1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: The Crooked Man. One summer night, a few months after 2 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,080 my marriage, I was seated by my own hearth, smoking 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:11,160 a last pipe and nodding over a novel. For my 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:14,720 day's work had been an exhausting one. My wife had 5 00:00:14,759 --> 00:00:17,719 already gone upstairs, and the sound of the locking of 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,440 the hall door some time before told me that the 7 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:24,359 servants had also retired. I had risen from my seat 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,120 and was knocking out the ashes of my pipe when 9 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,280 I suddenly heard the clang of the bell. I looked 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,719 at the clock. It was a quarter to twelve. This 11 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:35,840 could not be a visitor at so late an hour, 12 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,799 A patient, evidently, and possibly an all night Sitting with 13 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,039 a wry face, I went out into the hall and 14 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,759 opened the door. To my astonishment, it was Sherlock Holmes 15 00:00:46,799 --> 00:00:51,520 who stood upon my step. Ah Watson said he. I 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:53,600 hoped that I might not be too late to catch you, 17 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,359 my dear fellow, pray come in. You look surprised and 18 00:00:58,479 --> 00:01:03,119 no wonder relief. Two. I fancy hm, you still smoke 19 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,439 the Arcadia mixture of your bachelor days. Then there's no 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,239 mistaking that fluffy ash upon your coat. It's easy to 21 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,920 tell that you've been accustomed to wear a uniform, Watson, 22 00:01:13,599 --> 00:01:16,280 you'll never pass as a pure bred civilian as long 23 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:18,719 as you keep that habit of carrying your handkerchief in 24 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,879 your sleeve. Could you put me up to night with pleasure? 25 00:01:24,159 --> 00:01:26,560 You told me that you had bachelor quarters for one, 26 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,760 and I see that you have no gentleman visitor at present. 27 00:01:30,439 --> 00:01:34,319 Your hat stand proclaims as much. I shall be delighted 28 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,560 if you will stay. Thank you. I'll fill the vacant peg. Then. 29 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,480 Sorry to see that you've had the British workman in 30 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,959 the house. He's a token of evil. Not the drains, 31 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,879 I hope, No, the gas ah. He has left two 32 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,159 nail marks from his boot upon your lnnoleum, just where 33 00:01:53,159 --> 00:01:56,359 the light strikes it. No, thank you. I had some 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,000 supper at Waterloo, but i'll smoke a pipe with you 35 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,879 with pleasure. I handed him my pouch, and he seated 36 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,480 himself opposite to me and smoked for some time in silence. 37 00:02:07,599 --> 00:02:10,439 I was well aware that nothing but business of importance 38 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:12,240 would have brought him to me at such an hour, 39 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,680 so I waited patiently until he should come round to it. 40 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,599 I see that you are professionally rather busy just now, 41 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:24,159 said he glancing very keenly across at me. Yes, I've 42 00:02:24,199 --> 00:02:27,159 had a busy day, I answered. It may seem very 43 00:02:27,199 --> 00:02:30,439 foolish in your eyes. I added, but really I don't 44 00:02:30,479 --> 00:02:34,680 know how you deduced it. Holmes chuckled to himself. I 45 00:02:34,719 --> 00:02:37,599 have the advantage of knowing your habits, my dear Watson, 46 00:02:37,879 --> 00:02:41,039 said he. When your round is a short one, you walk, 47 00:02:41,199 --> 00:02:43,680 and when it is a long one, you use a hansom. 48 00:02:44,599 --> 00:02:47,319 As I perceive that your boots, although used, are by 49 00:02:47,319 --> 00:02:50,240 no means dirty, I cannot doubt that you are at 50 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:57,120 present busy enough to justify the handsome excellent, I cried Elementary, 51 00:02:57,479 --> 00:03:00,439 said he. It is one of those instants is where 52 00:03:00,479 --> 00:03:03,439 the reasoner can produce an effect which seems remarkable to 53 00:03:03,479 --> 00:03:06,840 his neighbor, because the latter has missed the one little 54 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,800 point which is the basis of the deduction. The same 55 00:03:10,879 --> 00:03:13,280 may be said, my dear fellow, for the effect of 56 00:03:13,319 --> 00:03:17,439 some of these little sketches of yours, which is entirely meretricious, 57 00:03:17,479 --> 00:03:19,840 depending as it does, upon your retaining in your own 58 00:03:19,879 --> 00:03:23,840 hands some factors in the problem which are never imparted 59 00:03:23,879 --> 00:03:28,000 to the reader. Now at present I am in the 60 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,000 position of these same readers. For I hold in this 61 00:03:31,159 --> 00:03:34,960 hand several threads of one of the strangest cases which 62 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,479 ever perplexed a man's brain. And yet I lack the 63 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,319 one or two which are needful to complete my theory. 64 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:47,719 But I'll have them, Watson, I'll have them. His eyes kindled, 65 00:03:47,759 --> 00:03:51,599 and a slight flush sprang into his thin cheeks. For 66 00:03:51,639 --> 00:03:55,120 an instant. Only when I glanced again, his face had 67 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,879 resumed that red Indian composure which had made so many 68 00:03:58,919 --> 00:04:03,000 regard him as a machine rather than a man. The 69 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,000 problem presents features of interest, said he. I may even 70 00:04:07,039 --> 00:04:10,919 say exceptional features of interest. I have already looked into 71 00:04:10,919 --> 00:04:13,439 the matter and have come, as I think, within sight 72 00:04:13,479 --> 00:04:16,399 of my solution. If you could accompany me in the 73 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,000 last step, you might be of considerable service to me. 74 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,399 I should be delighted. Could you go as far as 75 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:28,680 Aldershot tomorrow. I've no doubt Jackson would take my practice 76 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,959 very good. I want to start by the eleven ten 77 00:04:32,079 --> 00:04:36,319 from Waterloo. That would give me time. Then, if you 78 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,800 are not too sleepy, I will give you a sketch 79 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,720 of what has happened and of what remains to be done. 80 00:04:43,399 --> 00:04:46,680 I was sleepy before you came. I am quite wakeful now. 81 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,000 I will compress the story as far as may be 82 00:04:50,079 --> 00:04:54,160 done without omitting anything vital to the case. It is 83 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:57,399 conceivable that you may even have read some account of 84 00:04:57,439 --> 00:05:01,319 the matter. It is the supposed merge of Colonel Barclay 85 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,839 of the Royal Munsters at Aldershot, which I am investigating. 86 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,759 I've heard nothing of it. It has not excited much 87 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:14,399 attention yet except locally. The facts are only two days old. 88 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,160 Briefly they are these. The Royal Monsters is, as you know, 89 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,360 one of the most famous Irish regiments in the British Army. 90 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,639 It did wonders both in the Crimea and the mutiny, 91 00:05:26,199 --> 00:05:29,959 and that since that time distinguished itself upon every possible occasion. 92 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,879 It was commanded up to Monday night by James Barclay, 93 00:05:34,439 --> 00:05:38,279 a gallant veteran who started as a full private, was 94 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:40,759 raised to commission rank for his bravery at the time 95 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,759 of the mutiny, and so lived to command the regiment 96 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,560 in which he had once carried a musket. Colonel Barclay 97 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,240 had married at the time when he was a sergeant, 98 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,800 and his wife, whose maiden name was Miss Nancy Devoy, 99 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,000 was the daughter of a former color sergeant in the 100 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,480 same corps. There was, therefore, as can be imagined, some 101 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,720 little social friction when the young couple, or they were 102 00:06:04,759 --> 00:06:09,720 still young, found themselves in their new surroundings. They appear, however, 103 00:06:09,759 --> 00:06:13,639 to have quickly adapted themselves, and missus Berkley, as always, 104 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,600 I understand, been as popular with the ladies of the 105 00:06:16,639 --> 00:06:21,040 regiment as her husband was with his brother officers. I 106 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:23,160 may add that she was a woman of great beauty, 107 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:25,800 and as even now, when she has been married for 108 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,079 upwards of thirty years, she is still of a striking 109 00:06:29,199 --> 00:06:34,079 and queenly appearance. Colonel Barklay's family life appears to have 110 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,759 been a uniformly happy one. Major Murphy, to whom I 111 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,319 owe most of my facts, assures me that he has 112 00:06:40,399 --> 00:06:44,399 never heard of any misunderstanding between the pair. On the whole, 113 00:06:44,439 --> 00:06:47,680 he thinks that Berkeley's devotion to his wife was greater 114 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,560 than his wife's. To Berkeley, he was acutely uneasy if 115 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,680 he were absent from her for a day. She, on 116 00:06:55,759 --> 00:06:59,759 the other hand, though devoted and faithful, was less obtrusively 117 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,680 a fad affectionate. But they were regarded in the regiment 118 00:07:02,759 --> 00:07:05,560 as the very model of a middle aged couple. There 119 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,800 was absolutely nothing in their mutual relations to prepare people 120 00:07:08,879 --> 00:07:13,360 for the tragedy which was to follow. Colonel Barkley himself 121 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,240 seems to have had some singular traits in his character. 122 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:21,199 He was a dashing, jovial old soldier in his usual mood, 123 00:07:21,319 --> 00:07:23,360 but there were occasions on which he seemed to show 124 00:07:23,399 --> 00:07:28,439 himself capable of considerable violence and vindictiveness. This side of 125 00:07:28,439 --> 00:07:32,040 his nature, however, appears never to have been turned towards 126 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:36,279 his wife. Another fact which had struck Major Murphy and 127 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:38,519 three out of five of the other officers with whom 128 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,040 I conversed was the singular sort of depression which came 129 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,160 upon him at times. As the Major expressed it, the 130 00:07:46,199 --> 00:07:49,160 smile had often been struck from his mouth, as if 131 00:07:49,199 --> 00:07:52,279 by some invisible hand, when he has been joining the 132 00:07:52,279 --> 00:07:56,360 gaieties and chaff of the mess table for days on end. 133 00:07:56,399 --> 00:07:58,800 When the mood was on him, he has been sunk 134 00:07:58,839 --> 00:08:02,480 in the deepest gloom. This and a certain tinge of 135 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,680 superstition were the only unusual traits in his character which 136 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,959 his brother officers had observed. The latter peculiarity took the 137 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,319 form of a dislike to being left alone, especially after dark. 138 00:08:15,839 --> 00:08:20,079 This puerile feature in a nature which was conspicuously manly, 139 00:08:20,639 --> 00:08:24,959 had often given rise to comment and conjecture. The first 140 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,199 Battalion of the Royal Munsters, which is the old one 141 00:08:28,279 --> 00:08:32,039 hundred seventeenth, has been stationed at Aldershot for some years. 142 00:08:32,879 --> 00:08:35,840 The married officers live out of barracks, and the Colonel 143 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:38,960 has during all this time occupied a villa called Lachene, 144 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,759 about half a mile from the north camp. The house 145 00:08:42,759 --> 00:08:45,480 stands in its own grounds, but the west side of 146 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,240 it is not more than thirty yards from the high road. 147 00:08:48,639 --> 00:08:52,279 A coachman and two maids formed the staff of servants. These, 148 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,679 with their master and mistress, were the sole occupants of Lachine, 149 00:08:56,279 --> 00:08:59,279 for the Berclays had no children, nor was it usual 150 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,360 for them to have resident visitors. Now for the events 151 00:09:03,399 --> 00:09:06,600 at Lachen between nine and ten on the evening of 152 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,879 last Monday, Missus Berkeley was, it appears, a member of 153 00:09:10,919 --> 00:09:14,759 the Roman Catholic Church, and had interested herself very much 154 00:09:14,919 --> 00:09:18,200 in the establishment of the Guild of Saint George, which 155 00:09:18,279 --> 00:09:21,320 was formed in connection with the Watt Street Chapel for 156 00:09:21,399 --> 00:09:24,080 the purpose of supplying the poor with cast off clothing. 157 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,360 A meeting of the guild had been held that evening 158 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,600 at eight, and Missus Berkeley had hurried over her dinner 159 00:09:30,639 --> 00:09:33,919 in order to be present at it. When leaving the house, 160 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,360 she was heard by the coachman to make some commonplace 161 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,399 remark to her husband and to assure him that she 162 00:09:40,399 --> 00:09:44,000 would be back before very long. She then called for 163 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,519 missus Morrison, a young lady who lives in the next villa, 164 00:09:48,039 --> 00:09:51,440 and the two went off together to their meeting. It 165 00:09:51,519 --> 00:09:55,399 lasted forty minutes, and at a quarter past nine, Missus 166 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,120 Berkeley returned home, having left miss Morrison at her door 167 00:09:59,159 --> 00:10:03,120 as she passed. There's a room which is used as 168 00:10:03,159 --> 00:10:06,440 a morning room at Lachine. This faces the road and 169 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:09,559 opens by a large glass folding door onto the lawn. 170 00:10:10,519 --> 00:10:13,960 The lawn is thirty yards across and is only divided 171 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,440 from the highway by a low wall with an iron 172 00:10:16,519 --> 00:10:20,159 rail above it. It was into this room that Missus Berkley 173 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,679 went upon her return. The blinds were not down, for 174 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:27,799 the room was seldom used in the evening, but Missus 175 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,799 Barkley herself lit the lamp and then rang the bell, 176 00:10:31,399 --> 00:10:34,919 asking Jane Stewart, the housemaid, to bring her a cup 177 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,799 of tea, which was quite contrary to her usual habits. 178 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,840 The colonel had been sitting in the dining room, but 179 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,679 hearing that his wife had returned, he joined her in 180 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,679 the morning room. The coachman saw him cross the hall 181 00:10:48,759 --> 00:10:54,240 and enter it. He was never seen again alive. The tea, 182 00:10:54,279 --> 00:10:56,320 which had been ordered, was brought up at the end 183 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,600 of ten minutes, but the maid, as she approached the door, 184 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:02,200 was tries to hear the voices of her master and 185 00:11:02,279 --> 00:11:07,759 mistress in furious altercation. She knocked without receiving any answer, 186 00:11:08,399 --> 00:11:11,320 and even turned the handle, but only to find that 187 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:15,279 the door was locked upon the inside. Naturally enough, she 188 00:11:15,399 --> 00:11:17,919 ran down to tell the cook, and the two women 189 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,960 with the coachman came up into the hall and listened 190 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,840 to the dispute, which was still raging. They all agreed 191 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,840 that only two voices were to be heard, those of 192 00:11:27,919 --> 00:11:32,360 Berkeley and of his wife. Berkeley's remarks were subdued and abrupt, 193 00:11:32,799 --> 00:11:34,919 so that none of them were audible to the listeners. 194 00:11:35,639 --> 00:11:38,200 The ladies, on the other hand, were most bitter, and 195 00:11:38,279 --> 00:11:41,919 when she raised her voice could be plainly heard. You coward, 196 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,279 she repeated, over and over again. What can be done? 197 00:11:45,879 --> 00:11:49,360 What can be done? Now? Give me back my life. 198 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:51,639 I will never so much as breathe the same air 199 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:56,600 with you again. You cowared, you coward. Those were scraps 200 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,279 of her conversation, ending in a sudden, dreadful cry in 201 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,600 the man's voice, with a crash and a piercing scream 202 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:08,200 from the woman. Convinced that some tragedy had occurred, the 203 00:12:08,279 --> 00:12:10,840 coachman rushed to the door and strove to force it, 204 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:16,679 while scream after scream issued from within. He was unable, however, 205 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,639 to make his way in, and the maids were too 206 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,360 distracted with fear to be of any assistance to him. 207 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,639 A sudden thought struck him, however, and he ran through 208 00:12:26,639 --> 00:12:29,919 the hall door and round to the lawn upon which 209 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,159 the long French windows open. One side of the window 210 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,840 was open, which I understand was quite usual in the 211 00:12:37,879 --> 00:12:40,960 summer time, and he passed without difficulty into the room. 212 00:12:42,039 --> 00:12:45,840 His mistress had ceased to scream, and was stretched insensible 213 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,440 upon a couch, while with his feet tilted over the 214 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,480 side of an arm chair and his head upon the ground. 215 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,960 Near the corner of the fender was lying the unfortunate 216 00:12:56,039 --> 00:13:01,480 soldier Stone dead in a pool of his own blood. Naturally, 217 00:13:01,519 --> 00:13:04,440 the coachman's first thought, on finding that he could do 218 00:13:04,519 --> 00:13:08,279 nothing for his master, was to open the door. But 219 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:13,600 here an unexpected and singular difficulty presented itself. The key 220 00:13:13,799 --> 00:13:16,639 was not in the inner side of the door, nor 221 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,600 could he find it anywhere in the room. He went 222 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:22,840 out again, therefore through the window, and having obtained the 223 00:13:22,879 --> 00:13:26,200 help of a policeman and of a medical man, he returned. 224 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,399 The lady, against whom naturally the strongest suspicion rested, was 225 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,919 removed to her room, still in a state of insensibility. 226 00:13:35,919 --> 00:13:38,960 The colonel's body was then placed upon the sofa, and 227 00:13:39,039 --> 00:13:42,519 a careful examination made of the scene of the tragedy. 228 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,679 The injury from which the unfortunate veteran was suffering was 229 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,720 found to be a jagged cut some two inches long 230 00:13:49,919 --> 00:13:53,440 at the back part of his head, which had evidently 231 00:13:53,519 --> 00:13:56,600 been caused by a violent blow from a blunt weapon. 232 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,759 Nor was it difficult to guess what that weapon may 233 00:14:00,799 --> 00:14:04,639 have been. Upon the floor, close to the body was 234 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,279 lying a singular club of hard carved wood with a 235 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,840 bone handle. The colonel possessed a varied collection of weapons, 236 00:14:12,879 --> 00:14:15,480 brought from the different countries in which he had fought, 237 00:14:16,159 --> 00:14:19,279 and it is conjectured by the police that his club 238 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,600 was among his trophies. The servants deny having seen it before, 239 00:14:24,399 --> 00:14:27,000 but among the numerous curiosities in the house, it is 240 00:14:27,159 --> 00:14:31,000 possible that it may have been overlooked. Nothing else of 241 00:14:31,039 --> 00:14:34,799 importance was discovered in the room by the police, save 242 00:14:34,879 --> 00:14:39,720 the inexplicable fact that neither upon Missus Barclay's person, nor 243 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,440 upon that of the victim, nor in any part of 244 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,200 the room, was the missing key to be found. The 245 00:14:46,279 --> 00:14:49,519 door had eventually to be opened by a locksmith from Aldershot. 246 00:14:51,039 --> 00:14:53,399 That was the state of things, Watson, when upon the 247 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,200 Tuesday morning, I, at the request of Major Murphy, went 248 00:14:57,279 --> 00:15:00,840 down to Aldershot to supplement the efforts of the police. 249 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,720 I think that you will acknowledge that the problem was 250 00:15:03,759 --> 00:15:07,639 already one of interest, But my observations soon made me 251 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,240 realize that it was, in truth much more extraordinary than 252 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,240 would at first sight appear. Before examining the room, I 253 00:15:16,279 --> 00:15:20,039 cross questioned the servants, but only succeeded in eliciting the 254 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,519 facts which I have already stated. One other detail of 255 00:15:23,559 --> 00:15:27,720 interest was remembered by Jane Stewart, the housemaid. You will 256 00:15:27,759 --> 00:15:30,320 remember that, on hearing the sound of the quarrel, she 257 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,799 descended and returned with the other servants. On that first occasion, 258 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:37,960 when she was alone, she says that the voices of 259 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,440 her master and mistress were sunk so low that she 260 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,480 could hear hardly anything, and judged by their tones rather 261 00:15:45,559 --> 00:15:48,879 than their words, that they had fallen out on my 262 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,240 pressing her. However, she remembered that she heard the word 263 00:15:52,639 --> 00:15:56,399 David uttered twice by the lady. The point is of 264 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,519 the utmost importance as guiding us towards the reason of 265 00:15:59,559 --> 00:16:04,440 the sudden quarrel. The colonel's name, you remember, was James. 266 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,720 There was one thing in the case which had made 267 00:16:07,759 --> 00:16:11,720 the deepest impression, both upon the servants and the police. 268 00:16:12,039 --> 00:16:15,919 This was the contortion of the colonel's face. It had set, 269 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,919 according to their account, into the most dreadful expression of 270 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,720 fear and horror which a human countenance is capable of assuming. 271 00:16:23,679 --> 00:16:26,559 More than one person fainted at the mere sight of him. 272 00:16:26,759 --> 00:16:30,960 So terrible was the effect, it was quite certain that 273 00:16:31,039 --> 00:16:34,080 he had foreseen his fate, and that it had caused 274 00:16:34,159 --> 00:16:37,879 him the utmost horror. This, of course, fitted in well 275 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:41,480 enough with the police theory. If the colonel could have 276 00:16:41,519 --> 00:16:45,159 seen his wife making a murderous attack upon him. Nor 277 00:16:45,279 --> 00:16:46,919 was the fact of the wound being on the back 278 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,000 of his head a fatal objection to this, as he 279 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,960 might have turned to avoid the blow. No information could 280 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,279 be got from the lady herself, who was temporarily insane 281 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:01,720 from an acute attack of brain fever. From the police, 282 00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:04,359 I learned that Miss Morrison, who you remember, went out 283 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,799 that evening with Missus Barclay, denied having any knowledge of 284 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:10,200 what it was which had caused the ill humor in 285 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:15,119 which her companion had returned. Having gathered these facts, Watson 286 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,160 I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those 287 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,559 which were crucial from others which were merely incidental. There 288 00:17:23,559 --> 00:17:26,960 could be no question that the most distinctive and suggestive 289 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:30,720 point in the case was the singular disappearance of the 290 00:17:30,799 --> 00:17:34,960 door key. A most careful search had failed to discover 291 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,640 it in the room. Therefore it must have been taken 292 00:17:38,759 --> 00:17:42,640 from it. But neither the colonel nor the colonel's wife 293 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,440 could have taken it. That was perfectly clear. Therefore a 294 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,240 third person must have entered the room, and that third 295 00:17:51,279 --> 00:17:54,920 person could only have come in through the window. It 296 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,279 seemed to me that a careful examination of the room 297 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,359 and the lawn might possibly reveal some traces of this 298 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,960 mysterious individual. You know my methods, Watson. There was not 299 00:18:05,039 --> 00:18:07,359 one of them which I did not apply to the inquiry, 300 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:12,200 and it ended by my discovering traces, but very different 301 00:18:12,279 --> 00:18:16,680 ones from those which I had expected. There had been 302 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,559 a man in the room, and he had crossed the 303 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,880 lawn coming from the road. I was able to obtain 304 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,759 five very clear impressions of his footmarks, one in the 305 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:29,440 roadway itself at the point where he had climbed the 306 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,559 low wall, two on the lawn, and two very faint 307 00:18:33,599 --> 00:18:36,279 ones upon the stained boards near the window where he 308 00:18:36,319 --> 00:18:40,160 had entered. He had apparently rushed across the lawn, for 309 00:18:40,279 --> 00:18:43,599 his toe marks were much deeper than his heels. But 310 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,720 it was not the man who surprised me. It was 311 00:18:46,759 --> 00:18:52,400 his companion. His companion Holmes pulled a large sheet of 312 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,759 tissue paper out of his pocket and carefully unfolded it 313 00:18:55,839 --> 00:19:00,000 upon his knee. What do you make of that? He asked? 314 00:19:01,279 --> 00:19:04,200 The paper was covered with the tracings of the footmarks 315 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,680 of some small animal. It had five well marked footpads, 316 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:13,319 an indication of long nails, and the whole print might 317 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:17,079 be nearly as large as a dessert spoon. It's a dog, 318 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,079 said I. Did you ever hear of a dog running 319 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:25,200 up a curtain? I found distinct traces that this creature 320 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:30,279 had done so a monkey, then, But it is not 321 00:19:30,599 --> 00:19:34,519 the print of a monkey. What can it be, then, 322 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,079 neither dog, nor cat, nor monkey, nor any creature that 323 00:19:39,079 --> 00:19:42,279 we are familiar with. I have tried to reconstruct it 324 00:19:42,279 --> 00:19:45,759 from the measurements. Here are four prints where the beast 325 00:19:45,799 --> 00:19:49,039 has been standing motionless. You see that it is no 326 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,359 less than fifteen inches from four foot to hind. Add 327 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,839 to that the length of neck and head, and you 328 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,200 get a creature not much less than two feet long, 329 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:05,079 probably more tail. But now observe this other measurement. The 330 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,759 animal has been moving, and we have the length of 331 00:20:07,799 --> 00:20:12,160 its stride. In each case it is only about three inches. 332 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,400 You have an indication, you see of a long body 333 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,440 with very short legs attached to it. It has not 334 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,160 been considerate enough to leave any of its hair behind it, 335 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,680 But its general shape must be what I have indicated. 336 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:29,759 And it can run up a curtain, and it is carnivorous. 337 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,559 How do you deduce that? Because it ran up the curtain. 338 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,480 A canary's cage was hanging in the window, and its 339 00:20:38,519 --> 00:20:40,480 aim seems to have been to get at the bird. 340 00:20:41,799 --> 00:20:45,119 Then what was the beast? Ah? If I could give 341 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,200 it a name, it might go a long way towards 342 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:51,279 solving the case. On the whole, it was probably some 343 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:55,000 creature of the weasel and stoat tribe. And yet it 344 00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:57,079 is larger than any of these that I have seen. 345 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,440 But what had it to do with? A crime? That 346 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,559 also is still obscure. But we have learned a good deal, 347 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,759 you perceive. We know that a man stood in the 348 00:21:08,839 --> 00:21:12,240 road looking at the quarrel between the barclays, the blinds 349 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,200 were up and the room lighted. We know also that 350 00:21:15,279 --> 00:21:19,000 he ran across the lawn, entered the room accompanied by 351 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,480 a strange animal, and that he either struck the colonel, or, 352 00:21:22,599 --> 00:21:25,759 as is equally possible, that the colonel fell down from 353 00:21:25,799 --> 00:21:28,519 sheer fright at the sight of him and cut his 354 00:21:28,599 --> 00:21:32,319 head on the corner of the fender. Finally, we have 355 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,559 the curious fact that the intruder carried away the key 356 00:21:35,599 --> 00:21:39,079 with him when he left. Your discoveries seemed to have 357 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:41,920 left the business more obscure than it was before, said I, 358 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:47,119 quite so, they undoubtedly showed that the affair was much 359 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,200 deeper than was at first conjectured. I thought the matter over, 360 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,200 and I came to the conclusion that I must approach 361 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:58,400 the case from another aspect. But really, Watson, I am 362 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,279 keeping you up, and I might just as well tell 363 00:22:01,319 --> 00:22:03,720 you all this on our way to Aldershot to morrow. 364 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,079 Thank you, you've gone rather too far to stop. It 365 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,640 is quite certain that when missus Barclay left the house 366 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,480 at half past seven, she was on good terms with 367 00:22:14,519 --> 00:22:17,599 her husband. She was never, as I think I've said, 368 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,319 ostentatiously affectionate, but she was heard by the coachman chatting 369 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,240 with the colonel in a friendly fashion. Now it was 370 00:22:26,319 --> 00:22:29,920 equally certain that immediately on her return she had gone 371 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,079 to the room in which she was least likely to 372 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,599 see her husband, had flown to tea as an agitated 373 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,880 woman will, and finally, on his coming in to her, 374 00:22:39,319 --> 00:22:44,960 had broken into violent recriminations. Therefore, something had occurred between 375 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,759 seven thirty and nine o'clock which had completely altered her 376 00:22:48,759 --> 00:22:52,599 feelings towards him. But Miss Morrison had been with her 377 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,079 during the whole of that hour and a half. It 378 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:59,279 was absolutely certain therefore, in spite of her denial that 379 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,920 she must know something of the matter. My first conjecture 380 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,519 was that possibly there had been some passages between this 381 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,799 young lady and the old soldier, which the former had 382 00:23:09,799 --> 00:23:13,279 now confessed to the wife. That would account for the 383 00:23:13,319 --> 00:23:16,759 angry return, and also for the girl's denial that anything 384 00:23:16,759 --> 00:23:22,400 had occurred. Nor would it be entirely incompatible with most 385 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,079 of the words overheard. But there was the reference to David, 386 00:23:26,559 --> 00:23:28,680 and there was the known affection of the colonel for 387 00:23:28,759 --> 00:23:31,640 his wife to weigh against it, to say nothing of 388 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,440 the tragic intrusion of this other man, which might of 389 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,759 course be entirely disconnected with what had gone before. It 390 00:23:38,839 --> 00:23:41,440 was not easy to pick one's steps, but on the 391 00:23:41,519 --> 00:23:44,759 whole I was inclined to dismiss the idea that there 392 00:23:44,799 --> 00:23:48,400 had been anything between the colonel and miss Morrison, but 393 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,279 more than ever, convinced that the young lady held the 394 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,720 clue as to what it was which had turned Missus 395 00:23:53,799 --> 00:23:58,200 Barclay to hatred of her husband, I took the obvious 396 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,759 course therefore, of calling upon Missus m of explaining to 397 00:24:01,839 --> 00:24:04,359 her that I was perfectly certain that she held the 398 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,759 facts in her possession, and of assuring her that her friend, 399 00:24:07,839 --> 00:24:10,880 missus Barclay, might find herself in the dock upon a 400 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:16,000 capital charge unless the matter were cleared up. Miss Morrison 401 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:18,960 is a little ethereal slip of a girl with timid 402 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,079 eyes and blonde hair. But I found her by no 403 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:26,720 means wanting in shrewdness and common sense. She sat thinking 404 00:24:26,759 --> 00:24:29,880 for some time after I had spoken, and then turning 405 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,799 to me with a brisk air of resolution, she broke 406 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,759 into a remarkable statement, which I'll condense for your benefit. 407 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,119 I promise my friend that I would say nothing of 408 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,240 the matter. And a promise is a promise, said she. 409 00:24:45,759 --> 00:24:48,279 But if I can really help her when so serious 410 00:24:48,319 --> 00:24:51,519 a charge is laid against her, and when her own mouth, 411 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,480 poor darling, is closed by illness, then I think I 412 00:24:55,519 --> 00:24:58,920 am absolved from my promise. I will tell you exactly 413 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,160 what happened. Upon Monday evening, we were returning from the 414 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,960 Watt Street Mission about a quarter to nine o'clock. On 415 00:25:07,039 --> 00:25:09,799 our way, we had to pass through Hudson Street, which 416 00:25:09,839 --> 00:25:13,279 is a very quiet thoroughfare. There is only one lamp 417 00:25:13,319 --> 00:25:16,039 in it upon the left hand side, and as we 418 00:25:16,079 --> 00:25:19,440 approached this lamp, I saw a man coming towards us. 419 00:25:19,799 --> 00:25:23,079 With his back very bent, and something like a box 420 00:25:23,279 --> 00:25:26,880 slung over one of his shoulders. He appeared to be deformed, 421 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:29,680 for he carried his head low and walked with his 422 00:25:29,799 --> 00:25:33,440 knees bent. We were passing him when he raised his 423 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,359 face to look at us in the circle of light 424 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,720 thrown by the lamp, and as he did so, he 425 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,920 stopped and screamed out in a dreadful voice, My god, 426 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:48,160 it's Nancy. Missus Berkeley turned as white as death and 427 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,240 would have fallen down had the dreadful looking creature not 428 00:25:51,319 --> 00:25:54,160 caught hold of her. I was going to call for 429 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,119 the police, but she, to my surprise, spoke quite civilly 430 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,480 to the fellow. I thought you had been dead this 431 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:06,240 thirty years, henry, said she in a shaking voice. So 432 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,559 I am, said he, and it was awful to hear 433 00:26:09,599 --> 00:26:12,119 the tones that he said it in. He had a 434 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,400 very dark, fearsome face and a gleam in his eyes 435 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,559 that comes back to me in my dreams. His hair 436 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,759 and whiskers were shot with gray, and his face was 437 00:26:21,799 --> 00:26:26,359 all crinkled and puckered, like a withered apple. Just walk 438 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,759 on a little way, dear, said missus Barclay. I won't 439 00:26:29,799 --> 00:26:32,039 have a word with this man. There's nothing to be 440 00:26:32,079 --> 00:26:35,799 afraid of. She tried to speak boldly, but she was 441 00:26:35,839 --> 00:26:38,759 still deadly pale, and could hardly get her words out 442 00:26:38,759 --> 00:26:41,880 for the trembling of her lips. I did as she 443 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,720 asked me, and they talked together for a few minutes. 444 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,000 Then she came down the street with her eyes blazing, 445 00:26:48,519 --> 00:26:51,400 and I saw the crippled wretch standing by the lamp 446 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,960 post and shaking his clenched fists in the air, as 447 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,359 if you were mad with rage. She never said a 448 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:00,839 word until we were at the door again, when she 449 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,400 took me by the hand and begged me to tell 450 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:07,160 no one what had happened. It's an old acquaintance of 451 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:11,240 mine who's come down in the world, said she. When 452 00:27:11,279 --> 00:27:14,039 I promised her I would say nothing, she kissed me, 453 00:27:14,799 --> 00:27:18,039 and I have never seen her since. I've told you 454 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:21,000 now the whole truth, and if I withheld it from 455 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,960 the police, it is because I did not realize then 456 00:27:24,039 --> 00:27:27,240 the danger in which my dear friend stood. I know 457 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:30,279 that it can only be to her advantage that everything 458 00:27:30,279 --> 00:27:35,559 should be known. There was her statement, Watson, and to me, 459 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:37,559 as you can imagine, it was like a light on 460 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,599 a dark night. Everything which had been disconnected before began 461 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,680 at once to assume its true place, and I had 462 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:50,400 a shadowy presentiment of the whole sequence of events. My 463 00:27:50,519 --> 00:27:52,759 next step, obviously, was to find the man who had 464 00:27:52,759 --> 00:27:57,640 produced such a remarkable impression upon missus Barclay. If he 465 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,440 were still in Aldershot, it should not be a very 466 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,039 difficult matter. There are not such a very great number 467 00:28:04,079 --> 00:28:07,079 of civilians, and a deformed man was sure to have 468 00:28:07,079 --> 00:28:11,200 attracted attention. I spent a day in the search, and 469 00:28:11,279 --> 00:28:15,440 by evening this very evening Watson I had run him down. 470 00:28:16,519 --> 00:28:19,240 The man's name is Henry Wood, and he lives in 471 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,880 lodgings in this same street in which the ladies met him. 472 00:28:23,599 --> 00:28:26,759 He has only been five days in the place. In 473 00:28:26,799 --> 00:28:29,839 the character of a registration agent, I had a most 474 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,759 interesting gossip with his landlady. The man is by trade 475 00:28:33,799 --> 00:28:37,839 a conjurer and performer, going round the canteens after nightfall 476 00:28:38,319 --> 00:28:41,839 and giving a little entertainment at each He carries some 477 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,839 creature about with him in that box, about which the 478 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,519 landlady seemed to be in considerable trepidation, for she had 479 00:28:48,559 --> 00:28:51,680 never seen an animal like it. He uses it in 480 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,039 some of his tricks, according to her account, so much 481 00:28:55,079 --> 00:28:57,720 the woman was able to tell me, and also that 482 00:28:57,799 --> 00:29:00,519 it was a wonder the man lived, seeing how twisted 483 00:29:00,559 --> 00:29:04,319 he was, and that he spoke in a strange tongue sometimes, 484 00:29:05,519 --> 00:29:08,319 and that for the last two nights she had heard 485 00:29:08,359 --> 00:29:11,880 him groaning and weeping in his bedroom. He was all 486 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,759 right as far as money went. But in his deposit 487 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,319 he had given her what looked like a bad florin. 488 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,559 She showed it to me, Watson, and it was an 489 00:29:20,559 --> 00:29:25,200 Indian rupee. So now, my dear fellow, you see exactly 490 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,240 how we stand, and why it is I want you. 491 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,599 It is perfectly plain that after the ladies parted from 492 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,960 this man, he followed them at a distance, that he 493 00:29:35,039 --> 00:29:37,720 saw the quarrel between husband and wife through the window, 494 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,039 that he rushed in, and that the creature which he 495 00:29:41,119 --> 00:29:45,279 carried in his box got loose. That is all very certain. 496 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:48,920 But he is the only person in this world who 497 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,759 can tell us exactly what happened in that room. And 498 00:29:52,839 --> 00:29:56,880 you intend to ask him, most certainly, but in the 499 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:02,000 presence of a witness, and I am the witness, if 500 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,559 you will be so good if he can clear the 501 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:08,400 matter up well, and good if he refuses we have 502 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:12,359 no alternative but to apply for a warrant. But how 503 00:30:12,359 --> 00:30:15,480 do you know he'll be there when we return? You 504 00:30:15,599 --> 00:30:18,759 may be sure that I took some precautions. I have 505 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,720 one of my Baker Street boys mounting guard over him, 506 00:30:21,799 --> 00:30:24,359 who would stick to him like a burr. Go where 507 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,240 he might. We shall find him in Hudson Street to morrow, Watson. 508 00:30:28,759 --> 00:30:32,200 And meanwhile, I should be the criminal myself if I 509 00:30:32,319 --> 00:30:36,960 kept you out of bed any longer. It was midday 510 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,240 when we found ourselves at the scene of the tragedy, 511 00:30:39,759 --> 00:30:42,920 and under my companion's guidance, we made our way at 512 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,599 once to Hudson Street. In spite of his capacity for 513 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,799 concealing his emotions, I could easily see that Holmes was 514 00:30:50,799 --> 00:30:54,440 in a state of suppressed excitement, while I was myself 515 00:30:54,559 --> 00:30:58,960 tingling with that half sporting, half intellectual pleasure which I 516 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:03,960 invariably experience when I associated myself with him in his investigations. 517 00:31:05,319 --> 00:31:08,119 This is a street, said he, as we turned into 518 00:31:08,119 --> 00:31:12,200 a short thoroughfare lined with plain two storied brick houses. 519 00:31:13,119 --> 00:31:17,799 Ah here is Simpson to report, is in all right? 520 00:31:17,839 --> 00:31:20,960 Mister Owns, cried a small street arab running up to us. 521 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,240 Good Simpson said, Holmes, patting him on the head. Come along, Watson, 522 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,720 this is the house. He sent in his card with 523 00:31:29,759 --> 00:31:32,599 a message that he had come on important business. And 524 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,440 a moment later we were face to face with the 525 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,759 man whom we had come to see in spite of 526 00:31:38,799 --> 00:31:41,960 the warm weather. He was crouching over a fire, and 527 00:31:42,039 --> 00:31:45,240 the little room was like an oven. The man sat 528 00:31:45,279 --> 00:31:48,160 all twisted and huddled in his chair in a way 529 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,960 which gave an indescribable impression of deformity. But the face 530 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,079 which he turned towards us, though worn and swathy, must 531 00:31:56,119 --> 00:31:59,680 at some time have been remarkable for its beauty. He 532 00:31:59,759 --> 00:32:03,720 looked suspiciously at us now out of yellow shot, bilious eyes, 533 00:32:04,559 --> 00:32:09,400 and without speaking or rising, he waved towards two chairs. 534 00:32:10,359 --> 00:32:14,720 Mister Henry Wood, late of India, I believe, said Holmes affably. 535 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,400 I've come over this little matter of Colonel Barclay's death. 536 00:32:19,799 --> 00:32:23,519 What should I know about that? That's what I want 537 00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:27,319 to ascertain. You know. I suppose that unless the matter 538 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,480 is cleared up, missus Barclay, who is an old friend 539 00:32:30,519 --> 00:32:33,799 of yours, will in all probability be tried for murder. 540 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,279 The man gave a violent start. I don't know who 541 00:32:38,319 --> 00:32:41,920 you are, he cried, Nor how you come to know 542 00:32:42,039 --> 00:32:44,480 what you do know? But will you swear that this 543 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:48,079 is true, that you tell me why they are only 544 00:32:48,119 --> 00:32:50,680 waiting for her to come to her senses to arrest her. 545 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:55,960 My god, are you in the police yourself? No? What 546 00:32:56,079 --> 00:32:59,559 business is it of yours? Then it's every man's business 547 00:32:59,559 --> 00:33:02,559 to see us is done. You can take my word 548 00:33:02,599 --> 00:33:07,240 that she is innocent. Then you are guilty. No, I'm 549 00:33:07,279 --> 00:33:12,359 not who killed Colonel James Barclay. Then it was a 550 00:33:12,519 --> 00:33:16,039 just providence that killed him. But mind you this that 551 00:33:16,079 --> 00:33:18,400 if I had knocked his brains out, as it was 552 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,640 in my heart to do, he would have had no 553 00:33:20,759 --> 00:33:23,559 more than his due from my hands. If his own 554 00:33:23,599 --> 00:33:26,920 guilty conscience had not struck him down. It is likely 555 00:33:27,039 --> 00:33:29,359 enough that I may have had his blood upon my soul. 556 00:33:30,279 --> 00:33:32,720 You want me to tell the story, Well, I don't 557 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:35,160 know why I shouldn't, for there's no cause for me 558 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:38,079 to be ashamed of it. It was in this way, sir, 559 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,119 You see me now, with my back like a camel 560 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:44,799 and my ribs all awry. But there was a time 561 00:33:44,839 --> 00:33:47,960 when Corporal Henry Wood was the smartest man in the 562 00:33:48,039 --> 00:33:51,240 one hundred and seventeenth foot. We were in India, then 563 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:56,279 in cantonments, at a place we'll call Bertie. Berkeley, who 564 00:33:56,319 --> 00:33:59,160 died the other day, was sergeant in the same company 565 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:03,240 as myself, and the bell of the regiment. Ay, And 566 00:34:03,359 --> 00:34:05,559 the finest girl that ever had the breath of life 567 00:34:05,559 --> 00:34:09,119 between her lips was Nancy Devoy, the daughter of the 568 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:12,639 color sergeant. There were two men who loved her, and 569 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:16,320 one that she loved. And you'll smile when you look 570 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:19,559 at this poor thing huddle before the fire and hear 571 00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:22,400 me say that it was for my good looks that 572 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:26,880 she loved me. Well. Though I had her heart, her 573 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,360 father was set upon her marrying Berkley. I was a 574 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:34,320 harem scareum, reckless lad and he had had an education 575 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,960 and was already marked for the sword belt. But the 576 00:34:38,039 --> 00:34:41,079 girl held true to me, and it seemed that I 577 00:34:41,119 --> 00:34:43,840 would have had her. When the mutiny broke out and 578 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:47,639 all hell was loose in the country, we were shut 579 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,440 up in Bertie, the regiment of us with half a 580 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:53,719 battery of artillery, a company of Sikhs, and a lot 581 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,519 of civilians and women folk. There were ten thousand rebels 582 00:34:57,559 --> 00:34:59,760 around us, and they were as keen as a set 583 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:03,519 of terriers round a rack cage. About the second week 584 00:35:03,559 --> 00:35:05,920 of it, our water gave out, and it was a 585 00:35:06,039 --> 00:35:09,880 question whether we could communicate with General Neill's column, which 586 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:13,840 was moving up country. It was our only chance, for 587 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:15,559 we could not hope to fight our way out with 588 00:35:15,599 --> 00:35:18,599 all the women and children. So I volunteered to go 589 00:35:18,679 --> 00:35:22,239 out and to warn General Neil of our danger. My 590 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,000 offer was accepted, and I talked it over with Sergeant Berkley, 591 00:35:26,519 --> 00:35:28,719 who was supposed to know the ground better than any 592 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,480 other man, and who drew up a route by which 593 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,159 I might get through the rebel lines at ten o'clock 594 00:35:35,599 --> 00:35:39,320 the same night I started off upon my journey. There 595 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,039 were a thousand lives to save, but it was of 596 00:35:42,079 --> 00:35:44,519 only one that I was thinking when I dropped over 597 00:35:44,559 --> 00:35:48,000 the wall that night. My way ran down a dried 598 00:35:48,079 --> 00:35:51,159 up water course, which we hoped would screen me from 599 00:35:51,159 --> 00:35:54,360 the enemy's sentries. But as I crept round the corner 600 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,079 of it, I walked right into six of them, who 601 00:35:57,119 --> 00:36:00,639 were crouching down in the dark waiting for me. In 602 00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:03,760 an instant I was stunned with a blow and bound 603 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,760 hand and foot. But the real blow was to my 604 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,440 heart and not to my head. For as I came 605 00:36:10,519 --> 00:36:12,880 to and listened to as much as I could understand 606 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:15,719 of their talk, I heard enough to tell me that 607 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,360 my comrade, the very man who had arranged the way 608 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,280 that I was to take, had betrayed me by means 609 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:26,400 of a native servant, into the hands of the enemy. Well, 610 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:28,800 there's no need for me to dwell on that part 611 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:32,519 of it, you know now what James Berkeley was capable of. 612 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:37,119 Bertie was relieved by Niil next day, but the rebels 613 00:36:37,519 --> 00:36:40,079 took me away with them in their retreat, and it 614 00:36:40,159 --> 00:36:42,400 was many a long year before ever I saw a 615 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:47,119 white face again. I was tortured and tried to get away, 616 00:36:47,599 --> 00:36:50,920 and was captured and tortured again. You can see for 617 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,920 yourselves the state in which I was left. Some of 618 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,360 them that fled into Nepal took me with them, and 619 00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:01,199 then afterwards I was up past our jealing. The hill 620 00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:03,880 folk up there murdered the rebels who had me, and 621 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,599 I became their slave for a time until I escaped. 622 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:10,159 But instead of going south, I had to go north 623 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:14,639 until I found myself among the Afghans. There. I wandered 624 00:37:14,639 --> 00:37:17,880 about for many a year, and at last came back 625 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,280 to the Punjab, where I lived mostly among the natives, 626 00:37:21,599 --> 00:37:23,840 and picked up a living by the conjuring tricks that 627 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,800 I had learned. What use was it for me, a 628 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,000 wretched cripple, to go back to England, or to make 629 00:37:31,039 --> 00:37:34,920 myself known to my old comrades. Even my wish for 630 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:38,280 revenge would not make me do that. I had rather 631 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,840 that Nancy in my old pals, should think of Harry 632 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:44,360 Wood as having died with a straight back, than see 633 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:48,119 him living and crawling with a stick like a chimpanzee. 634 00:37:48,679 --> 00:37:51,679 They never doubted that I was dead, and I meant 635 00:37:51,679 --> 00:37:55,599 that they never should. I heard that Barclay had married Nancy, 636 00:37:56,159 --> 00:37:59,000 and that he was rising rapidly in the regiment. But 637 00:37:59,079 --> 00:38:03,280 even that did not make me speak. But when one 638 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:07,400 gets old, one has a longing for home. For years, 639 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:09,800 I've been dreaming of the bright green fields and the 640 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:13,679 hedges of England. At last I determined to see them 641 00:38:13,679 --> 00:38:17,280 before I died. I saved enough to bring me across, 642 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,880 and then I came here where the soldiers are, for 643 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:23,400 I know their ways and how to amuse them, and 644 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:28,079 so earn enough to keep me. Your narrative is most interesting, 645 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:31,599 said Sherlock Holmes. I have already heard of your meeting 646 00:38:31,679 --> 00:38:35,800 with Missus Barclay and your mutual recognition. You then, as 647 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:39,480 I understand, followed her home and saw through the window 648 00:38:39,519 --> 00:38:42,800 an altercation between her husband and her, in which she 649 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:46,679 doubtless cast his conduct to you in his teeth your 650 00:38:46,719 --> 00:38:49,559 own feelings. Overcame you, and you ran across the lawn 651 00:38:49,599 --> 00:38:53,519 and broke in upon them. I did, sir, and at 652 00:38:53,519 --> 00:38:55,800 the sight of me, he looked as I have never 653 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,840 seen a man look before. And over he went, with 654 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:01,800 his head on the fender. But he was dead before 655 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:05,000 he fell. I read death on his face as plain 656 00:39:05,039 --> 00:39:08,079 as I can read that text over the fire. The 657 00:39:08,079 --> 00:39:10,159 bare sight of me was like a bullet through his 658 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:16,440 guilty heart. And then then Nancy fainted, and I caught 659 00:39:16,519 --> 00:39:18,519 up the key of the door from her hand, intending 660 00:39:18,519 --> 00:39:21,440 to unlock it and get help. But as I was 661 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:23,480 doing it, it seemed to me better to leave it 662 00:39:23,519 --> 00:39:26,920 alone and get away, for the thing might look black 663 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:30,199 against me, and anyway my secret would be out if 664 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,400 I were taken. In my haste, I thrust the key 665 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,199 into my pocket and dropped my stick while I was 666 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,800 chasing Teddy, who had run up the curtain. When I 667 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:42,239 got him into his box, from which he had slipped. 668 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:46,639 I was off as fast as I could run. Who's Teddy, 669 00:39:47,079 --> 00:39:50,400 asked Holmes. The man leaned over and pulled up the 670 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,400 front of a kind of hutch in the corner. In 671 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:57,480 an instant out there slipped a beautiful reddish brown creature, 672 00:39:58,039 --> 00:40:01,280 thin and Lithe with the legs of a stoat, a long, 673 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:04,119 thin nose, and a pair of the finest red eyes 674 00:40:04,159 --> 00:40:08,360 that ever I saw in an animal's head. It's a mongoose, 675 00:40:08,639 --> 00:40:12,800 I cried. Well, some call them that, and some call 676 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:16,719 them ick newman said the man snake catcher is what 677 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,800 I call them, and Teddy is amazing quick on Cobra's 678 00:40:20,559 --> 00:40:23,760 I have one here without the fangs, and Teddy catches 679 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,239 it every night to please the folk in the canteen. 680 00:40:27,559 --> 00:40:31,280 Any other point, sir, well, we may have to apply 681 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:33,880 to you again if missus Berkley should prove to be 682 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:38,239 in serious trouble. In that case, of course I'd come forward. 683 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:42,679 But if not, there is no object in raking up 684 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:46,360 this scandal against a dead man, Foully as he has acted. 685 00:40:47,159 --> 00:40:49,400 You have at least the satisfaction of knowing that for 686 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,280 thirty years of his life, his conscience bitterly reproached him 687 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:57,400 for this wicked deed. Ah, there goes Major Murphy on 688 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:01,039 the other side of the street. Goodbye, Wood. I want 689 00:41:01,039 --> 00:41:04,880 to learn if anything has happened since yesterday. We were 690 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:09,599 in time to overtake the Major before he reached the corner. Ah, Holmes, 691 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:12,679 he said, I suppose you've heard that all this fuss 692 00:41:12,679 --> 00:41:17,039 has come to nothing. What then the inquest is just over. 693 00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:22,239 The medical evidence shows conclusively that death was due to apoplexy. 694 00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:26,079 You see, it was quite a simple case after all. Oh, 695 00:41:26,119 --> 00:41:31,119 remarkably superficial, said Holmes, smiling. Come, Watson, I don't think 696 00:41:31,119 --> 00:41:34,840 we shall be wanted in Aldershot any more. There's one thing, 697 00:41:35,119 --> 00:41:38,480 said I, as we walked down to the station. If 698 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,960 the husband's name was James and the other was Henry, 699 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:46,760 what was this talk about, David? That one word, my 700 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:50,199 dear Watson, should have told me the whole story. Had 701 00:41:50,199 --> 00:41:52,760 I been the ideal reasoner which you are so fond 702 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:59,679 of depicting, it was evidently a term of reproach. Of reproach. Yes, 703 00:42:00,639 --> 00:42:03,719 David strayed a little occasionally, you know, and on one 704 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:07,840 occasion in the same direction as Sergeant James Barclay. You 705 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:12,639 remember the small fair of Uriah and Bathsheba. My biblical 706 00:42:12,679 --> 00:42:15,760 knowledge is a trifle rusty, I fear, but you will 707 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:18,760 find the story in the first or second of Samuel, 708 00:42:20,679 --> 00:42:21,960 End of the Crooked Man.