WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:07.839 The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier. The ideas of my 2 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:15.640 friend Watson, though limited, are exceedingly pertinacious. For a long 3 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:18.480 time he has worried me to write an experience of 4 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:23.839 my own. Perhaps I have rather invited this persecution, since 5 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:26.320 I have often had occasion to point out to him 6 00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:30.800 how superficial are his own accounts, and to accuse him 7 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:35.880 of pandering to popular taste instead of confining himself rigidly 8 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:41.320 to facts and figures. Try it yourself, Holmes, he has retorted, 9 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.479 And I am compelled to admit that, having taken my 10 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:49.240 pen in my hand, I do begin to realize that 11 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.399 the matter must be presented in such a way as 12 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:56.759 may interest the reader. The following case can hardly fail 13 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.000 to do so, as it is among the strangest happenings 14 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.439 in my collection, though it chanced that Watson had no 15 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.519 note of it in his collection. Speaking of my old 16 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:12.079 friend and biographer, I would take this opportunity to remark 17 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:14.560 that if I burden myself with a companion in my 18 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:18.799 various little inquiries, it is not done out of sentiment 19 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:23.959 or caprice. But it is that Watson has some remarkable 20 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:28.400 characteristics of his own to which, in his modesty, he 21 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:32.760 has given small attention amid his exaggerated estimates of my 22 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:38.439 own performances. A confederate who foresees your conclusions and course 23 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.280 of action is always dangerous. But one to whom each 24 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:46.640 development comes as a perpetual surprise, and to whom the 25 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:51.959 future is always a closed book, is indeed an ideal helpmate. 26 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.400 I find from my note book that it was January 27 00:01:56.599 --> 00:02:00.000 nineteen o three, just after the conclusion of the book 28 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:04.359 a War, that I had my visit from mister James M. Dodd, 29 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:11.479 a big, fresh, sunburned upstanding Britain. The good Watson had 30 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.520 at that time deserted me for a wife, the only 31 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:20.360 selfish action which I can recall in our association. I 32 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:25.120 was alone. It is my habit to sit with my 33 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:28.319 back to the window, and to place my visitors in 34 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:31.520 the opposite chair, where the light falls full upon them. 35 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.759 Mister James M. Dodd seemed somewhat at a loss how 36 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.759 to begin the interview. I did not attempt to help him, 37 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:45.319 for his silence gave me more time for observation. I 38 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:47.919 have found it wise to impress clients with a sense 39 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:52.240 of power, and so give him some of my conclusions 40 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:58.680 from South Africa. Sir, I perceive, yes, sir, he answered 41 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:07.560 with some surprise. Imperial Yeomanry. I fancy exactly Middlesex Corps. 42 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:11.919 No doubt that is so. Mister Holmes, you are a wizard. 43 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:17.240 I smiled at his bewildered expression. When a gentleman of 44 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:20.360 virile appearance enters my room with such tan upon his 45 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:24.199 face as an English son could never give, and with 46 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:26.680 his handkerchief in his sleeve instead of in his pocket, 47 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.319 it is not difficult to place him. You wear a 48 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.240 short beard, which shows that you were not a regular. 49 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.439 You have the cut of a riding man. As to Middlesex, 50 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:39.319 your card has already shown me that you are a 51 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:44.199 stockbroker from Throgmorton Street. What other regiment would you join? 52 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:49.039 You see everything? I see no more than you, but 53 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:53.000 I have trained myself to notice what I see. However, 54 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:55.439 mister Dard, it was not to discuss the science of 55 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.479 observation that you called upon me this morning. What has 56 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:02.599 been happening at Tuxbury O Park? Mister Holmes, my dear sir, 57 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:06.080 there is no mystery. Your letter came with that heading, 58 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:10.360 and as you fixed, disappointment in very pressing terms. It 59 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:15.840 was clear that something sudden and important had occurred. Yes, indeed, 60 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.040 but the letter was written in the afternoon, and a 61 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.759 good deal has happened since then. If Colonel Elmsworth had 62 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:27.959 not kicked me out, kicked you out, well, that was 63 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.480 what it amounted to. He is a hard nail. Is 64 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:35.600 Colonel Elmsworth the greatest martinet in the army in his day? 65 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.800 And it was a day of rough language too. I 66 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.759 could have struck the colonel if it had not been 67 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:46.839 for Godfrey's sake. I lit my pipe and leaned back 68 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.839 in my chair. Perhaps you will explain what you are 69 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:56.680 talking about, my client, grinned mischievously. I had got into 70 00:04:56.680 --> 00:05:00.319 the way of supposing that you knew everything without being told, 71 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:05.399 said he. But I will give you the facts, and 72 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:07.040 I hope to God that you will be able to 73 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:10.160 tell me what they mean. I've been awake all night 74 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:14.160 puzzling my brain, and the more I think, the more 75 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:19.040 incredible does it become. When I joined up in January 76 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:24.800 nineteen o one, just two years ago, young Godfrey Elmsworth 77 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:29.319 had joined the same squadron. He was Colonel Elmsworth's only son. 78 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:34.600 Elmsworth the crimean v C. And he had the fighting 79 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:38.040 blood in him, so it is no wonder he volunteered. 80 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.319 There was not a finer lad in the regiment. We 81 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.519 formed a friendship, the sort of friendship which can only 82 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.959 be made when one lives the same life and shares 83 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.959 the same joys and sorrows. He was my mate, and 84 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:55.439 that means a good deal in the army. We took 85 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:57.920 the rough and the smooth together for a year of 86 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:02.240 hard fighting. Then he was hit with a bullet from 87 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:06.639 an elephant gun in the action near Diamond Hill outside Pretoria. 88 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:10.480 I got one letter from the hospital at Cape Town 89 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:15.959 and one from Southampton. Since then, not a word, not 90 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:19.800 one word, mister Holmes for six months and more, and 91 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:24.079 he my closest pal. Well. When the war was over 92 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.360 and we all got back, I wrote to his father 93 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:32.680 and asked where Godfrey was. No answer. I waited a 94 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:36.399 bit and then I wrote again. This time I had 95 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:40.079 a reply, short and gruff. Godfrey had gone on a 96 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:42.639 voyage round the world, and it was not likely that 97 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:45.240 he would be back for a year. That was all. 98 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:50.399 I wasn't satisfied, mister Holmes. The whole thing seemed to 99 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.399 me so damned unnatural. He was a good lad and 100 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:56.959 he would not drop a pal like that. It was 101 00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:01.199 not like him. Then again, I happened to know that 102 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.759 he was heir to a lot of money, and also 103 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.480 that his father and he did not always hit it 104 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:11.040 off too well. The old man was sometimes a bully, 105 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:15.800 and young Godfrey had too much spirit to stand it. No, 106 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:19.720 I wasn't satisfied, and I determined that I would get 107 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.399 to the root of the matter. It happened, however, that 108 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:26.519 my own affairs needed a lot of straightening out after 109 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:30.160 two years absence, and so it is only this week 110 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:32.959 that I have been able to take up Godfrey's case again. 111 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:37.279 But since I have taken it up, I mean to 112 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:42.759 drop everything in order to see it through. Mister James M. 113 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:44.800 Dodd appeared to be the sort of person whom it 114 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.639 would be better to have as a friend than as 115 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:52.639 an enemy. His blue eyes were stern, and his square 116 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:56.439 jaw had set hard as he spoke. Well, what have 117 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.240 you done, I asked. My first move was to get 118 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:05.680 down to his home, Tuxbury Old Park, near Bedford, and 119 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.800 to see for myself how the ground lay, I wrote 120 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.240 to the mother. Therefore, I had had quite enough of 121 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:16.600 the curmudgeon of a father, and I made a clean 122 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.759 frontal attack. Godfrey was my chum. I had a great 123 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:22.959 deal of interest which I might tell her of our 124 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:26.360 common experiences. I should be in the neighborhood. Would there 125 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.759 be any objection, et cetera. In reply, I had quite 126 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.360 an amiable answer from her, and an offer to put 127 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.320 me up for the night. That was what took me 128 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:42.360 down on Monday. Tuxbury Old Hall is inaccessible five miles 129 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.360 from anywhere. There was no trap at the station, so 130 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:48.639 I had to walk carrying my suit case, and it 131 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:52.440 was nearly dark before I arrived. It is a great 132 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:57.600 wandering house standing in a considerable park, I should judge. 133 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.960 It was all sorts of ages and styles, starting on 134 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:05.600 a half timbered Elizabethan foundation and ending in a Victorian portico. 135 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.759 Inside it was all paneling and tapestry and half effaced 136 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:14.039 old pictures, a house of shadows and mystery. There was 137 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:17.840 a butler, old Ralph, who seemed about the same age 138 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:20.840 as the house, and there was his wife, who might 139 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:25.360 have been older. She had been Godfrey's nurse, and I 140 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:27.519 had heard him speak of her as second only to 141 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:31.320 his mother in his affections. So I was drawn to 142 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:35.360 her in spite of her queer appearance. The mother I 143 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:39.440 liked also a gentle, little white mouse of a woman. 144 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:44.120 It was only the colonel himself whom I barred. We 145 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:46.679 had a bit of barney right away, and I should 146 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:48.360 have walked back to the station if I had not 147 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:50.840 felt that it might be playing his game for me 148 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:54.360 to do so. I was shown straight into his study, 149 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:58.080 and there I found him a huge bow backed man 150 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:02.960 with a smoky skin and straggling gray beard seated behind 151 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:07.759 his littered desk, A red veined nose jutted out like 152 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:11.519 a vulture's beak, and who fierce gray eyes glared at 153 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:16.360 me from under tufted brows. I could understand now why 154 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:20.600 Godfrey seldom spoke of his father. Well, Sir, said he 155 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:24.039 in a rasping voice. I should be interested to know 156 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.879 the real reasons for this visit. I answered that I 157 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:32.480 had explained them in my letter to his wife. Yes, yes, 158 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:36.679 you said that you had known Godfrey in Africa. We have, 159 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:39.759 of course only your word for that. I have his 160 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.519 letters to me in my pocket. Kindly let me see them. 161 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.879 He glanced at two of them, which I handed him, 162 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:51.200 and then he tossed them back. Well what, then, he asked, 163 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:55.679 I was fond of your son Godfrey, Sir, many ties 164 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:59.000 and memories united us. Is it not natural that I 165 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:02.840 should wonder at his sudden silence and should wish to 166 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:07.679 know what has become of him? I have some recollections, Sir, 167 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.399 that I had already corresponded with you, and had told 168 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:14.159 you what had become of him. He has gone upon 169 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.919 a voyage round the world. His health was in a 170 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:21.600 poor way after his African experiences, and both his mother 171 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:24.600 and I were of opinion that complete rest and change 172 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:28.480 were needed. Kindly passed that explanation on to any other 173 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:32.759 friends who may be interested in the matter. Certainly, I answered, 174 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:36.240 but perhaps you would have the goodness to let me 175 00:11:36.279 --> 00:11:39.159 have the name of the steamer and of the line 176 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:43.000 by which he sailed, together with the date. I have 177 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:44.799 no doubt that I should be able to get a 178 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:49.000 letter through to him. My request seemed both to puzzle 179 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:52.279 and to irritate my host. His great eyebrows came down 180 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.960 over his eyes, and he tapped his fingers impatiently on 181 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:59.720 the table. He looked up at last, with the expression 182 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.639 of one who has seen his adversary make a dangerous 183 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:06.200 move at chess, and has decided how to meet it. 184 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:10.720 Many people, mister Dodd said, he would take offense at 185 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:16.480 your infernal pertinacity, and would think that this insistence had 186 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:21.279 reached the point of damned impertinence. You must put it down, sir, 187 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:25.399 to my real love for your son. Exactly I have 188 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:29.559 already made every allowance upon that score. I must ask you, however, 189 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:34.159 to drop these inquiries. Every family has its own inner 190 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:38.799 knowledge and its own motives, which cannot always be made 191 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:44.600 clear to outsiders, however well intentioned. My wife is anxious 192 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.279 to hear something of Godfrey's past, which you are in 193 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:51.559 a position to tell her. But I would ask you 194 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:56.080 to let the present and the future alone. Such inquiries 195 00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:00.279 serve no useful purpose, sir, and place us in a 196 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:05.360 delicate and difficult position. So I came to a dead end, 197 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:09.960 mister Holmes. There was no getting past it. I could 198 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.919 only pretend to accept the situation and register a vow 199 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:18.000 inwardly that I would never rest until my friend's fate 200 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.840 had been cleared up. It was a dull evening. We 201 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:29.080 dined quietly, the three of us, in a gloomy, faded 202 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:33.679 old room. The lady questioned me eagerly about her son, 203 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:41.480 but the old man seemed morose and depressed. I was 204 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.399 so bored by the whole proceeding that I made an 205 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.559 excuse as soon as I decently could, and retired to 206 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:51.919 my bedroom. It was a large, bare room on the 207 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:55.519 ground floor, as gloomy as the rest of the house. 208 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.000 But after a year of sleeping upon the Veldt miss 209 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:04.519 at homes one is not too particular about one's quarters. 210 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:07.519 I opened the curtains and looked out into the garden, 211 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:10.879 remarking that it was a fine night with a bright 212 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:15.480 half moon. Then I sat down by the roaring fire, 213 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:20.080 with the lamp on a table beside me, and endeavored 214 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.960 to distract my mind with the novel. I was interrupted, however, 215 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:28.120 by Ralph, the old butler, who came in with a 216 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:32.000 fresh supply of coals. I thought you might run short 217 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.080 in a night time, sir, it is bitter weather and 218 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:39.000 these rooms are cold. He hesitated before leaving the room, 219 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:42.399 and when I looked round, he was standing facing me 220 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.840 with a wistful look upon his wrinkled face. Beg pardon, sir, 221 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.000 but I could not help hearing what you said of 222 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:53.799 young Master Godfrey at dinner. You know, sir, that my 223 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.720 wife nursed him, and so I may say I am 224 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:01.919 his foster father. It's natural we should take an interest. 225 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:06.720 And you say he carried himself well, sir, there was 226 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:09.919 no braver man in the regiment. He pulled me out 227 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.279 once from under the rifles of the bus. Or maybe 228 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.600 I should not be here. The old butler rubbed his 229 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:21.159 skinny hands. Yes, sir, Yes, that is Master Godfrey all over. 230 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:25.440 He was always courageous. There's not a tree in the park, sir. 231 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:29.559 He has not climbed. Nothing would stop him. He was 232 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:33.240 a fine boy. And oh, sir, he was a fine man. 233 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:37.080 I sprang to my feet. Look here, I cried. You 234 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.000 say he was You speak as if he were dead. 235 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.679 What is all this mystery? What has become of Godfrey Elmsworth. 236 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:49.200 I gripped the old man by the shoulder, but he 237 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:52.360 shrank away. I don't know what you mean, sir. Ask 238 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:55.120 the Master about Master Godfrey. He knows it's not for 239 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:58.480 me to interfere. He was leaving the room, but I 240 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.159 held his arm. Listen. I said, you are going to 241 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:05.320 answer one question before you leave. If I have to 242 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:09.879 hold you all night, is Godfrey dead. He could not 243 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.440 face my eyes. He was like a man hypnotized. The 244 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.399 answer was dragged from his lips. It was a terrible 245 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:22.600 and unexpected one. I wish to God he was. He cried, 246 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:28.360 and tearing himself free, he dashed from the room. You 247 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:31.120 will think, mister Holmes, that I returned to my chair 248 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:35.120 in no very happy state of mind. The old man's 249 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:40.159 words seemed to me to bear only one interpretation. Clearly, 250 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:44.080 my poor friend had become involved in some criminal, or 251 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:48.440 at the least disreputable transaction which touched the family honor. 252 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:52.679 That stern old man had sent his son away and 253 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.919 hidden him from the world lest some scandal should come 254 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:02.440 to light. Godfrey was a wreckless fellow. He was easily 255 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:06.440 influenced by those around him. No doubt he had fallen 256 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:11.519 into bad hands and been misled to his ruin. It 257 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:15.519 was a piteous business, if it was indeed so. But 258 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.160 even now it was my duty to hunt him out 259 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:22.640 and see if I could aid him. I was anxiously 260 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:26.839 pondering the matter when I looked up and there was 261 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:33.240 Godfrey Elmsworth standing before me. My client had paused as 262 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:38.400 one in deep emotion. Pray continue, I said, your problem 263 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:43.240 presents some very unusual features. He was outside the window, 264 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:48.759 mister Holmes, with his face pressed against the glass. I 265 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:50.799 have told you that I looked out at the night. 266 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:55.799 When I did so, I left the curtains partly open. 267 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:02.000 His figure was framed in this gap. The window came 268 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:05.000 down to the ground, and I could see the whole 269 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:09.160 length of it. But it was his face which held 270 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:14.519 my gaze. He was deadly pale. Never have I seen 271 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:19.440 a man so white. I reckon ghosts may look like that. 272 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.400 But his eyes met mine, and they were the eyes 273 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:28.240 of a living man. He sprang back when he saw 274 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:31.519 that I was looking at him, and he vanished into 275 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:36.200 the darkness. There was something shocking about the man, mister Holmes. 276 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:40.920 It wasn't merely that ghastly face glimmering as white as 277 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:44.319 cheese in the darkness. It was more subtle than that, 278 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:53.920 something slinking, something furtive, something guilty, something very unlike the frank, 279 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:58.440 manly lad that I had known. It left a feeling 280 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:02.440 of horror in my mind. But when a man has 281 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.799 been soldiering for a year or two with a brother 282 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.319 boa as a playmate, he keeps his nerve and acts 283 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:14.440 quickly Godfrey had hardly vanished before I was at the window. 284 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:18.279 There was an awkward catch, and I was some little 285 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:21.480 time before I could throw it up. Then I nipped 286 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:24.720 through and ran down the garden path in the direction 287 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:27.680 that I thought he might have taken. It was a 288 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:30.960 long path and the light was not very good, but 289 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:33.119 it seemed to me something was moving ahead of me. 290 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:37.279 I ran on and called his name, but it was 291 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:40.559 no use. When I got to the end of the 292 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:44.440 path there were several others branching in different directions to 293 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:50.480 various outhouses. I stood hesitating, and as I did so, 294 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.920 I heard distinctly the sound of a closing door. It 295 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:57.279 was not behind me in the house, but ahead of me, 296 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:03.119 somewhere in the darkness. Mister Holmes to assure me that 297 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:06.920 what I had seen was not a vision. Godfrey had 298 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:10.160 run away from me, and he had shut a door 299 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:15.279 behind him. Of that, I was certain there was nothing 300 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:18.799 more I could do, and I spent an uneasy night 301 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.279 turning the matter over in my mind and trying to 302 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:27.000 find some theory which could cover the facts. Next day 303 00:20:27.079 --> 00:20:31.119 I found the Colonel rather more conciliatory, and as his 304 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.319 wife remarked that there were some places of interest in 305 00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:37.759 the neighborhood. It gave me an opening to ask whether 306 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:43.119 my presence for one more night would incommode them. A 307 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:46.160 somewhat grudging acquiescence from the old man gave me a 308 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:50.200 clear day in which to make my observations. I was 309 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:54.359 already perfectly convinced that Godfrey was in hiding somewhere near, 310 00:20:55.319 --> 00:21:00.000 but where and why remained to be solved. The house 311 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.759 were so large and rambling that a regiment might be 312 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:07.200 hid away in it, and no one the wiser if 313 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.599 the secret lay there, it was difficult for me to 314 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:13.519 penetrate it. But the door which I had heard close 315 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.759 was certainly not in the house. I must explore the 316 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.960 garden and see what I could find. There was no 317 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:24.880 difficulty in the way, for the old people were busy 318 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:28.400 in their own fashion and left me to my own devices. 319 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:33.079 There were several small outhouses, but at the end of 320 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:36.920 the garden there was a detached building of some size, 321 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:41.880 large enough for a gardener's or a gamekeeper's residents. Could 322 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:44.319 this be the place? Whence the sound of that shutting 323 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:49.279 door had come? I approached it in a careless fashion, 324 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:54.400 as though I were strolling aimlessly round the grounds. As 325 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:57.640 I did so, a small, brisk bearded man in a 326 00:21:57.720 --> 00:22:02.200 black coat and bowler hat, not at all the gardener type, 327 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.359 came out of the door. To my surprise, he locked 328 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:09.200 it after him and put the key in his pocket. 329 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:13.279 Then he looked at me with some surprise on his face. 330 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:18.319 Are you a visitor here, he asked. I explained that 331 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:21.400 I was, and that I was a friend of Godfrey's. 332 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.799 What a pity that he should be away on his travels, 333 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:27.920 for he would have so liked to see me, I continued, 334 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:32.599 Quite so exactly, said he, with a rather guilty air. 335 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.279 No doubt you will renew your visit at some more 336 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:42.359 propitious time. He passed on, but when I turned I 337 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:46.559 observed that he was standing watching me, half concealed by 338 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:50.240 the laurels, at the far end of the garden. I 339 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.119 had a good look at the little house as I 340 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.759 passed it, but the windows were heavily curtained, and so 341 00:22:56.920 --> 00:23:00.279 far as one could see, it was empty. I'm might 342 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:03.000 spoil my own game and even be ordered off the 343 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:06.599 premises if I were too audacious, for I was still 344 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:11.240 conscious that I was being watched. Therefore, I strolled back 345 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:14.839 to the house and waited for night before I went 346 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:18.880 on with my inquiry. When all was dark and quiet, 347 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:21.920 I slipped out of my window and made my way 348 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:26.759 as silently as possible to the mysterious lodge. I have 349 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.680 said that it was heavily curtained, but now I found 350 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:35.359 that the windows were shuttered as well. Some light, however, 351 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:39.319 was breaking through one of them, so I concentrated my 352 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:42.680 attention upon this. I was in luck, for the curtain 353 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.680 had not been quite closed, and there was a crack 354 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.720 in the shutter, so that I could see the inside 355 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:52.759 of the room. There was a cheery place enough, a 356 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:57.079 bright lamp and a blazing fire. Opposite to me was 357 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.880 seated the little man whom I had seen in the morning. 358 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.480 He was smoking a pipe and reading a paper. What paper, 359 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:08.720 I asked. My client seemed annoyed at the interruption of 360 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:13.519 his narrative. Can it matter, he asked, It is most essential. 361 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:18.359 I really took no notice. Possibly you observed whether it 362 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:21.880 was a broad leafed paper or of that smaller type 363 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:26.799 which one associates with weaklies. Now that you mention it, 364 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:31.960 it was not large. It might have been the spectator. However, 365 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:35.519 I had little thought to spare upon such details. For 366 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.359 a second man was seated with his back to the window, 367 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:41.880 and I could swear that this second man was Godfrey. 368 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:45.599 I could not see his face, but I knew the 369 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:49.599 familiar slope of his shoulders. He was leaning upon his 370 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:54.640 elbow in an attitude of great melancholy. His body turned 371 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:58.319 towards the fire. I was hesitating as to what I 372 00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:01.960 should do, when there was a sharp tap on my shoulder, 373 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:07.200 and there was Colonel Emsworth beside me. This way, sir, 374 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.000 said he in a low voice. He walked in silence 375 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:16.920 to the house, and I followed him into my own bedroom. 376 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:19.240 He had picked up a time table in the hall. 377 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:22.920 There is a train to London at eight thirty, said he. 378 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:27.319 The trap will be at the door at eight. He 379 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:31.119 was white with rage, And indeed I felt myself in 380 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:34.880 so difficult a position that I could only stammer out 381 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:39.200 a few incoherent apologies, in which I tried to excuse 382 00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:44.160 myself by urging my anxiety for my friend. The matter 383 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:48.200 will not bear discussion, said he abruptly. You have made 384 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.079 a most damnable intrusion into the privacy of our family. 385 00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:54.680 You were here as a guest, and you have become 386 00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:59.039 a spy. I have nothing more to say, sir, save 387 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:01.880 that I have no wish ever to see you again. 388 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:06.680 And this I lost my temper, mister Holmes, and I 389 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:10.519 spoke with some warmth. I have seen your son, and 390 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:12.880 I am convinced that, for some reason of your own, 391 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:16.720 you are concealing him from the world. I have no 392 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:19.119 idea what your motives are in cutting him off in 393 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:22.079 this fashion, but I am sure that he is no 394 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:26.240 longer a free agent. I warn you, Colonel Elmsworth, that 395 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:28.920 until I am assured as to the safety and well 396 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.680 being of my friend, I shall never desist in my 397 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:35.920 efforts to get to the bottom of the mystery. And 398 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:38.799 I shall certainly not allow myself to be intimidated by 399 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:43.640 anything which you may say or do. The old fellow 400 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:47.279 looked diabolical, and I really thought he was about to 401 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:50.200