WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:09.839 The disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax. But why Turkish, asked 2 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:16.320 mister Sherlock Holmes, gazing fixedly at my boots. I was 3 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.839 reclining in a cane backed chair at the moment, and 4 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:26.280 my protruded feet had attracted his ever active attention. English, 5 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:29.640 I answered, in some surprise. I got them at Latimer's 6 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:35.759 in Oxford Street. Home smiled with an expression of weary patience. 7 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:41.200 The bath, he said, The bath. Why the relaxing and 8 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:48.719 expensive Turkish rather than the invigorating home made article, Because 9 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.880 for the last few days I have been feeling rheumatic 10 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.640 and old. A Turkish bath is what we call an 11 00:00:56.679 --> 00:01:01.479 alternative in medicine, a fresh starting point, cleanser of the system. 12 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:05.840 By the way, Homes, I added, I have no doubt 13 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:09.719 the connection between my boots and a Turkish bath is 14 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:14.560 a perfectly self evident one to the logical mind. And 15 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:16.879 yet I should be obliged to you if you would 16 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:22.079 indicate it. The train of reasoning is not very obscure, Watson, 17 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:25.840 said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle. It belongs to the 18 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:30.359 same elementary class of deduction which I should illustrate if 19 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:33.280 I were to ask you who shared your cab in 20 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:37.439 your drive this morning. I don't admit that a fresh 21 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:43.040 illustration is an explanation, said I with some asperity. Bravo Watson, 22 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.439 a very dignified and logical remonstrance. Let me see what 23 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:49.760 were the points? Take the last one first, the cab. 24 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:53.400 You observe that you have some splashes on the left 25 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:56.760 sleeve and shoulder of your coat. Had you sat in 26 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:59.840 the center of a hansom, you would probably have had 27 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:03.439 no splashes, and if you had, they would certainly have 28 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:06.640 been symmetrical. Therefore, it is clear that you sat at 29 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:09.520 the side. Therefore, it is equally clear that you had 30 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:15.919 a companion. That is very evident, absurdly commonplace, is it not? 31 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:21.080 But the boots and the bath equally childish. You are 32 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:23.159 in the habit of doing up your boots in a 33 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:26.560 certain way. I see them on this occasion, fastened with 34 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:31.120 an elaborate double bow, which is not your usual method 35 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:33.919 of tying them. You have therefore had them off. Who 36 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:37.560 has tied them a boot maker or the boy at 37 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:41.199 the bath? It is unlikely that it is the bootmaker, 38 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.759 since your boots are nearly new. Well, what remains, the 39 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:48.879 bath absurd is it not. But for all that the 40 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:52.560 Turkish bath has served a purpose, what is that you 41 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:55.120 say that you have had it because you need a change? 42 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:59.280 Let me suggest that you take one. How would Lausan do, 43 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:03.599 my dear Wotson, first class tickets and all expenses paid 44 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:09.280 on a princely scale. Splendid? But why Holmes leaned back 45 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:12.199 in his arm chair and took his note book from 46 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:16.840 his pocket. One of the most dangerous classes in the world, 47 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:22.039 said he is the drifting and friendless woman. She is 48 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:26.479 the most harmless, and often the most useful of mortals, 49 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:32.280 but she is the inevitable inciter of crime in others. 50 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:38.960 She is helpless. She is migratory. She has sufficient means 51 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.800 to take her from country to country and from hotel 52 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.759 to hotel. She is lost, as often as not in 53 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:49.439 a maze of obscure poncien and boarding houses. She is 54 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:53.159 a straight chicken in a world of foxes. When she 55 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:57.800 is gobbled up, she has hardly missed. I much fear 56 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:02.080 that some evil has come to the lady Francis Carfax. 57 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:06.599 I was relieved at this sudden descent from the general 58 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:14.039 to the particular. Holmes consulted his notes. Lady Francis, he continued, 59 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:17.600 is the sole survivor of the direct family of the 60 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:22.639 late Earl of Rufton. The estates went, as you may remember, 61 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:27.160 in the male line. She was left with limited means, 62 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:32.160 but with some very remarkable old Spanish jewelry of silver 63 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.360 and curiously cut diamonds, to which she was fondly attached. 64 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:40.639 Too attached, for she refused to leave it with her banker, 65 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:45.639 and always carried it about with her. A rather pathetic figure. 66 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:50.800 The Lady Francis a beautiful woman, still in fresh middle age, 67 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:55.160 and yet, by a strange chance, the last derelict of 68 00:04:55.160 --> 00:05:00.079 what only twenty years ago was a goodly fleet. What 69 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.959 has happened to her? Then? Ah? What has happened to 70 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.360 the Lady Francis? Is she alive or dead? There is 71 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.879 our problem. She is a lady of precise habits, and 72 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.399 for four years it has been her invariable custom to 73 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:20.519 write every second week to Miss Dobney, her old governess, 74 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:24.879 who has long retired and lives in Camberwell. It is 75 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:28.879 this Miss Daubney who has consulted me. Nearly five weeks 76 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:32.959 have passed without a word. The last letter was from 77 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:37.439 the Hotel Nacional at Lausanne. Lady Francis seems to have 78 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:42.199 left there and given no address. The family are anxious, 79 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:45.759 and as they are exceedingly wealthy, no sum will be 80 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:50.360 spared if we can clear the matter up. Is miss 81 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:55.079 Daubney the only source of information? Surely she had other correspondents. 82 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:59.160 There is one correspondent who is a sure draw Watson. 83 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.759 That is the bat single ladies must live and their 84 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:08.600 past books are compressed diaries. She banks at Sylvester's. The 85 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.360 last check but one paid her bill at Lausanne, but 86 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.639 it was a large one and probably left her with 87 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:19.439 cash in hand. Only one check has been drawn since 88 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:26.000 to whom and where? To miss Marie Devine, there is 89 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:29.279 nothing to show where the check was drawn. It was 90 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:33.600 cash to the Credie Leone at Montpellier less than three 91 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:37.240 weeks ago. The sum was fifty pounds. And who is 92 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:42.040 miss Marie Devine? That also I have been able to discover. 93 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:46.040 Miss Marie Devine was the maid of Lady Francis Carfax. 94 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.120 Why she should have paid her this check we have 95 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:52.560 not yet determined. I have no doubt, however, that your 96 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:58.240 researches will soon clear the matter up. My researches hence 97 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:02.639 the health giving expedition to Lausanne. You know that I 98 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:06.199 cannot possibly leave London while old abrahams is in such 99 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:11.240 mortal terror of his life. Besides, on general principles, it 100 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.319 is best that I should not leave the country. Scotland 101 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:18.360 Yard feels lonely without me, and it causes an unhealthy 102 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:22.560 excitement among the criminal classes. Go then, my dear Watson, 103 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.759 and if my humble counsel can ever be valued at 104 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.519 so extravagant a rate as tuppence a word, it waits 105 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.759 your disposal night and day at the end of the 106 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:40.680 continental wire. Two days later found me at the National 107 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.399 Hotel at Lausanne, where I received every courtesy at the 108 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:49.480 hands of Monsieur Mosa, the well known manager. Lady Francis, 109 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:53.720 as he informed me, had stayed there for several weeks. 110 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:56.839 She had been much liked by all who met her. 111 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:01.160 Her age was not more than forty, she was still 112 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:05.040 handsome and bore every sign of having in her youth 113 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:09.240 been a very lovely woman. Monsieur Mosa knew nothing of 114 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:13.360 any valuable jewelry, but it had been remarked by the 115 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:17.519 servants that the heavy trunk in the lady's bedroom was 116 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:23.360 always scrupulously locked. Marie de Vine. The maid was as 117 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:27.680 popular as her mistress. She was actually engaged to one 118 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:30.879 of the head waiters in the hotel, and there was 119 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:34.720 no difficulty in getting her a dress. It was too 120 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:41.159 rue de Trajan Montpellier. All this I jotted down, and 121 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:44.240 felt that Holmes himself could not have been more adroit 122 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.720 in collecting his facts. Only one corner still remained in 123 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:53.039 the shadow. No light which I possessed could clear up 124 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:57.159 the cause for the lady's sudden departure. She was very 125 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:01.360 happy at Lausanne. There was every reason to believe that 126 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.720 she intended to remain for the season in her luxurious 127 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:09.080 rooms overlooking the lake, and yet she had left at 128 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.960 a single day's notice, which involved her in the useless 129 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:18.159 payment of a week's rent. Only joulvi Bard, the lover 130 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:22.440 of the maid, had any suggestion to offer. He connected 131 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:25.360 the sudden departure with the visit to the hotel a 132 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:29.519 day or two before of a tall, dark bearded man, 133 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:37.360 a sauvage, A vere table sauvage, cried Joulvi Bard. The 134 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.799 man had rooms somewhere in the town. He had been 135 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:44.519 seen talking earnestly to Madame on the promenade by the lake. 136 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:48.600 Then he had called, she had refused to see him. 137 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:51.679 He was English, but of his name there was no record. 138 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:57.440 Madame had left the place immediately afterwards. Joulvi Bard and 139 00:09:57.799 --> 00:10:02.559 what was of more importance, Jeues Rulvi Bar's sweetheart, thought 140 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:06.519 that this call and this departure were cause and effect. 141 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:11.559 Only one thing Jule could not discuss. That was the 142 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:15.440 reason why Marie had left her mistress. Of that he 143 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:19.279 could or would say nothing. If I wished to know, 144 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:23.840 I must go to Montpellier and ask her. So ended 145 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:28.279 the first chapter of my inquiry. The second was devoted 146 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.559 to the place which lady Francis Carfax had sought when 147 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:36.320 she left Lausanne. Concerning this there had been some secrecy 148 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.639 which confirmed the idea that she had gone with the 149 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.399 intention of throwing someone off her track. Otherwise, why should 150 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:48.039 not her luggage have been openly labeled for Baden? Both 151 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:53.279 she and it reached the Rhenish Spa by some cecuitous route. 152 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:57.360 Thus much I gathered from the manager of Cook's local office. 153 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:03.000 So to Baden I went, after dispatching to Holmes an 154 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:06.399 account of all my proceedings, and receiving in reply a 155 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:12.039 telegram of half humorous commendation at Baden. The tract was 156 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:16.919 not difficult to follow. Lady Francis had stayed at the 157 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:21.720 englisher Hoff for a fortnight. Whilst there she had made 158 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:25.559 the acquaintance of a Dr Schlessinger and his wife, a 159 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:31.120 missionary from South Africa. Like most lonely ladies, Lady Francis 160 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:38.240 found her comfort and occupation in religion. Dr Schlessinger's remarkable personality, 161 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:42.879 his wholehearted devotion, and the fact that he was recovering 162 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:46.759 from a disease contracted in the exercise of his apostolic 163 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:52.279 duties affected her deeply. She had helped Missus Schlessinger in 164 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:56.440 the nursing of the convalescent Saint. He spent his day, 165 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:59.919 as the manager described it to me, upon a lounge 166 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:04.440 chair on the verandah, with an attendant lady upon either 167 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.480 side of him. He was preparing a map of the 168 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:11.120 Holy Land with special reference to the Kingdom of the 169 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:16.519 Midian Nights, upon which he was writing a monograph. Finally, 170 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:19.919 having improved much in health, he and his wife had 171 00:12:19.960 --> 00:12:24.879 returned to London, and Lady Francis had started thither in 172 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:29.080 their company. This was just three weeks before and the 173 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:33.200 manager had heard nothing since. As to the maid Marie. 174 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:37.200 She had gone off some days beforehand in floods of tears, 175 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:42.000 after informing the other maids that she was leaving service forever. 176 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.600 Doctor Schlessinger had paid the bill of the whole party 177 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:51.440 before his departure. By the way, said the landlord in conclusion, 178 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.440 you are not the only friend of Lady Francis Carfax 179 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.440 who is inquiring after her. Just now, only a week 180 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:01.519 or so ago, we had a man here upon the 181 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:05.279 same Errand did he give a name? I asked none. 182 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:09.759 But he was an Englishman, though of an unusual type, 183 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:15.360 A savage, said I, linking my facts after the fashion 184 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:20.000 of my illustrious friend, exactly, that describes him very well. 185 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:25.720 He is a bulky, bearded, sunburned fellow who looks as 186 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:28.399 if he would be more at home in a farmer's 187 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:33.200 inn than in a fashionable hotel. A hard fierce man, 188 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.960 I should think, and one whom I should be sorry 189 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:42.679 to offend. Already the mystery began to define itself as 190 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:47.080 figures grow clearer with the lifting of a fog. Here 191 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:50.159 was this good and pious lady pursued from place to 192 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:55.200 place by a sinister and unrelenting figure. She feared him, 193 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:59.399 or she would not have fled from Lausanne. He had 194 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:04.600 still follow sooner or later he would overtake her. Had 195 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:08.919 he already overtaken her? Was that the secret of her 196 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.600 continued silence? Could the good people who were her companions? 197 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:17.320 Not screen her from his violence or his blackmail? What 198 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:22.120 horrible purpose, what deep design lay behind this long pursuit? 199 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:27.559 There was the problem which I had to solve. To Holmes, 200 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:31.360 I wrote, showing how rapidly and surely I had got 201 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:36.000 down to the roots of the matter. In reply, I 202 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:39.720 had a telegram asking for a description of Dr Schlessinger's 203 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:46.399 left ear. Holmes's ideas of humour are strange and occasionally offensive, 204 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:51.279 so I took no notice of his ill timed jest. Indeed, 205 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:54.679 I had already reached Montpellier in my pursuit of the 206 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:59.519 maid Marie before his message came. I had no difficulty 207 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:03.639 in finding the ex servant and in learning all that 208 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:07.639 she could tell me. She was a devoted creature who 209 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:10.240 had only left her mistress because she was sure that 210 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:14.279 she was in good hands, and because her own approaching 211 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:19.759 marriage made a separation inevitable in any case. Her mistress had, 212 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:24.120 as she confessed with distress, shown some irritability of temper 213 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:28.399 towards her during their stay in Baden, and had even 214 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:32.480 questioned her once as if she had suspicions of her honesty, 215 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:36.519 and this made the parting easier than it would otherwise 216 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:41.120 have been. Lady Francis had given her fifty pounds as 217 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:46.399 a wedding present. Like me, Marie viewed with deep distrust 218 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:50.799 the stranger who had driven her mistress from Lausanne. With 219 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:53.559 her own eyes, she had seen him seize the lady's 220 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:57.240 wrist with great violence on the public promenade by the lake. 221 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.000 He was a fierce and terrible man. She believed that 222 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:04.759 it was out of dread of him that Lady Francis 223 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:09.399 had accepted the escort of the Schlessingers to London. She 224 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:12.120 had never spoken to Marie about it, but many little 225 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:15.000 signs had convinced the maid that her mistress lived in 226 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:19.759 a state of continual nervous apprehension. So far she had 227 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:23.559 got in her narrative when suddenly she sprang from her chair, 228 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:27.399 and her face was convulsed with surprise and fear. See 229 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:31.559 she cried the miscrey and follow Still there is the 230 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:35.000 very man of um. I speak. Through the open sitting 231 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:38.279 room window, I saw a huge, swarthy man with a 232 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:41.879 bristling black beard, walking slowly down the center of the 233 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:45.759 street and staring eagerly at the numbers of the houses. 234 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:49.480 It was clear that, like myself, he was on the 235 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:53.360 track of the maid. Acting upon the impulse of the moment, 236 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:57.039 I rushed out and accosted him. You are an Englishman, 237 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.120 I said, What if I am? He asked, with the 238 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:04.160 most villainous scowl. May I ask what your name is? Now? 239 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:08.920 You may not, said he with decision. The situation was awkward, 240 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:13.119 but the most direct way is often the best. Where 241 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:17.599 is the lady Francis Carfax? I asked. He stared at 242 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:20.319 me in amazement. What have you done with her? Why 243 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:24.240 have you pursued her? I insist upon an answer, said I. 244 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:28.920 The fellow gave a bellow of anger and sprang upon 245 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.200 me like a tiger. I have held my own in 246 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.039 many a struggle, But the man had a grip of 247 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:38.480 iron and the fury of a fiend. His hand was 248 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.680 on my throat, and my senses were nearly gone. Before 249 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:46.200 an unshaven French ouvrier in a blue blouse darted out 250 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.079 from a cabaret opposite with a cudgel in his hand, 251 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.759 and struck my assailant a sharp crack over the forearm, 252 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:56.559 which made him leave go his hold. He stood for 253 00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:00.119 an instant fuming with rage and uncertain whether he should 254 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:04.240 not renew his attack. Then, with a snarl of anger, 255 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:07.319 he left me and entered the cottage from which I 256 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:11.240 had just come. I turned to thank my preserver, who 257 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:14.720 stood beside me in the roadway. Well, Watson said he 258 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:18.720 a very pretty hash you have made of it. I 259 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:20.720 rather think you had better come back with me to 260 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:25.839 London by the night express. An hour afterwards, Sherlock Holmes, 261 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.720 in his usual garb and style, was seated in my 262 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:34.599 private room at the hotel. His explanation of his sudden 263 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:39.720 and opportune appearance was simplicity itself. For finding that he 264 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.240 could get away from London, he determined to head me 265 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:47.079 off at the next obvious point of my travels in 266 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:49.960 the disguise of a working man. He had sat in 267 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:55.480 the cabaret waiting for my appearance, and a singularly consistent 268 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:00.039 investigation you have made, my dear Watson, said he. I 269 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:04.119 cannot at the moment recall any possible blunder which you 270 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:09.839 have omitted. The total effect of your proceedings has been 271 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:14.920 to give the alarm everywhere, and yet to discover nothing. 272 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:19.440 Perhaps you would have done no better, I answered bitterly. 273 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.680 There is no perhaps about it. I have done better. 274 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:28.160 Here is the honorable Philip Greene, who is a fellow 275 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:31.839 lodger with you in this hotel, and we may find 276 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:36.240 in him the starting point for a more successful investigation. 277 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.559 A card had come up on a salver, and it 278 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.359 was followed by the same bearded ruffian who had attacked 279 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:48.319 me in the street. He started when he saw me, 280 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.680 What is this, mister Olmes, He asked, I add your 281 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:55.519 note and I have come. But what has this man 282 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:58.599 to do with the matter. This is my old friend 283 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:02.720 and associate, doctor wat who was helping us in this affair. 284 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:07.880 The stranger held out a huge sunburned hand with a 285 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:11.599 few words of apology. I hope I didn't harm you 286 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:14.160 when you accused me of hurting her. I lost my 287 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.920 grip of myself. Indeed, I'm not responsible in these days. 288 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:22.279 My nerves are like live wires, and this situation is 289 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:24.839 beyond me. What I want to know in the first place, 290 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:27.599 mister Holmes, is how in the world you came to 291 00:20:27.640 --> 00:20:30.960 hear of my existence at all. I am in touch 292 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:36.000 with Miss Dobney, Lady Francis's governess, Old Susan Dobney with 293 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:40.359 the mob cap I remember her well, and she remembers you. 294 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:44.799 It was in the days before before you found it 295 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:49.119 better to go to South Africa. Ah, I see, you 296 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:52.160 know my whole story. I need hide nothing from you. 297 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.039 I swear to you, mister Holmes, that there never was 298 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:57.960 in this world a man who loved a woman with 299 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:01.759 a more wholehearted love and I had for Francis. I 300 00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:05.680 was a wild youngster, I know, not worse than others 301 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:09.839 of my class. But her mind was pure as snow. 302 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.759 She could not bear a shadow of coarseness. So when 303 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:17.680 she came to hear of things that I had done, 304 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:20.200 she would have no more to say to me. And 305 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:23.000 yet she loved me, that is the wonder of it. 306 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:27.440 Loved me well enough to remain single all her sainted days, 307 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:31.440 just for my sake alone. When the years had passed 308 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:35.680 and I had made my money at Barberton, I thought 309 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:39.000 perhaps I could seek her out and soften her. I 310 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:42.400 had heard that she was still unmarried. I found her 311 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:47.519 at Lausanne and tried all I knew. She weakened, I think, 312 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.319 but her will was strong, and when next I called 313 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.559 she had left the town. I traced her to Baden, 314 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:56.799 and then after a time heard that her maid was here. 315 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:01.359 I'm a rough fellow, fresh from a rough life, and 316 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:03.359 when doctor Watson spoke to me as he did, I 317 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:06.200 lost hold of myself for a moment. But for God's sake, 318 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:09.119 tell me what has become of the lady Francis. That 319 00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:12.839 is for us to find out, said Sherlock Holmes, with 320 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:18.759 peculiar gravity. What is your London address, mister Green? The 321 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:22.799 Langamotel will find me. Then, may I recommend that you 322 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:25.839 return there and be on hand in case I should 323 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:29.160 want you. I have no desire to encourage false hopes, 324 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:32.440 but you may rest assured that all that can be 325 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.759 done will be done for the safety of Lady Francis. 326 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:38.640 I can say no more for the instant. I will 327 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.200 leave you this card so that you may be able 328 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:43.920 to keep in touch with us. Now, Watson, if you 329 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:47.079 will pack your bag, I will cable to missus Hudson 330 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:51.200 to make one of her best efforts for two hungry travelers. 331 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:56.359 At seven thirty to morrow a telegram was awaiting us 332 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.880 when we reached our Baker Street rooms, which Holmes read 333 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.039 with an exclamation of interest and threw across to me. 334 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:08.440 Jagged or torn was the message and the place of 335 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:13.440 origin Baden? What is this? I asked? It is everything? 336 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:18.880 Holmes answered, you may remember my seemingly irrelevant question as 337 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:23.599 to this clerical gentleman's left ear. You did not answer it. 338 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:28.640 I had left Baden and could not inquire exactly. For 339 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.920 this reason I sent a duplicate to the manager of 340 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.279 the englisher Hoff whose answer lies here. What does it show? 341 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:40.160 It shows, my dear Watson, that we are dealing with 342 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:45.759 an exceptionally astute and dangerous man. The Reverend Doctor Schlessinger, 343 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:52.359 missionary from South America, is none other than Holy Peters, 344 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:57.039 one of the most unscrupulous rascals that Australia has ever evolved, 345 00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:00.720 and for a young country it is turned out some 346 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:06.400 very finished types. His particular speciality is the beguiling of 347 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:10.839 lonely ladies by playing upon their religious feelings, and his 348 00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:16.880 so called wife, an englishwoman named Fraser, is a worthy helpmate. 349 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:21.880 The nature of his tactics suggested his identity to me, 350 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:26.720 and this physical peculiarity he was badly bitten in a 351 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:31.680 saloon fight at Adelaide in eighty nine, confirmed my suspicion. 352 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.079 This poor lady is in the hands of a most 353 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:39.400 infernal couple who will stick at nothing. Watson, that she 354 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.960 is already dead is a very likely supposition. If not, 355 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:47.480 she is undoubtedly in some sort of confinement and unable 356 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:51.279 to write to Miss Dobney or her other friends. It 357 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:54.960 is always possible that she never reached London, or that 358 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:58.680 she has passed through it, but the former is improbable, 359 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:02.640 as with their cister of registration. It is not easy 360 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:07.079 for foreigners to play tricks with the Continental police, and 361 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:10.839 the latter is also unlikely, as these rogues could not 362 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:13.759 hope to find any other place where it would be 363 00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:16.519 as easy to keep a person under restraint. All my 364 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:20.039 instincts tell me that she is in London, but as 365 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:22.640 we have at present no possible means of telling, where 366 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:26.799 we can only take the obvious steps, eat our dinner 367 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:31.359 and possess our souls in patience. Later in the evening 368 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.839 I will stroll down and have a word with friend 369 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:39.160 Lestrade at Scotland Yard. But neither the official police nor 370 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:43.400 Holmes's own small but very efficient organization sufficed to clear 371 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:47.240 away the mystery. Amid the crowded millions of London. The 372 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:51.400 three persons we sought were as completely obliterated as if 373 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:56.440 they had never lived. Advertisements were tried and failed. Clues 374 00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:02.079 were followed and led to nothing. Criminal resort, which Schlessinger 375 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:06.960 might requent, was drawn in vain. His old associates were watched, 376 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:11.160 but they kept clear of him. And then suddenly, after 377 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:15.319 a week of helpless suspense, there came a flash of light. 378 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:20.200 A silver and brilliant pendant of old Spanish design had 379 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:24.920 been pawned at Bevington's in Westminster Road. The pawner was 380 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:29.920 a large, clean shaven man of clerical appearance. His name 381 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:35.240 and address were demonstrably false. The ear had escaped notice, 382 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:40.960 but the description was surely that of Schlessinger. Three times 383 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:44.440 had our bearded friend from the Langham called for news. 384 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:48.160 The third time within an hour of this fresh development, 385 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:52.079 his clothes were getting looser on his great body. He 386 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:55.400 seemed to be wilting away in his anxiety. If you 387 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:59.400 will only give me something to do, was his constant wail. 388 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:04.119 At last, Holmes could oblige him. He has begun to 389 00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:08.640 pawn the jewels. We should get him now. But does 390 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.440 this mean that any harm has befallen? The lady Francis 391 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:16.359 Holmes shook his head very gravely. Supposing that they have 392 00:27:16.440 --> 00:27:19.680 held her prisoner up to now, it is clear that 393 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:23.880 they cannot let her loose without their own destruction. We 394 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:28.240 must prepare for the worst. What can I do? These 395 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:32.480 people do not know you by sight. No, it is 396 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.160 possible that he will go to some other pawnbroker in 397 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:39.799 the future. In that case we must begin again. On 398 00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:42.359 the other hand, he has had a fair price and 399 00:27:42.519 --> 00:27:46.480 no questions asked, so if he is in need of 400 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:51.200 ready money, he will probably come back to Bevington's. I 401 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:53.240