Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Gazino. The Adventures of
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of
Speaker 1: the Beryl Coronet. Holmes said, I, as I stood one
Speaker 1: morning in our bow window looking down the street, here
Speaker 1: is a madman coming along. It seems rather sad that
Speaker 1: his relatives should allow him to come out alone. My
Speaker 1: friend rose lazily from his arm chair and stood with
Speaker 1: his hands in the pockets of his dressing gown, looking
Speaker 1: over my shoulder. It was a bright, crisp February morning,
Speaker 1: and the snow of the day before still lay deep
Speaker 1: upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the wintry sun. Down
Speaker 1: the center of Baker Street, it had been plowed into
Speaker 1: a brown crumbly banned by the traffic, but at either
Speaker 1: side and on the heaped up edges of the footpaths,
Speaker 1: it still lay as white as when it fell. The
Speaker 1: gray pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but was still
Speaker 1: dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer passengers than usual indeed,
Speaker 1: from the direction of Metropolitan station. No one was coming
Speaker 1: save the single gentleman whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention.
Speaker 1: He was a man of about fifty tall, portly and imposing,
Speaker 1: with a massive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure.
Speaker 1: He was dressed in a somber yet rich style, in
Speaker 1: black frock coat, shining hat, neat brown gaiters, and well
Speaker 1: cut pearl gray trousers. Yet his actions were in absurd
Speaker 1: contrast to the dignity of his dress and features, for
Speaker 1: he was running hard with occasional little springs, such as
Speaker 1: a weary man gives who is little accustomed to set
Speaker 1: any tax upon his legs. As he ran, he jacked
Speaker 1: his hands up and down, waggled his head, and writhed
Speaker 1: his face into the most extraordinary contortions. What on earth
Speaker 1: can be the matter with him? I asked? He is
Speaker 1: looking up at the numbers of the houses. I believe
Speaker 1: that he is coming here, said Holmes, rubbing his hands here. Yes,
Speaker 1: I rather think he is coming to consult me professionally.
Speaker 1: I think that I recognized the symptoms. Ha, did I
Speaker 1: not tell you? As he spoke, the man, puffing and
Speaker 1: blowing rushed at our door and pulled at our bell
Speaker 1: until the whole house resounded with the clanging. A few
Speaker 1: moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still gesticulating,
Speaker 1: but with so fixed a look of grief and despair
Speaker 1: in his eye that our smiles were turned in an
Speaker 1: instant to horror and pity. For a while he could
Speaker 1: not get his words out, but weighed his body and
Speaker 1: plucked at his hair, like one who has been driven
Speaker 1: to the extreme limits of his reason. Then, suddenly springing
Speaker 1: to his feet, he beat his head against the wall
Speaker 1: with such force that we both rushed upon him and
Speaker 1: tore him away to the center of the room. Sharlock
Speaker 1: Holmes pushed him down into the easy chair, and, sitting
Speaker 1: beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in
Speaker 1: the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well how
Speaker 1: to employ. You have come to tell me your story,
Speaker 1: have you not, said? He? You are fatigued with your haste. Pray,
Speaker 1: wait until you have recovered yourself, and then I shall
Speaker 1: be most happy to look into any little problem which
Speaker 1: you may submit to me. The man sat for a
Speaker 1: minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion.
Speaker 1: Then he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his
Speaker 1: lips tight, and turned his face towards us. No doubt,
Speaker 1: ye think me mad, said he. I see that you
Speaker 1: have had some great trouble, responded Holmes, God knows I
Speaker 1: have a trouble which is enough to unseat my reason.
Speaker 1: So sudden and so terrible is it public disgrace I
Speaker 1: might have faced. Although I am a man whose character
Speaker 1: has never yet borne a stain. Private affliction also is
Speaker 1: the lot of every man. But the two, coming together
Speaker 1: and in so frightful a form, have been enough to
Speaker 1: shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone.
Speaker 1: The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some
Speaker 1: way be found out of this horrible affair. Pray, compose yourself, sir,
Speaker 1: said Holmes, and let me have a clear account of
Speaker 1: who you are and what it is that has befallen you.
Speaker 1: My name, answered our visitor, is probably familiar to your ears.
Speaker 1: I am Alexander Holder of the bank firm of Holder
Speaker 1: and Stephenson of threadn Needle Street. The name was indeed
Speaker 1: well known to us, as belonging to the senior partner
Speaker 1: in the second largest private banking concern in the city
Speaker 1: of London. What could have happened then, to bring one
Speaker 1: of the foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass.
Speaker 1: We waited all curiosity, until with another effort, he braced
Speaker 1: himself to tell his story. I feel the time is
Speaker 1: of value, said he. That is why I hastened here
Speaker 1: when the police inspector suggested that I should secure your corporation.
Speaker 1: I came to Baker Street by the underground and hurried
Speaker 1: from here on foot, for the cabs go slowly through
Speaker 1: this snow. That is why I was so out of breath,
Speaker 1: for I am a man who takes very little exercise.
Speaker 1: I feel better now and will put the facts before
Speaker 1: you as shortly and yet as clearly as I can.
Speaker 1: It is of course well known to you that in
Speaker 1: a successful banking business, as much depends upon our being
Speaker 1: able to find remunerative investments for our funds, as upon
Speaker 1: our increasing our connection and the number of our depositors.
Speaker 1: One of our most lucrative means of laying out money
Speaker 1: is in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable.
Speaker 1: We have done a good deal in this direction during
Speaker 1: the last few years, and there are many noble families
Speaker 1: to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security
Speaker 1: of their pictures, libraries or plate. Yesterday morning, I was
Speaker 1: seated in my office at the bank when a card
Speaker 1: was brought to me by one of the clerks. I
Speaker 1: started when I saw the name, for it was that
Speaker 1: of none other than well, perhaps even to you. I
Speaker 1: had better say no more than that. It was a
Speaker 1: name which is a household word all over the earth,
Speaker 1: one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England.
Speaker 1: I was overwhelmed by the honor, and attempted when he
Speaker 1: entered to say so, But he plunged at once into business,
Speaker 1: with the air of a man who wishes to hurry
Speaker 1: quickly through a disagreeable task. Mister Holder said he, I
Speaker 1: have been informed that you are in the habit of
Speaker 1: advancing money. The firm does so when the security is good.
Speaker 1: I answered, it is absolutely essential to me, said he,
Speaker 1: that I should have fifty thousand pounds at once. I could,
Speaker 1: of course borrow so trifling a sum ten times over
Speaker 1: from my friends, but I much prefer to make it
Speaker 1: a matter of business, and so carry out that business myself.
Speaker 1: In my position, you can readily understand that it is
Speaker 1: unwise to place one's self under obligations for how long
Speaker 1: may I ask? Do you want this sum? I asked
Speaker 1: next Monday. I have a large sum due to me,
Speaker 1: and I shall then most certainly repay what you advance,
Speaker 1: with whatever interest you think is right to charge. But
Speaker 1: it is very essential to me that the money should
Speaker 1: be paid at once. I should be happy to advance
Speaker 1: it without further parley from my own private purse, said I,
Speaker 1: were it not that the strain would be rather more
Speaker 1: than I could bear. If, on the other hand, I
Speaker 1: am to do it in the name of the firm,
Speaker 1: then in justice to my partner, I must insist that,
Speaker 1: even in your case, every businesslike precaution should be taken.
Speaker 1: I should much prefer to have it, so said he,
Speaker 1: raising up a square black Morocco case which he had
Speaker 1: laid beside his chair. You have doubtless heard of the
Speaker 1: beryl coronet, one of the most precious public possessions of
Speaker 1: the Empire, said I precisely. He opened the case, and there,
Speaker 1: embedded in soft flesh colored velvet lay the magnificent piece
Speaker 1: of jewelry which he had named. There are thirty nine
Speaker 1: enormous beryls, said he, and the price of the gold
Speaker 1: chasing is incalculable. The lowest estimate would put the worse
Speaker 1: of the coronet at double the sum which I have asked.
Speaker 1: I am prepared to leave it with you as my security.
Speaker 1: I took the precious case into my hands and looked
Speaker 1: in some perplexity from it to my illustrious client. Ye
Speaker 1: doubt its value, he asked, Not at all. I only
Speaker 1: doubt the propriety of my leaving it. You may set
Speaker 1: your mind at rest about that. I should not dream
Speaker 1: of doing so were it not absolutely certain that I
Speaker 1: should be able in four days to reclaim it. It
Speaker 1: is a pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient ample?
Speaker 1: You understand, mister holder, that I am giving you a
Speaker 1: strong proof of the confidence which I have in you,
Speaker 1: founded upon all that I have heard of you. I
Speaker 1: rely upon you not only to be discreet and to
Speaker 1: refrain from all gossip upon the matter, but above all,
Speaker 1: to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution, because I
Speaker 1: need not say that a great public scandal would be
Speaker 1: caused if any harm were to befall it. Any injury
Speaker 1: to it would be almost as serious as its complete loss,
Speaker 1: For there are no beryls in the world to match these,
Speaker 1: and it would be impossible to replace them. I leave
Speaker 1: it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall
Speaker 1: call for it in person on Monday morning. Seeing that
Speaker 1: my client was anxious to leave, I said no more,
Speaker 1: but calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay
Speaker 1: over fifty one thousand pound notes. When I was alone
Speaker 1: once more, however, with a precious case lying upon the
Speaker 1: table in front of me, I could not but think
Speaker 1: with some misgivings, of the immense responsibility which it entailed
Speaker 1: upon me. There could be no doubt that, as it
Speaker 1: was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if
Speaker 1: any misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted, having
Speaker 1: ever consented to take charge of it. However, it was
Speaker 1: too late to alter the matter now, so I locked
Speaker 1: it up in my private safe and turned once more
Speaker 1: to my work. When evening came, I felt that it
Speaker 1: would be an imprudence to leave so precious a thing
Speaker 1: in the office behind me. Banker's safes had been forced
Speaker 1: before now, and why should not mine be. If so,
Speaker 1: how terrible would be the position in which I should
Speaker 1: find myself. I determined therefore that for the next few
Speaker 1: days I would always carry the case backward and forward
Speaker 1: with me, so that it might never be really out
Speaker 1: of my reach. With this intention, I called a cab
Speaker 1: and drove out to my house at Stretham, carrying the
Speaker 1: jewel with me. I did not breathe freely until I
Speaker 1: had taken it upstairs and locked it in the bureau
Speaker 1: of my dressing room. And now a word as to
Speaker 1: my household, mister Holmes, for I wish you to soroughly
Speaker 1: understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep out
Speaker 1: of the house and may be set aside. Altogether. I
Speaker 1: have three maid servants who have been with me a
Speaker 1: number of years, and whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another,
Speaker 1: Lucy Parr, the second waiting maid, has only been in
Speaker 1: my service a few months. She came with an excellent character, however,
Speaker 1: and has always given me satisfaction. She is a very
Speaker 1: pretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung
Speaker 1: about the place. That is the only drawback which we
Speaker 1: have found to her. But we believe her to be
Speaker 1: a sorrowly good girl in every way. So much for
Speaker 1: the servants. My family itself is so small that it
Speaker 1: will not take me long to describe it. I am
Speaker 1: a widower and I have an only son, Arthur. He
Speaker 1: has been a disappointment to me, mister Holmes, a grievous disappointment.
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that I am myself to blame.
Speaker 1: People tell me that I have spoiled him. Very likely
Speaker 1: I have. When my dear wife died, I felt that
Speaker 1: he was all I had to love. I could not
Speaker 1: bear to see the smile fade, even for a moment,
Speaker 1: from his face. I have never denied him a wish.
Speaker 1: Perhaps it would have been better for both of us
Speaker 1: had I been sterner, but I meant it for the best.
Speaker 1: It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me
Speaker 1: in my business. But he was not of a business turn.
Speaker 1: He was wild, wayward, and to speak the truth, I
Speaker 1: could not trust him in the handling of large sums
Speaker 1: of money. When he was young, he became a member
Speaker 1: of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming manners, he
Speaker 1: was soon the intimate of a number of men with
Speaker 1: long purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily
Speaker 1: at cards and to squander money on the turf, until
Speaker 1: he had again and again to come to me and
Speaker 1: implore me to give him an advance upon his allowance,
Speaker 1: that he might settle his debts of honor. He tried
Speaker 1: more than once to break away from the dangerous company
Speaker 1: which he was keeping, but each time the influence of
Speaker 1: his friend, Sir George Burnwell was enough to draw him
Speaker 1: back again. And indeed I could not wonder that such
Speaker 1: a man as Sir George Banwell should gain an influence
Speaker 1: over him, for he has frequently brought him to my house,
Speaker 1: and I have found myself that I could hardly resist
Speaker 1: the fascination of his manner. He is older than Arthur,
Speaker 1: a man of the world to his finger tips, one
Speaker 1: who had been everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and
Speaker 1: a man of great personal beauty. Yet when I think
Speaker 1: of him in cold Blood, far away from the glamor
Speaker 1: of his presence, I am convinced, from his cynical speech
Speaker 1: and the look which I may have caught in his eyes,
Speaker 1: that he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So
Speaker 1: I think, and so too thinks my little Mary, who
Speaker 1: has a woman's quick insight into character. And now there
Speaker 1: is only she to be described. She is my niece.
Speaker 1: But when my brother died five years ago and left
Speaker 1: her alone in the world. I adopted her and have
Speaker 1: looked upon her ever since as my daughter. She is
Speaker 1: a sunbeam in my house, sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful
Speaker 1: manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and gentle
Speaker 1: as a woman could be. She is my right hand
Speaker 1: I do not know what I could do without her.
Speaker 1: In only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes.
Speaker 1: Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for
Speaker 1: he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him.
Speaker 1: I think that if any one could have drawn him
Speaker 1: into the right path, it would have been she, and
Speaker 1: that his marriage might have changed his whole life. But now,
Speaker 1: alas it is too late, forever too late. Now, mister Holmes,
Speaker 1: ye know the people who live under my roof, and
Speaker 1: I shall continue with my miserable story. When we were
Speaker 1: taking coffee in the drawing room that night after dinner,
Speaker 1: I told Arthur and Mary my experience and of the
Speaker 1: precious treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only
Speaker 1: the name of my client, Lucy Parr, who had brought
Speaker 1: in the coffee. Had I am sure left the room,
Speaker 1: but I cannot swear that the door was closed. Mary
Speaker 1: and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the
Speaker 1: famous coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it.
Speaker 1: Where have you put it, asked Arthur in my own bureau. Well,
Speaker 1: I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during
Speaker 1: the night, said he. It is locked up. I answered, oh,
Speaker 1: any old key will fit that bureau. When I was
Speaker 1: a youngster, I have opened it myself with the key
Speaker 1: of the box room cupboard. He often had a wild
Speaker 1: way of talking, so that I thought little of what
Speaker 1: he said. He followed me to my room. However, that
Speaker 1: night with a very grave face. Look here, Dad said he,
Speaker 1: with his eyes cast down. Can you let me have
Speaker 1: two hundred pounds? No? I cannot, I answered sharply. I
Speaker 1: have been far too generous with you in money matters.
Speaker 1: You have been very kind, said he. But I must
Speaker 1: have this money or else I can never show my
Speaker 1: face inside the club again. And a very good thing too,
Speaker 1: I cried, yes, But you would not have me leave it.
Speaker 1: A dishonored man said he. I could not bear the disgrace.
Speaker 1: I must raise the money in some way, and if
Speaker 1: you will not let me have it, then I must
Speaker 1: try other means. I was very angry, for this was
Speaker 1: the third demand during the month. You shall not have
Speaker 1: a farthing from me, I cried, on which he bowed
Speaker 1: and left the room without another word. When he was gone,
Speaker 1: I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my treasure was safe,
Speaker 1: and locked it again. Then I started to go round
Speaker 1: the house to see that all was secure, a duty
Speaker 1: which I normally leave to marry, but which I thought
Speaker 1: it well to perform myself. That night, as I came
Speaker 1: down the stairs, I saw Mary herself at the side
Speaker 1: window of the hall, which she closed and fastened. As
Speaker 1: I approached, Tell me, Dad, she said, Looking I thought
Speaker 1: a little disturbed. Did you give Lucy the maid leave
Speaker 1: to go out to night? Certainly not. She came in
Speaker 1: just now by the back door. I have no doubt
Speaker 1: that she has only been to the side gate to
Speaker 1: see some one. But I think that tis hardly safe
Speaker 1: and should be stopped. You must speak to her in
Speaker 1: the morning, or I will if you prefer it. Are
Speaker 1: you sure that everything is fastened? Quite sure? Dad? Then
Speaker 1: good night. I kissed her and went up to my
Speaker 1: bedroom again, where I was soon asleep. I am endeavoring
Speaker 1: to tell you everything mister Holmes, which may have any
Speaker 1: bearing upon the case. But I beg that you will
Speaker 1: question me upon any point which I do not make clear.
Speaker 1: On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid. I come
Speaker 1: to a part of my story now which I should
Speaker 1: wish to be particularly so. I am not a very
Speaker 1: heavy sleeper, and the anxiety in my mind tendered no
Speaker 1: doubt to make me even less so than usual. About
Speaker 1: two in the morning, then I was awakened by some
Speaker 1: sound in the house. It had ceased. Ere was wide awake,
Speaker 1: but it had left an impression behind, as though a
Speaker 1: window had gently closed somewhere. I lay listening with all
Speaker 1: my ears. Suddenly, to my horror, there was a distinct
Speaker 1: sound of footsteps moving softly in the next room. I
Speaker 1: slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear, and peeped
Speaker 1: round the corner of my dress, singram door Arthur, I screamed,
Speaker 1: you villain, you thief, How dare you touch that coronet?
Speaker 1: The gas was half up as I had left it,
Speaker 1: and my unhappy boy, dressed only in his shirt and trousers,
Speaker 1: was standing beside the light, holding the coronet in his hands.
Speaker 1: He appeared to be wrenching at it or bending it
Speaker 1: with all his strength. At my cry, he dropped it
Speaker 1: from his grasp and turned as pale as death. I
Speaker 1: snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold
Speaker 1: corners with three of the beryls in it was missing, you, blackguard,
Speaker 1: I shouted beside me with rage. You have destroyed it.
Speaker 1: You have dishonored me forever. Where are the jewels which
Speaker 1: you have stolen? Stolen? He cried, Yes, thief, I roared,
Speaker 1: shaking him by the shoulder. There none missing. There cannot
Speaker 1: be any missing, said he. There are three missing, and
Speaker 1: you know where they are. Must I call you a
Speaker 1: liar as well as a thief. Did I not see
Speaker 1: you trying to tear off another piece? You have called
Speaker 1: me names? Enough, said he. I will not stand it
Speaker 1: any longer. I shall not say another word about this business.
Speaker 1: Since you have chosen to insult me. I will leave
Speaker 1: your house in the morning and make my own way
Speaker 1: in the world. You shall leave it in the hands
Speaker 1: of the police, I cried, half mad with grief and rage.
Speaker 1: I shall have this matter probed to the bottom. You
Speaker 1: shall learn nothing from me, said he, with a passion
Speaker 1: such as I should not have thought was in his nature.
Speaker 1: If you choose to call the police, let the police
Speaker 1: find what they can. By this time the whole house
Speaker 1: was astir for I had raised my voice in my anger.
Speaker 1: Mary was the first to rush into my room, and
Speaker 1: at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face,
Speaker 1: she read the whole story, and with a scream, fell
Speaker 1: down senseless on the ground. I sent the housemaid for
Speaker 1: the police and put the investigation into their hands at once.
Speaker 1: When the inspector and a constable entered the house, Arthur,
Speaker 1: who had stood sullenly with his arms folded, asked me
Speaker 1: whether it was my intention to charge him with theft.
Speaker 1: I answered that it had ceased to be a private matter,
Speaker 1: but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet
Speaker 1: was national property. I was determined that the law should
Speaker 1: have its way in everything. At least, he said, you
Speaker 1: will not have me arrested at once. It would be
Speaker 1: to your advantage as well as mine if I might
Speaker 1: leave the house for five minutes, that you may get away,
Speaker 1: or perhaps that you may conceal what you have stolen,
Speaker 1: said I, and then, realizing the dreadful position in which
Speaker 1: I was placed, I implored him to remember that not
Speaker 1: only my honor, but that of one who was far
Speaker 1: greater than I was at stake, and that he threatened
Speaker 1: to raise his scandal, which would convulse the nation. He
Speaker 1: might avert it all if ye would but tell me
Speaker 1: what he had done with the three missing stones. You
Speaker 1: may as well face the matter, said I. You have
Speaker 1: been caught in the act, and no confession could make
Speaker 1: you guilt more heinous. If you but make such reparation
Speaker 1: as is in your power by telling us where the
Speaker 1: beryls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten. Keep your
Speaker 1: forgiveness for those who ask for it, he answered, turning
Speaker 1: away from me with a sneer. I saw that he
Speaker 1: was too hardened for any words of mine to influence him.
Speaker 1: There was but one way for it. I called in
Speaker 1: the inspector and gave him into custody. As such was
Speaker 1: made at once, not only of his person, but of
Speaker 1: his room, and of every portion of the house where
Speaker 1: he could possibly have concealed the gems. But no trace
Speaker 1: of them could be found, nor would the wretched boy
Speaker 1: open his mouth. For all our persuasions and our threats.
Speaker 1: This morning he was removed to a cell, and I,
Speaker 1: after going through all the police formalities have hurried round
Speaker 1: to you to implore you to use your skill in
Speaker 1: unraveling the matter. The police have openly confessed that they
Speaker 1: can at present make nothing of it. You may go
Speaker 1: to any expense which you think necessary. I have already
Speaker 1: offered a reward of one thousand pounds. My god, what
Speaker 1: shall I do? I have lost my honor, my gems,
Speaker 1: and my son in one night. Oh what shall I do?
Speaker 1: He put a hand on either side of his head
Speaker 1: and rocked himself to and fro, droning to himself like
Speaker 1: a child whose grief has got beyond words. Sharlock Holmes
Speaker 1: sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted
Speaker 1: and his eyes fixed upon the fire. Do you receive
Speaker 1: much company? He asked, None save my partner with his family,
Speaker 1: and an occasional friend of Arthur's, Sir George Bernwill, has
Speaker 1: been several times lately, no one else, I think. Do
Speaker 1: you go out much in society? Arthur? Does Mary and
Speaker 1: I stay at home? We neither of us care for it.
Speaker 1: That is unusual in a young girl. She is of
Speaker 1: a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young.
Speaker 1: She is four and twenty. This matter, from what you say,
Speaker 1: seems to have been a shock to her also terrible.
Speaker 1: She is even more affected than I. You have neither
Speaker 1: of you any doubt as to your son's guilt. How
Speaker 1: can we have? When I saw him with my own eyes,
Speaker 1: with the coronet in his hands, I hardly consider that
Speaker 1: a conclusive proof? Was the remainder of the coronet at
Speaker 1: all injured? Yes, it was twisted. Do you not think
Speaker 1: then that you might have been trying to straighten it?
Speaker 1: God bless you. You are doing what you can for
Speaker 1: him and for me, But it is too heavy a task.
Speaker 1: What was he doing there at all? If his purpose
Speaker 1: were innocent, why did he not say so precisely? And
Speaker 1: if he were guilty, why did he not invent a lie?
Speaker 1: His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There
Speaker 1: are several singular points about the case. What did the
Speaker 1: police think of the noise which awoke you from your sleep?
Speaker 1: They considered that it might be caused by Arthur's closing
Speaker 1: his bedroom door, a likely story, as if a man
Speaker 1: bent on felony would slam his door so as to
Speaker 1: wake a household. What did they say, then, of the
Speaker 1: disappearance of these gems. They are still sounding the planking
Speaker 1: and probing the furniture in the hope of finding them.
Speaker 1: Have they sort of looking outside the house? Yes, they
Speaker 1: have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has already been
Speaker 1: minutely examined. Now, my dear sir, said Holmes, it is
Speaker 1: not obvious to you now that this matter really strikes
Speaker 1: very much deeper than either you or the police were
Speaker 1: at first inclined to think. It appeared to you to
Speaker 1: be a simple case. To me, it seems exceedingly complex.
Speaker 1: Consider what is involved by your theory. You suppose that
Speaker 1: your son came down from his bed, went at great
Speaker 1: risk to your dressing room, opened your bureau, took out
Speaker 1: your coronet, broke off by main force a small portion
Speaker 1: of it, went off to some other place, concealed three
Speaker 1: gems out of the thirty nine with such skill that
Speaker 1: nobody can find them, and then returned with the other
Speaker 1: thirty six into the room in which he exposed himself
Speaker 1: to the greatest danger of being discovered. I ask you, now,
Speaker 1: is such a theory tenable? But what other is there?
Speaker 1: Cried the banker, with a gesture of despair. If his
Speaker 1: motives were innocent, why does he not explain them? It
Speaker 1: is our task to find that out, replied Holmes. So now,
Speaker 1: if you please, mister Holder, we will set off for
Speaker 1: Stressen together and devote an hour to glancing a little
Speaker 1: more closely into details. My friend insisted upon my accompanying
Speaker 1: them in their expedition, which I was eager enough to do,
Speaker 1: for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the
Speaker 1: story to which we had listened. I confess that the
Speaker 1: guilt of the banker's son appeared to me to be
Speaker 1: as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but
Speaker 1: still had such faith in Holmes's judgment that I felt
Speaker 1: that there must be some grounds for hope as long
Speaker 1: as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation. He hardly
Speaker 1: spoke a word the whole way out to the southern suburb,
Speaker 1: but sat with his chin upon his breast and his
Speaker 1: hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought.
Speaker 1: Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the
Speaker 1: little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him,
Speaker 1: and he even broke into a desultory chat with me
Speaker 1: over his business affairs. A short railway journey, and a
Speaker 1: shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest residence of
Speaker 1: the great financier. Fairbank was a good sized square house
Speaker 1: of white stone, standing back a little from the road.
Speaker 1: A double carriage sweep with a snow clad lawn stretched
Speaker 1: down in front of two large iron gates which closed
Speaker 1: the entrance. On the right side was a small wooden
Speaker 1: thicket which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges,
Speaker 1: stretching from the road to the kitchen door and forming
Speaker 1: the trademan's entrance. On the left ran a lane which
Speaker 1: led to the stables, and was not itself within the
Speaker 1: grounds at all, being a public so little used thoroughfare.
Speaker 1: Holmes left us standing at the door and walked slowly
Speaker 1: all round the house, across the front, down the tradesman's path,
Speaker 1: and so round by the garden behind into the stable lane.
Speaker 1: So long was he that mister Holder and I went
Speaker 1: into the dining room and waited by the fire until
Speaker 1: he should return. We were sitting there in silence when
Speaker 1: the door opened and the young lady came in. She
Speaker 1: was rather above the middle height, slim, with dark hair
Speaker 1: and eyes which seemed the darker against the absolute pallor
Speaker 1: of her skin. I do not think that I have
Speaker 1: ever seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too,
Speaker 1: were bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As
Speaker 1: she swept silently into the room, she impressed me with
Speaker 1: a greater sense of grief than the banker had done
Speaker 1: in the morning, And it was the more striking in
Speaker 1: her as she was evidently a woman of strong character
Speaker 1: with immense capacity for self restraint. Disregarding my presence, she
Speaker 1: went straight to her uncle and passed her hand over
Speaker 1: his head with a sweet womanly caress. You have given
Speaker 1: orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you not dared?
Speaker 1: She asked? No, No, my girl, the matter must be
Speaker 1: probed to the bottom. But I am so sure that
Speaker 1: he is innocent. You know what woman's instincts are. I
Speaker 1: know that he has done no harm, and that you
Speaker 1: will be sorry for having acted so harshly. Why is
Speaker 1: he silent, then, if he is innocent? Who knows? Perhaps
Speaker 1: because he was so angry that you should suspect him.
Speaker 1: How could I help suspecting him when I actually saw
Speaker 1: him with a coronet in his hand. Oh, but he
Speaker 1: had only picked it up to look at it. Oh,
Speaker 1: do do take my word for it that he is innocent.
Speaker 1: Let the matter drop and say no more. It is
Speaker 1: so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in prison.
Speaker 1: I shall never let it drop until the gems are found.
Speaker 1: Never marry. Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to
Speaker 1: the awful consequences to me. Far from hushing the thing up,
Speaker 1: I have brought gentlemen down from London to inquire more
Speaker 1: deeply into it. This gentleman, she asked, facing round to me. No,
Speaker 1: his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He
Speaker 1: is round in the stable lane. Now the stable lane,
Speaker 1: she raised her dark eyebrows. What can he hope to
Speaker 1: find there? Ah, this I suppose is he. I trust, sir,
Speaker 1: that you will succeed in proving what I feel sure
Speaker 1: is the truth that my cousin Arthur is innocent of
Speaker 1: his crime. I fully share your opinion, and I trust
Speaker 1: with you that we may prove it, returned Holmes, going
Speaker 1: back to the mat to knock the snow from his shoes.
Speaker 1: I believe I have the honor of addressing Miss Mary Holder.
Speaker 1: May I ask you a question or two? Pray do sir,
Speaker 1: if it may help you, if it may help to
Speaker 1: clear this horrible affair up. You heard nothing yourself last night,
Speaker 1: nothing until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I
Speaker 1: heard that, and I came down. You shut up the
Speaker 1: windows and doors the night before? Did you fasten all
Speaker 1: the windows? Yes? Were they all fastened this morning? Yes?
Speaker 1: You have a maid who has a sweetheart. I think
Speaker 1: that you remarked to your uncle last night that you
Speaker 1: had been out to see him. Yes, and she was
Speaker 1: the girl who waited in the drawing room, and who
Speaker 1: may have heard Uncle's remarks about the coronet. I see
Speaker 1: you infer that she may have gone out to tell
Speaker 1: her sweetheart, and that the too may have planned the robbery.
Speaker 1: But what is the good of all these vague theories,
Speaker 1: cried the banker impatiently, when I have told you that
Speaker 1: I saw Arthur with the coronet in his hands. Wait
Speaker 1: a little, mister Holder, We must come back to that.
Speaker 1: About this girl, miss Holder, you saw her return by
Speaker 1: the kitchen door, I presume yes. When I went to
Speaker 1: see if the door was fastened for the night, I
Speaker 1: met her slipping in. I saw the man too in
Speaker 1: the gloom. Do you know him? Oh? Yes, he is
Speaker 1: the greengrocer who brings our vegetable friend. His name is
Speaker 1: Francis Prosper. He stood, said Holmes, to the left of
Speaker 1: the door, that is to say, farther up the path
Speaker 1: than is necessary to reach the door. Yes he did,
Speaker 1: and he is a man with a wooden leg. Something
Speaker 1: like fear sprang up in the lady's expressive black eyes.
Speaker 1: Why you are like a magician, said she. How do
Speaker 1: you know that? She smiled, but there was no answering
Speaker 1: smile in Holmes's thin, eager face. I should be very
Speaker 1: glad now to go upstairs, said he. I shall probably
Speaker 1: wish to go over to the outside of the house again.
Speaker 1: Perhaps I had better take a look at the lower
Speaker 1: windows before I go up. He walked swiftly round from
Speaker 1: one to the other, pausing only at a large one
Speaker 1: which looked from the hall into the stable lane. This
Speaker 1: he opened and made a very careful examination of the
Speaker 1: sill with his powerful magnifying glens. Now we shall go upstairs,
Speaker 1: said he. At last, the banker's dressing room was a
Speaker 1: plainly furnished little chamber with a gray carpet, a large bureau,
Speaker 1: and a long mirror. Holmes went to the bureau first,
Speaker 1: and looked hard at the lock which key was used
Speaker 1: to open it. He asked that which my son himself
Speaker 1: indicated that of the cupboard of the lumber room. Have
Speaker 1: you it here? That is it on the dressing table,
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. It
Speaker 1: is a noiseless lock, said he. It is no wonder
Speaker 1: that it did not wake you. This case, I presume
Speaker 1: contains the coronet. We must have a look at it.
Speaker 1: He opened the case, and taking out the diadem, he
Speaker 1: laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen
Speaker 1: of the jeweler's art, and the thirty six stones were
Speaker 1: the finest that I have ever seen. At one side
Speaker 1: of the coronet was a cracked edge, where a corner
Speaker 1: holding three gems had been torn away. Now, mister Holder,
Speaker 1: said Holmes, here is the corner which corresponds to that
Speaker 1: which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I beg that
Speaker 1: you will break it off? The banker recoiled in horror.
Speaker 1: I should not dream of trying it, said he. Then
Speaker 1: I will. Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but
Speaker 1: without result. I feel it give a little, said he,
Speaker 1: But though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers. It
Speaker 1: would take me all my time to break it. An
Speaker 1: ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you
Speaker 1: think would happen if I did break it, mister Holder?
Speaker 1: There would be a noise like a pistol shot. Do
Speaker 1: you tell me that all this happened within a few
Speaker 1: yards of your bed and that you had nothing of it?
Speaker 1: I do not know what to think. It is all
Speaker 1: dark to me, but perhaps it may grow lighter as
Speaker 1: we go. What do you think, miss Holder? I confess
Speaker 1: that I still share my uncle's perplexity. Your son had
Speaker 1: no shoes or slippers on when you saw him. He
Speaker 1: had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt. Thank you.
Speaker 1: We have certainly been favored with extraordinary life luck during
Speaker 1: this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault
Speaker 1: if we do not succeed in clearing this matter up.
Speaker 1: With your permission, mister Holder, I shall now continue my
Speaker 1: investigations outside. He went alone, at his own request, for
Speaker 1: he explained that any unnecessary footmarks might make his task
Speaker 1: more difficult. For an hour or more he was at work,
Speaker 1: returning at last with his feet heavy with snow and
Speaker 1: his features as inscrutable as ever I think that I
Speaker 1: have seen now all there is to see. Mister Holder
Speaker 1: said he. I can serve you best by returning to
Speaker 1: my rooms. But the gems, mister Holmes, where are they?
Speaker 1: I cannot tell. The banker wrung his hands. I shall
Speaker 1: never see them again, he cried. And my son, you
Speaker 1: give me hopes. My opinion is in no way altered. Then,
Speaker 1: for God's sake, what was this dark business which was
Speaker 1: acted in my house last night? If you can call
Speaker 1: upon me at my Baker Street rooms to morrow morning
Speaker 1: between nine and ten, I shall be happy to do
Speaker 1: what I can to make it clearer. I understand that
Speaker 1: you give me carte blanche to act for you, provided
Speaker 1: only that I get back the gems, and that you
Speaker 1: placed no limit on the sum I may draw. I
Speaker 1: would give my fortune to have them back. Very good.
Speaker 1: I shall look into the matter between this and then
Speaker 1: good bye. It is just possible that I may have
Speaker 1: to come over here again. Before evening. It was obvious
Speaker 1: to me that my companion's mind was now made up
Speaker 1: about the case, although what his conclusions were was no
Speaker 1: more than I could even dimly imagine. Several times during
Speaker 1: our homeward journey, I endeavored to sound him upon the point,
Speaker 1: but he always glided away to some other topic, until
Speaker 1: at last I gave it over in despair. It was
Speaker 1: not yet three when we found ourselves in our room
Speaker 1: once more. He hurried to his chamber and was down
Speaker 1: again in a few minutes. Dressed as a common loafer,
Speaker 1: with his collar tnd up, his shiny seed coat, his
Speaker 1: red cravat, and his worn boots, he was a perfect
Speaker 1: sample of the class. I think that this should do,
Speaker 1: said he, glancing into the glass above the fireplace. I
Speaker 1: only wish that you could come with me, Watson, but
Speaker 1: a fear that it won't do. I may be on
Speaker 1: my trail in this matter, or I may be following
Speaker 1: a will o the wisp, but I shall soon know
Speaker 1: which it is. I hope that I may be back
Speaker 1: in a few hours. He cut a slice of beef
Speaker 1: from the joint upon the sideboard, sandwiched it between two
Speaker 1: rounds of bread, and thrusting this rude meal into his pocket,
Speaker 1: he started off upon his expedition. I had just finished
Speaker 1: my tea when he returned, evidently in excellent spirits. Swinging
Speaker 1: an old elastic sided boot in his hand, he chucked
Speaker 1: it down into a corner and helped himself to a
Speaker 1: cup of tea. I only looked in as I passed,
Speaker 1: said he, I am going right on where too, Oh,
Speaker 1: to the other side of the west end. It may
Speaker 1: be some time before I get back. Don't wait up
Speaker 1: for me in case I should be late. How are
Speaker 1: you getting on? Oh? So so nothing to complain of.
Speaker 1: I have been out to stress em since I saw
Speaker 1: you last, but I did not call at the house.
Speaker 1: It is a very sweet little problem, and I would
Speaker 1: not have missed it for a good deal. However, I
Speaker 1: must not sit gossiping here, but must get these disreputable
Speaker 1: clothes off and return to my highly respectable self. I
Speaker 1: could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons
Speaker 1: for satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled,
Speaker 1: and there was even a touch of color upon his
Speaker 1: sallow cheeks. He hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later
Speaker 1: I heard the slam of the hall door, which told
Speaker 1: me that he was off once more upon his congenial hunt.
Speaker 1: I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of
Speaker 1: his return, so I retired to my room. It was
Speaker 1: no uncommon thing for him to be away for days
Speaker 1: and nights on end, when he was hot upon ascent,
Speaker 1: so that his lateness caused me no surprise. I do
Speaker 1: not know at what hour he came in, but when
Speaker 1: I came down to breakfast in the morning, there he was,
Speaker 1: with a cup of coffee in one hand and the
Speaker 1: paper in the other, as fresh and trim as possible.
Speaker 1: You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson, said he.
Speaker 1: But you remember that our client has rather an early
Speaker 1: appointment this morning. Why it is after nine now, I answered,
Speaker 1: I should not be surprised if that were he, I
Speaker 1: thought I heard a ring. It was indeed, our friend,
Speaker 1: the financier. I was shocked by the change which had
Speaker 1: come over him, for his face, which was naturally of
Speaker 1: a broad and of mold, was now pinched and fallen in,
Speaker 1: while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter.
Speaker 1: He entered with a weariness and lessargy, which was even
Speaker 1: more painful than his violence of the morning before, and
Speaker 1: he dropped heavily into the arm chair, which I pushed
Speaker 1: forward for him. I do not know what I have
Speaker 1: done to be so severely tried, said he. Only two
Speaker 1: days ago I was a happy and prosperous man without
Speaker 1: a care in the world. Now I am left to
Speaker 1: a lonely and dishonored age. One sorrow comes close upon
Speaker 1: the heels of another. My niece Mary has deserted me,
Speaker 1: deserted you. Yes, her bed this morning had not been
Speaker 1: slept in. Her room was empty, and a note for
Speaker 1: me lay upon the hall table. I had said to
Speaker 1: her last night, in sorrow and not in anger, that
Speaker 1: if she had married my boy, all might have been
Speaker 1: well with him. Perhaps it was thoughtless of me to
Speaker 1: say so. It is to that remark that she refers
Speaker 1: in this note. My dearest uncle, I feel that I
Speaker 1: have brought trouble upon you, and that if I had
Speaker 1: acted differently, this terrible misfortune might never have occurred. I cannot,
Speaker 1: with this thought in my mind ever again be happy
Speaker 1: under your roof, and I feel that I must leave
Speaker 1: you forever. Do not worry about my future, for that
Speaker 1: is provided for. And above all, do not search for me,
Speaker 1: for it will be fruitless labor and an ill service
Speaker 1: to me in life or in death. I am, ever,
Speaker 1: your loving Mary. What could she mean by that note,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, Do you think it points to suicide? No? No, nothing,
Speaker 1: of the kind. It is perhaps the best possible solution.
Speaker 1: I trust, mister Holder, that you are nearing the end
Speaker 1: of your troubles. Ha you say so, you have heard something,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, you have learned something. Where are the gems?
Speaker 1: You would not think one thousand pounds apiece an excessive
Speaker 1: sum for them? I would pay ten. That would be unnecessary.
Speaker 1: Three thousand will cover the matter. And there is a
Speaker 1: little reward. I fancy have ye your check book. Here
Speaker 1: is a pen. Better make it out for four thousand pounds.
Speaker 1: With a dazed face, the banker made out the required check.
Speaker 1: Holmes walked over to his desk, took out a little
Speaker 1: triangular piece of gold with three gems in it, and
Speaker 1: threw it down upon the table with a shriek of joy.
Speaker 1: Our client clutched it up. You have it, he gasped.
Speaker 1: I am saved, I am saved. The reaction of joy
Speaker 1: was as passionate as his grief had been, and he
Speaker 1: hugged his recovered gems to his bosom. There is one
Speaker 1: other thing you owe, mister Holder, said Sherlock Holmes, rather sternly. Oh,
Speaker 1: he caught up a pen. Name the sum, and I
Speaker 1: will pay it. No the debt is not to me.
Speaker 1: You owe a very humble apology to that noble lad,
Speaker 1: your son, who has carried himself in this matter, as
Speaker 1: I should be proud to see my own son do,
Speaker 1: should I ever chance to have one. Then it was
Speaker 1: not Arthur who took them. I told you yesterday, and
Speaker 1: I repeat to day that it was not. You are
Speaker 1: sure of it, then let us hurry to him at
Speaker 1: once to let him know that the truth is known.
Speaker 1: He knows it already. When I had cleared it up,
Speaker 1: I had an interview with him, and, finding that he
Speaker 1: would not tell me the story, I told it to him,
Speaker 1: on which he had to confess that I was right,
Speaker 1: and to add the very few details which were not
Speaker 1: yet quite clear to me. Your news of this morning, however,
Speaker 1: may open his lips, for Heaven's sake. Tell me, then,
Speaker 1: what is this extraordinary mystery? I will do so, and
Speaker 1: I will show you the steps by which I reached it.
Speaker 1: And let me say to you first that which it
Speaker 1: is hardest for me to say and for you to hear.
Speaker 1: There has been an understanding between Sir George Burnwell and
Speaker 1: euniece Mary. They have now fled together, My Mary, impossible
Speaker 1: it is unfortunately more than possible. It is certain neither
Speaker 1: you nor your son knew the true character of this
Speaker 1: man when you admitted him into your family circle. He
Speaker 1: is one of the most dangerous men in England, a
Speaker 1: ruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart
Speaker 1: or conscience. Your niece knew nothing of such men. When
Speaker 1: he breathed his vows to her, as he had done
Speaker 1: to a hundred before her, she fluttered herself that she
Speaker 1: alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what
Speaker 1: he said, but at least she became his tool, and
Speaker 1: was in the habit of seeing him nearly every evening.
Speaker 1: I cannot and I will not believe it, cried the
Speaker 1: banker with an ashen face. I will tell you then,
Speaker 1: what occurred in your house last night. Your niece, when
Speaker 1: you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped
Speaker 1: down and talked to her lovers through the window which
Speaker 1: leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right
Speaker 1: through the snow so long had he stood there. She
Speaker 1: told him of the coronet. His wicket lust for gold
Speaker 1: kindled at the news, and he bent her to his will.
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that she loved you. But there
Speaker 1: are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes
Speaker 1: all other loves, and I think that she must have
Speaker 1: been one. She had hardly listened to his instructions when
Speaker 1: she saw you coming downstairs, on which she closed the
Speaker 1: window rapidly and told you about one of the servants
Speaker 1: escapade with her wooden legged lover, which was all perfectly true.
Speaker 1: Your boy Arthur went to bed after his interview with you,
Speaker 1: but he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about
Speaker 1: his club debts. In the middle of the night, he
Speaker 1: heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose, and,
Speaker 1: looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very
Speaker 1: stealthily along the passage, until she disappeared into your dressing room.
Speaker 1: Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some clothes and
Speaker 1: waited there in the dark to see what would come
Speaker 1: of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again,
Speaker 1: and in the light of the passage lamp, your son
Speaker 1: saw that she carried the precious coronet in her hands.
Speaker 1: She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror,
Speaker 1: ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door,
Speaker 1: whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath
Speaker 1: He saw her stealthily open the window, hand out the
Speaker 1: coronet to someone in the gloom, and then closing it
Speaker 1: once more, hurry back to her room, passing quite close
Speaker 1: to where he stood, hid behind the curtain. As long
Speaker 1: as she was on the scene, he could not take
Speaker 1: any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom
Speaker 1: he loved. But the instant that she was gone, he
Speaker 1: realized how crushing a misfortune this would be for you,
Speaker 1: and how all important it was to set it right.
Speaker 1: He rushed down, just as he was in his bare feet,
Speaker 1: opened the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran
Speaker 1: down the lane, where he could see a dark figure
Speaker 1: in the moonlight. Sir George Banwell. Tried to get away,
Speaker 1: but Arthur caught him, and there was a struggle between them,
Speaker 1: You lad and tugging at one side of the coronet
Speaker 1: and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your
Speaker 1: son struck Sir George and cut him over the eye.
Speaker 1: Then something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he
Speaker 1: had the coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window,
Speaker 1: ascended to your room, and had just observed that the
Speaker 1: coronet had been twisted in the struggle, and was endeavoring
Speaker 1: to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene, Is
Speaker 1: it possible, gasped the banker. You then roused his anger
Speaker 1: by calling him names at a moment when he felt
Speaker 1: that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not
Speaker 1: explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who
Speaker 1: certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took
Speaker 1: the more chivalrous view, however, and preserved her secret. And
Speaker 1: that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw
Speaker 1: the coroner. Cried mister Holder, Oh my god, what a
Speaker 1: blind fool I have been, And his asking to be
Speaker 1: allowed to go out for five minutes. The dear fellow
Speaker 1: wanted to see if the missing peace were at the
Speaker 1: scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him.
Speaker 1: When I arrived at the house, continued Holmes, I at
Speaker 1: once went very carefully round it to observe if there
Speaker 1: were any traces in the snow which might help me.
Speaker 1: I knew that none had fallen since the evening before,
Speaker 1: and also that there had been a strong frost to
Speaker 1: preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesman's path, but found
Speaker 1: it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond, however, at
Speaker 1: the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had
Speaker 1: stood and talked with a man whose round impressions on
Speaker 1: one side showed that he had a wooden leg. I
Speaker 1: could even tell that he had been disturbed, for the
Speaker 1: woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was
Speaker 1: shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while
Speaker 1: wooden leg had waited a little and then had gone away.
Speaker 1: I thought at the time that this might be the
Speaker 1: maid and her sweetheart of whom you had already spoken
Speaker 1: to me, and inquiry showed it was so. I passed
Speaker 1: round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks,
Speaker 1: which I took to be the police. But when I
Speaker 1: got into the stable lane, a very long and complex
Speaker 1: story was written in the snow. In front of me.
Speaker 1: There was a double line of tracks of a booted man,
Speaker 1: and a second double line, which I saw with delight,
Speaker 1: belonged to a man with naked feet. I was at
Speaker 1: once convinced from what he had told me that the
Speaker 1: latter was your son. The first had walked both ways,
Speaker 1: but the other had run swiftly, and as his tread
Speaker 1: was marked in places over the depression of the boot,
Speaker 1: it was obvious that he had passed after the other.
Speaker 1: I followed them up and found they led to the
Speaker 1: hall window, where boots had worn all the snow away.
Speaker 1: While waiting, then I walked to the other end, which
Speaker 1: was a hundred yards or more down the lane. I
Speaker 1: saw where boots had faced round, where the snow was
Speaker 1: cut up as though there had been a struggle, and
Speaker 1: finally where a few drops of blood had fallen to
Speaker 1: show me that I was not mistaken. Boots had then
Speaker 1: run down the lane, and another little smudge of blood
Speaker 1: showed that it was he who had been hurt. When
Speaker 1: he came to the high road. At the other end,
Speaker 1: I found that the pavement had been cleared, so there
Speaker 1: was an end to that clue. On entering the house, however,
Speaker 1: I examined, as you remember, the sill and framework of
Speaker 1: the hall window with my lents, and I could at
Speaker 1: once see that some one had passed out. I could
Speaker 1: distinguish the outline of an instant where the wet foot
Speaker 1: had been placed. In coming in, I was then beginning
Speaker 1: to be able to form an opinion as to what
Speaker 1: had occurred. A man had waited outside the window. Some
Speaker 1: one had brought the gems. The deed had been overseen
Speaker 1: by your son. He had pursued the thief, had struggled
Speaker 1: with him. They had each tugged at the coronet, their
Speaker 1: united strength, causing injuries which neither alone could have effected.
Speaker 1: He had returned with a prize, but had left a
Speaker 1: fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So far I
Speaker 1: was clear. The question now was who was the man
Speaker 1: and who was it brought him the coronet. It is
Speaker 1: an old maxim of mine that, when you have excluded
Speaker 1: the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Speaker 1: Now I knew that it was not you who had
Speaker 1: brought it down, So there only remained your niece and
Speaker 1: the maids. And if it were the maids, why should
Speaker 1: your son allow himself to be accused in their place?
Speaker 1: There could be no possible reason, as he loved his cousin. However,
Speaker 1: there was an excellent explanation why he should retain her secret,
Speaker 1: the more so as the secret was a disgraceful one.
Speaker 1: When I remembered that you had seen her at that window,
Speaker 1: and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again,
Speaker 1: my conjecture became a certainty. And who could it be?
Speaker 1: Who was her confederate? A lover? Evidently, for who else
Speaker 1: could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel
Speaker 1: for you. I knew that you went out little, and
Speaker 1: that your circle of friends was a very limited one.
Speaker 1: But among them was Sir George Burnwell. I had heard
Speaker 1: of him before as a man of evil reputation among women.
Speaker 1: It must have been he who wore those boots and
Speaker 1: retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur
Speaker 1: had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he
Speaker 1: was safe, for the lad could not say a word
Speaker 1: without compromising his own family. Well, your own good sense
Speaker 1: will suggest what measures I took. Next. I went in
Speaker 1: the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house, managed
Speaker 1: to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that
Speaker 1: his master had cut his head the night before, and finally,
Speaker 1: at the expense of six shillings, made all sure by
Speaker 1: buying a pair of his cast off shoes. With these
Speaker 1: I journeyed down to Stretham and saw that they exactly
Speaker 1: fitted the tracks. I saw an ill dressed vagabund on
Speaker 1: the lane yesterday evening, said mister Holder. Precisely it was I.
Speaker 1: I found that I had my man, so I came
Speaker 1: home and changed my clothes. It was a delicate part
Speaker 1: which I had to play then, for I saw that
Speaker 1: prosecution must be avoided to avert sca, and I knew
Speaker 1: that so astute a villain would see that our hands
Speaker 1: were tied in the matter. I went and saw him.
Speaker 1: At first, of course he denied everything. But when I
Speaker 1: gave him every particular that had decurred, he tried to
Speaker 1: bluster and took down a life preserver from the wall.
Speaker 1: I knew my man, however, and I clapped a pistol
Speaker 1: to his head before he could strike. Then he became
Speaker 1: a little more reasonable. I told him that we would
Speaker 1: give him a price for the stones. He held one
Speaker 1: thousand pounds apiece that brought out the first signs of
Speaker 1: grief that he had shown. Why dash it all? Said
Speaker 1: he I've let them go at six hundred for the three.
Speaker 1: I soon managed to get the address of the receiver
Speaker 1: who had them on, promising him that there would be
Speaker 1: no prosecution. Off, I said to him, And after much chaffering.
Speaker 1: I got our stones at one thousand pounds apiece. Then
Speaker 1: I looked upon your son, told him that all was right,
Speaker 1: and eventually got to my bed at about two o'clock,
Speaker 1: after what I may call a really hard day's work,
Speaker 1: a day which has saved England from a great public scandal,
Speaker 1: said the banker, rising, Sir, I cannot find words to
Speaker 1: thank you, but you shall not find me ungrateful for
Speaker 1: what you have done. Your skill has indeed exceeded all
Speaker 1: that I have heard of, and now I must fly
Speaker 1: to my dear boy to apologize to him for the
Speaker 1: wrong which I have done him. As to what you
Speaker 1: tell me of poor Mary, it goes to my very
Speaker 1: heart not even your skill can inform me where she is. Now.
Speaker 1: I think that we may safely say, returned Holmes, that
Speaker 1: she is wherever Sir George Burnwell is. It is equally
Speaker 1: certain too, that whatever her sins are, they will soon
Speaker 1: receive a more than sufficient punishment. End of the Barrel Coronet,
Speaker 1: read by Gazina in December two thousand and six.