Speaker 1: A Magpie audio production, The Adventure of the Missing three Quarter.
Speaker 1: We were fairly accustomed to receive weird telegrams at Baker Street,
Speaker 1: but I have a particular recollection of one which reached
Speaker 1: us on a gloomy February morning some seven or eight
Speaker 1: years ago, and gave mister Sherlock Holmes a puzzled quarter
Speaker 1: of an hour. It was addressed to him and ran, thus,
Speaker 1: please await me terrible misfortune right wing three quarter, missing
Speaker 1: indispensable Tomorrow Overton strand postmark and dispatched ten thirty six,
Speaker 1: said Holmes, reading it over and over. Mister Overton was
Speaker 1: evidently considerably excited when he scent it, and somewhat incoherent
Speaker 1: in consequence. Well, well he will be here, I dare say,
Speaker 1: by the time I have looked through the times, and
Speaker 1: then we shall know all about it. Even the most
Speaker 1: insignificant problem would be welcome. In these stagnant days. Things
Speaker 1: had indeed been very slow with us, and I had
Speaker 1: learned to dread such periods of inaction, For I knew
Speaker 1: by experience that my companion's brain was so abnormally active
Speaker 1: that it was dangerous to leave it without material upon
Speaker 1: which to work. For years I had gradually weaned him
Speaker 1: from that drug mania which had threatened once to check
Speaker 1: his remarkable career. Now I knew that under ordinary conditions
Speaker 1: he no longer craved for this artificial stimulus. But I
Speaker 1: was well aware that the fiend was not dead but sleeping,
Speaker 1: And I have known that the sleep was a light one,
Speaker 1: and the waking near when in periods of idleness I
Speaker 1: have seen the drawn look upon Holmes's ascetic face and
Speaker 1: the brooding of his deep set and inscrutable eyes. Therefore
Speaker 1: I blessed this mister Overton, whoever he might be, since
Speaker 1: he had come with his enigmatic message to break that
Speaker 1: dangerous calm which brought more peril to my friend than
Speaker 1: all the storms of his tempestuous life. As we had expected,
Speaker 1: the telegram was soon followed by its sender, and the
Speaker 1: card of mister Cyril Overton, Trinity College, Cambridge announced the
Speaker 1: arrival our an enormous young man, sixteen stone of solid
Speaker 1: bone and muscle, who spanned the doorway with his broad shoulders,
Speaker 1: and looked from one of us to the other with
Speaker 1: a comely face which was haggard with anxiety. Mister Sherlock Holmes,
Speaker 1: my companion bowed. I've been down to Scotland Yard, mister Holmes.
Speaker 1: I saw Inspector Stanley Hopkins. He advised me to come
Speaker 1: to see you. He said the case, so far as
Speaker 1: he could see, was more in your line than in
Speaker 1: that of the regular police. Pray, sit down and tell
Speaker 1: me what is the matter. It's awful, mister Holmes, simply awful.
Speaker 1: I wonder my hair isn't gray. Godfrey Staunton you've heard
Speaker 1: of him, of course, he's simply the hinge that the
Speaker 1: whole team turns on. I'd rather spare two from the
Speaker 1: pack and have Godfrey from my three quarter line. Whether
Speaker 1: it's passing or tackling or dribbling. There's no one to
Speaker 1: touch him. And then he's got the head and can
Speaker 1: hold us all together. What am I to do? That's
Speaker 1: what I ask you, mister Holmes. There's more house first reserved.
Speaker 1: But he is trained as a half and he always
Speaker 1: edges right in on the scrum instead of keeping out
Speaker 1: on the touch line. He's a fine place kick, it's true,
Speaker 1: but then he has no judgment and he can't sprint
Speaker 1: for nuts. Why Morton or Johnson the Oxford Flyers could
Speaker 1: romp round him. Stevenson is fast enough, but he couldn't
Speaker 1: drop from the twenty five line, and a three quarter
Speaker 1: who can't punt or drop isn't worth a place for
Speaker 1: pace alone. No, mister Holmes, we are done unless you
Speaker 1: can help me to find Godfrey Staunton. My friend had
Speaker 1: listened the mused surprise to this long speech, which was
Speaker 1: poured forth with extraordinary vigor and earnestness, every point being
Speaker 1: driven home by the slapping of a brawny hand upon
Speaker 1: the speaker's knee. When our visitor was silent, Holmes stretched
Speaker 1: out his hand and took down letter s of his
Speaker 1: commonplace book, for once he dug in vain into that
Speaker 1: mine of varied information. There is Arthur H. Staunton, the
Speaker 1: rising young forger, said he. And there was Henry Staunton,
Speaker 1: whom I helped to hang. But Godfrey Staunton is a
Speaker 1: new name to me. It was our visitor's turn to
Speaker 1: look surprised. Why, mister Holmes, I thought you knew things,
Speaker 1: said he. I suppose then, if you have never heard
Speaker 1: of Godfrey Staunton, you don't know Cyril Overton either. Holmes
Speaker 1: shook his head, good humoredly. Great Scott cried the athlete.
Speaker 1: Why I was first reserved for England against Wales and
Speaker 1: I've skippered the Varsity or this year. But that's nothing.
Speaker 1: I didn't think there was a soul in England who
Speaker 1: didn't know Godfrey Staunton, the crack three quarter Cambridge, Blackheath
Speaker 1: and five internationals. Good lord, mister Holmes, where have you lived?
Speaker 1: Holmes laughed at the young giant's naive astonishment. You live
Speaker 1: in a different world to me, mister Overton, a sweeter
Speaker 1: and healthier one. My ramification stretch out into many sections
Speaker 1: of society, but never, I am happy to say, into
Speaker 1: amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing in England. However,
Speaker 1: your unexpected visit this morning shows me that even in
Speaker 1: that world of fresh air and fair play, there may
Speaker 1: be work for me to do. So now, my good sir,
Speaker 1: I beg you to sit down and to tell me,
Speaker 1: slowly and quietly, exactly what it is that has occurred,
Speaker 1: and how you desire that I should help you. Young
Speaker 1: Overton's face assumed the bothered look of the man who
Speaker 1: is more a custom to using his muscles than his wits,
Speaker 1: but by degrees with many repetitions and obscurities which I
Speaker 1: may omit from his narrative. He laid his strange story
Speaker 1: before us. It's this way, mister Holmes, as I have said,
Speaker 1: I am the skipper of the rugged ty Mark Cambridge Varsity,
Speaker 1: and Godfrey Staunton is my best man. Tomorrow we play Oxford.
Speaker 1: Yesterday we all came up and we settled at Bentley's
Speaker 1: private hotel. At ten o'clock. I went round and saw
Speaker 1: that all the fellows had gone to roost. For I
Speaker 1: believe in strict training and plenty of sleep to keep
Speaker 1: a team fit. I had a word or two with
Speaker 1: Godfrey before he turned in. He seemed to me to
Speaker 1: be pale and bothered. I asked him what was the matter.
Speaker 1: He said he was all right, just a touch of headache.
Speaker 1: I bade him good night and left him. Half an
Speaker 1: hour later, the porter tells me that a rough looking
Speaker 1: man with a beard called with a note for Godfrey.
Speaker 1: He had not gone to bed, and the note was
Speaker 1: taken to his room. Godfrey read it and fell back
Speaker 1: in a chair as if it had been polaxed. The
Speaker 1: porter was so scared that he was going to fetch me,
Speaker 1: but Godfrey stopped him. Had a drink of water and
Speaker 1: pulled himself together. Then he went downstairs, said a few
Speaker 1: words to the man who was waiting in the hall,
Speaker 1: and the two of them went off together. The last
Speaker 1: that the porter saw of them, they were almost running
Speaker 1: down the street in the direction of the Strand this
Speaker 1: morning Godfrey's room was empty, his bed had never been
Speaker 1: slept in, and his things were all just as I
Speaker 1: had seen them the night before. He had gone off
Speaker 1: at a moment's notice with this stranger, and no word
Speaker 1: has come from him since. I don't believe he will
Speaker 1: ever come back. He was a sportsman, was Godfrey down
Speaker 1: to his marrow? And he wouldn't have stopped his training
Speaker 1: and let in his skipper if it were not for
Speaker 1: some cause that was too strong for him. No, as
Speaker 1: if he were gone for good and we should never
Speaker 1: see him again. Sherlock Holmes listened with the deepest attention
Speaker 1: to this singular narrative. What did you do, he asked.
Speaker 1: I wired to Cambridge to learn if anything had been
Speaker 1: heard of him there. I have had an answer. No
Speaker 1: one has seen him. Could he have got back to Cambridge? Yes,
Speaker 1: there is a late train quarter past eleven, But so
Speaker 1: far as you can ascertain he did not take it. No,
Speaker 1: he has not been seen. What did you do next?
Speaker 1: I wired to Lord mount James. Why to Lord mount James.
Speaker 1: Godfrey is an orphan and Lord mount James is his
Speaker 1: nearest relative, his uncle. I believe indeed this throws new
Speaker 1: light upon the matter. Lord mount James is one of
Speaker 1: the richest men in England, so I've heard Godfrey say,
Speaker 1: and your friend was closely related. Yes, he was his heir.
Speaker 1: And the old boy is nearly eighty cram full of
Speaker 1: gout too. They say he could chalk his billiard cue
Speaker 1: with his knuckles. He never allowed Godfrey a shilling in
Speaker 1: his life, for he is an absolute miser. But it
Speaker 1: will all come to him right enough, have you heard
Speaker 1: from Lord mount James. No, what motive could your friend
Speaker 1: have in going to Lord Mount James. Well, something was
Speaker 1: worrying him the night before, and if it was to
Speaker 1: do with money, it is possible that he would make
Speaker 1: for his nearest relative, who had so much of it,
Speaker 1: though from all I have heard, he would not have
Speaker 1: much chance of getting it. Godfrey was not fond of
Speaker 1: the old man. He would not go if he could
Speaker 1: help it. Well, we can soon determine that if your
Speaker 1: friend was going to his relative, Lord Mount James, you
Speaker 1: have then to explain the visit of this rough looking
Speaker 1: fellow at so late an hour, and the agitation that
Speaker 1: was caused by his coming. Cyril Overton pressed his hands
Speaker 1: to his head. I can make nothing of it, said he. Well, well,
Speaker 1: I have a clear day, and I shall be happy
Speaker 1: to look into the matter, said Holmes, I should strongly
Speaker 1: recommend you to make your preparations for your match without
Speaker 1: reference to this young gentleman. It must, as you say,
Speaker 1: have been an overpowering necessity which tore him away in
Speaker 1: such a fashion, and the same necessity is likely to
Speaker 1: hold him away. Let us step round together to the
Speaker 1: hotel and see if the porter can throw any fresh
Speaker 1: light upon the matter. Sherlock Holmes was a past master
Speaker 1: in the art of putting a humble witness at his ease,
Speaker 1: and very soon in the privacy of Godfrey Taunton's abandoned room,
Speaker 1: he had extracted all that the porter had to tell.
Speaker 1: The visitor of the night before was not a gentleman,
Speaker 1: neither was he a working man. He was simply what
Speaker 1: the porter described as a medium looking chap, a man
Speaker 1: of fifty beard grizzled, pale face, quietly dressed. He seemed
Speaker 1: himself to be agitated. The porter had observed his hand
Speaker 1: trembling when he had held out the note. Godfrey Staunton
Speaker 1: had crammed the note into his pocket. Staunton had not
Speaker 1: shaken hands with the man in the hall. They had
Speaker 1: exchanged a few sentences, of which the porter had only
Speaker 1: distinguished the one word time. Then they had hurried off
Speaker 1: in the manner described. It was just half past ten
Speaker 1: by the hall clock. Let me see, said Holmes, seating
Speaker 1: himself on Staunton's bed. You are the day porter, are
Speaker 1: you not, Yes, sir, I'll go off duty at eleven.
Speaker 1: The night porter saw nothing, I suppose, no, sir. One
Speaker 1: the at a party came in late, no one else.
Speaker 1: Were you on duty all day yesterday? Yes, sir. Did
Speaker 1: you take any messages to mister Staunton, Yes, sir, one telegram. Ah,
Speaker 1: that's interesting. What a clock was this? About six? Where
Speaker 1: was mister s Thornton when he received here in his room?
Speaker 1: Were you present when he opened it? Yes, sir. I
Speaker 1: waited to see if there was an answer. Well was there, yes, sir?
Speaker 1: He wrote an answer? Did you take it now? He
Speaker 1: took it himself, but he wrote it in your presence. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: I was standing by the door, and he with his
Speaker 1: back turned at that table. When he had written it,
Speaker 1: he said, or our porter, I will tight list myself.
Speaker 1: What did he write it with a pencer? Was the
Speaker 1: telegraphic form one of these on the table? Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: it was the top one. Holmes rose. Taking the forms,
Speaker 1: he carried them over to the window and carefully examined
Speaker 1: that which was uppermost. It is a pity he did
Speaker 1: not write in pencil, said he, throwing them down again,
Speaker 1: with a shrug of disappointment. As you have no doubt,
Speaker 1: frequently observed Watson, the impression usually goes through a fact
Speaker 1: which has dissolved many a happy marriage. However, I can
Speaker 1: find no trace here. I rejoice, however, to perceive that
Speaker 1: he wrote with a broad pointed quill pen. And I
Speaker 1: can hardly doubt that we will find some impression upon
Speaker 1: this blotting pad. Ah, yes, surely this is the very thing.
Speaker 1: He tore off a strip of the blotting paper and
Speaker 1: turned towards us a hieroglyphic cyril. Overton was much excited.
Speaker 1: Hold it to the glass. He cried, That is unnecessary,
Speaker 1: said Holmes. The paper is thin and the reverse will
Speaker 1: give the message. Here it is. He turned it over
Speaker 1: and we read stand by us for God's sake. So
Speaker 1: that is the tale end of the telegram which god
Speaker 1: Pristaunton dispatched within a few hours of his disappearance. There
Speaker 1: are at least six words of the message which have
Speaker 1: escaped us. But what remains stand by us for God's
Speaker 1: sake proves that this young man saw a formidable danger
Speaker 1: which approached him, and from which some one else could
Speaker 1: protect him us mark you, another person was involved. Who
Speaker 1: should it be but the pale faced, bearded man, who
Speaker 1: seemed himself in so nervous a state. What then, is
Speaker 1: the connection between Godfrey Staunton and the bearded man? And
Speaker 1: what is the third source from which each of them
Speaker 1: sought for help against pressing danger? Our inquiry has already
Speaker 1: narrowed down to that we have only to find to
Speaker 1: whom that telegram is addressed. I suggested exactly, my dear Watson.
Speaker 1: Your reflection, though profound and already crossed my mind. But
Speaker 1: I dare say it may have come to your notice
Speaker 1: that if you walk into a post office and demand
Speaker 1: to see the counterfoil of another man's message. There may
Speaker 1: be some disinclination on the part of the officials to
Speaker 1: oblige you. There is so much red tape in these matters. However,
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that with a little delicacy and finesse,
Speaker 1: the end may be attained. Meanwhile, I should like, in
Speaker 1: your presence, mister Overton, to go through these papers which
Speaker 1: have been left upon the table. There were a number
Speaker 1: of letters, bills, and note books which Holmes turned over
Speaker 1: and examined with quick, nervous fingers and darting, penetrating eyes.
Speaker 1: Nothing here, he said at last, By the way, I
Speaker 1: suppose your friend was a healthy young fellow. Nothing amiss
Speaker 1: with him, sound as a bell. Have you ever known him? Ill?
Speaker 1: Not a day. He has been laid up with a hack,
Speaker 1: and once he slipped his knee cap, but that was nothing.
Speaker 1: Perhaps he was not so strong as you suppose. I
Speaker 1: should think he may have had some secret trouble with
Speaker 1: your assent. I will put one or two of these
Speaker 1: papers in my pocket in case they should bear upon
Speaker 1: our future inquiry. One moment, one moment, cried a querulous voice,
Speaker 1: and we looked up to find a queer little old man,
Speaker 1: jerking and twitching in the doorway. He was dressed in
Speaker 1: rusty blue, with a very broad brimmed top hat and
Speaker 1: a loose white necktie, the whole effect being that of
Speaker 1: a very rustic parson, or of an undertaker's mute. Yet,
Speaker 1: in spite of his shabby and even absurd appearance, his
Speaker 1: voice had a sharp crackle and his manner a quick intensity,
Speaker 1: which commanded attention, Who are you, sir? And by what
Speaker 1: right do you touch this gentleman's papers? He asked, I
Speaker 1: am a private detective and I am endeavoring to explain
Speaker 1: his disappearance. Oh you are are you? And who instructed you? Eh?
Speaker 1: This gentleman, mister Staunton's friend was referred to me by
Speaker 1: Scotland Yard. Who are you, sir? I am Cyril Overton.
Speaker 1: Then it is you who sent me a telegram. My
Speaker 1: name is Lord mount James. I came round as quickly
Speaker 1: as the Bayswater bus would bring me. So you have
Speaker 1: instructed a detective, you sir, and you are prepared to
Speaker 1: meet the cost. I have no doubt sir that my
Speaker 1: and Godfrey, when we find him, will be prepared to
Speaker 1: do that. But if he is never found a answer
Speaker 1: me that in that case, no doubt, He's firmly nothing
Speaker 1: of the sort, Sir screamed the little man. Don't look
Speaker 1: to me for a penny, not a penny. You understand that,
Speaker 1: mister detective. I am all the family that this young
Speaker 1: man has got, and I tell you that I am
Speaker 1: not responsible. If he has any expectations. It is due
Speaker 1: to the fact that I have never wasted money, and
Speaker 1: I do not propose to begin to do so. Now.
Speaker 1: As to those papers with which you are making so free,
Speaker 1: I may tell you that in case there should be
Speaker 1: anything of any value among them, you will be held
Speaker 1: strictly to account for what you do with them. Very good, sir,
Speaker 1: said Sherlock Holmes. May I ask, in the meanwhile whether
Speaker 1: you have yourself any theory to account for this young
Speaker 1: man's disappearance. No, Sir, I have not. He is big
Speaker 1: enough and old enough to look after himself, and if
Speaker 1: he is so foolish as to lose himself, I entirely
Speaker 1: refuse to accept the responsibility of hunting for him. I
Speaker 1: quite understand your position, said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle
Speaker 1: in his eyes. Perhaps you don't quite understand mine. Godfrey
Speaker 1: Staunton appears to have been a poor man. If he
Speaker 1: has been kidnapped, it could not have been for anything
Speaker 1: which he himself possesses. The fame of your wealth has
Speaker 1: gone abroad, Lord Mount James, and it is entirely possible
Speaker 1: that a gang of thieves have secured your nephew in
Speaker 1: order to gain from him some information as to your house,
Speaker 1: your habits, and your treasure. The face of our unpleasant
Speaker 1: little visitor turned as white as his neckcloth. Heaven sir,
Speaker 1: what an idea. I never thought of such villainy. What
Speaker 1: in human rogues there are in the world. But Godfrey
Speaker 1: is a fine lad, a staunch lad. Nothing would induce
Speaker 1: him to give his old uncle away. I'll have the
Speaker 1: plate moved over to the bank this evening. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: spare no pains, mister detective. I beg you to leave
Speaker 1: no stone unturned to bring him safely back. As to money, well,
Speaker 1: so far as a fiver or even a tenor goes,
Speaker 1: you can always look to me. Even in his chastened
Speaker 1: frame of mind, the noble miser could give us no
Speaker 1: information which could help us, for he knew little of
Speaker 1: the private life of his nephew. Our only clue lay
Speaker 1: in the truncated telegram, and with a copy of this
Speaker 1: in his hand, Holmes set forth to find a second
Speaker 1: link for his chain. We had shaken off Lord mount James,
Speaker 1: and Overton had gone to consult with the other members
Speaker 1: of his team over the misfortune which had befallen them.
Speaker 1: There was a telegraph office at a short distance from
Speaker 1: the hotel we halted outside it. It's worth trying, Watson,
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Of course, with a warrant we could demand
Speaker 1: to see the counterfoils, but we have not reached that
Speaker 1: stage yet. I don't suppose they remember faces in so
Speaker 1: busy a place. Let us venture it. I am sorry
Speaker 1: to trouble you, said he in his blandest manner, to
Speaker 1: the young woman behind the grating. There is some small
Speaker 1: mistake about a telegram I sent yesterday. I have had
Speaker 1: no answer, and I very much fear that I must
Speaker 1: have omitted to put my name at the end. Could
Speaker 1: you tell me if this was so? The young woman
Speaker 1: turned over a sheaf of counterfoils. What a clock was it?
Speaker 1: She asked? A little after six? Home? Was it two?
Speaker 1: Holmes put his finger to his lips and glanced at me.
Speaker 1: The last words in it were for God's sake, he
Speaker 1: whispered confidentially. I am very anxious at getting no answer.
Speaker 1: The young woman separated one of the forms. This is it.
Speaker 1: There is no name, said she, smoothing it out upon
Speaker 1: the counter. Then that, of course accounts for my getting
Speaker 1: no answer, said her homes dear me, how very stupid
Speaker 1: of me to be sure. Good morning, miss, and many
Speaker 1: thanks for having relieved my mind. He chuckled and rubbed
Speaker 1: his hands. When we found ourselves in the street once more, well,
Speaker 1: I asked, We progress, my dear Watson, We progress. I
Speaker 1: had seven different schemes for getting a glimpse of that telegram,
Speaker 1: but I could hardly hope to succeed the very first time.
Speaker 1: And what have you gained? A starting point for our investigation?
Speaker 1: He hailed a cab King's Cross Station, said he we
Speaker 1: have a journey. Then, yes, I think we must run
Speaker 1: down to Cambridge together. All the indications seemed to me
Speaker 1: to point in that direction. Tell me, I asked, as
Speaker 1: we rattled up Gray's Inn Road. Have you any suspicion
Speaker 1: yet as to the cause of the disappearance? I don't
Speaker 1: think that among all our cases, I have known one
Speaker 1: where the motives are more obscure. Surely you don't really
Speaker 1: imagine that he may be kidnapped in order to give
Speaker 1: information against his wealthy uncle. I confess, my dear Watson,
Speaker 1: that that does not appeal to me as a very
Speaker 1: probable explanation. It struck me, however, as being the one
Speaker 1: which was most likely to interest that exceedingly unpleasant old person.
Speaker 1: It certainly did that. But what are your alternatives? I
Speaker 1: could mention several. You must admit that it is curious
Speaker 1: and suggestive that this incident should occur on the eve
Speaker 1: of this important match, and should involve the only man
Speaker 1: whose presence seems essential to the success of the side.
Speaker 1: It may, of course be a coincidence, but it is interesting.
Speaker 1: Amateur sport is free from betting, but a good deal
Speaker 1: of outside betting goes on among the public, and it
Speaker 1: is possible that it might be worth someone's while to
Speaker 1: get at a player, as the ruffians of the turf
Speaker 1: get at a race horse. There is one explaining nation.
Speaker 1: A second, very obvious one is that this young man
Speaker 1: really is the heir of a great property. However modest
Speaker 1: his means may at present be, and it is not
Speaker 1: impossible that a plot to hold him for ransom might
Speaker 1: be concocted. These theories take no account of the telegram.
Speaker 1: Quite true, Watson, the telegram still remains the only solid
Speaker 1: thing with which we have to deal, and we must
Speaker 1: not permit our attention to wander away from it. It
Speaker 1: is to gain light upon the purpose of this telegram
Speaker 1: that we are now upon our way to Cambridge. The
Speaker 1: path of our investigation is at present obscure, but I
Speaker 1: shall be very much surprised if before evening we have
Speaker 1: not cleared it up or made a considerable advance along it.
Speaker 1: It was already dark when we reached the old University city.
Speaker 1: Holmes took a cab at the station and ordered the
Speaker 1: man to drive to the house of doctor Leslie Armstrong.
Speaker 1: A few minutes later we had stopped at a large
Speaker 1: mansion in the busiest thoroughfare. We were shown in, and
Speaker 1: after a long wait, were at last admitted into the
Speaker 1: consulting room, where we found the doctor seated behind his table.
Speaker 1: It argues the degree in which I had lost touch
Speaker 1: with my profession that the name of Leslie Armstrong was
Speaker 1: unknown to me. Now I am aware that he is
Speaker 1: not only one of the heads of the medical school
Speaker 1: of the university, but a thinker of European reputation in
Speaker 1: more than one branch of science. Yet even without knowing
Speaker 1: his brilliant record, one could not fail to be impressed
Speaker 1: by a mere glance at the man the square, massive face,
Speaker 1: the brooding eyes under the thatched brows, and the granite
Speaker 1: molding of the inflexible jaw. A man of deep character,
Speaker 1: a man with an alert mind, grim ascetic, self contained, formidable,
Speaker 1: So I read, doctor Leslie Armstrong. He held my friend's
Speaker 1: card his hand, and he looked up with no very
Speaker 1: pleased expression upon his duer features. I have heard your name,
Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes, and I am aware of your profession,
Speaker 1: one of which I by no means approve. In that, doctor,
Speaker 1: you will find yourself in agreement with every criminal in
Speaker 1: the country, said my friend quietly. So far as your
Speaker 1: efforts are directed towards the suppression of crime, sir, they
Speaker 1: must have the support of every reasonable member of the community,
Speaker 1: though I cannot doubt that the official machinery is amply
Speaker 1: sufficient for the purpose. Where your calling is more open
Speaker 1: to criticism is when you pry into the secrets of
Speaker 1: private individuals, when you rake up family matters which are
Speaker 1: better hidden, and when you incidentally waste the time of
Speaker 1: men who are more busy than yourself. At the present moment,
Speaker 1: for example, I should be writing a treatise instead of
Speaker 1: conversing with you, no doubt, doctor, And yet the conversation
Speaker 1: may prove more important than the treatise. Incidentally, I may
Speaker 1: tell you that we are doing the reverse of what
Speaker 1: you very justly blame, and that we are endeavoring to
Speaker 1: prevent anything like public exposure of private matters, which must
Speaker 1: necessarily follow when once the case is fairly in the
Speaker 1: hands of the official police. You may look upon me
Speaker 1: as simply an irregular pioneer who goes in front of
Speaker 1: the regular forces of the country. I have come to
Speaker 1: ask you about mister Godfrey Staunton. What about him? You
Speaker 1: know him, do you not? He is an intimate friend
Speaker 1: of mine. You are aware that he has disappeared. Ah. Indeed,
Speaker 1: there was no change of expression in the rugged features
Speaker 1: of the doctor. He left his hotel last night. He
Speaker 1: has not been heard of, No doubt he will return
Speaker 1: to Morrow is the varsity football match. I have no
Speaker 1: sympathy with these childish games the young man's fate interests
Speaker 1: me deeply, since I know him and like him. The
Speaker 1: football match does not come within my horiz a all
Speaker 1: I claim your sympathy. Then, in my investigation of mister
Speaker 1: Staunton's fate, do you know where he is? Suddenly? Not?
Speaker 1: You have not seen him since yesterday? No? I have not.
Speaker 1: Was mister Thornton a healthy man? Absolutely? Did you ever
Speaker 1: know him? Ill? Never? Holmes popped a sheet of paper
Speaker 1: before the doctor's eyes. Then perhaps you will explain this
Speaker 1: receipted bill for thirteen guineas paid by mister Godfrey Staunton
Speaker 1: last month to doctor Leslie Armstrong of Cambridge. I picked
Speaker 1: it out from among the papers upon his desk. The
Speaker 1: doctor flushed with anger. I do not feel that there
Speaker 1: is any reason why I should render an explanation to you,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes. Holmes replaced the bill in his note book.
Speaker 1: If you prefer a public explanation, it must come sooner
Speaker 1: or later, said he. I have already told you that
Speaker 1: I can hush up that which others will be bound
Speaker 1: to publish, and you would really be wiser to take
Speaker 1: me into your complete confidence. I know nothing about it.
Speaker 1: Did you hear from mister Staunton in London. Certainly not
Speaker 1: dear me, dear me the post office again, Holmes sighed wearily.
Speaker 1: A most urgent telegram was despatched to you from London
Speaker 1: by Godfrey Staunton at six fifteen yesterday evening, a telegram
Speaker 1: which is undoubtedly associated with his disappearance, and yet you
Speaker 1: have not had it. It is most culpable. I shall
Speaker 1: certainly go down to the office here and register a complaint.
Speaker 1: Doctor Leslie Armstrong sprang up from behind his desk, and
Speaker 1: his dark face was crimson with fury. I'll trouble you
Speaker 1: to walk out of my house, sir, said he. You
Speaker 1: can tell your employer, Lord mount James, that I do
Speaker 1: not wish to have anything to do either with him
Speaker 1: or with his agents. No, sir, not another word. He
Speaker 1: rang the bell furiously, John, show these gentlemen out. A
Speaker 1: pompous butler ushered us severely to the door, and we
Speaker 1: found ourselves in the street. Holmes burst out laughing. Doctor
Speaker 1: Leslie Armstrong is certainly a man of energy and character,
Speaker 1: said he. I have not seen a man who, if
Speaker 1: he turns his talents that way, was more calculated to
Speaker 1: fill the gap left by the illustrious Mariati, and now
Speaker 1: my poor Watson. Here we are stranded and friendless in
Speaker 1: this inhospitable town, which we cannot leave without abandoning our case.
Speaker 1: This little inn, just opposite Armstrong's house is singularly adapted
Speaker 1: to our needs. If you would engage a front room
Speaker 1: and purchase the necessaries for the night, I may have
Speaker 1: time to make a few inquiries. These few inquiries proved, however,
Speaker 1: to be a more lengthy proceeding than Holmes had imagined,
Speaker 1: for he did not return to the inn until nearly
Speaker 1: nine o'clock. He was pale and dejected, stained with dust,
Speaker 1: and exhausted with hunger and fatigue. The cold supper was
Speaker 1: ready upon the table, and when his needs were satisfied
Speaker 1: and his pipe alight, he was ready to take that
Speaker 1: half comic and holy philosophic view which was natural to
Speaker 1: him when his affairs were going awry. The sound of
Speaker 1: carriage wheels caused him to rise and glance out of
Speaker 1: the window. A broom and pair of grays, under the
Speaker 1: glare of a gas lamp, stood before the doctor's door.
Speaker 1: It's been out three hours, said Holmes, started at half
Speaker 1: past six, and here it is back again, that gives
Speaker 1: a radius of ten or twelve miles, and he does
Speaker 1: it once or sometimes twice a day, no unusual thing
Speaker 1: for a doctor in practice. But Armstrong is not really
Speaker 1: a doctor in practice. He is a lecturer and a consultant.
Speaker 1: But he does not care for general practice, which distracts
Speaker 1: him from his literary work. Why then, does he make
Speaker 1: these long journeys which must be exceedingly irksome to him?
Speaker 1: And who is it that he visits? His coachman, My
Speaker 1: dear Watson, Can you doubt that it was to him
Speaker 1: that I first applied I do not know whether it
Speaker 1: came from his own innate depravity or from the promptings
Speaker 1: of his master, But he was rude enough to set
Speaker 1: a dog at me. Neither dog nor man liked the
Speaker 1: look of my stick, however, and the matter fell through.
Speaker 1: Relations were strained after that, and further inquiries out of
Speaker 1: the question. All that I have learned I got from
Speaker 1: a friendly native in the yard of our own inn.
Speaker 1: It was he who told me of the doctor's habits
Speaker 1: and of his daily journey. At that instant, to give
Speaker 1: point to his words, the carriage came round to the door.
Speaker 1: Could you not follow it? Excellent Watson, you are scintillating
Speaker 1: this evening. The idea did cross my mind there is,
Speaker 1: as you may have observed, a bicycle shop next to
Speaker 1: our inn. Into this I rushed, engaged bicycle and was
Speaker 1: able to get started. Before the carriage was quite out
Speaker 1: of sight. I rapidly overtook it, and then, keeping a
Speaker 1: discreet distance of a hundred yards or so, I followed
Speaker 1: its lights until we were clear of the town. We
Speaker 1: had got well out on the country road when a
Speaker 1: somewhat mortifying incident occurred. The carriage stopped. The doctor alighted,
Speaker 1: walked swiftly back to where I had also halted, and
Speaker 1: told me, in an excellent sardonic fashion, that he feared
Speaker 1: the road was narrow, and that he hoped his carriage
Speaker 1: did not impede the passage of my bicycle. Nothing could
Speaker 1: have been more admirable than his way of putting it.
Speaker 1: I at once rode past the carriage, and keeping to
Speaker 1: the main road, I went on for a few miles,
Speaker 1: and then halted in a convenient place to see if
Speaker 1: the carriage passed. There was no sign of it, however,
Speaker 1: and so it became evident that it had turned down
Speaker 1: one of several side roads which I had observed. I
Speaker 1: rode back, but again saw nothing of the carriage, and now,
Speaker 1: as you perceive, it has returned after me. Of course,
Speaker 1: I had at the outset no particular reason to connect
Speaker 1: these journeys with the disappearance of Godfrey Staunton, and was
Speaker 1: only inclined to investigate them on the general grounds that
Speaker 1: everything which concerns doctor Armstrong is at present of interest
Speaker 1: to us. But now that I find he keeps so
Speaker 1: keen a look out upon any one who may follow
Speaker 1: him on these excursions, the affair appears more important, and
Speaker 1: I shall not be satisfied until I have made the
Speaker 1: matter clear. We can follow him to morrow, can we?
Speaker 1: It is not so easy as you seem to think.
Speaker 1: You are not familiar with Cambridgeshire scenery, are you? It
Speaker 1: does not lend itself to concealment. All this country that
Speaker 1: I passed over to night is as flat and clean
Speaker 1: as the palm of your hand. And the man we
Speaker 1: are following is no fool, as he very clearly showed
Speaker 1: to night. I have wired to Overton to let us
Speaker 1: know any fresh London developments of this address, and in
Speaker 1: the meantime we can only concentrate our attention upon doctor Armstrong,
Speaker 1: whose name the obliging young lady at the office allowed
Speaker 1: me to read upon the counterfoil of Staunton's urgent message.
Speaker 1: He knows where the young man is to that, I'll swear,
Speaker 1: and if he knows, then it must be our own
Speaker 1: fault if we cannot manage to know. Also, at present
Speaker 1: it must be admitted that the odd trick is in
Speaker 1: his possession. And as you are aware, Watson, it is
Speaker 1: not my habit to leave the game in that condition.
Speaker 1: And yet the next day brought us no nearer to
Speaker 1: the solution of the mystery. A note was handed in
Speaker 1: after breakfast, which Holmes passed across to me with a smile. Sir,
Speaker 1: I can assure you that you are wasting your time
Speaker 1: in dogging my movements. I have, as you discovered last night,
Speaker 1: a window at the back of my broom, and if
Speaker 1: you desire a twenty mile ride which will lead you
Speaker 1: to the spot from which you started, you have only
Speaker 1: to follow me. Meanwhile, I can inform you that no
Speaker 1: spying upon me can in any way help mister Godfrey Staunton,
Speaker 1: and I am convinced that the best service you can
Speaker 1: do to that gentleman is to return at once to London,
Speaker 1: and to report to your employer that you are unable
Speaker 1: to trace him. Your time in Cambridge will certainly be wasted.
Speaker 1: Yours faithfully, Leslie Armstrong. An outspoken, honest antagonist is the doctor?
Speaker 1: Said Holmes. Well, well, he excites my curiosity, and I
Speaker 1: must really know before I leave him. His carriage is
Speaker 1: at his door now, said I. There he is stepping
Speaker 1: into it. I saw him glance up at our window
Speaker 1: as he did. So suppose I try my luck upon
Speaker 1: the bicycle. No, No, my dear Watson, with all respect
Speaker 1: for your natural acumen, I do not think that you
Speaker 1: are quite a match for the worthy doctor. I think
Speaker 1: that possibly I can attain our end by some independent
Speaker 1: explorations of my own. I am afraid that I must
Speaker 1: leave you to your own devices, as the appearance of
Speaker 1: two inquiring strangers upon a sleepy countryside might excite more
Speaker 1: gossip than I care for. No doubt you will find
Speaker 1: some sights to amuse you in this venerable city, and
Speaker 1: I hope to bring back a more favorable report to
Speaker 1: you before evening once more. However, my friend was destined
Speaker 1: to be disappointed. He came back at night, weary and unsuccessful.
Speaker 1: I have had a blank day, Watson. Having got the
Speaker 1: doctor's general direction, I spent the day in visiting all
Speaker 1: the villages upon that side of Cambridge, and comparing notes
Speaker 1: with publicans and other local news agencies. I have covered
Speaker 1: some ground. Chesterton, Histon, Waterbeach and Oakington have each been explored,
Speaker 1: and have each proved disappointing. The daily appearance of a
Speaker 1: broom and pair could hardly have been overlooked in such
Speaker 1: sleepy hollows. The doctor has scored once more. Is there
Speaker 1: a telegram for me? Yes? I opened it here. It
Speaker 1: is ask for Pompey from Jeremy Dixon, Trinity College. I
Speaker 1: don't understand it. Oh, it is clear enough. It is
Speaker 1: from our friend Overton and is in answer to a
Speaker 1: question from me. I'll just send round a note to
Speaker 1: mister Jeremy Dixon. Then I have no doubt that our
Speaker 1: luck will turn. By the way, is there any news
Speaker 1: of the match? Yes? The local evening paper has an
Speaker 1: excellent account in its last edition. Oxford won by a
Speaker 1: goal and two tries. The last sentences of the description
Speaker 1: say the defeat of the light Blues may be entirely
Speaker 1: attributed to the unfortunate absence of the crack international Godfrey Staunton,
Speaker 1: whose wont was felt at every instant of the game.
Speaker 1: The lack of combination in the three quarter line and
Speaker 1: their weakness both in attack and defense more than neutralize
Speaker 1: the efforts of a heavy and hard working pack. Then
Speaker 1: our friend Overton's forebodings have been justified, said Holmes. Personally,
Speaker 1: I am in agreement with doctor Armstrong, and football does
Speaker 1: not come within my horizon. Early to bed to night, Watson,
Speaker 1: for I foresee that tomorrow may be an eventful day.
Speaker 1: I was horrified by my first glimpse of homes next morning,
Speaker 1: for he sat by the fire holding his tiny hypodermic syringe.
Speaker 1: I associated that instrument with the single weakness of his nature,
Speaker 1: and I feared the worst when I saw it glittering
Speaker 1: in his hand. He laughed at my expression of dismay
Speaker 1: and laid it upon the table. No, No, my dear fellow,
Speaker 1: there is no cause for alarm. It is not, upon
Speaker 1: this occasion, the instrument of evil, but it will rather
Speaker 1: prove to be the key which will unlock our mystery.
Speaker 1: On this syringe I base all my hopes I have
Speaker 1: just returned from a small scouting expedition, and everything is favorable.
Speaker 1: Eat a good breakfast, Watson, for I propose to get
Speaker 1: upon doctor Armstrong's trail to day, and once on it,
Speaker 1: I will not stop for rest or food until I
Speaker 1: run him to his burrow. In that case, said I,
Speaker 1: we had best carry our breakfast with us, for he
Speaker 1: is making an early start. His carriage is at the door.
Speaker 1: Never mind, let him go. He will be clever if
Speaker 1: he can drive where I cannot follow him. When you
Speaker 1: have finished, come downstairs with me, and I will introduce
Speaker 1: you to a detective who is a very eminent specialist
Speaker 1: in the work that lies before us. When we descended,
Speaker 1: I followed Holmes into the stable yard, where he opened
Speaker 1: the door of a loose box and let out a
Speaker 1: squat lop eared white and tanned dog, something between a
Speaker 1: beagle and a foxhound. Let me introduce you to Pompey,
Speaker 1: said he. Pompey is the pride of the local drag hounds.
Speaker 1: No great flier, as his build will show, but a
Speaker 1: staunch hound on a scent. Well, Pompey, you may not
Speaker 1: be fast, but I expect you will be too fast
Speaker 1: for a couple of middle aged London gentlemen. So I
Speaker 1: will take the liberty of fastening this leather leash to
Speaker 1: your collar. Now, boy, come along and show what you
Speaker 1: can do. He led him across to the doctor's door.
Speaker 1: The dog sniffed round for an instant and then, with
Speaker 1: a shrill whine of excitement, started off down the street,
Speaker 1: tugging at his leash in his efforts to go faster.
Speaker 1: In half an hour we were clear of the town
Speaker 1: and hastening down a country road. What have you done, Holmes,
Speaker 1: I asked, A threadbare and venerable device, but useful upon occasion.
Speaker 1: I walked into the doctor's yard this morning and shot
Speaker 1: my syringe full of aniseed over the hind wheat. A
Speaker 1: draghound will follow. Anneceed from here to Johnna Groates, and
Speaker 1: our friend Armstrong would have to drive through the camp
Speaker 1: before he would shake Pompey off his trail. Oh, the
Speaker 1: cunning rascal. This is how he gave me the slip.
Speaker 1: The other night. The dog had suddenly turned out of
Speaker 1: the main road into a grass grown lane half a
Speaker 1: mile farther. This opened into another broad road, and the
Speaker 1: trail turned hard to the right in the direction of
Speaker 1: the town which we had just quitted. The road took
Speaker 1: a sweep to the south of the town and continued
Speaker 1: in the opposite direction to that in which we started.
Speaker 1: This detour has been entirely for our benefit, then, said Holmes.
Speaker 1: No wonder that my inquiries among those villagers led to nothing.
Speaker 1: The doctor certainly played the game for all it is worth,
Speaker 1: and one would like to know the reason for such
Speaker 1: elaborate deception. This should be the village of Trumpington, to
Speaker 1: the right of us, And by jove, here is the
Speaker 1: broom coming round the corner. Quick, Watson, quick, all we
Speaker 1: are done. He sprang through a gate into a field,
Speaker 1: dragging the reluctant Pompey after him. We had hardly got
Speaker 1: under the shelter of the hedge when the carriage rattled past.
Speaker 1: I caught a glimpse of Doctor Armstrong within his shoulders bowed,
Speaker 1: his head sunk on his hands, the very image of distress.
Speaker 1: I could tell by my companion's graver face that he
Speaker 1: also had seen. I fear that there is some dark
Speaker 1: ending to our quest, said he. It cannot be long
Speaker 1: before we know it. Come, Pompey, Ah, it is the
Speaker 1: cottage in the field. There could be no doubt that
Speaker 1: we had reached the end of our journey. Pompey ran
Speaker 1: about and whined eagerly. Outside the gate, where the marks
Speaker 1: of the broom's wheels were still to be seen. A
Speaker 1: footpath led across to the lonely cottage. Holmes tied the
Speaker 1: dog to the hedge, and we hastened onward. My friend
Speaker 1: knocked at the little rustic door, and knocked again, without response,
Speaker 1: And yet the cottage was not deserted. For a low
Speaker 1: sound came to our ears, a kind of drone of
Speaker 1: misery and despair, which was indescribably melancholy. Holmes paused, irresolute,
Speaker 1: and then he glanced back at the road which he
Speaker 1: had just traversed. A broom was coming down it, and
Speaker 1: there could be no mistaking those gray horses. By jove,
Speaker 1: the doctor is coming back, cried Holmes. That settles it.
Speaker 1: We are bound to see what it means before he comes.
Speaker 1: He opened the door and we stepped into the hall.
Speaker 1: The droning sound swelled louder upon our ears until it
Speaker 1: became one long, deep wail of distress. It came from upstairs.
Speaker 1: Holmes darted up, and I followed him. He pushed open
Speaker 1: a half closed door, and we both stood appalled at
Speaker 1: the sight before us. A woman, young and beautiful was
Speaker 1: lying dead upon the bed. Her calm, pale face with dim,
Speaker 1: wide opened blue eyes looked upward from amid a great
Speaker 1: tangle of golden hair. At the foot of the bed,
Speaker 1: half sitting, half kneeling, his face buried in the clothes
Speaker 1: was a young man whose frame was racked by his sobs.
Speaker 1: So absorbed was he by his bitter grief that he
Speaker 1: never looked up until Holmes's hand was on his shoulder.
Speaker 1: Are you, mister Godfrey Staunton, Yes, yes I am, But
Speaker 1: you are too late. She is dead. The man was
Speaker 1: so dazed that he could not be made to understand
Speaker 1: that we were anything but doctors who had been sent
Speaker 1: to his assistance. Holmes was endeavoring to utter a few
Speaker 1: words of consolation and to explain the alarm which had
Speaker 1: been caused to his friends by his sudden disas appearance.
Speaker 1: When there was a step upon the stairs, and there
Speaker 1: was the heavy, stern, questioning face of doctor Armstrong at
Speaker 1: the door. So gentlemen said he you have attained your end,
Speaker 1: and have certainly chosen a particularly delicate moment for your intrusion.
Speaker 1: I would not brawl in the presence of death, but
Speaker 1: I can assure you that if I were a younger man,
Speaker 1: your monstrous conduct would not pass with impunity. Excuse me,
Speaker 1: Doctor Armstrong, I think we are a little at cross purposes,
Speaker 1: said my friend with dignity. If you could step downstairs
Speaker 1: with us, we may each be able to give some
Speaker 1: light to the other upon this miserable affair. A minute later,
Speaker 1: the grim doctor and ourselves were in the sitting room below.
Speaker 1: Well Sir said he. I wish you to understand in
Speaker 1: the first place, that I am not employed by Lord
Speaker 1: Mount James, and that my sympathies in this matter are
Speaker 1: entirely against that nobleman. When a man is lost, it
Speaker 1: is my duty to ascertain his fate. But having done so,
Speaker 1: the matter ends so far as I am concerned, and
Speaker 1: so long as there is nothing criminal. I am much
Speaker 1: more anxious to hush up private scandals than to give
Speaker 1: them publicity. If, as I imagine, there is no breach
Speaker 1: of the law in this matter, you can absolutely depend
Speaker 1: upon my discretion and my co operation in keeping the
Speaker 1: facts out of the papers. Doctor Armstrong took a quick
Speaker 1: step forward and wrung homes by the hand. You are
Speaker 1: a good fellow, said he. I had misjudged you. I
Speaker 1: thank Heaven that my compunction at leaving poor Staunton all
Speaker 1: alone in this plight caused me to turn my carriage back.
Speaker 1: And so to make your acquaintance. Knowing as much as
Speaker 1: you do, the situation is very easily explained. A year
Speaker 1: ago Godfrey Thaunton lodged in London for a time and
Speaker 1: became passionate attached to his landlady's daughter, whom he married.
Speaker 1: She was as good as she was beautiful, and as
Speaker 1: intelligent as she was good. No man need be ashamed
Speaker 1: of such a wife. But Godfrey was the heir to
Speaker 1: this crabbed old nobleman, and it was quite certain that
Speaker 1: the news of his marriage would have been the end
Speaker 1: of his inheritance. I knew the lad well, and I
Speaker 1: loved him for his many excellent qualities. I did all
Speaker 1: I could to help him to keep things straight. We
Speaker 1: did our very best to keep the thing from every one,
Speaker 1: For when once such a whisper gets about, it is
Speaker 1: not long before everyone has heard it. Thanks to this
Speaker 1: lonely cottage and his own discretion, Godfrey has up to
Speaker 1: now succeeded. Their secret was known to no one save
Speaker 1: to me and to one excellent servant who was at
Speaker 1: present gone for assistance to Trumpington. But at last there
Speaker 1: came a terrible blow in the shape of dangerous illness
Speaker 1: to his wife. It was consumption of the most virulent kind.
Speaker 1: The poor boy was half crazed with grief, and yet
Speaker 1: he had to go to London to play this match,
Speaker 1: for he could not get out of it without explanations
Speaker 1: which would expose his secret. I tried to cheer him
Speaker 1: up by wire, and he sent me one in reply,
Speaker 1: imploring me to do all I could. This was the
Speaker 1: telegram which you appear in some inexplicable way to have seen.
Speaker 1: I did not tell him how urgent the danger was,
Speaker 1: for I knew that he could do no good here.
Speaker 1: But I sent the truth to the girl's father, and
Speaker 1: he very injudiciously communicated it to Godfrey. The result was
Speaker 1: that he came straight away in a state bordering on frenzy,
Speaker 1: and has remained in the same state, kneeling at the
Speaker 1: end of her bed until this morning. Death put an
Speaker 1: end to her sufferings. That is all, mister Holmes, and
Speaker 1: I am sure that I can rely upon your discretion
Speaker 1: and that of your friend. Holmes grasped the doctor's hand. Come, Watson,
Speaker 1: said he, and we passed from that house of grief
Speaker 1: into the pale sunlight of the winter day. A Magpie
Speaker 1: Audio production