are the special points upon which the whole mystery turns. 59 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.960 On Tuesday evening I received telegrams from both Colonel Rass, 60 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:45.000 the owner of the horse, and from Inspector Gregory, who 61 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:49.400 is looking after the case, inviting my cooperation. Tuesday evening, 62 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.240 I exclaimed, and this is Thursday morning. Why didn't you 63 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.919 go down yesterday? Because I made a blunder, my dear Watson, 64 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:01.199 which is, I am afraid, a more occurrence than anyone 65 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:04.759 would think who only knew me through your memoirs. The 66 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.639 fact is that I could not believe it possible that 67 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:11.599 the most remarkable horse in England could long remain concealed, 68 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:16.439 especially in so sparsely inhabited a place as the north 69 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:21.079 of Dartmoor. From hour to hour yesterday I expected to 70 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:24.199 hear that he had been found and that his abductor 71 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.959 was the murderer of John Straker. When, however, another morning 72 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:32.000 had come and I found that, beyond the arrest of 73 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:36.040 young Fitzroy Simpson, nothing had been done. I felt that 74 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.319 it was time for me to take action. Yet in 75 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:41.759 some ways I feel that yesterday has not been wasted. 76 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.680 You have formed a theory, then at least I have 77 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:48.160 got a grip of the essential facts of the case. 78 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.319 I shall enumerate them to you, for nothing clear's upper 79 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:54.920 case so much as stating it to another person. And 80 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.519 I can hardly expect your cooperation if I do not 81 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.680 show you the position from which we start. I lay 82 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:05.639 back against the cushions, puffing at my cigar, while Holmes, 83 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:09.120 leaning forward with his long, thin forefinger checking off the 84 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:12.199 points upon the palm of his left hand, gave me 85 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.920 a sketch of the events which had led to our journey. 86 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:20.639 Silver Blaze said, he is from the somome stock and 87 00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:25.000 holds as brilliant a record as his famous ancestor. He 88 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:27.959 is now in his fifth year and has brought in 89 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.360 turn each of the prizes of the turf to Colonel Ross, 90 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:35.160 his fortunate owner. Up to the time of the catastrophe, 91 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:38.399 he was the first favorite for the Wessex Cup, the 92 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.639 betting being three to one on him. He has always, however, 93 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.959 been a prime favorite with the racing public, and has 94 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:49.879 never yet disappointed them, so even at those arts, enormous 95 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.680 sums of money have been laid upon him. It is obvious, therefore, 96 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.079 that there were many people who had the strongest interest 97 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:59.319 in preventing Silver Blaze from being there at the fall 98 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.000 of the flag next Tuesday. The fact was of course 99 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:07.680 appreciated at King's Pyland, where the Colonel's training stable is situated. 100 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.720 Every precaution was taken to guard the favorite. The trainer, 101 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:15.240 John Straker is a retired jockey who rode in Colonel 102 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:19.360 Ross's colours before he became too heavy for the weighing chair. 103 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:22.519 He has served the Colonel for five years as jockey 104 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:25.639 and for seven as trainer, and has always shown himself 105 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:28.879 to be a zealous and honest servant. Under him were 106 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:32.439 three lads, for the establishment was a small one, containing 107 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:36.399 only four horses in all. One of these lads sat 108 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:39.399 up each night in the stable, while the others slept 109 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:44.600 in the loft. All three bore excellent characters. John Straker, 110 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.480 who is a married man, lived in a small villa 111 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:51.360 about two hundred yards from the stables. He has no children, 112 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.319 keeps one mate servant, and is comfortably off The country 113 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:58.399 round is very lonely, but about half a mile to 114 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.720 the north there is a small cluster of villas which 115 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.959 have been built by a Tavistock contractor for the use 116 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.759 of invalids and others who may wish to enjoy the 117 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:12.399 pure Dartmoor air. Tavistock itself lies two miles to the west, 118 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:16.879 while across the moor, also about two miles distant, is 119 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.800 the larger training establishment of Mapleton, which belongs to Lord 120 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:26.000 Backwater and is managed by Silas Brown. In every other direction, 121 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.959 the moor is a complete wilderness, inhabited only by a 122 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.360 few roaming gypsies. Such was the general situation last Monday 123 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:39.399 night when the catastrophe occurred. On that evening, the horses 124 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:43.319 had been exercised and watered as usual, and the stables 125 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.399 were locked up. At nine o'clock, two of the lads 126 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:48.879 walked up to the trainer's house, where they had supper 127 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:52.920 in the kitchen, while the third ned hunter remained on guard. 128 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:56.120 At a few minutes after nine, the maid, Edith Baxter, 129 00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:59.839 carried down to the stables his supper, which consisted of 130 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:04.240 a dish of curried mutton. She took no liquid, as 131 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:07.160 there was a water tap in the stables and it 132 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:09.399 was the rule that the lad on duty should drink 133 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.360 nothing else. The maid carried a lantern with her, as 134 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.519 it was very dark and the path ran across the 135 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:19.199 open moor. Edith Baxter was in thirty yards of the 136 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.360 stables when a man appeared out of the darkness and 137 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:25.439 called to her to stop as he stepped into the 138 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.519 circle of yellow light thrown by the lantern. She saw 139 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.439 that he was a person of gentlemanly bearing, dressed in 140 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:34.799 a gray suit of tweeds with a cloth cap. He 141 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:37.519 wore gaiters and carried a heavy stick with a knob 142 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.240 to it. She was most impressed, however, by the extreme 143 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:44.639 pallor of his face, and by the nervousness of his manner. 144 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:48.960 His age, she thought, would be rather over thirty than 145 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.200 under it. Can you tell me where I am, he asked. 146 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.840 I had almost made up my mind to sleep on 147 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.200 the moor when I saw the light of your lantern. 148 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.320 You are close to the King's pyland training state bulls, 149 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.960 said she. Oh, indeed, what a stroke of luck, he cried, 150 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:08.600 I understand that a stable boy sleeps there alone every night. 151 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:12.799 Perhaps that is his supper which you are carrying to him. Now. 152 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:14.679 I am sure that you would not be too proud 153 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.759 to earn the price of a new dress, would you. 154 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:19.840 He took a piece of white paper folded up out 155 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.799 of his waistcoat pocket. See that the boy has this 156 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:26.200 to night, and you shall have the prettiest frock that 157 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:30.360 money can buy. She was frightened by the earnestness of 158 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.559 his manner, and ran past him to the window. Through 159 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.759 which she was accustomed to hand the meals. It was 160 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:40.559 already opened, and Hunter was seated at the small table inside. 161 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:43.559 She had begun to tell him of what had happened 162 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.399 when the stranger came up again. Good evening, said he, 163 00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:50.039 looking through the window. I wanted to have a word 164 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.240 with you. The girl has sworn that. As he spoke, 165 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:57.039 she noticed the corner of the little paper packet protruding 166 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:00.320 from his closed hand. What business have you so here, 167 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.919 asked the lad. It's business that may put something into 168 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:07.440 your pocket, said the other. You've two horses in for 169 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:11.679 the Wessex Cup, silver Blaze and Bayard. Let me have 170 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:14.559 the straight tip and you won't be a loser. Is 171 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.240 it a fact that at the weights Bayard could give 172 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.559 the other one hundred yards in five furlongs, and that 173 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:23.919 the stable have put their money on him. So you're 174 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:27.039 one of those damned touts, cried the lad. I'll show 175 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:30.399 you how we serve them in King's Piland. He sprang 176 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.039 up and rushed across the stable to unloose the dog. 177 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.519 The girl fled away to the house, but as she ran, 178 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.679 she looked back and saw that the stranger was leaning 179 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.799 through the window. A minute later, however, when Hunter rushed 180 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:46.919 out with the hound, he was gone, and though he 181 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:49.840 ran all round the buildings, he failed to find any 182 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:54.240 trace of him. One moment, I asked, did the stable boy, 183 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.399 when he ran out with the dog leave the door 184 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:03.559 unlocked behind him? Excellent, Watson, excellent, murmured my companion. The 185 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:06.639 importance of the point struck me so forcibly that I 186 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:09.480 sent a special wire to Dartmoor yesterday to clear the 187 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:12.559 matter up. The boy locked the door before he left it. 188 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:15.559 The window, i may add, was not large enough for 189 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:18.879 a man to get through. Hunter waited until his fellow 190 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.720 grooms had returned, when he sent a message to the 191 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:26.039 trainer and told him what had occurred. Straker was excited 192 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.000 at hearing the account, although he does not seem to 193 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:33.000 have quite realized its true significance. It left him, however, 194 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:37.519 vaguely uneasy, and Missus Straker, waking at one in the morning, 195 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:41.679 found that he was dressing. In reply to her inquiries, 196 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:44.360 he said that he could not sleep on account of 197 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.279 his anxiety about the horses, and that he intended to 198 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:49.639 walk down to the stables to see that all was well. 199 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.200 She begged him to remain at home as she could 200 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.320 hear the rain pattering against the window. But in spite 201 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.639 of her entreaties, he pulled on his large macintosh and 202 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:03.240 left the house. Missus Straker awoke at seven in the 203 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.240 morning to find that her husband had not yet returned. 204 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:09.799 She dressed herself hastily, called the maid and set off 205 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:14.240 for the stables. The door was open. Inside, huddled together 206 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.240 upon a chair, Hunter was sunk in a state of 207 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:21.879 absolute stupor. The favorite stall was empty, and there were 208 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:25.120 no signs of his trainer. The two lads who slept 209 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.600 in the chaff cutting loft above the harness room were 210 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:31.480 quickly aroused. They had heard nothing during the night, for 211 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:35.320 they are both sound sleepers. Hunter was obviously under the 212 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:38.879 influence of some powerful drug, and as no sense could 213 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:40.759 be got out of him, he was left to sleep 214 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:43.240 it off while the two lads and the two women 215 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.440 ran out in search of the absent tees. They still 216 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:49.600 had hopes that the trainer had for some reason taken 217 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.120 out the horse for early exercise, But on ascending the 218 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:56.159 knoll near the house from which all the neighboring moors 219 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:59.120 were visible, they not only could see no signs of 220 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:02.639 the missing favourite, but they perceived something which warned them 221 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:05.919 that they were in the presence of a tragedy. About 222 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:08.960 a quarter of a mile from the stables, John Straker's 223 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.519 overcoat was flapping from a furze bush. Immediately beyond there 224 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:16.480 was a bowl shaped depression in the moor, and at 225 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:18.759 the bottom of this was found the dead body of 226 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:23.039 the unfortunate trainer. His head had been shattered by a 227 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:26.720 savage blow from some heavy weapon, and he was wounded 228 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:29.919 on the thigh, where there was a long, clean cut, 229 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:35.320 inflicted evidently by some very sharp instrument. It was clear, however, 230 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:40.200 that Straker had defended himself vigorously against his assailants, for 231 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.399 in his right hand he held a small knife which 232 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.759 was clotted with blood up to the handle, while in 233 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.799 his left he clasped a red and black silk cravat, 234 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:52.840 which was recognized by the maid as having been worn 235 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:56.000 on the preceding evening by the stranger who had visited 236 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:00.440 the stables. Hunter, on recovering from his stupor, was also 237 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:04.080 quite positive as to the ownership of the cravat. He 238 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:07.440 was equally certain that the same stranger had, while standing 239 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:11.720 at the window, drugged his curried Mutton, and so deprived 240 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:15.279 the stables of their watchmen. As to the missing horse, 241 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:18.399 there were abundant proofs in the mud which lay at 242 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.960 the bottom of the fatal hollow, that he had been 243 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:24.360 there at the time of the struggle. But from that 244 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:28.559 morning he has disappeared, and although a large reward has 245 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:31.480 been offered and all the gypsies of Dartmoor are on 246 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:35.840 the alert, no news has come of him. Finally, an 247 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:38.600 analysis has shown that the remains of his supper left 248 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:43.519 by the stable lad contain an appreciable quantity of powdered opium, 249 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:45.919 while the people at the house partook of the same 250 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:49.879 dish on the same night without any ill effect. Those 251 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:52.799 are the main facts of the case, stripped of all surmise, 252 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:57.159 and stated as baldly as possible, I shall now recapitulate 253 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:00.919 what the police have done in the matter. Inspector Gregory, 254 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.759 to whom the case has been committed, is an extremely 255 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:07.559 competent officer, where he but gifted with imagination, he might 256 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:11.279 rise to great heights in his profession. On his arrival, 257 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.360 he promptly found and arrested the man upon whom suspicion 258 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:18.399 naturally rested. There was little difficulty in finding him, for 259 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.000 he inhabited one of those villas which I have mentioned. 260 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:25.399 His name, it appears, was Fitzroy Simpson. He was a 261 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:29.080 man of excellent birth and education, who had squandered a 262 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:32.320 fortune upon the turf, and who lived now by doing 263 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.600 a little quiet and genteel bookmaking in the sporting clubs 264 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.440 of London. An examination of his betting book shows that 265 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.240 betts to the amount of five thousand pounds had been 266 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:46.879 registered by him against the favourite. On being arrested, he 267 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.559 volunteered the statement that he had come down to doubt 268 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:51.720 More in the hope of getting some information about the 269 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:56.320 King's piland horses, and also about Desborough, the second favourite, 270 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:59.960 which was in charge of Silas Brown at the Mapleton Stable. 271 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.320 He did not attempt to deny that he had acted 272 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.360 as described upon the evening before, but declared that he 273 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.039 had no sinister designs and had simply wished to obtain 274 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.919 first hand information. When confronted with his cravat, he turned 275 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.320 very pale and was utterly unable to account for its 276 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:23.159 presence in the hand of the murdered man. His wet 277 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:25.679 clothing showed that he had been out in the storm 278 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.559 of the night before, and his stick, which was a 279 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:32.360 penang lawyer weighted with lead, was just such a weapon 280 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:36.720 as might, by repeated blows, have inflicted the terrible injuries 281 00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:39.960 to which the trainer had succumbed. On the other hand, 282 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:42.679 there was no wound upon his person, while the state 283 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:45.120 of Straker's knife would show that one at least of 284 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:49.440 his assailants must bear his mark upon him. There you 285 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.120 have it all in a nutshell, Watson, and if you 286 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.320 can give me any light, I shall be infinitely obliged 287 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.600 to you. I had listened with the greatest interest to 288 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:02.799 the statement which Holmes, with characteristic clearness, had laid before me. 289 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:05.759 Though most of the facts were familiar to me, I 290 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:10.119 had not sufficiently appreciated their relative importance, nor their connection 291 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.799 to each other. Is it not possible, I suggested that 292 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:18.640 the incised wound upon Straker may have been caused by 293 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:21.920 his own knife in the convulsive struggles which follow any 294 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:26.119 brain injury. It is more than possible, it is probable, 295 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:29.680 said Holmes. In that case, one of the main points 296 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:34.160 in favor of the accused disappears. And yet said I, 297 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:36.759 even now I fail to understand what the theory of 298 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:40.279 the police can be. I am afraid that whatever theory 299 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:44.200 we state, has very grave objections to it. Returned my companion. 300 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.680 The police imagine. I take it that this Fitzroy Simpson, 301 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:50.640 having drugged the lad and having in some way obtained 302 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:54.079 a duplicate key, opened the stable door and took out 303 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:58.000 the horse with the intention apparently of kidnapping him altogether. 304 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.640 His bridle is missing, so that Simpson must have put 305 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:05.079 this on. Then, having left the door open behind him, 306 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.079 he was leading the horse away over the moor when 307 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:11.079 he was either met or overtaken by the trainer. A 308 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.359 row naturally ensued. Simpson beat out the trainer's brains with 309 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:19.000 his heavy stick, without receiving any injury from the small 310 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.519 knife which Straker used in self defense, and then the 311 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.319 thief either led the horse on to some secret hiding place, 312 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:28.880 or else it may have bolted during the struggle and 313 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:32.680 be now wandering out on the moors. That is the 314 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:35.359 case as it appears to the police, and improbable as 315 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:40.200 it is. All other explanations are more improbable still. However, 316 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:42.640 I shall very quickly test the matter when I am 317 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:46.079 once more upon the spot, and until then I cannot 318 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.640 really see how we can get much further than our 319 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.799 present position. It was evening before we reached the little 320 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:55.839 town of Tavistock, which lies like the boss of a 321 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:59.200 shield in the middle of the huge circle of Dartmoor. 322 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:03.960 Two gentlemen were awaiting us in the station, the one 323 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:07.279 a tall fair man with lion like hair and beard 324 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:12.960 and curiously penetrating light blue eyes. The other a small, 325 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:16.440 alert person, very neat and dapper, in a frock coat 326 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:20.759 and gaiters with trim little side whiskers and an eye glass. 327 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:25.440 The latter was Colonel Ross, the well known sportsman. The 328 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.319 other Inspector Gregory, a man who was rapidly making his 329 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:33.559 name in the English detective service. I am delighted that 330 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:36.079 you have come down, mister Holmes, said the colonel. The 331 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:38.880 inspector here has done all that could possibly be suggested, 332 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:41.759 but I wish to leave no stone unturned in trying 333 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:45.920 to avenge poor Straker and in recovering my horse. Have 334 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:50.119 there been any fresh developments, asked Holmes. I am sorry 335 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:53.119 to say that we have made very little progress, said 336 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:57.359 the inspector. We have an open carriage outside, and as 337 00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:59.319 you would no doubt like to see the place before 338 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.279 the light failed, we might talk it over as we drive. 339 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:06.200 A minute later, we were all seated in a comfortable 340 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:10.960 landout and were rattling through the quaint old Devonshire City 341 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:14.599 Inspector Gregory was full of his case and poured out 342 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:18.319 a stream of remarks while Holmes threw in an occasional 343 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.960 question or interjection. Colonel Ross leaned back with his arms 344 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.480 folded and his hat tilted over his eyes. While I 345 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.400 listened with interest to the dialogue of the two detectives. 346 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:34.240 Gregory was formulating his theory, which was almost exactly what 347 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:38.119 Holmes had foretold in the train. The net is drawn 348 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.920 pretty close round Fitzroy Simpson, he remarked, and I believe 349 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:44.880 myself that he is our man. At the same time 350 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:48.519 I recognized that the evidence is purely circumstantial, and that 351 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:52.519 some new development may upset it. How about Straker's knife, 352 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:55.599 we have quite come to the conclusion that he wounded 353 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.000 himself in his fall. My friend doctor Watson made that 354 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:02.559 suggestion to me as he came down. If so, it 355 00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:07.200 would tell against this man Simpson. Undoubtedly he has neither 356 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.519 a knife nor any sign of a wound. The evidence 357 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.519 against him is certainly very strong. He had a great 358 00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:17.240 interest in the disappearance of the favorite. He lies under 359 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.039 suspicion of having poisoned the stable boy. He was undoubtedly 360 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:24.000 out in the storm. He was armed with a heavy stick, 361 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.759 and his cravat was found in the dead man's hand. 362 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:29.920 I really think we have enough to go before a jury, 363 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:34.160 Holmes shook his head. A clever council would tear it 364 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:37.359 all to rags, said he. Why should he take the 365 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:40.400 horse out of the stable if he wished to injure it? 366 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:43.480 Why could he not do it? There has a duplicate 367 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.279 Keeben found in his possession. What chemist sold him the 368 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:51.640 powdered opium? Above all, where could he, a stranger to 369 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:55.119 the district, hide a horse, and such a horse as this? 370 00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:59.839 What is his own explanation as to the paper which 371 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:02.119 he wished the maid to give to the stable boy. 372 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:05.400 He says that it was a ten pound note one 373 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:08.839 was found in his purse. But your other difficulties are 374 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:12.160 not so formidable as they seem. He is not a 375 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:15.640 stranger to the district. He is twice lodged at Tavistock 376 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.000 in the summer. The opium was probably brought from London. 377 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:23.079 The key having served its purpose, would be hurled away. 378 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:25.920 The horse may be at the bottom of one of 379 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:29.559 the pits or old mines upon the moor. What does 380 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:33.079 he say about the cravat? He acknowledges that it is 381 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:37.079 his and declares that he had lost it. But a 382 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:39.839 new element has been introduced into the case which may 383 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:43.559 account for his leading the horse from the stable. Holmes 384 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:46.599 pricked up his ears. We have found traces which show 385 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:50.359 that a party of gypsies encamped on Monday night within 386 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:52.440 a mile of the spot where the murder took place. 387 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:57.279 On Tuesday they were gone. Now, presuming that there was 388 00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:00.960 some understanding between Simpson and these gyps might he not 389 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.480 have been leading the horse to them when he was overtaken? 390 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:07.160 And may they not have him? Now? It is certainly 391 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:11.559 possible the moor is being scoured for these gypsies. I've 392 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:15.039 also examined every stable and outhouse in Tavistock, and for 393 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:18.599 a radius of ten miles there is another training stable 394 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:22.200 quite close. I understand, yes, and that is a factor 395 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.400 which we must certainly not neglect. As Desbra their horse 396 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:29.359 was second in the betting, they had an interest in 397 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:33.960 the disappearance of the favorite silas Brown, the trainer is 398 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:37.079 known to have had large bets upon the event, and 399 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:40.400 he was no friend to poor Straker. We have, however, 400 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:44.000 examined the stables, and there is nothing to connect him 401 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.440