1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Death at the Excelsior by pg Woodhouse one. The room 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:11,400 was the typical bedroom of the typical boarding house, furnished 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:13,279 in so far as it could be said to be 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:18,600 furnished at all, with a severe simplicity. It contained two beds, 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,320 a pine chest of drawers, a strip of faded carpet, 6 00:00:22,359 --> 00:00:25,440 and a wash basin. But there was that on the 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,120 floor which set this room apart from a thousand rooms 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,840 of the same kind. Flat on his back, with his 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,479 hands tightly clenched and one leg twisted oddly under him, 10 00:00:36,799 --> 00:00:39,520 and with his teeth gleaming through his gray beard in 11 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,119 a horrible grin, Captain John Gunner stared up at the 12 00:00:43,119 --> 00:00:47,560 ceiling with eyes that saw nothing. Until a moment before 13 00:00:47,799 --> 00:00:50,560 he had had the little room all to himself. But 14 00:00:50,719 --> 00:00:54,399 now two people were standing just inside the door, looking 15 00:00:54,439 --> 00:00:58,600 down at him. One was a large policeman who twisted 16 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,479 his helmet nervously in his hands. The other was a tall, 17 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,319 gaunt old woman in a rusty black dress, who gazed 18 00:01:06,359 --> 00:01:09,719 with pale eyes at the dead man. Her face was 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:15,159 quite expressionless. The woman was Missus Pickett, owner of the 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:20,319 Excelsior boarding House. The policeman's name was Grogan. He was 21 00:01:20,359 --> 00:01:24,000 a genial giant, a terror to the riotous element of 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,879 the waterfront, but obviously ill at ease in the presence 23 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,599 of death. He drew in his breath, wiped his forehead, 24 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:36,840 and whispered, look at his eyes, ma'am. Missus Pickett had 25 00:01:36,879 --> 00:01:39,280 not spoken a word since she had brought the policeman 26 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,879 into the room, and she did not do so now. 27 00:01:42,879 --> 00:01:46,640 Constable Grogan looked at her quickly. He was afraid of 28 00:01:46,719 --> 00:01:51,920 Mother Picket, as was everybody else along the waterfront. Her silence, 29 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,480 her pale eyes, and the quiet decisiveness of her personality 30 00:01:56,719 --> 00:02:00,519 cowed even the tough old salts who patronized the ex celsier. 31 00:02:01,439 --> 00:02:05,200 She was a formidable influence in that little community of Sailorman. 32 00:02:06,599 --> 00:02:10,080 That's just how I found him, said Missus Pickett. She 33 00:02:10,159 --> 00:02:13,439 did not speak loudly, but her voice made the policeman start. 34 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,960 He wiped his forehead again. It might have been apoplexy, 35 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,520 he hazarded. Missus Pickett said nothing. There was a sound 36 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,800 of footsteps outside, and a young man entered carrying a 37 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,879 black bag. Good morning, Missus Pickett. I was told that, 38 00:02:31,199 --> 00:02:34,560 good Lord. The young doctor dropped to his knees beside 39 00:02:34,599 --> 00:02:37,719 the body and raised one of the arms. After a moment, 40 00:02:37,879 --> 00:02:40,240 he lowered it gently to the floor and shook his 41 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,919 head in grim resignation. He's been dead for hours, he announced, 42 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,680 When did you find him? Twenty minutes back, replied the 43 00:02:49,719 --> 00:02:53,199 old woman. I guess he died last night. He never 44 00:02:53,199 --> 00:02:55,599 would be called in the morning, said he liked to 45 00:02:55,599 --> 00:03:00,319 sleep on. Well, he's got his wish. Oh what did 46 00:03:00,319 --> 00:03:04,639 he die of, Sir, asked the policeman. It's impossible to 47 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,840 say without an examination. The doctor answered. It looks like 48 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,520 a stroke, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. It might 49 00:03:12,599 --> 00:03:15,319 be a coronary attack, but I happen to know his 50 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,800 blood pressure was normal and his heart sound. He called 51 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:20,719 in to see me only a week ago, and I 52 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:25,919 examined him thoroughly. But sometimes you can be deceived. The 53 00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:30,240 inquest will tell us he eyed the body almost resentfully. 54 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,479 I can't understand it. The man had no right to 55 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,919 drop dead like this. He was a tough old sailor 56 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,199 who ought to have been good for another twenty years. 57 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,240 If you want my honest opinion. Though I can't possibly 58 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,800 be certain until after the inquest, I should say he 59 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:52,360 had been poisoned. How would he be poisoned, asked Missus 60 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:57,039 Pickett quietly. That's more than I can tell you. There's 61 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,520 no glass about that he could have drunk it from. 62 00:04:00,159 --> 00:04:03,319 He might have got it in capsule form, But why 63 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,000 should he have done it? He was always a pretty 64 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,680 cheerful sort of old man, wasn't he, Yes, sir, said 65 00:04:09,719 --> 00:04:12,520 the constable. He had the name of being a joker 66 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,079 in these parts. Kind of sarcastic, they tell me, though 67 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,040 he never tried it on me. He must have died 68 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,600 quite early last night, said the doctor. He turned to 69 00:04:23,639 --> 00:04:27,600 Missus Pickett. What's become of Captain Muller? If he shares 70 00:04:27,639 --> 00:04:29,600 this room? He ought to be able to tell us 71 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,000 something about it. Captain Muller spent the night with some 72 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,720 friends at Portsmouth, said Missus Pickett. He left right after 73 00:04:36,759 --> 00:04:42,000 supper and hasn't returned. The doctor stared thoughtfully about the room, frowning. 74 00:04:43,079 --> 00:04:47,839 I don't like it. I can't understand it. If this 75 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,720 had happened in India, I should have said the man 76 00:04:50,759 --> 00:04:53,920 had died from some form of snake bite. I was 77 00:04:53,959 --> 00:04:56,720 out there two years, and I've seen a hundred cases 78 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,759 of it. The poor devils all looked just like this, 79 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,800 But the thing's ridiculous. How could a man be bitten 80 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,560 by a snake in a Southampton waterfront boarding house? Was 81 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,360 the door locked when you found him, Missus Pickett? Missus 82 00:05:10,399 --> 00:05:14,000 Pickett nodded. I opened it with my own key. I 83 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,279 had been calling to him and he didn't answer, so 84 00:05:16,519 --> 00:05:21,160 I guessed something was wrong. The Constable spoke, you ain't 85 00:05:21,199 --> 00:05:25,040 touched anything, ma'am. They're always very particular about that. If 86 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,800 the doctor's right and there's been anything up, that's the 87 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,759 first thing they'll ask. Everything's just as I found it. 88 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,040 What's that on the floor beside him, the doctor asked, 89 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,720 only his harmonica. He liked to play it of an 90 00:05:39,759 --> 00:05:42,800 evening in his room. I've had some complaints about it 91 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,439 from some of the gentlemen, but I never saw any 92 00:05:45,439 --> 00:05:47,800 harm so long as he didn't play it too late. 93 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,439 Seems as if he was playing it when it happened. 94 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,839 Constable Grogan said, that don't look much like suicide, Sir. 95 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:03,399 I didn't say it was suicide. Grogan whistled, You don't think. 96 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,519 I'm not thinking anything until after the inquest. All I 97 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,519 say is that it's queer. Another aspect of the matter 98 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:15,160 seemed to strike the policeman. I guess this ain't going 99 00:06:15,199 --> 00:06:18,639 to do the Excelsior any good, ma'am, he said sympathetically. 100 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,480 Missus Pickett shrugged her shoulders. I suppose I had better 101 00:06:23,519 --> 00:06:27,160 go and notify the coroner, said the doctor. He went out, 102 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,240 and after a momentary pause, the policeman followed him. Constable 103 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,800 Grogan was not greatly troubled with nerves, but he felt 104 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,600 a decided desire to be somewhere where he could not 105 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:42,199 see the dead man's staring eyes. Missus Pickett remained where 106 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,199 she was, looking down at the still form on the floor. 107 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:51,000 Her face was expressionless, but inwardly she was tormented and alarmed. 108 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:53,839 It was the first time such a thing as this 109 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,279 had happened at the Excelsior, and as Constable Grogan had hinted, 110 00:06:58,639 --> 00:07:01,959 it was not likely to increase the attractiveness of the 111 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,360 house in the eyes of possible boarders. It was not 112 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,040 the threatened pecuniary loss which was troubling her as far 113 00:07:09,079 --> 00:07:12,199 as money was concerned. She could have lived comfortably on 114 00:07:12,319 --> 00:07:15,319 her savings, for she was richer than most of her 115 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,600 friends supposed. It was the blot on the escutcheon of 116 00:07:19,639 --> 00:07:24,000 the Excelsior the stain on its reputation, which was tormenting her. 117 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:30,000 The Excelsior was her life. Starting many years before, beyond 118 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,000 the memory of the oldest border, she had built up 119 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,720 the Mudel Establishment, the fame of which had been carried 120 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,959 to every corner of the world. Men spoke of it 121 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,519 as a place where you were fed well, cleanly housed, 122 00:07:43,839 --> 00:07:48,240 and where petty robbery was unknown. Such was the chorus 123 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,399 of praise that it was not likely that much harm 124 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,759 could come to the Excelsior from a single mysterious death. 125 00:07:55,439 --> 00:07:59,519 But Mother Pickett was not consoling herself with such reflections. 126 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,560 She looked at the dead man with pale, grim eyes 127 00:08:04,399 --> 00:08:07,879 out in the hallway. The doctor's voice further increased her despair. 128 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,199 He was talking to the police on the telephone, and 129 00:08:11,399 --> 00:08:19,319 she could distinctly hear his every word. Two. The offices 130 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,399 of mister Paul Snyder's detective agency in New Oxford Street 131 00:08:23,839 --> 00:08:26,639 had grown in the course of a dozen years from 132 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,839 a single room to an impressive, sweet bright with polished wood, 133 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:36,559 clicking typewriters and other evidences of success. Where once mister 134 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,399 Snyder had sat and waited for clients and attended to 135 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,960 them himself. He now sat in his private office and 136 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:47,759 directed eight assistants. He had just accepted a case, a 137 00:08:47,879 --> 00:08:52,159 case that might be nothing at all or something exceedingly big. 138 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,639 It was on the latter possibility that he had gambled. 139 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,639 The fee offered was judged by his present standards of 140 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:05,000 cross prosperity small, but the bizarre facts, coupled with something 141 00:09:05,039 --> 00:09:07,480 in the personality of the client, had worn him over. 142 00:09:08,159 --> 00:09:11,440 He briskly touched the bell and requested that mister Oakes 143 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,720 be sent in to him. Eliot Oakes was a young 144 00:09:14,799 --> 00:09:19,159 man who both amused and interested mister Snyder, for though 145 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,039 he had only recently joined the staff, he made no 146 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,440 secret of his intention of revolutionizing the methods of the agency. 147 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,559 Mister Snyder himself, in common with most of his assistants, 148 00:09:31,039 --> 00:09:34,759 relied for results on hard work and plenty of common sense. 149 00:09:35,639 --> 00:09:38,799 He had never been a detective of the showy type. 150 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,879 Results had justified his methods, but he was perfectly aware 151 00:09:44,039 --> 00:09:47,480 that young mister Oakes looked on him as a dull 152 00:09:47,639 --> 00:09:52,440 old man who had been miraculously favored by luck. Mister 153 00:09:52,519 --> 00:09:55,879 Snyder had selected Oakes for the case in hand, principally 154 00:09:55,919 --> 00:09:59,080 because it was one where inexperience could do no harm, 155 00:09:59,639 --> 00:10:03,120 and where the brilliant guess work, which Oakes preferred to 156 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:09,759 call his inductive reasoning, might achieve an unexpected success. Another 157 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,519 motive actuated mister Snyder in his choice. He had a 158 00:10:13,519 --> 00:10:16,559 strong suspicion that the conduct of this case was going 159 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,840 to have the beneficial result of lowering Oakes's self esteem 160 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,360 if failure achieved this end. Mister Snyder felt that failure, 161 00:10:25,799 --> 00:10:28,639 though it would not help the agency, would not be 162 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:32,879 an unmixed ill. The door opened and Oakes entered tensely. 163 00:10:33,639 --> 00:10:38,240 He did everything tensely, partly from a natural nervous energy 164 00:10:38,639 --> 00:10:42,320 and partly as a pose. He was a lean young 165 00:10:42,399 --> 00:10:45,799 man with dark eyes and a thin lipped mouth, and 166 00:10:45,919 --> 00:10:49,120 he looked quite as much like a typical detective as 167 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:54,720 mister Snyder looked like a comfortable and prosperous stockbroker. Sit down, 168 00:10:54,799 --> 00:10:57,639 Oakes said, mister Snyder, I've got a job for you. 169 00:10:58,759 --> 00:11:01,720 Oakes sank into a chair like a crouching leopard and 170 00:11:01,799 --> 00:11:05,639 placed the tips of his fingers together. He nodded curtly. 171 00:11:06,279 --> 00:11:08,960 It was part of his pose to be keen and silent. 172 00:11:10,279 --> 00:11:13,879 I want you to go to this address. Mister Snyder 173 00:11:13,919 --> 00:11:17,639 handed him an envelope, and look around. The address on 174 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:21,279 that envelope is of a sailor's boarding house down in Southampton. 175 00:11:21,879 --> 00:11:25,039 You know, the sort of place. Retired sea captains and 176 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:30,000 so forth lived there, all most respectable in all its history. 177 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,360 Nothing more sensational has ever happened than a case of 178 00:11:33,399 --> 00:11:39,720 suspected cheating at halfpenny nap Well. A man had died there, murdered. 179 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,279 Oakes asked, I don't know. That's for you to find out. 180 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,799 The coroner left it open. Death by misadventure was the verdict, 181 00:11:48,879 --> 00:11:51,679 and I don't blame him. I don't see how it 182 00:11:51,759 --> 00:11:55,120 could have been murder. The door was locked on the inside, 183 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:59,759 so nobody could have got in the window. The window 184 00:11:59,879 --> 00:12:04,200 was open, granted, but the room is on the second floor. Anyway, 185 00:12:04,399 --> 00:12:07,320 you may dismiss the window. I remember the old lady 186 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,320 saying there was a bar across it, and that nobody 187 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:16,159 could have squeezed through. Oakes's eyes glistened. He was interested. 188 00:12:17,159 --> 00:12:21,399 What was the cause of death, he asked. Mister Snyder 189 00:12:21,519 --> 00:12:27,120 coughed snake bite, he said. Oakes's careful calm deserted him. 190 00:12:27,519 --> 00:12:32,799 He uttered a cry of astonishment. Why that's incredible. It's 191 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:36,279 the literal truth. The medical examination proved that the fellow 192 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,679 had been killed by snake poison cobra to be exact, 193 00:12:39,879 --> 00:12:46,320 which is found principally in India, cobra. Just so, in 194 00:12:46,399 --> 00:12:49,799 a Southampton boarding house, in a room with a locked door, 195 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,600 this man was stung by a cobra. To add a 196 00:12:53,639 --> 00:12:57,080 little mystification to the limpid simplicity of the affair, when 197 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,799 the door was opened, there was no sign of any 198 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,240 It couldn't have got out through the door because the 199 00:13:03,279 --> 00:13:05,720 door was locked. It couldn't have got out of the 200 00:13:05,759 --> 00:13:09,000 window because the window was too high up and snakes 201 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,000 can't jump, And it couldn't have gotten up the chimney 202 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,399 because there was no chimney. So there you have it. 203 00:13:16,919 --> 00:13:20,559 He looked at Oaks with a certain quiet satisfaction. It 204 00:13:20,639 --> 00:13:23,360 had come to his ears that Oakes had been heard 205 00:13:23,399 --> 00:13:27,600 to complain of the infantile nature and unworthiness of the 206 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:30,799 last two cases to which he had been assigned. He 207 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:33,200 had even said that he hoped some day to be 208 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,919 given a problem which should be beyond the reasoning powers 209 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,559 of a child of six. It seemed to mister Snyder 210 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:44,000 that Oakes was about to get his wish. I should 211 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:48,840 like further details, said Oakes, a little breathlessly. You had 212 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,480 better apply to Missus Pickett, who owns the boarding house. 213 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,799 Mister Snyder said. It was she who put the case 214 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:58,080 in my hands. She is convinced that it is murder. 215 00:13:58,519 --> 00:14:01,720 But if we exclude go hosts, I don't see how 216 00:14:01,759 --> 00:14:04,039 any third party could have taken a hand in the 217 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,039 thing at all. However, she wanted a man from this 218 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,200 agency and was prepared to pay for him, so I 219 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,240 promised her I would send one. It is not our 220 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:19,080 policy to turn business away, he smiled Riley. In pursuance 221 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,919 of that policy, I want you to go and put 222 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,159 up at missus Pickett's boarding house and do your best 223 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:29,399 to enhance the reputation of our agency. I would suggest 224 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,120 that you pose as a ship's chandler or something of 225 00:14:32,159 --> 00:14:35,360 that sort. You will have to be something maritime or 226 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,759 they'll be suspicious of you, And if your visit produces 227 00:14:38,759 --> 00:14:41,799 no other results, it will at least enable you to 228 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,639 make the acquaintance of a very remarkable woman. I commend 229 00:14:45,679 --> 00:14:48,759 Missus Pickett to your notice. By the way, she says, 230 00:14:48,799 --> 00:14:52,919 she will help you in your investigations, Oakes laughed shortly. 231 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:59,320 The idea amused him. It's a mistake to scoff at 232 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:04,279 amateurs assistance, my boy, said mister Snyder, in the benevolently 233 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,799 paternal manner which had made a score of criminals refused 234 00:15:07,799 --> 00:15:10,360 to believe him a detective until the moment when the 235 00:15:10,399 --> 00:15:16,080 handcuffs snapped on their wrists. Crime investigation isn't an exact science. 236 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,879 Success or failure depends on a large measure on applied 237 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,960 common sense and the possession of a great deal of 238 00:15:23,039 --> 00:15:27,720 special information. Missus Pickett knows certain things which neither you 239 00:15:27,919 --> 00:15:31,519 nor I know, and it's just possible that she may 240 00:15:31,559 --> 00:15:34,519 have some stray piece of information which will provide the 241 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:39,759 key to the entire mystery. Oakes laughed again. It is 242 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,200 very kind of missus Pickett, he said, But I prefer 243 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:48,000 to trust my own methods. Oakes rose, his face purposeful. 244 00:15:48,799 --> 00:15:51,720 I'd better be starting at once, he said. I'll send 245 00:15:51,759 --> 00:15:56,240 you reports from time to time. Good. The more detail, 246 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,639 the better, said mister Snyder, genially. I hope your visit 247 00:16:00,679 --> 00:16:04,679 to the Excelsior will be pleasant and cultivate Missus Pickett. 248 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,200 She's worth while. The door closed and mister Snyder lighted 249 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:13,840 a fresh cigar. Dash it, young fool, he murmured as 250 00:16:13,919 --> 00:16:18,799 he turned his mind to other matters. Three a day later, 251 00:16:18,919 --> 00:16:22,200 mister Snyder sat in his office reading a typewritten report. 252 00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:25,799 It appeared to be of a humorous nature, for as 253 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,120 he read, chuckles escaped him. Finishing the last sheet, he 254 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,519 threw his head back and laughed heartily. The manuscript had 255 00:16:34,559 --> 00:16:37,679 not been intended by its author for a humorous effort. 256 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,039 What mister Snyder had been reading was the first of 257 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:45,720 Elliot Oakes's reports from the Excelsior. It read as follows. 258 00:16:46,679 --> 00:16:50,000 I am sorry to be unable to report any real progress. 259 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,679 I have formed several theories which I will put forward later, 260 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,639 but at present I cannot say that I am hopeful. 261 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,080 Directly I arrived here, I sought out missus Wicket, explained 262 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,679 who I was, and requested her to furnish me with 263 00:17:03,759 --> 00:17:06,559 any further information which might be of service to me. 264 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,559 She is a strange, silent woman who impressed me as 265 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:14,799 having very little intelligence. Your suggestion that I should avail 266 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,440 myself of her assistance seems more curious than ever, now 267 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,440 that I have seen her. The whole affair seems to me, 268 00:17:21,519 --> 00:17:25,400 at the moment of writing, quite inexplicable. Assuming that this 269 00:17:25,519 --> 00:17:28,400 Captain Gunner was murdered, there appears to have been no 270 00:17:28,559 --> 00:17:32,680 motive for the crime whatsoever. I have made careful inquiries 271 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:34,799 about him and found that he was a man of 272 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,240 fifty five, had spent nearly forty years of his life 273 00:17:38,279 --> 00:17:41,200 at sea, the last dozen in command of his own ship, 274 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,880 was of a somewhat overbearing disposition, though with a fund 275 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,440 of rough humor, had traveled all over the world, and 276 00:17:49,519 --> 00:17:52,599 had been an inmate of the Excelsior for about ten months. 277 00:17:53,279 --> 00:17:56,200 He had a small innuity and no other money at all, 278 00:17:56,559 --> 00:17:59,519 which disposes of money as the motive for the crime. 279 00:18:00,599 --> 00:18:04,359 In my character of James Burton, a retired ship's chandler, 280 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,200 I have mixed with the other boarders and have heard 281 00:18:07,279 --> 00:18:10,799 all they have to say about the affair. I gathered 282 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,680 that the deceased was by no means popular. He appears 283 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,160 to have had a bitter tongue, and I have not 284 00:18:17,319 --> 00:18:20,799 met one man who seems to regret his death. On 285 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,799 the other hand, I have heard nothing which would suggest 286 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,480 that he had any active and violent enemies. He was 287 00:18:27,519 --> 00:18:31,319 simply the unpopular boarder there is always one in every 288 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,759 boarding house, but nothing more. I have seen a good 289 00:18:34,839 --> 00:18:37,680 deal of the man who shared his room, another sea 290 00:18:37,759 --> 00:18:41,799 captain named Muller. He is a big, silent person and 291 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,480 it is not easy to get him to talk. As 292 00:18:44,519 --> 00:18:47,640 regards the death of Captain Gunner, he can tell me nothing. 293 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,519 It seems that on the night of the tragedy he 294 00:18:50,599 --> 00:18:53,680 was away at Portsmouth with some friends. All I have 295 00:18:53,759 --> 00:18:57,240 got from him is some information as to Captain Gunner's habits, 296 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:02,160 which leads nowhere. The dead man seldom drank except at 297 00:19:02,279 --> 00:19:05,599 night when he would take some whiskey. His head was 298 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,519 not strong, and a little of the spirit was enough 299 00:19:08,519 --> 00:19:11,960 to make him semi intoxicated when he would be hilarious 300 00:19:12,079 --> 00:19:16,000 and often insulting. I gather that Muller found him a 301 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:20,000 difficult roommate, but he is one of those placid persons 302 00:19:20,039 --> 00:19:23,279 who can put up with anything. Key and Gunner were 303 00:19:23,319 --> 00:19:25,799 in the habit of playing drafts together every night in 304 00:19:25,839 --> 00:19:29,599 their room, and Gunner had a harmonica which he played frequently. 305 00:19:30,279 --> 00:19:33,039 Apparently he was playing it very soon before he died, 306 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,000 which is significant as seeming to dispose of the idea 307 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,160 of suicide. As I say, I have one or two theories, 308 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,759 but they are in a very nebulous state. The most 309 00:19:44,759 --> 00:19:47,440 plausible is that on one of his visits to India, 310 00:19:47,799 --> 00:19:50,359 I half ascertained that he had made several voyages there. 311 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,799 Captain Gunner may in some way have fallen foul of 312 00:19:53,799 --> 00:19:57,119 the natives. The fact that he certainly died of the 313 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:01,200 poison of an Indian snake supports this theory. I am 314 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,759 making inquiries as to the movements of several Indian sailors 315 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,119 who were here in their ships at the time of 316 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:12,480 the tragedy. I have another theory. Does missus Pickett know 317 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,319 more about this affair than she appears to I may 318 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:20,119 be wrong in my estimate of her mental qualities, her 319 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:24,880 apparent stupidity may be cunning. But here again the absence 320 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,839 of motive brings me up against a dead wall. I 321 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,000 must confess that at present I do not see my 322 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:37,200 way clearly. However, I will write again shortly. Mister Snyder 323 00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:41,200 derived the utmost enjoyment from the report. He liked the 324 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,480 substance of it, and above all he was tickled by 325 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:49,319 the bitter tone of frustration which characterized it. Oakes was baffled, 326 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,759 and his knowledge of Oaks told him that the sensation 327 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,279 of being baffled was gall and wormwood. To that high 328 00:20:56,359 --> 00:21:00,400 spirited young man, whatever might be the result of this investoration, 329 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,880 it would teach him the virtue of patience. He wrote 330 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:10,400 his assistance a short note, Dear Oaks, your report received. 331 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,599 You certainly seem to have got the hard case which 332 00:21:13,599 --> 00:21:17,000 I hear you were pining for. Don't build too much 333 00:21:17,079 --> 00:21:20,799 on plausible motives in a case of this sort. Fauntleroy, 334 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,279 the London murderer, killed a woman for no other reason 335 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,200 than that she had thick ankles. Many years ago, I 336 00:21:28,319 --> 00:21:30,920 myself was on a case where a man murdered and 337 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:35,039 intimate friend because of a dispute about a bet. My 338 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,559 experience is that five murderers out of ten act on 339 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,400 the whim of the moment, without anything which, properly speaking, 340 00:21:42,559 --> 00:21:46,000 you could call a motive at all. Yours very cordially, 341 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,680 Paul Snyder, p. S. I don't think much of your 342 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,279 picket theory. However, you're in charge. I wish you luck. 343 00:21:55,720 --> 00:22:01,359 Four Young mister Oakes was not enjoying himself. For the 344 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,880 first time in his life. The self confidence which characterized 345 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,640 all his actions seemed to be failing him. The change 346 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,519 had taken place almost overnight. The fact that the case 347 00:22:12,559 --> 00:22:16,000 had the appearance of presenting the unusual had merely stimulated 348 00:22:16,079 --> 00:22:19,160 him at first, but then doubts had crept in and 349 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:23,680 the problem had begun to appear insoluble. True, he had 350 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,640 only just taken it up, but something told him that 351 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,960 for all the progress he was likely to make, he 352 00:22:29,039 --> 00:22:31,480 might just as well have been working on it steadily 353 00:22:31,559 --> 00:22:36,079 for a month. He was completely baffled, and every moment 354 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,079 which he spent in the Excelsior boarding house made it 355 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,119 clear to him that that infernal old woman with the 356 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:46,559 pale eyes thought him an incompetent fool. It was that, 357 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,000 more than anything, which made him acutely conscious of his 358 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,559 lack of success. His nerves were being sorely troubled by 359 00:22:54,599 --> 00:22:58,599 the quiet scorn of Missus Pickett's gaze. He began to 360 00:22:58,599 --> 00:23:01,519 think that perhaps he had been a shade too self 361 00:23:01,559 --> 00:23:04,720 confident and abrupt in the short interview which he had 362 00:23:04,759 --> 00:23:08,759 had with her on his arrival. As might have been expected, 363 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,680 his first act after his brief interview with Missus Pickett 364 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,119 was to examine the room where the tragedy had taken place. 365 00:23:16,799 --> 00:23:20,079 The body was gone, but otherwise nothing had been moved. 366 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,559 Oakes belonged to the magnifying glass school of detection. The 367 00:23:25,599 --> 00:23:27,920 first thing he did on entering the room was to 368 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,720 make a careful examination of the floor, the walls, the furniture, 369 00:23:31,839 --> 00:23:34,839 and the window sill. He would have hotly denied the 370 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,359 assertion that he did this because it looked well, but 371 00:23:38,599 --> 00:23:40,680 he would have been hard put to it to advance 372 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,319 any other reason if he discovered anything. His discoveries were 373 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,359 entirely negative and served only to deepen the mystery of 374 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:53,839 the case. As missus Snyder had said, there was no chimney, 375 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,839 and nobody could have entered through the locked door. There 376 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:02,440 remained the window. It was small, and apprehensiveness, perhaps of 377 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,839 the possibility of burglars, had caused the proprietress to make 378 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,880 it doubly secure with an iron bar. No human being 379 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,720 could have squeezed his way through it. It was late 380 00:24:13,759 --> 00:24:16,720 that night that he wrote in dispatch to headquarters the 381 00:24:16,799 --> 00:24:22,960 report which had amused mister Snyder. Five two days later, 382 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:26,960 mister Snyder sat at his desk, staring with wide, unbelieving 383 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,319 eyes at a telegram he had just received. It read 384 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:36,519 as follows, I have solved Gunner mystery. Returning Oakes, mister 385 00:24:36,519 --> 00:24:39,960 Snyder narrowed his eyes and rang the bell. Send mister 386 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,839 Oakes to me directly. He arrives, He said he was 387 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,519 pained to find that his chief emotion was one of 388 00:24:46,599 --> 00:24:51,720 bitter annoyance. The swift solution of such an apparently insoluble 389 00:24:51,759 --> 00:24:55,759 problem would reflect the highest credit on the agency, and 390 00:24:56,039 --> 00:24:59,839 there were picturesque circumstances connected with the case which would 391 00:24:59,839 --> 00:25:02,359 make make it popular with the newspapers and lead to 392 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,440 its being given a great deal of publicity. Yet in 393 00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:11,119 spite of all this, mister Snyder was annoyed. He realized 394 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,960 now how large a part the desire to reduce Oaks's 395 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:18,279 self esteem had played with him. He further realized, looking 396 00:25:18,279 --> 00:25:21,519 at the thing honestly, that he had been firmly convinced 397 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,519 that the young man would not come within a mile 398 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:28,720 of reasonable solution of the mystery. He had desired only 399 00:25:28,799 --> 00:25:32,640 that his failure would prove a valuable educational experience for him, 400 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,079 for he believed that failure at this particular point in 401 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:39,279 his career would make Oakes a more valuable asset to 402 00:25:39,319 --> 00:25:44,039 the agency. But now here Oakes was within a ridiculously 403 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,920 short space of time. Returning to the fold, not humble 404 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:52,839 and defeated, but triumphant. Mister Snyder looked forward with apprehension 405 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,680 to the young man's probable demeanor under the intoxicating influence 406 00:25:56,759 --> 00:26:01,880 of victory. His apprehensions were well grounded. He had barely 407 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:06,319 finished the third of a series of cigars, which, like milestones, 408 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,480 marked the progress of his afternoon. When the door opened 409 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,599 and young Oakes entered, mister Snyder could not repress a 410 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,880 faint moan at the sight of him. One glance was 411 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:20,079 enough to tell him that his worst fears were realized. 412 00:26:21,519 --> 00:26:26,480 I got your telegram, said mister Snyder. Oakes nodded. It 413 00:26:26,599 --> 00:26:31,759 surprised you, eh, he asked. Mister Snyder resented the patronizing 414 00:26:31,839 --> 00:26:35,440 tone of the question, but he had resigned himself to 415 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:41,319 be patronized and keep his anger in check. Yes, he replied, 416 00:26:41,839 --> 00:26:45,160 I must say it did surprise me. I didn't gather 417 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,559 from your report that you had even found a clue. 418 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:52,000 Was it the Indian theory that turned the trick? Oakes 419 00:26:52,079 --> 00:26:57,000 laughed tolerantly. Oh, I never really believe that preposterous theory 420 00:26:57,079 --> 00:26:59,920 for one moment. I just put it in to round 421 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:04,079 out my report. I hadn't begun to think about the case, then, 422 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:10,880 not really think. Mister Snyder, nearly exploding with wrath, extended 423 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,759 his cigar case. Light up and tell me all about it, 424 00:27:15,039 --> 00:27:19,880 he said, controlling his anger. Well, I won't say I 425 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,640 haven't earned this, said Oakes, puffing away. He let the 426 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,240 ash of his cigar fall delicately to the floor, another 427 00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:30,960 action which seemed significant to his employer. As a rule, 428 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:36,720 his assistants, unless particularly pleased with themselves, used the ashtray. 429 00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:42,000 My first act on arriving, Oakes said, was to have 430 00:27:42,039 --> 00:27:47,240 a talk with missus Pickett, a very dull old woman. Curious. 431 00:27:47,519 --> 00:27:51,680 She struck me as rather intelligent. Not on your life. 432 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:56,359 She gave me no assistance whatever. I then examined the 433 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,759 room where the death had taken place. It was exactly 434 00:27:59,839 --> 00:28:03,200 as you described it. There was no chimney, the door 435 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,200 had been locked on the inside. The one window was 436 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:10,680 very high up. At first sight, it looked extremely unpromising. 437 00:28:11,519 --> 00:28:14,279 Then I had a chat with some of the other boarders. 438 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,440 They had nothing of any importance to contribute. Most of 439 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,480 them simply gibbered. I then gave up trying to get 440 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,359 help from the outside and resolved to rely on my 441 00:28:24,559 --> 00:28:31,359 own intelligence, he smiled triumphantly. It is a theory of mine, 442 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:35,119 mister Snyder, which I have found valuable that in nine 443 00:28:35,279 --> 00:28:40,640 cases out of ten, remarkable things don't happen. I don't 444 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,799 quite follow you there, mister Snyder interrupted, I will put 445 00:28:44,839 --> 00:28:47,200 it another way if you like. What I mean is 446 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:51,039 that the simplest explanation is nearly always the right one. 447 00:28:51,599 --> 00:28:55,000 Consider this case, it seemed impossible that there should have 448 00:28:55,039 --> 00:28:59,039 been any reasonable explanation of the man's death. Most men 449 00:28:59,079 --> 00:29:03,200 would have warned them out guessing at wild theories. If 450 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,559 I had started to do that, I should have been 451 00:29:05,559 --> 00:29:09,599 guessing now as it is here. I am. I trusted 452 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,319 to my belief that nothing remarkable ever happens, and I 453 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:19,000 worn out. Mister Snyder sighed softly. Oakes was entitled to 454 00:29:19,079 --> 00:29:21,480 a certain amount of gloating, but there could be no 455 00:29:21,599 --> 00:29:25,559 doubt that his way of telling a story was downright infuriating. 456 00:29:27,039 --> 00:29:31,319 I believe in the logical sequence of events. I refuse 457 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:35,920 to accept effects unless they are preceded by causes. In 458 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,920 other words, with all due respect to your possibly contrary opinions, 459 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,240 mister Snyder, I simply declined to believe in a murder 460 00:29:43,359 --> 00:29:46,240 unless there is a motive for it. The first thing 461 00:29:46,279 --> 00:29:49,440 I set myself to ascertain was what was the motive 462 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,519 for the murder of Captain Gunner? And after thinking it 463 00:29:52,559 --> 00:29:56,440 over and making every possible inquiry, I decided that there 464 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:02,680 was no motive, therefore there was no murder. Mister Snyder's 465 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,079 mouth opened, and he obviously was about to protest, but 466 00:30:06,279 --> 00:30:08,839 he appeared to think better of it, and Oakes proceeded. 467 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,960 I then tested the suicide theory. What motive was there 468 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:20,200 for suicide? There was no motive, therefore there was no suicide. 469 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,640 This time, mister Snyder spoke, you haven't been spending the 470 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,519 last few days in the wrong house, by any chance, 471 00:30:28,559 --> 00:30:31,000 have you? You'll be telling me next that there wasn't 472 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:36,119 any dead man. Oakes smiled, not at all. Captain John 473 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,559 Gunner was dead all right, as the medical evidence proved. 474 00:30:39,759 --> 00:30:42,359 He died of the bite of a cobra. It was 475 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:47,680 a small cobra which came from Java. Mister Snyder stared 476 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:52,359 at him. How do you know, I do know, beyond 477 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:57,240 any possibility of doubt. Did you see the snake? Oake 478 00:30:57,279 --> 00:31:01,920 shook his head. Then, how in HEA's name I have 479 00:31:02,079 --> 00:31:05,440 enough evidence to make a jury convict mister Snake without 480 00:31:05,519 --> 00:31:10,000 leaving the box. Then suppose you tell me this, How 481 00:31:10,039 --> 00:31:13,200 did your cobra from Java get out of the room 482 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:18,400 by the window? Replied Oakes impassively. How can you possibly 483 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:23,680 explain that? You say yourself that the window was high up. Nevertheless, 484 00:31:23,799 --> 00:31:26,680 it got out by the window. The logical sequence of 485 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,920 events is proof enough that it was in the room. 486 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,200 It killed Captain Gunner there, and left traces of its 487 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,680 presence outside. Therefore, as the window was the only exit, 488 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,640 it must have escaped by that route. It may have climbed, 489 00:31:41,759 --> 00:31:44,440 or it may have jumped, But somehow it got out 490 00:31:44,519 --> 00:31:48,559 of that window. What do you mean it left traces 491 00:31:48,559 --> 00:31:53,039 of its presence outside. It killed a dog in the 492 00:31:53,119 --> 00:31:57,079 back yard behind the house, Oakes said. The window of 493 00:31:57,119 --> 00:32:00,480 Captain Gunner's room projects out over it. It is full 494 00:32:00,519 --> 00:32:03,119 of boxes and litter, and there are a few stunted 495 00:32:03,119 --> 00:32:06,839 shrubs scattered about. In fact, there is enough cover to 496 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,960 hide any small object, like the body of a dog. 497 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,839 That's why it was not discovered at first. The maid 498 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,279 at the Excelsior came on it the morning after I 499 00:32:16,359 --> 00:32:18,720 sent you my report. While she was emptying a box 500 00:32:18,759 --> 00:32:22,039 of ashes in the yard. It was just an ordinary 501 00:32:22,079 --> 00:32:26,200 stray dog without callar or license. The analyst examined the 502 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,920 body and found that the dog had died of the 503 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:34,240 bite of a cobra. But you didn't find the snake. No. 504 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,359 We cleaned out that yard till you could have eaten 505 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,759 your breakfast there, But the snake was gone. It must 506 00:32:40,759 --> 00:32:42,880 have escaped through the door of the yard which was 507 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,119 standing ajar. That was a couple of days ago, and 508 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:49,519 there has been no further tragedy. In all likelihood, it 509 00:32:49,599 --> 00:32:52,240 is dead. The nights are pretty cold now and it 510 00:32:52,279 --> 00:32:56,720 would probably have died of exposure. But I just don't 511 00:32:56,799 --> 00:33:00,519 understand how a cobra got to Southampton, said the amazed 512 00:33:00,559 --> 00:33:04,880 mister Snyder. Can't you guess it? I told you it 513 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:09,640 came from Java. How did you know it did? Captain 514 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,079 Muller told me not directly, but I pieced it together 515 00:33:13,119 --> 00:33:16,119 from what he said. It seems that an old shipmate 516 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:20,039 of Captain Gunner's was living in Java. They corresponded, and 517 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,000 occasionally this man would send the Captain a present as 518 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,079 a mark of his esteem. The last present he sent 519 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:30,279 was a crate of bananas. Unfortunately, the snake must have 520 00:33:30,359 --> 00:33:33,799 got in unnoticed. That's why I told you the cobra 521 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,680 was a small one. Well, that's my case against mister Snake, 522 00:33:38,039 --> 00:33:40,400 and short of catching him with the goods, I don't 523 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:42,319 see how I could have made out a stronger one. 524 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:46,480 Don't you agree? It went against the grain for mister 525 00:33:46,519 --> 00:33:50,480 Snyder to acknowledge defeat, but he was a fair minded man, 526 00:33:50,799 --> 00:33:53,680 and he was forced to admit that Oakes did certainly 527 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:58,599 seem to have solved the impossible. I congratulate you, my boy, 528 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,200 he said, as heartily as he could to be completely frank, 529 00:34:02,359 --> 00:34:05,319 when you started out. I didn't think you could do it. 530 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,239 By the way, I suppose Missus Pickett was pleased. If 531 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:13,719 she was, she didn't show it. I'm pretty well convinced 532 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:17,360 that she hasn't enough sense to be pleased at anything. However, 533 00:34:17,599 --> 00:34:20,320 she has invited me to dinner with her tonight. I 534 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,760 imagine she'll be as boring as usual, but she made 535 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:28,000 such a point of it I had to accept six. 536 00:34:29,079 --> 00:34:32,519 For some time after Oakes had gone, mister Snyder sat 537 00:34:32,559 --> 00:34:37,480 smoking and thinking in embittered meditation. Suddenly there was brought 538 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,159 the card of missus Pickett, who would be grateful if 539 00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:43,559 he could spare her a few moments. Mister Snyder was 540 00:34:43,599 --> 00:34:47,320 glad to see missus Pickett. He was a student of character, 541 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,559 and she had interested him at their first meeting. There 542 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,440 was something about her which had seemed to him unique, 543 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,760 and he welcomed this second chance of studying her at 544 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,760 close range. She came came in and sat down stiffly, 545 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,400 balancing herself on the extreme edge of the chair in 546 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:09,559 which a short while before young Oakes had lounged so luxuriously. 547 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,440 How are you, missus Pickett, said mister Snyder genially. I'm 548 00:35:15,519 --> 00:35:17,519 very glad that you could find time to pay me 549 00:35:17,559 --> 00:35:22,320 a visit. Well, so it wasn't murder after all, sir. 550 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,119 I've just been talking to mister Oakes, whom you met 551 00:35:26,119 --> 00:35:29,199 as James Burton, said the detective. He has told me 552 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:33,559 all about it. He told me all about it, said 553 00:35:33,559 --> 00:35:38,639 Missus Pickett dryly. Mister Snyder looked at her inquiringly. Her 554 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:43,840 manner seemed more suggestive than her words. A conceited, headstrong, 555 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:48,400 young fool, said Missus Pickett. It was no new picture 556 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,679 of his assistant that she had drawn. Mister Snyder had 557 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:55,039 often drawn it himself, but at the present juncture it 558 00:35:55,159 --> 00:35:59,239 surprised him. Oakes, in his hour of triumph, surely did 559 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:04,440 not deserve that this sweeping condemnation. Did not mister oaks 560 00:36:04,519 --> 00:36:09,320 solution of the mystery satisfy you, Missus Pickett. No, it 561 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:13,760 struck me as logical and convincing. Mister Snyder said, you 562 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:16,840 may call it all the fancy names you please, mister Snyder, 563 00:36:17,119 --> 00:36:21,159 but mister Oak's solution was not the right one. Have 564 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:25,000 you an alternative to offer? Missus Pickett tightened her lips. 565 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,920 If you have, I should like to hear it. You 566 00:36:29,039 --> 00:36:33,119 will at the proper time. What makes you so certain 567 00:36:33,159 --> 00:36:37,039 that mister Oaks is wrong? He starts out with an 568 00:36:37,039 --> 00:36:41,280 impossible explanation and rests his whole case on it. There 569 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,480 couldn't have been a snake in that room, because it 570 00:36:43,519 --> 00:36:48,719 couldn't have gotten out the window was too high. But 571 00:36:49,159 --> 00:36:53,199 surely the evidence of the dead dog. Missus Pickett looked 572 00:36:53,199 --> 00:36:56,880 at him as if he had disappointed her. I had 573 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,000 always heard you spoken of as a man with common sense, 574 00:37:00,159 --> 00:37:04,840 mister Snyder. I have always tried to use common sense. 575 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,639 Then why are you trying now to make yourself believe 576 00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:12,320 that something happened which could not possibly have happened just 577 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,239 because it fits in with something which isn't easy to explain. 578 00:37:16,519 --> 00:37:19,559 You mean there is another explanation of the dead dog, 579 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:25,079 mister Snyder asked, not another. What mister Oakes takes for 580 00:37:25,199 --> 00:37:29,199 granted is not an explanation, but there is a common 581 00:37:29,239 --> 00:37:32,639 sense explanation. And if he had not been so headstrong 582 00:37:32,679 --> 00:37:37,199 and conceited, he might have found it. You speak as 583 00:37:37,199 --> 00:37:41,480 if you had found it, chided mister Snyder, I have. 584 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,360 Missus Pickett leaned forward as she spoke and stared at 585 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:52,079 him defiantly. Mister Snyder started, you have, yes, what is it? 586 00:37:53,079 --> 00:37:56,320 You will know before tomorrow. In the meantime, try and 587 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,800 think it out for yourself. A successful and prosperous to 588 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,880 tell active agency like yours, mister Snyder ought to do 589 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:07,079 something in return for a fee. There was something in 590 00:38:07,079 --> 00:38:10,360 her manner so reminiscent of the school teacher reprimanding a 591 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,800 recalcitrant pupil that mister Snyder's sense of humor came to 592 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:18,280 his rescue. We do our best, Missus Pickett, he said, 593 00:38:18,679 --> 00:38:22,079 but you mustn't forget that we are only human and 594 00:38:22,239 --> 00:38:28,400 cannot guarantee results. Missus Pickett did not pursue the subject. Instead, 595 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:32,800 she proceeded to astonish mister Snyder by asking him to 596 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,039 swear out a warrant for the arrest of a man 597 00:38:35,119 --> 00:38:39,280 known to them, both on a charge of murder. Mister 598 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,719 Snyder's breath was not often taken away in his own office. 599 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:48,159 As a rule, he received his client's communications calmly, strange 600 00:38:48,199 --> 00:38:52,039 as they often were. But at her words he gasped. 601 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:55,639 The thought crossed his mind that Missus Pickett might well 602 00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:59,840 be mentally unbalanced. The details of the case were fresh 603 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:03,599 in his memory, and he distinctly recollected that the person 604 00:39:03,679 --> 00:39:06,239 she mentioned had been away from the boarding house on 605 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:09,679 the night of Captain Gunner's death, and could, he imagined, 606 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:14,159 produce witnesses to prove it. Missus Pickett was regarding him 607 00:39:14,199 --> 00:39:18,519 with an unfaltering stare. To all outward appearances, she was 608 00:39:18,559 --> 00:39:23,000 the opposite of unbalanced. But you can't swear out a 609 00:39:23,039 --> 00:39:28,719 warrant without evidence, he told her. I have evidence, She replied, firmly, 610 00:39:29,719 --> 00:39:34,000 precisely what kind of evidence? He demanded. If I told 611 00:39:34,039 --> 00:39:35,960 you now, you would think that I was out of 612 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,800 my mind. But Missus Pickett, do you realize what you 613 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:43,400 are asking me to do. I cannot make this agency 614 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,199 responsible for the arbitrary arrest of a man on the 615 00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:50,360 strength of a single individual suspicions. It might ruin me. 616 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:52,920 At the least, it would make me a laughing stock. 617 00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:57,599 Mister Snyder, you may use your own judgment whether or 618 00:39:57,679 --> 00:40:00,639 not to make the arrest on that warrant. You will 619 00:40:00,639 --> 00:40:03,199 listen to what I have to say, and you will 620 00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:06,719 see for yourself how the crime was committed. If after 621 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,199 that you feel you cannot make the arrest, I will 622 00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:13,679 accept your decision. I know who killed Captain Gunner, she said. 623 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:17,280 I knew it from the beginning. It was like a vision, 624 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:20,400 but I had no proof. Now things have come to 625 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:25,679 light and everything is clear. Against his judgment, mister Snyder 626 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:31,239 was impressed. This woman had the magnetism which makes for persuasiveness. 627 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:38,880 It it sounds incredible. Even as he spoke, he remembered 628 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:41,480 that it had long been a professional maxim of his 629 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:47,239 that nothing was incredible, and he weakened still further. Mister Snyder, 630 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,440 I ask you to swear out that warrant. The detective 631 00:40:51,519 --> 00:40:57,039 gave in very well, he said, missus Pickett Rose, if 632 00:40:57,039 --> 00:40:58,920 you will come and dine at my house to night. 633 00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:01,239 I think I can prove to you that it will 634 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:07,599 be needed. Will you come. I'll come, promised mister Snyder. Seven. 635 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:12,159 When mister Snyder arrived at the Excelsior, and shortly after 636 00:41:12,199 --> 00:41:14,679 he was shown into the little private sitting room, where 637 00:41:14,679 --> 00:41:19,119 he found Oakes, the third guest of the evening, unexpectedly arrived. 638 00:41:20,079 --> 00:41:24,559 Mister Snyder looked curiously at the newcomer. Captain Muller had 639 00:41:24,559 --> 00:41:28,360 a peculiar fascination for him. It was not mister Snyder's 640 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:32,079 habit to trust over much to appearances, but he could 641 00:41:32,079 --> 00:41:35,079 not help admitting that there was something about this man's 642 00:41:35,119 --> 00:41:38,719 aspect which brought Missus Pickett's charges out of the realm 643 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:42,599 of the fantastic into that of the possible. There was 644 00:41:42,639 --> 00:41:47,239 something odd and unnatural aspect of gloom about the man. 645 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:51,840 He bore himself like one carrying a heavy burden. His 646 00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:55,960 eyes were dull, his face haggard. The next moment, the 647 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:59,679 detective was reproaching himself with allowing his imagination to run 648 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,719 away with his calmer judgment. The door opened and Missus 649 00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:07,280 Pickett came in. She made no apology for her lateness 650 00:42:08,159 --> 00:42:11,159 to mister Snyder. One of the most remarkable points about 651 00:42:11,159 --> 00:42:15,119 the dinner was the peculiar metamorphosis of Missus Pickett from 652 00:42:15,159 --> 00:42:18,440 the brooding, silent woman he had known to the gracious 653 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:24,920 and considerate hostess. Oakes appeared also to be overcome with surprise, 654 00:42:25,519 --> 00:42:27,679 so much so that he was unable to keep his 655 00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:32,039 astonishment to himself. He had come prepared to endure a 656 00:42:32,159 --> 00:42:36,480 dull evening, absorbed in grim silence, and he found himself 657 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:39,599 instead opposite a bottle of champagne of a brand and 658 00:42:39,679 --> 00:42:44,280 ear which commanded his utmost respect. What was even more incredible, 659 00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:48,199 his hostess had transformed herself into a pleasant old lady 660 00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:51,719 whose only aim seemed to be to make him feel 661 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,440 at home. Beside each of the guest's plates was a 662 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:59,199 neat paper parcel. Oakes picked his up and stared at 663 00:42:59,199 --> 00:43:03,400 it in wonderment. Why this is more than a party souvenir, 664 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:07,280 Missus Pickett, he said, It's the kind of mechanical marvel 665 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:11,000 I've always wanted to have on my desk. I'm glad 666 00:43:11,079 --> 00:43:14,599 you like it, mister Oakes, Missus Pickett said, smiling, You 667 00:43:14,719 --> 00:43:17,440 must not think of me simply as a tired old 668 00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:22,280 woman whom age has completely defeated I am an ambitious hostess. 669 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,519 When I give these little parties, I like to make 670 00:43:25,559 --> 00:43:28,960 them a success. I want each of you to remember 671 00:43:29,079 --> 00:43:33,960 this dinner. I'm sure I will. Missus Pickett smiled again. 672 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:39,559 I think you all will you, mister Snyder, she paused, 673 00:43:40,199 --> 00:43:44,920 and you, Captain Muller. To mister Snyder, there was so 674 00:43:45,079 --> 00:43:47,719 much meaning in her voice as she said this that 675 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,400 he was amazed that it conveyed no warning to Muller. 676 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,320 Captain Muller, however, was already drinking heavily. He looked up 677 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,079 when addressed, and uttered a sound which might have been 678 00:43:58,079 --> 00:44:01,679 taken for an expression of polite equi essence. Then he 679 00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:06,239 filled his glass again. Mister Snyder's parcel revealed a watch 680 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:09,239 charm fashioned in the shape of a tiny candid eye 681 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:14,559 camera that said, Missus Pickett is a compliment to your profession. 682 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:19,239 She leaned toward the Captain. Mister Snyder is a detective. 683 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:23,320 Captain Muller, he looked up. It seemed to mister Snyder 684 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,639 that a look of fear lit up his heavy eyes. 685 00:44:25,719 --> 00:44:29,519 For an instant. It came and went, if indeed it 686 00:44:29,559 --> 00:44:32,320 came at all so swiftly that he could not be 687 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:39,559 certain so said Captain Muller. He spoke quite evenly, with 688 00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:42,400 just the amount of interest which such an announcement would 689 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:48,320 naturally produce. Now for yours, Captain, said Oakes, I guess 690 00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:52,039 it's something special. It's twice the size of mine. Anyway. 691 00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:56,000 It may have been something in the old woman's expression 692 00:44:56,119 --> 00:44:59,320 as she watched Captain Muller slowly tearing the paper that 693 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:03,480 sent a thrill of excitement through mister Snyder. Something seemed 694 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,320 to warn him of the approach of a psychological moment. 695 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:11,920 He bent forward eagerly. There was a strangled gasp, a thump, 696 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,559 and onto the table from the Captain's hands there fell 697 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:18,199 a little harmonica. There was no mistaking the look on 698 00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:22,000 Muller's face. Now his cheeks were like wax, and his 699 00:45:22,079 --> 00:45:25,719 eyes so dull till then blazed with a panic and 700 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:29,400 horror which he could not repress. The glasses on the 701 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:33,559 table rocked as he clutched at the cloth. Missus Pickett spoke, 702 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:38,119 why Captain Muller has it upset you? I thought that, 703 00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:41,960 as his best friend, the man who shared his room, 704 00:45:42,559 --> 00:45:47,000 you would value a memento of Captain Gunner. How fond 705 00:45:47,079 --> 00:45:49,039 you must have been of him for the sight of 706 00:45:49,039 --> 00:45:53,159 his harmonica to be such a shock. The Captain did 707 00:45:53,199 --> 00:45:56,440 not speak. He was staring, fascinated at the thing on 708 00:45:56,480 --> 00:46:00,000 the table. Missus Pickett turned to mister Snyder. Her eyes 709 00:46:00,039 --> 00:46:04,880 eyes as they met his, held him entranced. Mister Snyder, 710 00:46:05,239 --> 00:46:08,079 as a detective, you will be interested in a curious 711 00:46:08,119 --> 00:46:10,800 and very tragic affair which happened in this house. A 712 00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:15,199 few days ago. One of my boarders, Captain Gunner, was 713 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:18,679 found dead in his room. It was the room which 714 00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:22,480 he shared with Captain Muller. I am very proud of 715 00:46:22,519 --> 00:46:25,679 the reputation of my house, mister Snyder, and it was 716 00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:29,119 a blow to me that this should have happened. I 717 00:46:29,199 --> 00:46:32,519 applied to an agency for a detective, and they sent 718 00:46:32,639 --> 00:46:36,960 me a stupid boy with nothing to recommend him except 719 00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:41,280 his belief in himself. He said that Captain Gunner had 720 00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:44,760 died by accident, killed by a snake which had come 721 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:48,800 out of a crate of bananas. I knew better. I 722 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:52,800 knew that Captain Gunner had been murdered. Are you listening, 723 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:55,920 Captain Muller. This will interest you, as you were such 724 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:59,920 a friend of his. The Captain did not answer. He 725 00:47:00,119 --> 00:47:02,920 was staring straight before him as if he saw something 726 00:47:03,079 --> 00:47:08,440 invisible in eyes forever closed in death. Yesterday we found 727 00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:11,440 the body of a dog. It had been killed, as 728 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:14,039 Captain Gunner had been, by the poison of a snake. 729 00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:17,960 The boy from the agency said that this was conclusive. 730 00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:21,320 He said that the snake had escaped from the room 731 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:24,639 after killing Captain Gunner and had in turn killed the dog. 732 00:47:25,559 --> 00:47:28,400 I knew that to be impossible, for if there had 733 00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:31,000 been a snake in that room, it could not have 734 00:47:31,159 --> 00:47:36,280 made its escape. Her eyes flashed and became remorselessly accusing 735 00:47:37,559 --> 00:47:41,679 it was not a snake that killed Captain Gunner, it 736 00:47:42,039 --> 00:47:46,920 was a cat. Captain Gunner had a friend who hated him. 737 00:47:47,639 --> 00:47:51,880 One day, in opening a crate of bananas, this friend 738 00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:55,440 found a snake. He killed it and extracted the poison. 739 00:47:56,079 --> 00:48:00,480 He knew Captain Gunner's habits. He knew that he played 740 00:48:00,519 --> 00:48:05,760 a harmonica. This man also had a cat. He knew 741 00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:09,320 that cats hated the sound of a harmonica. He had 742 00:48:09,320 --> 00:48:12,559 often seen this particular cat fly at Captain Gunner and 743 00:48:12,679 --> 00:48:16,119 scratch him when he played. He took the cat and 744 00:48:16,400 --> 00:48:20,000 covered its claws with the poison, and then he left 745 00:48:20,039 --> 00:48:23,480 it in the room with Captain Gunner. He knew what 746 00:48:23,519 --> 00:48:27,440 would happen. Oakes and mister Snyder were on their feet. 747 00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:31,760 Captain Muller had not moved. He sat there, his fingers 748 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:35,760 gripping the cloth. Missus Pickett rose and went to a closet. 749 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:41,800 She unlocked the door. Kitty, she called, kitty, Kitty. A 750 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:45,199 black cat ran swiftly out into the room with a 751 00:48:45,199 --> 00:48:48,199 clatter and a crash of crockery and a ringing of glass. 752 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:51,840 The table heaved, rocked and overturned. As Muller staggered to 753 00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:54,599 his feet, he threw up his hands as if to 754 00:48:54,679 --> 00:49:00,519 ward something off. A choking cry came from his lips. Goot, gott. 755 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:04,800 Missus Pickett's voice rang through the room, cold and biting. 756 00:49:05,719 --> 00:49:12,199 Captain Muller, you murdered Captain Gunner. The captain shuddered, Then 757 00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:19,199 mechanically he replied, gout. Yes, I killed him. You heard, 758 00:49:19,239 --> 00:49:23,360 mister Snyder, said, Missus Pickett. He has confessed before witnesses 759 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:28,280 take him away. Muller allowed himself to be moved toward 760 00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:32,239 the door. His arm in mister Snyder's grip felt limp. 761 00:49:32,960 --> 00:49:35,719 Missus Pickett stopped and took something from the debris on 762 00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:40,840 the floor. She rose holding the harmonica. You are forgetting 763 00:49:40,880 --> 00:49:46,280 your souvenir, Captain Muller, she said. The end of Death 764 00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:48,760 at the Excelsior by P. G. Woodhouse