WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:04.759 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in 2 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:09.560 the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit 3 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:14.720 LibriVox dot org. Read by Kirsten Ferrari. The Adventures of 4 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:19.719 Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle Adventure five the Five 5 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:24.320 Orange Pips. When I glance over my notes and records 6 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.879 of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years eighty two 7 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:29.839 and ninety, I am faced by so many which present 8 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:33.560 strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter 9 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:37.079 to know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however, 10 00:00:37.159 --> 00:00:40.439 have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have 11 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.479 not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my 12 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:46.920 friend possessed in so high a degree, and which it 13 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.159 is the object of these papers to illustrate. Some too 14 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.679 have baffled his analytical skill, and would be as narratives 15 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:57.399 beginning without an ending, while others have been but partially 16 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.880 cleared up, and have their explanations found did rather upon 17 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:04.760 conjecture and surmise than on that absolute logical proof which 18 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:07.480 was so dear to him. There is, however, one of 19 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:10.359 these last, which was so remarkable in its details, and 20 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:13.319 so startling in its results, that I am tempted to 21 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:15.760 give some account of it, in spite of the fact 22 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:17.920 that there are points in connection with it which have 23 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:21.719 never been and probably never will be entirely cleared up. 24 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:26.400 The year eighty seven furnished us with a long series 25 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:29.319 of cases of greater or less interest, of which I 26 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.400 retain the records among my headings. Under this one twelvemonths, 27 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.079 I find an account of the adventure of the Paradol 28 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:40.480 Chamber of the Amateur Mendicant Society, who held a luxurious 29 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:43.599 club in the lower vault of a furniture warehouse, of 30 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.120 the facts connected with the loss of the British bark 31 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:50.040 Sophie Anderson, of the singular adventures of the Greis Pattersons 32 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:53.280 in the Island of Ufa, and finally of the Camberwell 33 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:57.359 poisoning case. In the latter, as may be remembered, Schulock 34 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.000 Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's word, 35 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.239 to prove that it had been wound up two hours before, 36 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.280 and that therefore the deceased had gone to bed within 37 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.879 that time, a deduction which was of the greatest importance 38 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:13.080 in clearing up the case. All these I may sketch 39 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:15.719 out at some future date, but none of them present 40 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.479 such singular features as the strange train of circumstances which 41 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:23.159 I have now taken up my pen to describe. It 42 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.319 was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial 43 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.879 gales had set in with exceptional violence. All day. The 44 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:33.280 wind had screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, 45 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:35.840 so that even here in the heart of great hand 46 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:38.719 made London, we were forced to raise our minds for 47 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.159 the instant from the routine of life, and to recognize 48 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:45.439 the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at 49 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:49.360 mankind through the bars of his civilization, like untamed beasts 50 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.919 in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew 51 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:56.159 higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like 52 00:02:56.199 --> 00:03:00.240 a child in the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at 53 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:03.960 one side of the fireplace, cross indexing his records of crime, 54 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:06.800 while I, at the other, was deep in one of 55 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:10.080 Clarke Russell's fine sea stories, until the howl of the 56 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.520 gale from without seemed to blend with the text and 57 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:15.840 the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the 58 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.919 long swash of the sea waves. My wife was on 59 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:21.520 a visit to her mother's, and for a few days 60 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.879 I was a dweller once more in my old quarters 61 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:29.039 at Baker Street. Why, said I, glancing up at my companion, 62 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.319 that was surely the bell. Who could come up to night? 63 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:36.840 Some friend of yours? Perhaps, except yourself? I have none, 64 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:41.240 he answered, I do not encourage visitors a client. Then, 65 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.360 if so, it is a serious case. Nothing less would 66 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.360 bring a man out on such a day and at 67 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.919 such an hour. But I take it that it is 68 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:54.080 more likely to be some crony of the landlady's Sherlock 69 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:57.240 Holmes was wrong in his conjecture, however, for there came 70 00:03:57.280 --> 00:03:59.560 a step in the passage, and a tapping at the door. 71 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:02.639 He stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp 72 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.039 away from himself and towards the vacant chair upon which 73 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:10.840 a newcomer must sit. Come in, said he. The man 74 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:14.159 who entered was young, some two and twenty at the outside, 75 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:18.040 well groomed and trimly clad, with something of refinement and 76 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:21.720 delicacy in his bearing, the streaming umbrella which he held 77 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:24.800 in his hand, and his long shining waterproof, told of 78 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:27.800 the fierce weather through which he had come. He looked 79 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:30.360 about him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and 80 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:32.519 I could see that his face was pale, and his 81 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.160 eyes heavy, like those of a man who is weighed 82 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:38.720 down with some great anxiety. I owe you an apology, 83 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:42.680 he said, raising his golden pontene to his eyes. I 84 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:45.279 trust that I am not intruding. I fear that I 85 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:47.759 have brought some traces of the storm and rain into 86 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:51.920 your snug chamber. Give me your coat and umbrella, said Holmes. 87 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:54.000 They may rest here on the hook and will be 88 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:58.560 dry presently. You have come up from the southwest. I see, yes, 89 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:02.240 from Horsham. That clay and chalk mixture which I see 90 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.920 upon your toe caps is quite distinctive. I have come 91 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:11.639 for advice that is easily got, and help that is 92 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:15.920 not always so easy. I have heard of you, mister Holmes. 93 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:18.879 I heard from Major Pendergast how you saved him in 94 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:22.680 the Tankerville Club scandal. Ah. Of course he was wrongfully 95 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:26.040 accused of cheating at cards. He said that you could 96 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:30.800 solve anything. He said too much, that you are never beaten. 97 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.160 I have been beaten four times, three times by men 98 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.720 and once by a woman. But what is that compared 99 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:42.199 with the number of your successes. It is true that 100 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:46.040 I have been generally successful, then you may be so 101 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:49.279 with me. I beg that you will draw up your 102 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:51.959 chair to the fire and favor me with some details 103 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:56.319 as to your case. It is no ordinary one. None 104 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:58.439 of those which come to me are. I am the 105 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:02.560 last court of appeal. And yet I question, sir, whether, 106 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.600 in all your experience you have ever listened to a 107 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:09.399 more mysterious and inexplicable chain of events than those which 108 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:13.160 have happened in my own family. You fill me with interest, 109 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:16.800 said Holmes. Pray, give us the essential facts from the commencement, 110 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.800 and I can afterwards question you as to those details 111 00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:23.279 which seemed to me to be most important. The young 112 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:25.879 man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet 113 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.360 out toward the blaze. My name, said, he is John Openshaw. 114 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:33.399 But my own affairs have, as far as I can understand, 115 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.240 little to do with this awful business. It is a 116 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.360 hereditary matter. So in order to give you an idea 117 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.040 of the facts, I must go back to the commencement 118 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.319 of the affair. You must know that my grandfather had 119 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.399 two sons, my uncle Elias and my father Joseph. My 120 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:53.759 father had a small factory at Coventry, which he enlarged 121 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:56.680 at the time of the invention of bicycling. He was 122 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:59.920 a patentee of the open Shaw Unbreakable tire, and his 123 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.600 his business met with such success that he was able 124 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:05.639 to sell it and to retire upon a handsome competence. 125 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:09.759 My uncle Elias emigrated to America when he was a 126 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:12.879 young man and became a painter in Florida, where he 127 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.920 was reported to have done very well. At the time 128 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.920 of the war, he fought in Jackson's army and afterwards 129 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:21.800 under hood, where he rose to be a colonel. When 130 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:25.079 Lee laid down his arms, my uncle returned to his plantation, 131 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.959 where he remained for three or four years. About eighteen 132 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:32.040 sixty nine or eighteen seventy he came back to Europe 133 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.920 and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham. He 134 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.879 had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and 135 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.639 his reason for leaving them was his aversion to the 136 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:45.680 Negroes and his dislike of the Republican policy in extending 137 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:49.360 the franchise to them. He was a singular man, fierce 138 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:52.439 and quick tempered, very foul mouthed when he was angry, 139 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.399 and of a most retiring disposition. During all the years 140 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:58.759 that he lived at Horsham, I doubt if he ever 141 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:01.360 set foot in the town. He had a garden and 142 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:04.000 two or three fields round his house, and there he 143 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.199 would take his exercise, though very often for weeks on 144 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:09.879 end he would never leave his room. He drank a 145 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:13.000 great deal of brandy and smoked very heavily, but he 146 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.199 would see no society and did not want any friends, 147 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:20.720 not even his own brother. He didn't mind me, in fact, 148 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.079 he took a fancy to me, for at the time 149 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.160 when he saw me first, I was a youngster of 150 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:27.920 twelve or so. This would be in the year eighteen 151 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:30.560 seventy eight, after he had been eight or nine years 152 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.279 in England. He begged my father to let me live 153 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:35.240 with him, and he was very kind to me in 154 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:38.279 his way. When he was sober. He used to be 155 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.360 fond of playing backgammon and drafts with me, and he 156 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:44.440 would make me his representative both with the servants and 157 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:46.919 with the trade people, so that by the time I 158 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.879 was sixteen, I was quite master of the house. I 159 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:52.120 kept all the keys and could go where I liked, 160 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:54.600 and do what I liked, so long as I did 161 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:59.120 not disturb him in his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, 162 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:02.159 for he had a single room, a lumber room up 163 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:05.600 among the attics, which was invariably locked, and which he 164 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:08.440 would never permit either me or any one else to enter. 165 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:12.159 With a boy's curiosity, I have peeped through the keyhole, 166 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:14.639 but I was never able to see more than such 167 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.120 a collection of old trunks and bundles as would be 168 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.879 expected in such a room. One day, it was March 169 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.799 of eighteen eighty three, a letter with a foreign stamp 170 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:26.080 lay upon the table in front of the colonel's plate. 171 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:29.320 It was not a common thing for him to receive letters, 172 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:32.039 for his bills were all paid in ready money, and 173 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:35.639 he had no friends of any sort from India, said 174 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:38.480 he as he took it up. Pond a cherry postmark. 175 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:42.519 What can this be? Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped 176 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:46.399 five little dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. 177 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.519 I began to laugh at this, but the laugh was 178 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:51.720 struck from my lips at the sight of his face. 179 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.559 His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding his skin. 180 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:58.320 The color of putty, and he glared at the envelope, 181 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.159 which he still held in his trembling head. And kay 182 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:04.759 k kay, he shrieked. And then, my god, my god, 183 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:08.159 my sins have overtaken me. What is it? Uncle, I 184 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:12.840 cried deaf, said he, and rising from the table, he 185 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:16.840 retired to his room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I 186 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.639 took up the envelope and saw scrolled in red ink 187 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.480 upon me in a flap just above the gum, the 188 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.480 letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else save 189 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:29.679 the five dried pips. What could be the reason of 190 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:33.840 his overpowering terror? I left the breakfast table, and as 191 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.200 I ascended the stair I met him coming down with 192 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.039 an old rusty key which must have belonged to the 193 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:41.799 attic in one hand, and a small brass box like 194 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:44.759 a cash box in the other. They may do what 195 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.159 they like, but I'll checkmate them, still, said he, with 196 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:50.000 an oath. Tell Mary that I shall want a fire 197 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:52.559 in my room to day and send down to Fordham, 198 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:56.399 the Horsham lawyer. I did as he ordered, and when 199 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:58.639 the lawyer arrived, I was asked to step up to 200 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:01.759 the room. The fire was burning brightly, and in the 201 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.840 grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes as 202 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.799 of burned paper, while the brass box stood open and 203 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:10.840 empty beside it. As I glanced at the box, I 204 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:13.600 noticed with a start that upon the lid was printed 205 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:15.840 the treble quet which I had read in the morning. 206 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.559 Upon the envelope. I wish you, John, said my uncle, 207 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:22.759 to witness my will. I leave my estate, with all 208 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.879 its advantages and all its disadvantages, to my brother, your father. 209 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:30.399 Whence it will no doubt descend to you if you 210 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:33.000 can enjoy it in peace, well and good. If you 211 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:35.799 find you cannot take my advice, my boy, and leave 212 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.720 it to your deadliest enemy, I am sorry to give 213 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.080 you such a two edged thing, but I can't say 214 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:44.159 what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the 215 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:48.440 paper where mister Fordham shows you. I signed the paper 216 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.120 as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him. 217 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:55.399 The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest 218 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:58.440 impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned 219 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:00.759 it every way in my mind without being able to 220 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.639 make anything of it. Yet I could not shake off 221 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.679 the vague feeling of dread which it left behind. Though 222 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.440 the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed, and 223 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:12.480 nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. 224 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.679 I could see a change in my uncle. However, he 225 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.360 drank more than ever, and he was less inclined for 226 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:21.639 any sort of society. Most of his time he would 227 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:24.879 spend in his room with the door locked upon me inside. 228 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.519 But sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy, 229 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:30.960 and would burst out of the house and tear about 230 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.840 the garden with a revolver in his hand, screaming out 231 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:36.279 that he was afraid of no man, and that he 232 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:38.159 was not to be cooped up like a sheep in 233 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:42.240 a pen by man or devil. When these hot fits 234 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.720 were over, however, he would rush tumultuously in at the door, 235 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.480 and lock and bar it behind him, like a man 236 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:51.080 who can brazen it out no longer against the terror 237 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:53.919 which lies at the root of his soul. At such 238 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:56.799 times I have seen his face, even on a cold day, 239 00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:59.759 glisten with moisture, as though it were new raised from 240 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:02.960 a bed. Well. To come to an end of the matter, 241 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.240 mister Holmes, and not to abuse your patience, there came 242 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.480 a night when he made one of those drunken sallies 243 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:11.440 from which he never came back. We found him when 244 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.919 we went to search for him, face downward in a 245 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.639 little green, scummed pool which lay at the foot of 246 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:20.360 the garden. There was no sign of any violence, and 247 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:23.159 the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury, 248 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:27.039 having regard to his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict 249 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:30.519 of suicide. But I, who knew how he winced from 250 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.440 the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade 251 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:35.480 myself that he had gone out of his way to 252 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.360 meet it. The matter passed, however, and my father entered 253 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:42.519 into possession of the estate and of some fourteen thousand 254 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:46.519 pounds which lay to his credit at the bank. One moment, 255 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.200 Holmes interposed, your statement is, I foresee, one of the 256 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.120 most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me 257 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.320 have the date of the reception by your uncle of 258 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:59.360 the letter and the date of his supposed suicide. The 259 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:02.559 letter awoke ved on March tenth, eighteen eighty three. His 260 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:05.960 death was seven weeks later, upon the night of May second. 261 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:11.440 Thank you pray proceipt. When my father took over the 262 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:15.600 Horsham property, he, at my request made a careful examination 263 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.720 of the attic, which had been always locked up. We 264 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.320 found the brass box there, although its contents had been destroyed. 265 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:25.200 On the inside of the cover was a paper label 266 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:28.120 with the initials of K K K repeated upon it, 267 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:32.759 and letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register written beneath these, 268 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.679 we presume indicated the nature of the papers which had 269 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:39.440 been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was 270 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.159 nothing of much importance in the attic, save a great 271 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:45.639 many scattered papers and note books bearing upon my uncle's 272 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:48.440 life in America. Some of them were of the war 273 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.159 time and showed that he had done his duty well 274 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:54.759 and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. Others 275 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:57.759 were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern States, 276 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:01.840 and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had evidently 277 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.120 taken a strong part in opposing the carpet bag politicians 278 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:08.039 who had been sent down from the North Well. It 279 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.360 was the beginning of eighty four when my father came 280 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.879 to live at Horseham, and all went as well as 281 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:17.320 possible until the January of eighty five. On the fourth 282 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.919 day after the new year, I heard my father give 283 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:22.559 a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at 284 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:26.159 the breakfast table. There he was sitting with a newly 285 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.799 opened envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips 286 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:32.639 in the outstretched palm of the other one. He had 287 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.039 always laughed at what he called my cock and bull 288 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.919 story about the colonel, but he looked very scared and 289 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.399 puzzled now that the same thing had come upon him. 290 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.679 Why what on earth does this mean, John, he stammered, 291 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:48.720 My heart had turned to lead. It is K K K, 292 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.840 said I. He looked inside the envelope. So it is, 293 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:55.919 he cried. Here are the very letters, But what is 294 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:59.639 this written above them? Put the papers on the sun dial? 295 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:04.200 I read, peeping over his shoulder. What papers? What sun dial? 296 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:07.279 He asked, The sun dial in the garden. There is 297 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.120 no other, said I. But the papers must be those 298 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:14.480 that are destroyed. Pooh, said he, gripping hard at his courage. 299 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:17.200 We are in a civilized land here, and we can't 300 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:20.279 have tomfoolery of this kind. Where does the thing come 301 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:25.039 from from? Dundee, I answered, glancing at the post mark. 302 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:29.159 Some preposterous practical joke, said he. What have I to 303 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:31.720 do with sun dials and papers? I shall take no 304 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.000 notice of such nonsense. I should certainly speak to the police, 305 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.559 I said, and be laughed at for my pains. Nothing 306 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:43.399 of the sort, then let me do so. No, I 307 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:46.399 forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such nonsense. 308 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.679 It was in vain to argue with him, for he 309 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:53.039 was a very obstinate man. I went about, however, with 310 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:56.399 a heart which was full of forebodings. On the third 311 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:59.200 day after the coming of the letter, my father went 312 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:02.399 from home to an old friend of his Major Freebody, 313 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:04.559 who is in the command of one of the forts 314 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:07.680 upon Portstown Hill. I was glad that he should go, 315 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:10.039 for it seemed to me that he was further from 316 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:13.200 danger when he was away from home. In that, however, 317 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:16.200 I was in error. Upon the second day of his absence, 318 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:19.519 I received a telegram from the Major imploring me to 319 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:22.640 come at once. My father had fallen over one of 320 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.359 the deep chalk pits which abound in the neighborhood, and 321 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:29.559 was lying senseless with a shattered skull. I hurried to him, 322 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:33.559 but he passed away without ever having recovered his consciousness. 323 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:36.519 He had, as it appears, been returning from Fareham in 324 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.279 the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him, 325 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:43.000 and the chalk pit unfenced. The jury had no hesitation 326 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:47.400 in bringing in a verdict of death from accidental causes. Carefully, 327 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.400 as I examined every fact connected with his death, I 328 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.359 was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea 329 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:57.039 of murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, 330 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:00.599 no robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon 331 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.079 the roads. And yet I need not tell you that 332 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:05.400 my mind was far from at ease, and that I 333 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:07.960 was well nigh certain that some foul plot had been 334 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.599 woven around him. In this sinister way I came into 335 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.240 my inheritance. You will ask me why I did not 336 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.079 dispose of it. I answer because I was well convinced 337 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.960 that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an 338 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.039 incident in my uncle's life, and that the danger would 339 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:27.759 be as pressing in one house as in another. It 340 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:30.279 was in January of eighty five that my poor father 341 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:32.640 met his end, and two years and eight months have 342 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.240 elapsed since then. During that time I have lived happily 343 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.759 at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that this 344 00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:41.400 curse had passed away from the family, and that it 345 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.480 had ended with the last generation. I had begun to 346 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:48.240 take comfort too soon. However, yesterday morning the blow fell 347 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:50.440 in the very shape in which it had come upon 348 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:54.640 my father. The young man took from his waistcoat a 349 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:58.079 crumpled envelope, and turning to the table, he shook out 350 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:02.400 upon it five little dried orange pips. This is the envelope, 351 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:07.079 he continued. The postmark is London Eastern Division. Within are 352 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.960 the very words which were upon my father's last message, 353 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:13.279 K K K. And then put the papers on the 354 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:19.519 sun dial. What have you done, asked Holmes. Nothing, nothing 355 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.279 to tell the truth. He sank his face into his 356 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.960 thin white hands. I have felt helpless. I have felt 357 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.200 like one of those poor rabbits when the snake is 358 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.799 riding toward it. I seem to be in the grasp 359 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:35.759 of some resistless, inexorable evil which no foresight and no 360 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:40.319 precautions can guard against. Tut tut, cried Sherlock Holmes. You 361 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.519 must act, man, or you are lost. Nothing but energy 362 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:47.240 can save you. This is no time for despair. I 363 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:51.079 have seen the police, ah, but then listen to my 364 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:54.559 story with a smile. I am convinced that the inspector 365 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.759 has formed the opinion that the letters were all practical jokes, 366 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:01.079 and that the deaths of my relations were accidents, as 367 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.559 the jury stated, and were not to be connected with 368 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:07.359 the warnings. Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air. 369 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.720 Incredible imbecility, he cried. They have, however, allowed me a 370 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:16.359 policeman who may remain in the house with me. Has 371 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:19.319 he come with you to night? No? His orders were 372 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:23.160 to stay in the house again, Holmes raved in the air. 373 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.680 Why did you come to me, he cried, And above all, 374 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:29.759 why did you not come at once? I did not know. 375 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.160 It was only to day that I spoke to Major 376 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:35.279 Prendergast about my troubles, and was advised by him to 377 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.759 come to you. It is really two days since you 378 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.240 have had the letter. We should have acted before this. 379 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:44.480 You have no further evidence, I suppose, than that which 380 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:47.680 you have placed before us, no suggestive detail which might 381 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:52.440 help us. There is one thing, said John Openshaw. He 382 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.440 rummaged in his coat pocket, and drawing out a piece 383 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:58.519 of discolored, blue tinted paper, he laid it out upon 384 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:02.400 the table. I have some remembrance, said he, that on 385 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.319 the day when my uncle burned the papers, I observed 386 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:08.279 that the small unburned margins which lay amid the ashes 387 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:12.000 were of this particular color. I found this single sheet 388 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:14.640 upon the floor of his room, and I am inclined 389 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:16.599 to think that it may be one of the papers 390 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:20.000 which has perhaps fluttered out from among the others, and 391 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:24.039 in that way has escaped destruction. Beyond the mention of pips, 392 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:26.799 I do not see that it helps us much. I 393 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.680 think myself that it is a page from some private diary. 394 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:34.640 The writing is undoubtedly my uncle's. Holmes moved the lamp 395 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.519 and we both bent over the sheet of paper, which 396 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.079 showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been 397 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:43.960 torn from a book. It was headed March eighteen sixty nine, 398 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:49.599 and beneath were the following enigmatical notices. Fourth Hudson came 399 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:54.720 same old platform. Seventh set the pips on Macauley, Paramour 400 00:21:54.799 --> 00:22:00.640 and John Swain of Saint Augustine ninth. Macauley cleared, tenth, 401 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:07.039