Speaker 1: The disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax. But why Turkish, asked
Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes, gazing fixedly at my boots. I was
Speaker 1: reclining in a cane backed chair at the moment, and
Speaker 1: my protruded feet had attracted his ever active attention. English,
Speaker 1: I answered, in some surprise. I got them at Latimer's
Speaker 1: in Oxford Street. Home smiled with an expression of weary patience.
Speaker 1: The bath, he said, The bath. Why the relaxing and
Speaker 1: expensive Turkish rather than the invigorating home made article, Because
Speaker 1: for the last few days I have been feeling rheumatic
Speaker 1: and old. A Turkish bath is what we call an
Speaker 1: alternative in medicine, a fresh starting point, cleanser of the system.
Speaker 1: By the way, Homes, I added, I have no doubt
Speaker 1: the connection between my boots and a Turkish bath is
Speaker 1: a perfectly self evident one to the logical mind. And
Speaker 1: yet I should be obliged to you if you would
Speaker 1: indicate it. The train of reasoning is not very obscure, Watson,
Speaker 1: said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle. It belongs to the
Speaker 1: same elementary class of deduction which I should illustrate if
Speaker 1: I were to ask you who shared your cab in
Speaker 1: your drive this morning. I don't admit that a fresh
Speaker 1: illustration is an explanation, said I with some asperity. Bravo Watson,
Speaker 1: a very dignified and logical remonstrance. Let me see what
Speaker 1: were the points? Take the last one first, the cab.
Speaker 1: You observe that you have some splashes on the left
Speaker 1: sleeve and shoulder of your coat. Had you sat in
Speaker 1: the center of a hansom, you would probably have had
Speaker 1: no splashes, and if you had, they would certainly have
Speaker 1: been symmetrical. Therefore, it is clear that you sat at
Speaker 1: the side. Therefore, it is equally clear that you had
Speaker 1: a companion. That is very evident, absurdly commonplace, is it not?
Speaker 1: But the boots and the bath equally childish. You are
Speaker 1: in the habit of doing up your boots in a
Speaker 1: certain way. I see them on this occasion, fastened with
Speaker 1: an elaborate double bow, which is not your usual method
Speaker 1: of tying them. You have therefore had them off. Who
Speaker 1: has tied them a boot maker or the boy at
Speaker 1: the bath? It is unlikely that it is the bootmaker,
Speaker 1: since your boots are nearly new. Well, what remains, the
Speaker 1: bath absurd is it not. But for all that the
Speaker 1: Turkish bath has served a purpose, what is that you
Speaker 1: say that you have had it because you need a change?
Speaker 1: Let me suggest that you take one. How would Lausan do,
Speaker 1: my dear Wotson, first class tickets and all expenses paid
Speaker 1: on a princely scale. Splendid? But why Holmes leaned back
Speaker 1: in his arm chair and took his note book from
Speaker 1: his pocket. One of the most dangerous classes in the world,
Speaker 1: said he is the drifting and friendless woman. She is
Speaker 1: the most harmless, and often the most useful of mortals,
Speaker 1: but she is the inevitable inciter of crime in others.
Speaker 1: She is helpless. She is migratory. She has sufficient means
Speaker 1: to take her from country to country and from hotel
Speaker 1: to hotel. She is lost, as often as not in
Speaker 1: a maze of obscure poncien and boarding houses. She is
Speaker 1: a straight chicken in a world of foxes. When she
Speaker 1: is gobbled up, she has hardly missed. I much fear
Speaker 1: that some evil has come to the lady Francis Carfax.
Speaker 1: I was relieved at this sudden descent from the general
Speaker 1: to the particular. Holmes consulted his notes. Lady Francis, he continued,
Speaker 1: is the sole survivor of the direct family of the
Speaker 1: late Earl of Rufton. The estates went, as you may remember,
Speaker 1: in the male line. She was left with limited means,
Speaker 1: but with some very remarkable old Spanish jewelry of silver
Speaker 1: and curiously cut diamonds, to which she was fondly attached.
Speaker 1: Too attached, for she refused to leave it with her banker,
Speaker 1: and always carried it about with her. A rather pathetic figure.
Speaker 1: The Lady Francis a beautiful woman, still in fresh middle age,
Speaker 1: and yet, by a strange chance, the last derelict of
Speaker 1: what only twenty years ago was a goodly fleet. What
Speaker 1: has happened to her? Then? Ah? What has happened to
Speaker 1: the Lady Francis? Is she alive or dead? There is
Speaker 1: our problem. She is a lady of precise habits, and
Speaker 1: for four years it has been her invariable custom to
Speaker 1: write every second week to Miss Dobney, her old governess,
Speaker 1: who has long retired and lives in Camberwell. It is
Speaker 1: this Miss Daubney who has consulted me. Nearly five weeks
Speaker 1: have passed without a word. The last letter was from
Speaker 1: the Hotel Nacional at Lausanne. Lady Francis seems to have
Speaker 1: left there and given no address. The family are anxious,
Speaker 1: and as they are exceedingly wealthy, no sum will be
Speaker 1: spared if we can clear the matter up. Is miss
Speaker 1: Daubney the only source of information? Surely she had other correspondents.
Speaker 1: There is one correspondent who is a sure draw Watson.
Speaker 1: That is the bat single ladies must live and their
Speaker 1: past books are compressed diaries. She banks at Sylvester's. The
Speaker 1: last check but one paid her bill at Lausanne, but
Speaker 1: it was a large one and probably left her with
Speaker 1: cash in hand. Only one check has been drawn since
Speaker 1: to whom and where? To miss Marie Devine, there is
Speaker 1: nothing to show where the check was drawn. It was
Speaker 1: cash to the Credie Leone at Montpellier less than three
Speaker 1: weeks ago. The sum was fifty pounds. And who is
Speaker 1: miss Marie Devine? That also I have been able to discover.
Speaker 1: Miss Marie Devine was the maid of Lady Francis Carfax.
Speaker 1: Why she should have paid her this check we have
Speaker 1: not yet determined. I have no doubt, however, that your
Speaker 1: researches will soon clear the matter up. My researches hence
Speaker 1: the health giving expedition to Lausanne. You know that I
Speaker 1: cannot possibly leave London while old abrahams is in such
Speaker 1: mortal terror of his life. Besides, on general principles, it
Speaker 1: is best that I should not leave the country. Scotland
Speaker 1: Yard feels lonely without me, and it causes an unhealthy
Speaker 1: excitement among the criminal classes. Go then, my dear Watson,
Speaker 1: and if my humble counsel can ever be valued at
Speaker 1: so extravagant a rate as tuppence a word, it waits
Speaker 1: your disposal night and day at the end of the
Speaker 1: continental wire. Two days later found me at the National
Speaker 1: Hotel at Lausanne, where I received every courtesy at the
Speaker 1: hands of Monsieur Mosa, the well known manager. Lady Francis,
Speaker 1: as he informed me, had stayed there for several weeks.
Speaker 1: She had been much liked by all who met her.
Speaker 1: Her age was not more than forty, she was still
Speaker 1: handsome and bore every sign of having in her youth
Speaker 1: been a very lovely woman. Monsieur Mosa knew nothing of
Speaker 1: any valuable jewelry, but it had been remarked by the
Speaker 1: servants that the heavy trunk in the lady's bedroom was
Speaker 1: always scrupulously locked. Marie de Vine. The maid was as
Speaker 1: popular as her mistress. She was actually engaged to one
Speaker 1: of the head waiters in the hotel, and there was
Speaker 1: no difficulty in getting her a dress. It was too
Speaker 1: rue de Trajan Montpellier. All this I jotted down, and
Speaker 1: felt that Holmes himself could not have been more adroit
Speaker 1: in collecting his facts. Only one corner still remained in
Speaker 1: the shadow. No light which I possessed could clear up
Speaker 1: the cause for the lady's sudden departure. She was very
Speaker 1: happy at Lausanne. There was every reason to believe that
Speaker 1: she intended to remain for the season in her luxurious
Speaker 1: rooms overlooking the lake, and yet she had left at
Speaker 1: a single day's notice, which involved her in the useless
Speaker 1: payment of a week's rent. Only joulvi Bard, the lover
Speaker 1: of the maid, had any suggestion to offer. He connected
Speaker 1: the sudden departure with the visit to the hotel a
Speaker 1: day or two before of a tall, dark bearded man,
Speaker 1: a sauvage, A vere table sauvage, cried Joulvi Bard. The
Speaker 1: man had rooms somewhere in the town. He had been
Speaker 1: seen talking earnestly to Madame on the promenade by the lake.
Speaker 1: Then he had called, she had refused to see him.
Speaker 1: He was English, but of his name there was no record.
Speaker 1: Madame had left the place immediately afterwards. Joulvi Bard and
Speaker 1: what was of more importance, Jeues Rulvi Bar's sweetheart, thought
Speaker 1: that this call and this departure were cause and effect.
Speaker 1: Only one thing Jule could not discuss. That was the
Speaker 1: reason why Marie had left her mistress. Of that he
Speaker 1: could or would say nothing. If I wished to know,
Speaker 1: I must go to Montpellier and ask her. So ended
Speaker 1: the first chapter of my inquiry. The second was devoted
Speaker 1: to the place which lady Francis Carfax had sought when
Speaker 1: she left Lausanne. Concerning this there had been some secrecy
Speaker 1: which confirmed the idea that she had gone with the
Speaker 1: intention of throwing someone off her track. Otherwise, why should
Speaker 1: not her luggage have been openly labeled for Baden? Both
Speaker 1: she and it reached the Rhenish Spa by some cecuitous route.
Speaker 1: Thus much I gathered from the manager of Cook's local office.
Speaker 1: So to Baden I went, after dispatching to Holmes an
Speaker 1: account of all my proceedings, and receiving in reply a
Speaker 1: telegram of half humorous commendation at Baden. The tract was
Speaker 1: not difficult to follow. Lady Francis had stayed at the
Speaker 1: englisher Hoff for a fortnight. Whilst there she had made
Speaker 1: the acquaintance of a Dr Schlessinger and his wife, a
Speaker 1: missionary from South Africa. Like most lonely ladies, Lady Francis
Speaker 1: found her comfort and occupation in religion. Dr Schlessinger's remarkable personality,
Speaker 1: his wholehearted devotion, and the fact that he was recovering
Speaker 1: from a disease contracted in the exercise of his apostolic
Speaker 1: duties affected her deeply. She had helped Missus Schlessinger in
Speaker 1: the nursing of the convalescent Saint. He spent his day,
Speaker 1: as the manager described it to me, upon a lounge
Speaker 1: chair on the verandah, with an attendant lady upon either
Speaker 1: side of him. He was preparing a map of the
Speaker 1: Holy Land with special reference to the Kingdom of the
Speaker 1: Midian Nights, upon which he was writing a monograph. Finally,
Speaker 1: having improved much in health, he and his wife had
Speaker 1: returned to London, and Lady Francis had started thither in
Speaker 1: their company. This was just three weeks before and the
Speaker 1: manager had heard nothing since. As to the maid Marie.
Speaker 1: She had gone off some days beforehand in floods of tears,
Speaker 1: after informing the other maids that she was leaving service forever.
Speaker 1: Doctor Schlessinger had paid the bill of the whole party
Speaker 1: before his departure. By the way, said the landlord in conclusion,
Speaker 1: you are not the only friend of Lady Francis Carfax
Speaker 1: who is inquiring after her. Just now, only a week
Speaker 1: or so ago, we had a man here upon the
Speaker 1: same Errand did he give a name? I asked none.
Speaker 1: But he was an Englishman, though of an unusual type,
Speaker 1: A savage, said I, linking my facts after the fashion
Speaker 1: of my illustrious friend, exactly, that describes him very well.
Speaker 1: He is a bulky, bearded, sunburned fellow who looks as
Speaker 1: if he would be more at home in a farmer's
Speaker 1: inn than in a fashionable hotel. A hard fierce man,
Speaker 1: I should think, and one whom I should be sorry
Speaker 1: to offend. Already the mystery began to define itself as
Speaker 1: figures grow clearer with the lifting of a fog. Here
Speaker 1: was this good and pious lady pursued from place to
Speaker 1: place by a sinister and unrelenting figure. She feared him,
Speaker 1: or she would not have fled from Lausanne. He had
Speaker 1: still follow sooner or later he would overtake her. Had
Speaker 1: he already overtaken her? Was that the secret of her
Speaker 1: continued silence? Could the good people who were her companions?
Speaker 1: Not screen her from his violence or his blackmail? What
Speaker 1: horrible purpose, what deep design lay behind this long pursuit?
Speaker 1: There was the problem which I had to solve. To Holmes,
Speaker 1: I wrote, showing how rapidly and surely I had got
Speaker 1: down to the roots of the matter. In reply, I
Speaker 1: had a telegram asking for a description of Dr Schlessinger's
Speaker 1: left ear. Holmes's ideas of humour are strange and occasionally offensive,
Speaker 1: so I took no notice of his ill timed jest. Indeed,
Speaker 1: I had already reached Montpellier in my pursuit of the
Speaker 1: maid Marie before his message came. I had no difficulty
Speaker 1: in finding the ex servant and in learning all that
Speaker 1: she could tell me. She was a devoted creature who
Speaker 1: had only left her mistress because she was sure that
Speaker 1: she was in good hands, and because her own approaching
Speaker 1: marriage made a separation inevitable in any case. Her mistress had,
Speaker 1: as she confessed with distress, shown some irritability of temper
Speaker 1: towards her during their stay in Baden, and had even
Speaker 1: questioned her once as if she had suspicions of her honesty,
Speaker 1: and this made the parting easier than it would otherwise
Speaker 1: have been. Lady Francis had given her fifty pounds as
Speaker 1: a wedding present. Like me, Marie viewed with deep distrust
Speaker 1: the stranger who had driven her mistress from Lausanne. With
Speaker 1: her own eyes, she had seen him seize the lady's
Speaker 1: wrist with great violence on the public promenade by the lake.
Speaker 1: He was a fierce and terrible man. She believed that
Speaker 1: it was out of dread of him that Lady Francis
Speaker 1: had accepted the escort of the Schlessingers to London. She
Speaker 1: had never spoken to Marie about it, but many little
Speaker 1: signs had convinced the maid that her mistress lived in
Speaker 1: a state of continual nervous apprehension. So far she had
Speaker 1: got in her narrative when suddenly she sprang from her chair,
Speaker 1: and her face was convulsed with surprise and fear. See
Speaker 1: she cried the miscrey and follow Still there is the
Speaker 1: very man of um. I speak. Through the open sitting
Speaker 1: room window, I saw a huge, swarthy man with a
Speaker 1: bristling black beard, walking slowly down the center of the
Speaker 1: street and staring eagerly at the numbers of the houses.
Speaker 1: It was clear that, like myself, he was on the
Speaker 1: track of the maid. Acting upon the impulse of the moment,
Speaker 1: I rushed out and accosted him. You are an Englishman,
Speaker 1: I said, What if I am? He asked, with the
Speaker 1: most villainous scowl. May I ask what your name is? Now?
Speaker 1: You may not, said he with decision. The situation was awkward,
Speaker 1: but the most direct way is often the best. Where
Speaker 1: is the lady Francis Carfax? I asked. He stared at
Speaker 1: me in amazement. What have you done with her? Why
Speaker 1: have you pursued her? I insist upon an answer, said I.
Speaker 1: The fellow gave a bellow of anger and sprang upon
Speaker 1: me like a tiger. I have held my own in
Speaker 1: many a struggle, But the man had a grip of
Speaker 1: iron and the fury of a fiend. His hand was
Speaker 1: on my throat, and my senses were nearly gone. Before
Speaker 1: an unshaven French ouvrier in a blue blouse darted out
Speaker 1: from a cabaret opposite with a cudgel in his hand,
Speaker 1: and struck my assailant a sharp crack over the forearm,
Speaker 1: which made him leave go his hold. He stood for
Speaker 1: an instant fuming with rage and uncertain whether he should
Speaker 1: not renew his attack. Then, with a snarl of anger,
Speaker 1: he left me and entered the cottage from which I
Speaker 1: had just come. I turned to thank my preserver, who
Speaker 1: stood beside me in the roadway. Well, Watson said he
Speaker 1: a very pretty hash you have made of it. I
Speaker 1: rather think you had better come back with me to
Speaker 1: London by the night express. An hour afterwards, Sherlock Holmes,
Speaker 1: in his usual garb and style, was seated in my
Speaker 1: private room at the hotel. His explanation of his sudden
Speaker 1: and opportune appearance was simplicity itself. For finding that he
Speaker 1: could get away from London, he determined to head me
Speaker 1: off at the next obvious point of my travels in
Speaker 1: the disguise of a working man. He had sat in
Speaker 1: the cabaret waiting for my appearance, and a singularly consistent
Speaker 1: investigation you have made, my dear Watson, said he. I
Speaker 1: cannot at the moment recall any possible blunder which you
Speaker 1: have omitted. The total effect of your proceedings has been
Speaker 1: to give the alarm everywhere, and yet to discover nothing.
Speaker 1: Perhaps you would have done no better, I answered bitterly.
Speaker 1: There is no perhaps about it. I have done better.
Speaker 1: Here is the honorable Philip Greene, who is a fellow
Speaker 1: lodger with you in this hotel, and we may find
Speaker 1: in him the starting point for a more successful investigation.
Speaker 1: A card had come up on a salver, and it
Speaker 1: was followed by the same bearded ruffian who had attacked
Speaker 1: me in the street. He started when he saw me,
Speaker 1: What is this, mister Olmes, He asked, I add your
Speaker 1: note and I have come. But what has this man
Speaker 1: to do with the matter. This is my old friend
Speaker 1: and associate, doctor wat who was helping us in this affair.
Speaker 1: The stranger held out a huge sunburned hand with a
Speaker 1: few words of apology. I hope I didn't harm you
Speaker 1: when you accused me of hurting her. I lost my
Speaker 1: grip of myself. Indeed, I'm not responsible in these days.
Speaker 1: My nerves are like live wires, and this situation is
Speaker 1: beyond me. What I want to know in the first place,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, is how in the world you came to
Speaker 1: hear of my existence at all. I am in touch
Speaker 1: with Miss Dobney, Lady Francis's governess, Old Susan Dobney with
Speaker 1: the mob cap I remember her well, and she remembers you.
Speaker 1: It was in the days before before you found it
Speaker 1: better to go to South Africa. Ah, I see, you
Speaker 1: know my whole story. I need hide nothing from you.
Speaker 1: I swear to you, mister Holmes, that there never was
Speaker 1: in this world a man who loved a woman with
Speaker 1: a more wholehearted love and I had for Francis. I
Speaker 1: was a wild youngster, I know, not worse than others
Speaker 1: of my class. But her mind was pure as snow.
Speaker 1: She could not bear a shadow of coarseness. So when
Speaker 1: she came to hear of things that I had done,
Speaker 1: she would have no more to say to me. And
Speaker 1: yet she loved me, that is the wonder of it.
Speaker 1: Loved me well enough to remain single all her sainted days,
Speaker 1: just for my sake alone. When the years had passed
Speaker 1: and I had made my money at Barberton, I thought
Speaker 1: perhaps I could seek her out and soften her. I
Speaker 1: had heard that she was still unmarried. I found her
Speaker 1: at Lausanne and tried all I knew. She weakened, I think,
Speaker 1: but her will was strong, and when next I called
Speaker 1: she had left the town. I traced her to Baden,
Speaker 1: and then after a time heard that her maid was here.
Speaker 1: I'm a rough fellow, fresh from a rough life, and
Speaker 1: when doctor Watson spoke to me as he did, I
Speaker 1: lost hold of myself for a moment. But for God's sake,
Speaker 1: tell me what has become of the lady Francis. That
Speaker 1: is for us to find out, said Sherlock Holmes, with
Speaker 1: peculiar gravity. What is your London address, mister Green? The
Speaker 1: Langamotel will find me. Then, may I recommend that you
Speaker 1: return there and be on hand in case I should
Speaker 1: want you. I have no desire to encourage false hopes,
Speaker 1: but you may rest assured that all that can be
Speaker 1: done will be done for the safety of Lady Francis.
Speaker 1: I can say no more for the instant. I will
Speaker 1: leave you this card so that you may be able
Speaker 1: to keep in touch with us. Now, Watson, if you
Speaker 1: will pack your bag, I will cable to missus Hudson
Speaker 1: to make one of her best efforts for two hungry travelers.
Speaker 1: At seven thirty to morrow a telegram was awaiting us
Speaker 1: when we reached our Baker Street rooms, which Holmes read
Speaker 1: with an exclamation of interest and threw across to me.
Speaker 1: Jagged or torn was the message and the place of
Speaker 1: origin Baden? What is this? I asked? It is everything?
Speaker 1: Holmes answered, you may remember my seemingly irrelevant question as
Speaker 1: to this clerical gentleman's left ear. You did not answer it.
Speaker 1: I had left Baden and could not inquire exactly. For
Speaker 1: this reason I sent a duplicate to the manager of
Speaker 1: the englisher Hoff whose answer lies here. What does it show?
Speaker 1: It shows, my dear Watson, that we are dealing with
Speaker 1: an exceptionally astute and dangerous man. The Reverend Doctor Schlessinger,
Speaker 1: missionary from South America, is none other than Holy Peters,
Speaker 1: one of the most unscrupulous rascals that Australia has ever evolved,
Speaker 1: and for a young country it is turned out some
Speaker 1: very finished types. His particular speciality is the beguiling of
Speaker 1: lonely ladies by playing upon their religious feelings, and his
Speaker 1: so called wife, an englishwoman named Fraser, is a worthy helpmate.
Speaker 1: The nature of his tactics suggested his identity to me,
Speaker 1: and this physical peculiarity he was badly bitten in a
Speaker 1: saloon fight at Adelaide in eighty nine, confirmed my suspicion.
Speaker 1: This poor lady is in the hands of a most
Speaker 1: infernal couple who will stick at nothing. Watson, that she
Speaker 1: is already dead is a very likely supposition. If not,
Speaker 1: she is undoubtedly in some sort of confinement and unable
Speaker 1: to write to Miss Dobney or her other friends. It
Speaker 1: is always possible that she never reached London, or that
Speaker 1: she has passed through it, but the former is improbable,
Speaker 1: as with their cister of registration. It is not easy
Speaker 1: for foreigners to play tricks with the Continental police, and
Speaker 1: the latter is also unlikely, as these rogues could not
Speaker 1: hope to find any other place where it would be
Speaker 1: as easy to keep a person under restraint. All my
Speaker 1: instincts tell me that she is in London, but as
Speaker 1: we have at present no possible means of telling, where
Speaker 1: we can only take the obvious steps, eat our dinner
Speaker 1: and possess our souls in patience. Later in the evening
Speaker 1: I will stroll down and have a word with friend
Speaker 1: Lestrade at Scotland Yard. But neither the official police nor
Speaker 1: Holmes's own small but very efficient organization sufficed to clear
Speaker 1: away the mystery. Amid the crowded millions of London. The
Speaker 1: three persons we sought were as completely obliterated as if
Speaker 1: they had never lived. Advertisements were tried and failed. Clues
Speaker 1: were followed and led to nothing. Criminal resort, which Schlessinger
Speaker 1: might requent, was drawn in vain. His old associates were watched,
Speaker 1: but they kept clear of him. And then suddenly, after
Speaker 1: a week of helpless suspense, there came a flash of light.
Speaker 1: A silver and brilliant pendant of old Spanish design had
Speaker 1: been pawned at Bevington's in Westminster Road. The pawner was
Speaker 1: a large, clean shaven man of clerical appearance. His name
Speaker 1: and address were demonstrably false. The ear had escaped notice,
Speaker 1: but the description was surely that of Schlessinger. Three times
Speaker 1: had our bearded friend from the Langham called for news.
Speaker 1: The third time within an hour of this fresh development,
Speaker 1: his clothes were getting looser on his great body. He
Speaker 1: seemed to be wilting away in his anxiety. If you
Speaker 1: will only give me something to do, was his constant wail.
Speaker 1: At last, Holmes could oblige him. He has begun to
Speaker 1: pawn the jewels. We should get him now. But does
Speaker 1: this mean that any harm has befallen? The lady Francis
Speaker 1: Holmes shook his head very gravely. Supposing that they have
Speaker 1: held her prisoner up to now, it is clear that
Speaker 1: they cannot let her loose without their own destruction. We
Speaker 1: must prepare for the worst. What can I do? These
Speaker 1: people do not know you by sight. No, it is
Speaker 1: possible that he will go to some other pawnbroker in
Speaker 1: the future. In that case we must begin again. On
Speaker 1: the other hand, he has had a fair price and
Speaker 1: no questions asked, so if he is in need of
Speaker 1: ready money, he will probably come back to Bevington's. I
Speaker 1: will give you a note to them, and they will
Speaker 1: let you wait in the shop. If the fellow comes,
Speaker 1: you will follow him home, But no indiscretion, and above
Speaker 1: all no violence. I put you on your honor that
Speaker 1: you will take no step without my knowledge and consent
Speaker 1: for two days. The honorable Philip Greene, he was, I
Speaker 1: may mention, the son of the famous admiral of that name,
Speaker 1: who commanded the Sea of azof Fleet in the Crimean
Speaker 1: War brought us no news. On the evening of the third,
Speaker 1: he rushed into our sitting room, pale, trembling with every
Speaker 1: muscle of his powerful frame, quivering with excitement. We have him,
Speaker 1: We have him, he cried. He was incoherent in his agitation.
Speaker 1: Holmes soothed him with a few words and thrust him
Speaker 1: into an armchair. Come now, give us the order of events,
Speaker 1: said he. She came only an hour ago. It was
Speaker 1: the wife this time, but the pendant she brought was
Speaker 1: the fellow of the other. She is a tall, pale
Speaker 1: woman with ferret eyes. That is the lady, said Holmes.
Speaker 1: She left the office and I followed her. She walked
Speaker 1: up the Kennington Road, and I kept behind her. Presently
Speaker 1: she went into a shop. Mister Holmes, it was an
Speaker 1: undertaker's my companion started well, he asked, in that vibrant
Speaker 1: voice which told of the fiery soul behind the cold
Speaker 1: gray face. She was talking to the woman behind the counter.
Speaker 1: I entered as well. It is late, I heard her
Speaker 1: say words to that effect. The woman was excusing herself.
Speaker 1: It should be there before now, she answered. It took longer,
Speaker 1: being out of the ordinary. They both stopped and looked
Speaker 1: at me, so I asked some question and then left
Speaker 1: the shop. You did excellently well. What happened next? The
Speaker 1: woman came out, but I had did myself in a doorway.
Speaker 1: Her suspicions had been aroused, I think, for she looked
Speaker 1: round her. Then she called a cab and got in.
Speaker 1: I was lucky enough to get another, and so to
Speaker 1: follow her. She got down at last at number thirty
Speaker 1: six Pulteney Square, Brixton. I drove past, left my cab
Speaker 1: at the corner of the square and watched the house.
Speaker 1: Did you see anyone? The windows were all in darkness
Speaker 1: save one on the lower floor. The blind was down
Speaker 1: and I could not see in. I was standing there
Speaker 1: wondering what I should do next, when a covered van
Speaker 1: drove up with two men in it. They descended, took
Speaker 1: something out of the van and carried it up the
Speaker 1: steps to the hall door. Mister Holmes, it was a coffin. Ah.
Speaker 1: For an instant I was on the point of rushing in.
Speaker 1: The door had been opened to admit the men, and
Speaker 1: they're burdened. It was the woman who had opened it.
Speaker 1: But as I stood there, she caught a glimpse of me,
Speaker 1: and I think that she recognized me. I saw her start,
Speaker 1: and she hastily closed the door. I remembered my promise
Speaker 1: to you, and here I am. You have done excellent work,
Speaker 1: said Ho, scribbling a few words upon a half sheet
Speaker 1: of paper. We can do nothing legal without a warrant,
Speaker 1: and you can serve the cause best by taking this
Speaker 1: note down to the authorities and getting one. There may
Speaker 1: be some difficulty, but I should think that the sale
Speaker 1: of the jewelry should be sufficient. Lestrade will see to
Speaker 1: all details. But they may murder her in the mean while,
Speaker 1: what could the coffin mean? And for whom could it be?
Speaker 1: But for her? We will do all that can be done,
Speaker 1: mister Green, not a moment will be lost. Leave it
Speaker 1: in our hands now, Watson, he added, as our client
Speaker 1: hurried away, he will set the regular forces on the move.
Speaker 1: We are, as usual the irregulars and must take our
Speaker 1: own line of action. The situation strikes me as so
Speaker 1: desperate that the most extreme measures are justified. Not a
Speaker 1: moment is to be lost in getting to Poultney Square.
Speaker 1: Let us try to reconstruct the situation, said he, as
Speaker 1: we drove swiftly past the Houses of Parliament and over
Speaker 1: Westminster Bridge. These villains have coaxed this unhappy lady to London,
Speaker 1: after first alienating her from her faithful maid. If she
Speaker 1: has written any letters, they have been intercepted through some confederate.
Speaker 1: They have engaged a furnished house. Once inside it, they
Speaker 1: have made her a prisoner. And they have become possessed
Speaker 1: of the valuable jewelry, which has been their object from
Speaker 1: the first. Already they have begun to sell part of it,
Speaker 1: which seems safe enough to them, since they have no
Speaker 1: reason to think that anyone is interested in the lady's fate.
Speaker 1: When she is released, she will of course denounce them.
Speaker 1: Therefore she must not be released. But they cannot keep
Speaker 1: her under lock and key forever. So murder is their
Speaker 1: only solution. That seems very clear. Now we will take
Speaker 1: another line of reasoning. When you follow two separate chains
Speaker 1: of thought, Watson, you will find in some point of
Speaker 1: intersection which should approximate to the truth. We will start
Speaker 1: now not from the lady, but from the coffin, and
Speaker 1: argue backwards. That incident proves, I fear beyond all doubt,
Speaker 1: that the lady is dead. It points also to an
Speaker 1: orthodox burial with proper accompaniment of medical certificate and official sanction.
Speaker 1: Had the lady been obviously murdered, they would have buried
Speaker 1: her in a hole in the back garden. But here
Speaker 1: all is open and regular. What does that mean? Surely
Speaker 1: that they have done her to death in some way
Speaker 1: which has deceived the doctor and simulated a natural end
Speaker 1: poisoning perhaps, And yet how strange that they should ever
Speaker 1: let a doctor approach her, unless he were a confederate,
Speaker 1: which is hardly a credible proposition. Could they have forged
Speaker 1: a medical certificate? Dangerous, Watson, very dangerous? No, I ha
Speaker 1: see them doing that. Pull up, Cabby. This is evidently
Speaker 1: the undertakers, for we have just passed the pawnbrokers. Would
Speaker 1: you go in, Watson, your appearance inspires confidence. Ask what
Speaker 1: hour the Pultney Square funeral takes place tomorrow? The woman
Speaker 1: in the shop answered me, without hesitation, that it was
Speaker 1: to be at eight o'clock in the morning. You see, Watson,
Speaker 1: no mystery. Everything above ball in some way. The legal
Speaker 1: forms have undoubtedly been complied with, and they think that
Speaker 1: they have little to fear. Well, there is nothing for
Speaker 1: it now but a direct frontal attack. Are you armed
Speaker 1: my stick? Well? Well, we shall be strong enough thrice
Speaker 1: is he armed? Who hath his quarrel? Just We simply
Speaker 1: can't afford to wait for the police or to keep
Speaker 1: within the four corners of the law. You can drive off, Cabby, now, Watson,
Speaker 1: we'll just take our luck together, as we have occasionally
Speaker 1: done in the past. He had rung loudly at the
Speaker 1: door of a great dark house in the center of
Speaker 1: Pulteney's Square. It was opened immediately, and the figure of
Speaker 1: a tall woman was outlined against the dimlit hall. Well
Speaker 1: what do you want, she asked, sharply, peering at us
Speaker 1: through the darkness. I want to speak to doctor Schlessinger,
Speaker 1: said Holmes. There is no such person here, she answered,
Speaker 1: and tried to close the door, but Holmes had jammed
Speaker 1: it with his foot. Well, I want to see the
Speaker 1: man who lives here, whatever he may call himself, said
Speaker 1: Holmes firmly. She hesitated, then she threw open the door. Well,
Speaker 1: come in, said she. My husband is not afraid to
Speaker 1: face any man in the world. She closed the door
Speaker 1: behind us and showed us into a sitting room on
Speaker 1: the right side of the hall, turning up the gas
Speaker 1: as she left us. Mister Peters will be with you
Speaker 1: in an instant, she said. Her words were literally true,
Speaker 1: for we had hardly time to look ground the dusty
Speaker 1: and moth eaten apartment in which we found ourselves before
Speaker 1: the door opened and a big, clean, shaven, bald headed
Speaker 1: man stepped lightly into the room. He had a large
Speaker 1: red face with pendulous cheeks, and a general air of
Speaker 1: superficial benevolence, which was marred by a cruel and vicious mouth.
Speaker 1: There is surely some mistake here, gentlemen, he said, in
Speaker 1: an unctuous, make everything easy voice. I fancy that you
Speaker 1: have been misdirected. Possibly if you tried farther down the street,
Speaker 1: that will do. We have no time to waste, said
Speaker 1: my companion firmly. You are Henry Peters of Adelaide, late
Speaker 1: the reverend doctor Schlessinger of Baden and South America. I
Speaker 1: am sure of that, as that my own name is
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. Peters, as I will now call him, started
Speaker 1: and stared hard at his formidable pursuer. I guess your
Speaker 1: name does not fighten me, mister Holmes, said he coolly.
Speaker 1: When a man's conscience is easy, you can't rattle him.
Speaker 1: What is your business in my house? I want to
Speaker 1: know what you have done with lady Francis Carfax, whom
Speaker 1: you brought away with you from Baden. I'd be very
Speaker 1: grateful if you could tell me where that lady may be.
Speaker 1: Peters answered coolly. I've a bill against her for nearly
Speaker 1: a hundred pounds and nothing to show for it but
Speaker 1: a couple of trumpery pendants that the dealer would hardly
Speaker 1: look at. She attached herself to missus Peters and me
Speaker 1: at Barden. It is a fact that I was using
Speaker 1: another name at the time, and she stuck on to
Speaker 1: us until we came to London. I paid her bill
Speaker 1: and her ticket. Once in London, she gave us the slip, and,
Speaker 1: as I say, left these out of day jewels to
Speaker 1: pay her bills. You find her, mister Holmes, and I'm
Speaker 1: your debtor. I mean to find her, said Sherlock Holmes.
Speaker 1: I'm going through this house till I do find her.
Speaker 1: Where is your warrant? Home? Half drew a revolver from
Speaker 1: his pocket. This will have to serve till a better
Speaker 1: one comes. Why you're a common burglar, so you might
Speaker 1: describe me, said Holmes cheerfully. My companion is also a
Speaker 1: dangerous ruffian and together. We are going through your house.
Speaker 1: Our opponent opened the door fetch a policeman. Nanny said
Speaker 1: he There was a whisk of feminine skirts down the passage,
Speaker 1: and the hall door was opened and shut. Our time
Speaker 1: is limited, Watson, said Holmes. If you try to stop
Speaker 1: as Peter's you will most certainly get hurt. Where is
Speaker 1: that coffin which was brought into your house? What do
Speaker 1: you want with the coffin? It's in use. There's a
Speaker 1: body in it. I must see that body, never with
Speaker 1: my consent, then without it. With a quick movement, Holmes
Speaker 1: pushed the fellow to one side and passed into the hall.
Speaker 1: A door half open stood immediately before us. We entered.
Speaker 1: It was the dining room. On the table under a
Speaker 1: half lit chandelier, the coffin was lying. Holmes turned up
Speaker 1: the gas and raised the lid. Deep down in the
Speaker 1: recesses of the coffin lay an emaciated figure. The glare
Speaker 1: from the lights above beat down upon an aged and
Speaker 1: withered face. By no possible process of cruelty, starvation, or disease,
Speaker 1: could this worn out wreck be the still beautiful lady
Speaker 1: Francis Holmes's face showed his amazement and also his relief.
Speaker 1: Thank god, he muttered, it's some one else. Ah, you've
Speaker 1: blundered badly for once, mister Sherlock Holmes, said Peters, who
Speaker 1: had followed us into the room. Who is this dead woman? Well,
Speaker 1: if you really must now, she's an old nurse of
Speaker 1: my wife's Rose Spender her name, and we found in
Speaker 1: the Brixton Workhouse infirmary. We brought around here called in
Speaker 1: doctor Howson of thirteen Firbank Villas. Mind you take the address,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, and had her carefully tended as Christian folk should.
Speaker 1: On the third day she died. Certificate says senile decay.
Speaker 1: But that's only the doctor's opinion, and of course you
Speaker 1: know better. We ordered her funeral to be carried out
Speaker 1: by Stimson and Co of the Kennington Road, who will
Speaker 1: bury her at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Can you pick
Speaker 1: any hole in that? Mister Holmes, You've made a silly
Speaker 1: blunder and you may as well own up to it.
Speaker 1: I'd give something for a photograph of your gaping, staring
Speaker 1: face when you pulled aside that lid expecting to see
Speaker 1: the lady Francis Carfax and only found a poor old
Speaker 1: woman of ninety. Holmes's expression was as impassive as ever
Speaker 1: under the jeers of his antagonist, but his clenched hands
Speaker 1: betrayed his acute annoyance. I am going through your house,
Speaker 1: said he, are you, though, cried Peters, as a woman's
Speaker 1: voice and heavy steps sounded in the passage. We'll soon
Speaker 1: see about that. This way, officers, if you please. These
Speaker 1: men have forced their way into my house and I
Speaker 1: cannot get rid of them. Help me to put them out.
Speaker 1: A sergeant and a constable stood in the doorway. Holmes
Speaker 1: drew his card from his case. This is my name
Speaker 1: and address. This is my friend, doctor Watson. Bless you, sir.
Speaker 1: We know you very well, said the sergeant. But you
Speaker 1: can't stay here without a warrant. Of course, not I
Speaker 1: quite understand that. Arrest him, cried Peters. We know where
Speaker 1: to lay our hands on this gentleman if he is wanted,
Speaker 1: said the sergeant majestically. But you will have to go,
Speaker 1: mister Olmes, Yes, Watson, we shall have to go. A
Speaker 1: minute later we were in the street once more. Holmes
Speaker 1: was as cool as ever, but I was hot with
Speaker 1: anger and humiliation. The sergeant had followed us. Sorry, mister Olmes.
Speaker 1: But as the law exactly, sergeant, you could not do otherwise.
Speaker 1: I expect there was a good reason for your presence there.
Speaker 1: If there is anything I can do, it's a missing lady, sergeant,
Speaker 1: and we think she is in that house. I expect
Speaker 1: a warrant presently. Then I'll keep my arm the parties,
Speaker 1: mister arms. If anything comes along, I will surely let
Speaker 1: you know. It was only nine o'clock and we were
Speaker 1: off full cry upon the trail at once. First we
Speaker 1: drove to Brixton Workhouse Infirmary, where we found that it
Speaker 1: was indeed the truth that a charitable couple had called
Speaker 1: some days before that they had claimed an imbecile old
Speaker 1: woman as a former servant, and that they had obtained
Speaker 1: permission to take her away with them. No surprise was
Speaker 1: expressed at the news that she had since died. The
Speaker 1: doctor was our next goal. He had been called in,
Speaker 1: had found the woman dying of pure sinility, had actually
Speaker 1: seen her pass away, and had signed the certificate in
Speaker 1: due form. I assure you that everything was perfectly normal
Speaker 1: and there was no room for foul play in the matter,
Speaker 1: said he. Nothing in the house had struck him as suspicious.
Speaker 1: Save that for people of their class. It was remarked
Speaker 1: that they should have no servant so far, and no
Speaker 1: farther went the doctor. Finally we found our way to
Speaker 1: Scotland Yard. There had been difficulties of procedure in regard
Speaker 1: to the warrant. Some delay was inevitable. The magistrate's signature
Speaker 1: might not be obtained until next morning. If Holmes would
Speaker 1: call about nine, he could go down with Lestrade and
Speaker 1: see it acted upon. So ended the day, save that
Speaker 1: near midnight our friend the sergeant called to say that
Speaker 1: he had seen flickering lights here and there in the
Speaker 1: windows of the great dark house, but that no one
Speaker 1: had left it and none had entered. We could but
Speaker 1: pray for patience and wait for the morrow. Sherlock Holmes
Speaker 1: was too irritable for conversation and too restless for sleep.
Speaker 1: I left him smoking hard, with his heavy dark brows
Speaker 1: knotted together and his long nervous fingers tapping upon the
Speaker 1: arms of his chair, as he to and over in
Speaker 1: his mind every possible solution of the mystery. Several times
Speaker 1: in the course of the night I heard him prowling
Speaker 1: about the house. Finally, just after I had been called
Speaker 1: in the morning, he rushed into my room. He was
Speaker 1: in his dressing gown, but his pale, hollow eyed face
Speaker 1: told me that his night had been a sleepless one.
Speaker 1: What time was the funeral? Eight? Was it not, he
Speaker 1: asked eagerly. Well it is seven twenty now, good heavens Watson,
Speaker 1: What has become of any brains that God has given me?
Speaker 1: Quick man, quick, it's life or death. A hundred chances
Speaker 1: on death to one on life. I'll never forgive myself,
Speaker 1: never if we are too late. Five minutes had not
Speaker 1: passed before we were flying in a handsome down Baker Street.
Speaker 1: But even so it was twenty five to eight as
Speaker 1: we passed Big Ben, and eight struck as we tore
Speaker 1: down the Brixton Road. But others were late as well
Speaker 1: as we. Ten minutes after the hour, the hearse was
Speaker 1: still standing at the door of the house, and even
Speaker 1: as our foaming horse came to a halt, the coffin,
Speaker 1: supported by three men, appeared on the threshold. Homes darted
Speaker 1: forward and barred their way. Take it back, he cried,
Speaker 1: laying his hands on the breast of the foremost. Take
Speaker 1: it back this instant, What the devil do you mean?
Speaker 1: Once again, I ask you, where is your warrant? Shouted
Speaker 1: the furious Peters, his big red face glaring over the
Speaker 1: farther end of the coffin. The warrant is on its way.
Speaker 1: This coffin shall remain in the house until it comes.
Speaker 1: The authority in Holmes's voice had its effect upon the bearers.
Speaker 1: Peters had suddenly vanished into the house, and they obeyed
Speaker 1: these new orders. Quick, Watson, quick, Here is a screwdriver,
Speaker 1: he shouted, as the coffin was replaced upon the table.
Speaker 1: Here's one for you, my man, a sovereign. If the
Speaker 1: lid comes off in a minute, ask no questions, work away.
Speaker 1: That's good. Another and another. Now pull all together. It's given,
Speaker 1: it's giving. Ah, that does it. At last, with the
Speaker 1: united effort, we tore off the coffin lid. As we
Speaker 1: did so, there came from the inside a stupefying and
Speaker 1: overpowering smell of chloroform. Her body lay within its head,
Speaker 1: all wreathed in cotton wool which had been soaked in
Speaker 1: the narcotic Holmes plucked it off and disclosed the statuesque
Speaker 1: face of a handsome and spiritual woman of middle age.
Speaker 1: In an instant, he had passed his arm round the
Speaker 1: figure and raised her to a sitting position. Is she gone, Watson?
Speaker 1: Is there a spark left? Surely we are not too late.
Speaker 1: For half an hour it seemed that we were. What
Speaker 1: with actual suffocation, and what with the poisonous fumes of
Speaker 1: the chloroform, the lady Francis seemed to have passed the
Speaker 1: last point of recall, and then at last, with artificial respiration,
Speaker 1: with injected ether, with every device that science could suggest,
Speaker 1: some flutter of life, some quiver of the eyelid, some
Speaker 1: dimming of a mirror, spoke of the slowly returning life.
Speaker 1: A cab had driven up, and Holmes, parting the blind,
Speaker 1: looked out at it. Here is Lestrade, with his warrant,
Speaker 1: said he he will find that his birds have flown.
Speaker 1: And here, he added, as a heavy step hurried along
Speaker 1: the passage, is someone who has a better right to
Speaker 1: nurse this lady than we have. Good morning, mister Green.
Speaker 1: I think that the sooner we can move the lady Francis,
Speaker 1: the better. Meanwhile, the funeral may proceed, and the poor
Speaker 1: old woman who still lies in that coffin may go
Speaker 1: to her last resting place alone. Should you care to
Speaker 1: advocate to your annals, my dear Watson, said Holmes, that
Speaker 1: evening it can only be as an example of that
Speaker 1: temporary eclipse to which even the best balanced mind be exposed.
Speaker 1: Such slips are common to all mortals, and the greatest
Speaker 1: is he who can recognize and repair them. To this
Speaker 1: modified credit, I may perhaps make some claim. My night
Speaker 1: was haunted by the thought that somewhere, a clue, a
Speaker 1: strange sentence, a curious observation, had come under my notice,
Speaker 1: and had been too easily dismissed. Then suddenly, in the
Speaker 1: gray of the morning, the words came back to me.
Speaker 1: It was the remark of the undertaker's wife, as reported
Speaker 1: by Philip Greene. She had said it should be there
Speaker 1: before now it took longer, being out of the ordinary.
Speaker 1: It was the coffin of which she spoke. It had
Speaker 1: been out of the ordinary. That could only mean that
Speaker 1: it had been made to some special measurement. But why why? Then,
Speaker 1: In an instant, I remembered the deep sides and the
Speaker 1: little wasted figure at the bottom. Why so large a
Speaker 1: coffin for so small a body, to leave room for
Speaker 1: another body? Both would be buried under the one certificate
Speaker 1: it had all been so clear. If only my own
Speaker 1: sight had not been dimmed at eight, the Lady Francis
Speaker 1: would be buried. Our one chance was to stop the
Speaker 1: coffin before it left the house. It was a desperate
Speaker 1: chance that we might find her alive. But it was
Speaker 1: a chance. As the results showed. These people had never,
Speaker 1: to my knowledge, done a murder. They might shrink from
Speaker 1: actual violence. At the last. They could bury her with
Speaker 1: no sign of how she met her end, And even
Speaker 1: if she were exhumed, there was a chance for them.
Speaker 1: I hoped that such considerations might prevail with them. You
Speaker 1: can reconstruct the scene well enough. You saw the horrible
Speaker 1: den upstairs where the poor lady had been kept so long.
Speaker 1: They rushed in and over powered her with their chloroform,
Speaker 1: carried her down, poured more into the coffin to insure
Speaker 1: against her wakening, and then screwed down the lid. A
Speaker 1: clever device, Watson, It is new to me in the
Speaker 1: annuals of crime. If our ex missionary friends escape the
Speaker 1: clutches of Lestrade, I shall expect to hear of some
Speaker 1: brilliant incidents in their future career. That is the end
Speaker 1: of the disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax by Sir Arthur
Speaker 1: Conan Doyle, narrated by Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio twenty nineteen.