Speaker 1: The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier. The ideas of my
Speaker 1: friend Watson, though limited, are exceedingly pertinacious. For a long
Speaker 1: time he has worried me to write an experience of
Speaker 1: my own. Perhaps I have rather invited this persecution, since
Speaker 1: I have often had occasion to point out to him
Speaker 1: how superficial are his own accounts, and to accuse him
Speaker 1: of pandering to popular taste instead of confining himself rigidly
Speaker 1: to facts and figures. Try it yourself, Holmes, he has retorted,
Speaker 1: And I am compelled to admit that, having taken my
Speaker 1: pen in my hand, I do begin to realize that
Speaker 1: the matter must be presented in such a way as
Speaker 1: may interest the reader. The following case can hardly fail
Speaker 1: to do so, as it is among the strangest happenings
Speaker 1: in my collection, though it chanced that Watson had no
Speaker 1: note of it in his collection. Speaking of my old
Speaker 1: friend and biographer, I would take this opportunity to remark
Speaker 1: that if I burden myself with a companion in my
Speaker 1: various little inquiries, it is not done out of sentiment
Speaker 1: or caprice. But it is that Watson has some remarkable
Speaker 1: characteristics of his own to which, in his modesty, he
Speaker 1: has given small attention amid his exaggerated estimates of my
Speaker 1: own performances. A confederate who foresees your conclusions and course
Speaker 1: of action is always dangerous. But one to whom each
Speaker 1: development comes as a perpetual surprise, and to whom the
Speaker 1: future is always a closed book, is indeed an ideal helpmate.
Speaker 1: I find from my note book that it was January
Speaker 1: nineteen o three, just after the conclusion of the book
Speaker 1: a War, that I had my visit from mister James M. Dodd,
Speaker 1: a big, fresh, sunburned upstanding Britain. The good Watson had
Speaker 1: at that time deserted me for a wife, the only
Speaker 1: selfish action which I can recall in our association. I
Speaker 1: was alone. It is my habit to sit with my
Speaker 1: back to the window, and to place my visitors in
Speaker 1: the opposite chair, where the light falls full upon them.
Speaker 1: Mister James M. Dodd seemed somewhat at a loss how
Speaker 1: to begin the interview. I did not attempt to help him,
Speaker 1: for his silence gave me more time for observation. I
Speaker 1: have found it wise to impress clients with a sense
Speaker 1: of power, and so give him some of my conclusions
Speaker 1: from South Africa. Sir, I perceive, yes, sir, he answered
Speaker 1: with some surprise. Imperial Yeomanry. I fancy exactly Middlesex Corps.
Speaker 1: No doubt that is so. Mister Holmes, you are a wizard.
Speaker 1: I smiled at his bewildered expression. When a gentleman of
Speaker 1: virile appearance enters my room with such tan upon his
Speaker 1: face as an English son could never give, and with
Speaker 1: his handkerchief in his sleeve instead of in his pocket,
Speaker 1: it is not difficult to place him. You wear a
Speaker 1: short beard, which shows that you were not a regular.
Speaker 1: You have the cut of a riding man. As to Middlesex,
Speaker 1: your card has already shown me that you are a
Speaker 1: stockbroker from Throgmorton Street. What other regiment would you join?
Speaker 1: You see everything? I see no more than you, but
Speaker 1: I have trained myself to notice what I see. However,
Speaker 1: mister Dard, it was not to discuss the science of
Speaker 1: observation that you called upon me this morning. What has
Speaker 1: been happening at Tuxbury O Park? Mister Holmes, my dear sir,
Speaker 1: there is no mystery. Your letter came with that heading,
Speaker 1: and as you fixed, disappointment in very pressing terms. It
Speaker 1: was clear that something sudden and important had occurred. Yes, indeed,
Speaker 1: but the letter was written in the afternoon, and a
Speaker 1: good deal has happened since then. If Colonel Elmsworth had
Speaker 1: not kicked me out, kicked you out, well, that was
Speaker 1: what it amounted to. He is a hard nail. Is
Speaker 1: Colonel Elmsworth the greatest martinet in the army in his day?
Speaker 1: And it was a day of rough language too. I
Speaker 1: could have struck the colonel if it had not been
Speaker 1: for Godfrey's sake. I lit my pipe and leaned back
Speaker 1: in my chair. Perhaps you will explain what you are
Speaker 1: talking about, my client, grinned mischievously. I had got into
Speaker 1: the way of supposing that you knew everything without being told,
Speaker 1: said he. But I will give you the facts, and
Speaker 1: I hope to God that you will be able to
Speaker 1: tell me what they mean. I've been awake all night
Speaker 1: puzzling my brain, and the more I think, the more
Speaker 1: incredible does it become. When I joined up in January
Speaker 1: nineteen o one, just two years ago, young Godfrey Elmsworth
Speaker 1: had joined the same squadron. He was Colonel Elmsworth's only son.
Speaker 1: Elmsworth the crimean v C. And he had the fighting
Speaker 1: blood in him, so it is no wonder he volunteered.
Speaker 1: There was not a finer lad in the regiment. We
Speaker 1: formed a friendship, the sort of friendship which can only
Speaker 1: be made when one lives the same life and shares
Speaker 1: the same joys and sorrows. He was my mate, and
Speaker 1: that means a good deal in the army. We took
Speaker 1: the rough and the smooth together for a year of
Speaker 1: hard fighting. Then he was hit with a bullet from
Speaker 1: an elephant gun in the action near Diamond Hill outside Pretoria.
Speaker 1: I got one letter from the hospital at Cape Town
Speaker 1: and one from Southampton. Since then, not a word, not
Speaker 1: one word, mister Holmes for six months and more, and
Speaker 1: he my closest pal. Well. When the war was over
Speaker 1: and we all got back, I wrote to his father
Speaker 1: and asked where Godfrey was. No answer. I waited a
Speaker 1: bit and then I wrote again. This time I had
Speaker 1: a reply, short and gruff. Godfrey had gone on a
Speaker 1: voyage round the world, and it was not likely that
Speaker 1: he would be back for a year. That was all.
Speaker 1: I wasn't satisfied, mister Holmes. The whole thing seemed to
Speaker 1: me so damned unnatural. He was a good lad and
Speaker 1: he would not drop a pal like that. It was
Speaker 1: not like him. Then again, I happened to know that
Speaker 1: he was heir to a lot of money, and also
Speaker 1: that his father and he did not always hit it
Speaker 1: off too well. The old man was sometimes a bully,
Speaker 1: and young Godfrey had too much spirit to stand it. No,
Speaker 1: I wasn't satisfied, and I determined that I would get
Speaker 1: to the root of the matter. It happened, however, that
Speaker 1: my own affairs needed a lot of straightening out after
Speaker 1: two years absence, and so it is only this week
Speaker 1: that I have been able to take up Godfrey's case again.
Speaker 1: But since I have taken it up, I mean to
Speaker 1: drop everything in order to see it through. Mister James M.
Speaker 1: Dodd appeared to be the sort of person whom it
Speaker 1: would be better to have as a friend than as
Speaker 1: an enemy. His blue eyes were stern, and his square
Speaker 1: jaw had set hard as he spoke. Well, what have
Speaker 1: you done, I asked. My first move was to get
Speaker 1: down to his home, Tuxbury Old Park, near Bedford, and
Speaker 1: to see for myself how the ground lay, I wrote
Speaker 1: to the mother. Therefore, I had had quite enough of
Speaker 1: the curmudgeon of a father, and I made a clean
Speaker 1: frontal attack. Godfrey was my chum. I had a great
Speaker 1: deal of interest which I might tell her of our
Speaker 1: common experiences. I should be in the neighborhood. Would there
Speaker 1: be any objection, et cetera. In reply, I had quite
Speaker 1: an amiable answer from her, and an offer to put
Speaker 1: me up for the night. That was what took me
Speaker 1: down on Monday. Tuxbury Old Hall is inaccessible five miles
Speaker 1: from anywhere. There was no trap at the station, so
Speaker 1: I had to walk carrying my suit case, and it
Speaker 1: was nearly dark before I arrived. It is a great
Speaker 1: wandering house standing in a considerable park, I should judge.
Speaker 1: It was all sorts of ages and styles, starting on
Speaker 1: a half timbered Elizabethan foundation and ending in a Victorian portico.
Speaker 1: Inside it was all paneling and tapestry and half effaced
Speaker 1: old pictures, a house of shadows and mystery. There was
Speaker 1: a butler, old Ralph, who seemed about the same age
Speaker 1: as the house, and there was his wife, who might
Speaker 1: have been older. She had been Godfrey's nurse, and I
Speaker 1: had heard him speak of her as second only to
Speaker 1: his mother in his affections. So I was drawn to
Speaker 1: her in spite of her queer appearance. The mother I
Speaker 1: liked also a gentle, little white mouse of a woman.
Speaker 1: It was only the colonel himself whom I barred. We
Speaker 1: had a bit of barney right away, and I should
Speaker 1: have walked back to the station if I had not
Speaker 1: felt that it might be playing his game for me
Speaker 1: to do so. I was shown straight into his study,
Speaker 1: and there I found him a huge bow backed man
Speaker 1: with a smoky skin and straggling gray beard seated behind
Speaker 1: his littered desk, A red veined nose jutted out like
Speaker 1: a vulture's beak, and who fierce gray eyes glared at
Speaker 1: me from under tufted brows. I could understand now why
Speaker 1: Godfrey seldom spoke of his father. Well, Sir, said he
Speaker 1: in a rasping voice. I should be interested to know
Speaker 1: the real reasons for this visit. I answered that I
Speaker 1: had explained them in my letter to his wife. Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: you said that you had known Godfrey in Africa. We have,
Speaker 1: of course only your word for that. I have his
Speaker 1: letters to me in my pocket. Kindly let me see them.
Speaker 1: He glanced at two of them, which I handed him,
Speaker 1: and then he tossed them back. Well what, then, he asked,
Speaker 1: I was fond of your son Godfrey, Sir, many ties
Speaker 1: and memories united us. Is it not natural that I
Speaker 1: should wonder at his sudden silence and should wish to
Speaker 1: know what has become of him? I have some recollections, Sir,
Speaker 1: that I had already corresponded with you, and had told
Speaker 1: you what had become of him. He has gone upon
Speaker 1: a voyage round the world. His health was in a
Speaker 1: poor way after his African experiences, and both his mother
Speaker 1: and I were of opinion that complete rest and change
Speaker 1: were needed. Kindly passed that explanation on to any other
Speaker 1: friends who may be interested in the matter. Certainly, I answered,
Speaker 1: but perhaps you would have the goodness to let me
Speaker 1: have the name of the steamer and of the line
Speaker 1: by which he sailed, together with the date. I have
Speaker 1: no doubt that I should be able to get a
Speaker 1: letter through to him. My request seemed both to puzzle
Speaker 1: and to irritate my host. His great eyebrows came down
Speaker 1: over his eyes, and he tapped his fingers impatiently on
Speaker 1: the table. He looked up at last, with the expression
Speaker 1: of one who has seen his adversary make a dangerous
Speaker 1: move at chess, and has decided how to meet it.
Speaker 1: Many people, mister Dodd said, he would take offense at
Speaker 1: your infernal pertinacity, and would think that this insistence had
Speaker 1: reached the point of damned impertinence. You must put it down, sir,
Speaker 1: to my real love for your son. Exactly I have
Speaker 1: already made every allowance upon that score. I must ask you, however,
Speaker 1: to drop these inquiries. Every family has its own inner
Speaker 1: knowledge and its own motives, which cannot always be made
Speaker 1: clear to outsiders, however well intentioned. My wife is anxious
Speaker 1: to hear something of Godfrey's past, which you are in
Speaker 1: a position to tell her. But I would ask you
Speaker 1: to let the present and the future alone. Such inquiries
Speaker 1: serve no useful purpose, sir, and place us in a
Speaker 1: delicate and difficult position. So I came to a dead end,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes. There was no getting past it. I could
Speaker 1: only pretend to accept the situation and register a vow
Speaker 1: inwardly that I would never rest until my friend's fate
Speaker 1: had been cleared up. It was a dull evening. We
Speaker 1: dined quietly, the three of us, in a gloomy, faded
Speaker 1: old room. The lady questioned me eagerly about her son,
Speaker 1: but the old man seemed morose and depressed. I was
Speaker 1: so bored by the whole proceeding that I made an
Speaker 1: excuse as soon as I decently could, and retired to
Speaker 1: my bedroom. It was a large, bare room on the
Speaker 1: ground floor, as gloomy as the rest of the house.
Speaker 1: But after a year of sleeping upon the Veldt miss
Speaker 1: at homes one is not too particular about one's quarters.
Speaker 1: I opened the curtains and looked out into the garden,
Speaker 1: remarking that it was a fine night with a bright
Speaker 1: half moon. Then I sat down by the roaring fire,
Speaker 1: with the lamp on a table beside me, and endeavored
Speaker 1: to distract my mind with the novel. I was interrupted, however,
Speaker 1: by Ralph, the old butler, who came in with a
Speaker 1: fresh supply of coals. I thought you might run short
Speaker 1: in a night time, sir, it is bitter weather and
Speaker 1: these rooms are cold. He hesitated before leaving the room,
Speaker 1: and when I looked round, he was standing facing me
Speaker 1: with a wistful look upon his wrinkled face. Beg pardon, sir,
Speaker 1: but I could not help hearing what you said of
Speaker 1: young Master Godfrey at dinner. You know, sir, that my
Speaker 1: wife nursed him, and so I may say I am
Speaker 1: his foster father. It's natural we should take an interest.
Speaker 1: And you say he carried himself well, sir, there was
Speaker 1: no braver man in the regiment. He pulled me out
Speaker 1: once from under the rifles of the bus. Or maybe
Speaker 1: I should not be here. The old butler rubbed his
Speaker 1: skinny hands. Yes, sir, Yes, that is Master Godfrey all over.
Speaker 1: He was always courageous. There's not a tree in the park, sir.
Speaker 1: He has not climbed. Nothing would stop him. He was
Speaker 1: a fine boy. And oh, sir, he was a fine man.
Speaker 1: I sprang to my feet. Look here, I cried. You
Speaker 1: say he was You speak as if he were dead.
Speaker 1: What is all this mystery? What has become of Godfrey Elmsworth.
Speaker 1: I gripped the old man by the shoulder, but he
Speaker 1: shrank away. I don't know what you mean, sir. Ask
Speaker 1: the Master about Master Godfrey. He knows it's not for
Speaker 1: me to interfere. He was leaving the room, but I
Speaker 1: held his arm. Listen. I said, you are going to
Speaker 1: answer one question before you leave. If I have to
Speaker 1: hold you all night, is Godfrey dead. He could not
Speaker 1: face my eyes. He was like a man hypnotized. The
Speaker 1: answer was dragged from his lips. It was a terrible
Speaker 1: and unexpected one. I wish to God he was. He cried,
Speaker 1: and tearing himself free, he dashed from the room. You
Speaker 1: will think, mister Holmes, that I returned to my chair
Speaker 1: in no very happy state of mind. The old man's
Speaker 1: words seemed to me to bear only one interpretation. Clearly,
Speaker 1: my poor friend had become involved in some criminal, or
Speaker 1: at the least disreputable transaction which touched the family honor.
Speaker 1: That stern old man had sent his son away and
Speaker 1: hidden him from the world lest some scandal should come
Speaker 1: to light. Godfrey was a wreckless fellow. He was easily
Speaker 1: influenced by those around him. No doubt he had fallen
Speaker 1: into bad hands and been misled to his ruin. It
Speaker 1: was a piteous business, if it was indeed so. But
Speaker 1: even now it was my duty to hunt him out
Speaker 1: and see if I could aid him. I was anxiously
Speaker 1: pondering the matter when I looked up and there was
Speaker 1: Godfrey Elmsworth standing before me. My client had paused as
Speaker 1: one in deep emotion. Pray continue, I said, your problem
Speaker 1: presents some very unusual features. He was outside the window,
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, with his face pressed against the glass. I
Speaker 1: have told you that I looked out at the night.
Speaker 1: When I did so, I left the curtains partly open.
Speaker 1: His figure was framed in this gap. The window came
Speaker 1: down to the ground, and I could see the whole
Speaker 1: length of it. But it was his face which held
Speaker 1: my gaze. He was deadly pale. Never have I seen
Speaker 1: a man so white. I reckon ghosts may look like that.
Speaker 1: But his eyes met mine, and they were the eyes
Speaker 1: of a living man. He sprang back when he saw
Speaker 1: that I was looking at him, and he vanished into
Speaker 1: the darkness. There was something shocking about the man, mister Holmes.
Speaker 1: It wasn't merely that ghastly face glimmering as white as
Speaker 1: cheese in the darkness. It was more subtle than that,
Speaker 1: something slinking, something furtive, something guilty, something very unlike the frank,
Speaker 1: manly lad that I had known. It left a feeling
Speaker 1: of horror in my mind. But when a man has
Speaker 1: been soldiering for a year or two with a brother
Speaker 1: boa as a playmate, he keeps his nerve and acts
Speaker 1: quickly Godfrey had hardly vanished before I was at the window.
Speaker 1: There was an awkward catch, and I was some little
Speaker 1: time before I could throw it up. Then I nipped
Speaker 1: through and ran down the garden path in the direction
Speaker 1: that I thought he might have taken. It was a
Speaker 1: long path and the light was not very good, but
Speaker 1: it seemed to me something was moving ahead of me.
Speaker 1: I ran on and called his name, but it was
Speaker 1: no use. When I got to the end of the
Speaker 1: path there were several others branching in different directions to
Speaker 1: various outhouses. I stood hesitating, and as I did so,
Speaker 1: I heard distinctly the sound of a closing door. It
Speaker 1: was not behind me in the house, but ahead of me,
Speaker 1: somewhere in the darkness. Mister Holmes to assure me that
Speaker 1: what I had seen was not a vision. Godfrey had
Speaker 1: run away from me, and he had shut a door
Speaker 1: behind him. Of that, I was certain there was nothing
Speaker 1: more I could do, and I spent an uneasy night
Speaker 1: turning the matter over in my mind and trying to
Speaker 1: find some theory which could cover the facts. Next day
Speaker 1: I found the Colonel rather more conciliatory, and as his
Speaker 1: wife remarked that there were some places of interest in
Speaker 1: the neighborhood. It gave me an opening to ask whether
Speaker 1: my presence for one more night would incommode them. A
Speaker 1: somewhat grudging acquiescence from the old man gave me a
Speaker 1: clear day in which to make my observations. I was
Speaker 1: already perfectly convinced that Godfrey was in hiding somewhere near,
Speaker 1: but where and why remained to be solved. The house
Speaker 1: were so large and rambling that a regiment might be
Speaker 1: hid away in it, and no one the wiser if
Speaker 1: the secret lay there, it was difficult for me to
Speaker 1: penetrate it. But the door which I had heard close
Speaker 1: was certainly not in the house. I must explore the
Speaker 1: garden and see what I could find. There was no
Speaker 1: difficulty in the way, for the old people were busy
Speaker 1: in their own fashion and left me to my own devices.
Speaker 1: There were several small outhouses, but at the end of
Speaker 1: the garden there was a detached building of some size,
Speaker 1: large enough for a gardener's or a gamekeeper's residents. Could
Speaker 1: this be the place? Whence the sound of that shutting
Speaker 1: door had come? I approached it in a careless fashion,
Speaker 1: as though I were strolling aimlessly round the grounds. As
Speaker 1: I did so, a small, brisk bearded man in a
Speaker 1: black coat and bowler hat, not at all the gardener type,
Speaker 1: came out of the door. To my surprise, he locked
Speaker 1: it after him and put the key in his pocket.
Speaker 1: Then he looked at me with some surprise on his face.
Speaker 1: Are you a visitor here, he asked. I explained that
Speaker 1: I was, and that I was a friend of Godfrey's.
Speaker 1: What a pity that he should be away on his travels,
Speaker 1: for he would have so liked to see me, I continued,
Speaker 1: Quite so exactly, said he, with a rather guilty air.
Speaker 1: No doubt you will renew your visit at some more
Speaker 1: propitious time. He passed on, but when I turned I
Speaker 1: observed that he was standing watching me, half concealed by
Speaker 1: the laurels, at the far end of the garden. I
Speaker 1: had a good look at the little house as I
Speaker 1: passed it, but the windows were heavily curtained, and so
Speaker 1: far as one could see, it was empty. I'm might
Speaker 1: spoil my own game and even be ordered off the
Speaker 1: premises if I were too audacious, for I was still
Speaker 1: conscious that I was being watched. Therefore, I strolled back
Speaker 1: to the house and waited for night before I went
Speaker 1: on with my inquiry. When all was dark and quiet,
Speaker 1: I slipped out of my window and made my way
Speaker 1: as silently as possible to the mysterious lodge. I have
Speaker 1: said that it was heavily curtained, but now I found
Speaker 1: that the windows were shuttered as well. Some light, however,
Speaker 1: was breaking through one of them, so I concentrated my
Speaker 1: attention upon this. I was in luck, for the curtain
Speaker 1: had not been quite closed, and there was a crack
Speaker 1: in the shutter, so that I could see the inside
Speaker 1: of the room. There was a cheery place enough, a
Speaker 1: bright lamp and a blazing fire. Opposite to me was
Speaker 1: seated the little man whom I had seen in the morning.
Speaker 1: He was smoking a pipe and reading a paper. What paper,
Speaker 1: I asked. My client seemed annoyed at the interruption of
Speaker 1: his narrative. Can it matter, he asked, It is most essential.
Speaker 1: I really took no notice. Possibly you observed whether it
Speaker 1: was a broad leafed paper or of that smaller type
Speaker 1: which one associates with weaklies. Now that you mention it,
Speaker 1: it was not large. It might have been the spectator. However,
Speaker 1: I had little thought to spare upon such details. For
Speaker 1: a second man was seated with his back to the window,
Speaker 1: and I could swear that this second man was Godfrey.
Speaker 1: I could not see his face, but I knew the
Speaker 1: familiar slope of his shoulders. He was leaning upon his
Speaker 1: elbow in an attitude of great melancholy. His body turned
Speaker 1: towards the fire. I was hesitating as to what I
Speaker 1: should do, when there was a sharp tap on my shoulder,
Speaker 1: and there was Colonel Emsworth beside me. This way, sir,
Speaker 1: said he in a low voice. He walked in silence
Speaker 1: to the house, and I followed him into my own bedroom.
Speaker 1: He had picked up a time table in the hall.
Speaker 1: There is a train to London at eight thirty, said he.
Speaker 1: The trap will be at the door at eight. He
Speaker 1: was white with rage, And indeed I felt myself in
Speaker 1: so difficult a position that I could only stammer out
Speaker 1: a few incoherent apologies, in which I tried to excuse
Speaker 1: myself by urging my anxiety for my friend. The matter
Speaker 1: will not bear discussion, said he abruptly. You have made
Speaker 1: a most damnable intrusion into the privacy of our family.
Speaker 1: You were here as a guest, and you have become
Speaker 1: a spy. I have nothing more to say, sir, save
Speaker 1: that I have no wish ever to see you again.
Speaker 1: And this I lost my temper, mister Holmes, and I
Speaker 1: spoke with some warmth. I have seen your son, and
Speaker 1: I am convinced that, for some reason of your own,
Speaker 1: you are concealing him from the world. I have no
Speaker 1: idea what your motives are in cutting him off in
Speaker 1: this fashion, but I am sure that he is no
Speaker 1: longer a free agent. I warn you, Colonel Elmsworth, that
Speaker 1: until I am assured as to the safety and well
Speaker 1: being of my friend, I shall never desist in my
Speaker 1: efforts to get to the bottom of the mystery. And
Speaker 1: I shall certainly not allow myself to be intimidated by
Speaker 1: anything which you may say or do. The old fellow
Speaker 1: looked diabolical, and I really thought he was about to
Speaker 1: attack me. I have said that he was a gaunt,
Speaker 1: fierce old giant, and though I am no weakling, I
Speaker 1: might have been hard put to it to hold my
Speaker 1: own against him. However, for a long glare of rage,
Speaker 1: he turned upon his heel and walked out of the room.
Speaker 1: For my part, I took the appointed train in the
Speaker 1: morning with the full intention of coming straight to you
Speaker 1: and asking for your advice and assistance at the appointment
Speaker 1: for which I had already written. Such was the problem
Speaker 1: which my visitor laid before me. It presented, as the
Speaker 1: astute reader will have already perceived, few difficulties in its solution,
Speaker 1: for a very limited choice of alternatives must get to
Speaker 1: the root of the matter. Still elementary as it was,
Speaker 1: there were points of interest and novelty about it, which
Speaker 1: may excuse my placing it upon record. I now proceeded,
Speaker 1: using my familiar method of logical analysis to narrow down
Speaker 1: the possible solutions. The servants, I asked how many were
Speaker 1: in the house. To the best of my belief, there
Speaker 1: were only the old butler and his wife. They seemed
Speaker 1: to live in the simplest fashion. There was no servant
Speaker 1: then in the detached house, none unless the little man
Speaker 1: with the beard acted as such. He seemed, however, to
Speaker 1: be quite a superior person. That seems very suggestive. Had
Speaker 1: you any indication that food was conveyed from the one
Speaker 1: house to the other, Now that you mention it, I
Speaker 1: did see old Ralph carrying a basket down the garden
Speaker 1: walk and going in the direction of this house. The
Speaker 1: idea of food did not occur to me at the moment.
Speaker 1: Did you make any local inquiries? Yes, I did. I
Speaker 1: spoke to the station master and also to the innkeeper
Speaker 1: of the village. I simply asked if they knew anything
Speaker 1: of my old comrade, Godfrey Elmsworth. Both of them assured
Speaker 1: me that he had gone for a voyage round the world,
Speaker 1: he had come home, and then had almost at once
Speaker 1: started off again. The story was evidently universally accepted. You
Speaker 1: said nothing of your suspicions, nothing that was very wise.
Speaker 1: The matter should certainly be inquired into. I will go
Speaker 1: back with you to Tuxbury Old Park to day. It
Speaker 1: happened that at the moment I was clearing up the
Speaker 1: case which my friend Watson had described as that of
Speaker 1: the abbey school in which the Duke of gray Minster
Speaker 1: was so deeply involved. I had also a commission from
Speaker 1: the Sultan of Turkey which called for immediate action, as
Speaker 1: political consequences of the gravest kind might arise from its neglect. Therefore,
Speaker 1: it was not until the beginning of the next week,
Speaker 1: as my diary records, that I was able to start
Speaker 1: forth on my mission to Bedfordshire in company with mister
Speaker 1: James M. Dodd. As we drove to Euston, we picked
Speaker 1: up a grave and taciturn gentlemen of iron gray aspect,
Speaker 1: with whom I had made the necessary arrangements. This is
Speaker 1: an old friend, said I to Dodd. It is possible
Speaker 1: that his presence may be entirely unnecessary, and on the
Speaker 1: other hand it may be essential. It is not necessary
Speaker 1: at the present stage to go further into the matter.
Speaker 1: The narratives of Watson have accustomed the reader no doubt
Speaker 1: to the fact that I do not waste words or
Speaker 1: disclose my thoughts while a case is actually under consideration.
Speaker 1: Dodd seemed surprised, but nothing more was said, and the
Speaker 1: three of us continued our journey together in the train.
Speaker 1: I asked DoD one more question, which I wished our
Speaker 1: companion to hear. You say that you saw your friend's
Speaker 1: face quite clearly at the window, so clearly that you
Speaker 1: are sure of his identity. I have no doubt about it. Whatever,
Speaker 1: his nose was pressed against the glass, the lamp light
Speaker 1: shone full upon him. It could not have been some
Speaker 1: one resembling him. No, no, it was he. But you
Speaker 1: say he was changed only in color. His face was
Speaker 1: how shall I describe it? It was of a fish
Speaker 1: belly whiteness, it was bleached. Was it equally pale all over?
Speaker 1: I think not. It was his brow which I saw
Speaker 1: so clearly as it was pressed against the window. Did
Speaker 1: you call to him? I was too startled and horrified
Speaker 1: for the moment. Then I pursued him, as I have
Speaker 1: told you that without result, my case was practically complete,
Speaker 1: and there was only one small incident needed to round
Speaker 1: it off. When after a considerable drive we arrived at
Speaker 1: the strange old Rambling house which my client had described,
Speaker 1: it was Ralph, the elderly butler, who opened the door.
Speaker 1: I had requisitioned the carriage for the day and had
Speaker 1: asked my elderly friend to remain within it unless we
Speaker 1: should summon him. Ralph, a little wrinkled old fellow, was
Speaker 1: in the conventional costume of black coat and pepper and
Speaker 1: salt trousers, with only one curious variant. He wore brown
Speaker 1: leather gloves, which, at sight of us, he instantly shuffled off,
Speaker 1: laying them down on the hall table as we passed in.
Speaker 1: I have, as my friend Watson may have remarked, an
Speaker 1: abnormally acute set of senses, and a faint but incisive
Speaker 1: scent was apparent. It seemed to center on the hall table.
Speaker 1: I turned, placed my hat there, knocked it off, stooped
Speaker 1: to pick it up, and contrived to bring my nose
Speaker 1: within a foot of the gloves. Yes, it was undoubtedly
Speaker 1: from them that the curious tarry Odor was oozing. I
Speaker 1: passed on into the study with my case complete, alas
Speaker 1: that I should have to show my hand, sir oh,
Speaker 1: when I tell my own story. It was by concealing
Speaker 1: such links in the chain that Watson was enabled to
Speaker 1: produce his meretricious finales. Colonel Emsworth was not in his room,
Speaker 1: but he came quickly enough on receipt of Ralph's message.
Speaker 1: We heard his quick heavy step in the passage. The
Speaker 1: door was flung open, and he rushed in with bristling
Speaker 1: beard and twisted features, as terrible an old man as
Speaker 1: ever I have seen. He held our cards in his hand,
Speaker 1: and he tore them up and stamped on the fragments.
Speaker 1: Have I not told you, you infernal busy body, that
Speaker 1: you are warned, after the premises, never dare to show
Speaker 1: your damned face here again if you enter again without
Speaker 1: my leave I shall be within my rights. If I
Speaker 1: use violence, I'll shoot you, sir. By God, I will
Speaker 1: as to you, sir, turning upon me, I extent the
Speaker 1: same war to you. I am familiar with your ignoble profession,
Speaker 1: but you must take your reputed talents to some other field.
Speaker 1: There is no opening for them here. I cannot leave here.
Speaker 1: Set my client firmly until I hear from Godfrey's own
Speaker 1: lips that he is under no restraint. Our involuntary host
Speaker 1: rang the bell. Ralph. He said, telephone down to the
Speaker 1: county police and ask the inspector to send up two constables.
Speaker 1: Tell him there are burglars in the house. One moment,
Speaker 1: said I you must be aware, mister Dodd, that Colonel
Speaker 1: Elmsworth is within his rights and that we have no
Speaker 1: legal status within his house. On the other hand, he
Speaker 1: should recognize that your action is prompted entirely by solicitude
Speaker 1: for his son. I venture to hope that if I
Speaker 1: were allowed to have five minutes conversation with Colonel Elmsworth,
Speaker 1: I could certainly alter his view of the matter. I
Speaker 1: am not so easily altered, said the old soldier, Ralph.
Speaker 1: Do what I have told you. What the devil. You're
Speaker 1: waiting for ring up the police. Nothing of the sort,
Speaker 1: I said, putting my back to the door. Any police
Speaker 1: interference would bring about the very catastrophe which you dread.
Speaker 1: I took out my note book and scribbled one word
Speaker 1: upon a loose sheet that said, I, as I handed
Speaker 1: it to Colonel Elmsworth, is what has brought us here?
Speaker 1: He stared at the writing with a face from which
Speaker 1: every expression save amazement had vanished. How do you know,
Speaker 1: he gasped, sitting down heavily in his chair. It is
Speaker 1: my business to know things. That is my trade. He
Speaker 1: sat in deep thought, his gaunt hand tugging at his
Speaker 1: straggling beard. Then he made a gesture of resignation. Well,
Speaker 1: if you wish to see Godfrey, you shall. It is
Speaker 1: no doing of mine, but you have forced my hand. Ralph,
Speaker 1: tell mister Godfrey and mister Kent that in five minutes
Speaker 1: we shall be with them. At the end of that time,
Speaker 1: we passed down the garden path and found ourselves in
Speaker 1: front of the mystery house. At the end, a small
Speaker 1: bearded man stood at the door, with a look of
Speaker 1: considerable astonishment upon his face. This is very sudden, Colonel
Speaker 1: Emsworth said he. This will disarrange all our plans. I
Speaker 1: can't help it, mister Kent. Our hands have been forced.
Speaker 1: Can mister Godfrey see us, Yes, he is waiting Inside.
Speaker 1: He turned and led us into a large, plainly furnished
Speaker 1: front room. A man was standing with his back to
Speaker 1: the fire, and at the sight of him, my client
Speaker 1: sprang forward with outstretched hand. Why Godfrey, old man, this
Speaker 1: is fine? But the other waved him back. Don't touch me, Jimmy,
Speaker 1: keep your distance. Yes, you may well stare. I don't
Speaker 1: quite look the smart lance Corporal Elmsworth of B Squadron
Speaker 1: do I His appearance was certainly extraordinary. One could see
Speaker 1: that he had indeed been a handsome man with clear
Speaker 1: cut features sunburned by an African sun, but mottled in patches.
Speaker 1: Over this darker surface were curious whitish patches which had
Speaker 1: bleached his skin. That's why I don't court visitors said he.
Speaker 1: I don't mind you, Jimmy, but I could have done
Speaker 1: without your friend. I suppose there is some good reason
Speaker 1: for it, but you have me at a disadvantage. I
Speaker 1: wanted to be sure that all was well with you, Godfrey.
Speaker 1: I saw you that night when you looked into my window,
Speaker 1: and I could not let the matter rest till I
Speaker 1: had cleared things up. Old Ralph told me you were there,
Speaker 1: and I couldn't help taking a peep at you. I
Speaker 1: hoped you would not have seen me, and I had
Speaker 1: to run to my burrow when I heard the window
Speaker 1: go up. But what in Heaven's name is the matter? Well,
Speaker 1: it's not a long story to tell, said he lighting
Speaker 1: a cigarette. You remember that morning fight at Buffal Spray
Speaker 1: outside Pretoria on the Eastern railway line. You heard I
Speaker 1: was hit. Yes, I heard that, but I never got particular.
Speaker 1: Three of us got separated from the others. It was
Speaker 1: very broken country. You may remember. There was Simpson, the
Speaker 1: fellow we called Baldy Simpson, and Anderson and I. We
Speaker 1: were clearing brother Boa, but he lay low and got
Speaker 1: the three of us. The other two were killed. I
Speaker 1: got an elephant bullet through my shoulder. I stuck on
Speaker 1: to my horse, however, and he galloped several miles before
Speaker 1: I fainted and rolled off the saddle. When I came
Speaker 1: to myself, it was nightfall, and I raised myself up,
Speaker 1: feeling very weak and ill. To my surprise, there was
Speaker 1: a house close beside me a fairly large house with
Speaker 1: a broad stoop and many windows. It was deadly cold.
Speaker 1: You remember the kind of numb cold which used to
Speaker 1: come at evening, a deadly, sickening sort of cold, very
Speaker 1: different from a crisp, healthy frost. Well. I was chilled
Speaker 1: to the bone, and my only hope seemed to lie
Speaker 1: in reaching that house. I staggered to my feet and
Speaker 1: dragged myself along, hardly conscious of what I did. I
Speaker 1: have a dim memory of slowly ascending the steps, entering
Speaker 1: a wide opened door, passing into a large room which
Speaker 1: contained s several beds, and throwing myself down with a
Speaker 1: gasp of satisfaction upon one of them. It was unmade,
Speaker 1: but that troubled me not at all. I drew the
Speaker 1: clothes over my shivering body, and in a moment I
Speaker 1: was in a deep sleep. It was morning when I wakened,
Speaker 1: and it seemed to me that instead of coming out
Speaker 1: into a world of sanity, I had emerged into some
Speaker 1: extraordinary nightmare. The African sun flooded through the big curtainless windows,
Speaker 1: and every detail of the great, bare whitewashed dormitory stood
Speaker 1: out hard and clear. In front of me was standing
Speaker 1: a small dwarf like man with a huge, bulbous head,
Speaker 1: who was jabbering excitedly in Dutch, waving two horrible hands
Speaker 1: which looked to me like brown sponges. Behind him stood
Speaker 1: a group of people who seemed to be intensely amused
Speaker 1: by the situation. But a chill came over me as
Speaker 1: I looked at them. Not one of them was a
Speaker 1: normal human being. Everyone was twisted, or swollen, or disfigured
Speaker 1: in some strange way. The laughter of these strange monstrosities
Speaker 1: was a dreadful thing to hear. It seemed that none
Speaker 1: of them could speak English. But the situation wanted clearing up,
Speaker 1: for the creature with the big head was growing furiously
Speaker 1: angry and uttering wild beast cries. He had laid his
Speaker 1: deformed hands upon me and was dragging me out of bed,
Speaker 1: regardless of the fresh flow of blood from my wound.
Speaker 1: The little monster was as strong as a bull, and
Speaker 1: I don't know what he might have done to me
Speaker 1: had not an elderly man who was clearly in authority
Speaker 1: been attracted to the room by the hubbub. He said
Speaker 1: a few stern words in Dutch, and my persecutor shrank away.
Speaker 1: Then he turned upon me, gazing at me in the
Speaker 1: utmost amazement. How in the world did you come here?
Speaker 1: He asked, in amazement, Wait a bit. I see that
Speaker 1: you are tired out and dead, the wounded shoulder of
Speaker 1: yours once looking after. I'm a doctor, and I'll soon
Speaker 1: have you tied up. But man alive, you are in
Speaker 1: far greater danger here than ever you were on the battlefield.
Speaker 1: You are in the leper hospital, and you have slept
Speaker 1: in a leper's bed. Need I tell you more, Jimmy,
Speaker 1: it seems that, in view of the approaching battle, all
Speaker 1: these poor creatures had been evacuated the day before. Then,
Speaker 1: as the British advanced, they had been brought back by
Speaker 1: this their medical superintendent, who assured me that though he
Speaker 1: believed he was immune to the disease, he would none
Speaker 1: the less never have dared to do what I had done.
Speaker 1: He put me in a private room, treated me kindly,
Speaker 1: and within a week or so I was removed to
Speaker 1: the general hospital at Pretoria. So there you have my tragedy.
Speaker 1: I hoped against hope, but it was not until I
Speaker 1: had reached home that the terrible signs which you see
Speaker 1: upon my face told me that I had not escaped.
Speaker 1: What was I to do? I was in this lonely house.
Speaker 1: We had two servants whom we could utterly trust. There
Speaker 1: was a house where I could live under pledge of secrecy.
Speaker 1: Mister Kent, who was a surgeon, was prepared to stay
Speaker 1: with me. It seemed simple enough on those lines. The
Speaker 1: alternative was a dreadful one, segregation for life among strangers,
Speaker 1: with never a hope of release. But absolute secrecy was necessary,
Speaker 1: or even in this quiet countryside, there would have been
Speaker 1: an outcry and I should have been dragged to my
Speaker 1: horrible doom. Even you, Jimmy, even you, had to be
Speaker 1: kept in the dark. Why my father has relented, I
Speaker 1: cannot imagine. Colonel Elmsworth pointed to me, this is the
Speaker 1: gentleman who forced my hand. He unfolded the scrap of
Speaker 1: paper on which I had written the word leprosy. It
Speaker 1: seemed to me that if he knew so much as that,
Speaker 1: it was safer that he should know all. And so
Speaker 1: it was said, I who knows, but good may come
Speaker 1: of it. I understand that only mister Kent has seen
Speaker 1: the patient. May I ask, sir, if you are an
Speaker 1: authority on such complaints? Which are I understand tropical or
Speaker 1: semi tropical in their nature. I have the ordinary knowledge
Speaker 1: of the educated medical man, he observed with some stiffness.
Speaker 1: I have no doubt, sir, that you are fully competent.
Speaker 1: But I am sure that you will agree that in
Speaker 1: such a case a second opinion is valuable. You have
Speaker 1: avoided this. I understand for fear that pressure should be
Speaker 1: put upon you to segregate the patient. That is so,
Speaker 1: said Colonel m Worth. I foresaw this situation, I explained,
Speaker 1: and I have brought with me a friend whose discretion
Speaker 1: may absolutely be trusted. I was able once to do
Speaker 1: him a professional service, and he is ready to advise
Speaker 1: as a friend rather than as a specialist. His name
Speaker 1: is Sir James Saunders. The prospect of an interview with
Speaker 1: Lord Roberts would not have excited greater wonder and pleasure
Speaker 1: in a raw subaltern than was now reflected upon the
Speaker 1: face of mister Kent. I shall indeed be proud, he murmured.
Speaker 1: Then I will ask Sir James to step this way.
Speaker 1: He is at present in the carriage outside the door. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Colonel Elmsworth, we may perhaps assemble in your study, where
Speaker 1: I could give the necessary explanations. And here it is
Speaker 1: that I miss my Watson. By cunning questions and ejaculations
Speaker 1: of wonder, he could elevate my simple art, which is
Speaker 1: but systematized common sense, into a prodigy. When I tell
Speaker 1: my own story, I have no such aid. And yet
Speaker 1: I will give my process of thought, even as I
Speaker 1: gave it to my small audience, which included Godfrey's mother
Speaker 1: in the study of Colonel Elmsworth. That process, said I,
Speaker 1: starts upon the supposition that when you have eliminated all
Speaker 1: which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be
Speaker 1: the truth. It may well be that several explanations remain,
Speaker 1: in which case one tries tests after test until one
Speaker 1: or other of them has a convincing amount of support.
Speaker 1: We will now apply this principle to the case in point,
Speaker 1: as it was first presented to me. There were three
Speaker 1: possible explanations of the seclusion or incarceration of this gentleman
Speaker 1: in an outhouse of his father's mansion. There was the
Speaker 1: explanation that he was in hiding for a crime, or
Speaker 1: that he was mad and that they wished to avoid
Speaker 1: an asylum, or that he had some disease which caused
Speaker 1: his segregation. I could think of no other adequate solutions.
Speaker 1: These then had to be sifted and balanced against each other.
Speaker 1: The criminal solution would not bear inspection. No unsolved crime
Speaker 1: had been reported from that district. I was sure of that.
Speaker 1: If it were some crime not yet discovered, then clearly
Speaker 1: it would be to the interest of the family to
Speaker 1: get rid of the delinquent and send him abroad, rather
Speaker 1: than keep him concealed at home. I could see no
Speaker 1: explanation for such a line of conduct. Insanity was more plausible.
Speaker 1: The presence of the second person in the outhouse suggested
Speaker 1: a keeper. The fact that he locked the door when
Speaker 1: he came out strengthened the supposition and gave the idea
Speaker 1: of constraint. On the other hand, this constraint could not
Speaker 1: be severe, or the young man could not have got
Speaker 1: loose and come down to have a look at his friend.
Speaker 1: You will remember, mister Dodd, that I felt round for points,
Speaker 1: asking you, for example, about the paper which mister Kent
Speaker 1: was reading. Had it been the Lancet or the British
Speaker 1: Medical Journal, it would have helped me. It is not illegal, however,
Speaker 1: to keep a lunatic upon private premises, so long as
Speaker 1: there is a qualified person in attendance, and that the
Speaker 1: authorities have been duly notified. Why then all this desperate
Speaker 1: desire for secrecy. Once again I could not get the
Speaker 1: theory to fit the facts. There remained the third possibility,
Speaker 1: into which, rare and unlikely as it was, everything seemed
Speaker 1: to fit. Leprosy is not uncommon in South Africa. By
Speaker 1: some extraordinary chance, this youth might have contracted it. His
Speaker 1: people would be placed in a very dreadful position, since
Speaker 1: they would desire to save him from segregation. Great secrecy
Speaker 1: would be needed to prevent rumors from getting about from
Speaker 1: subsequent interference by the authorities. A devoted medical man, if
Speaker 1: sufficiently paid, would easily be found to take charge of
Speaker 1: the sufferer. There would be no reason why the latter
Speaker 1: should not be allowed freedom after dark. Bleaching of the
Speaker 1: skin is a common result of the disease. The case
Speaker 1: was a strong one, so strong that I determined to
Speaker 1: act as if it were actually proved. When, on arriving
Speaker 1: here I noticed that Ralph, who carries out the meals,
Speaker 1: had gloves which are impregnated with disinfectants. My last doubts
Speaker 1: were removed. A single word showed you, sir, that your
Speaker 1: secret was discovered. And if I wrote rather than said it,
Speaker 1: it was to prove to you that my discretion was
Speaker 1: to be trusted. I was finishing this little analysis of
Speaker 1: the case when the door was opened, and the austere
Speaker 1: figure of the great dermatologist was ushered in. But for
Speaker 1: once his sphinxlike features had relaxed, and there was a
Speaker 1: warm humanity in his eyes. He strode up to Colonel
Speaker 1: Emsworth and shook him by the hand. It is oftened
Speaker 1: my lot to bring ill tidings, and seldom good, said he.
Speaker 1: This occasion is the more welcome. That is not leprosy?
Speaker 1: What a well marked case of pseudo leprosy or ichthiosis,
Speaker 1: a scalelike affection of the skin, unsightly obstinate, but possiblely curable,
Speaker 1: and certainly noneffective. Yes, mister Holmes, the coincidence is a
Speaker 1: remarkable one. But is it coincidence? Are there not subtle
Speaker 1: forces at work of which we know little? Are we
Speaker 1: assured that the apprehension from which this young man has
Speaker 1: no doubt suffered terribly, Since his exposure to its contagion
Speaker 1: may not produce a physical effect which stimulates that which
Speaker 1: it fears at any rate, I pledge my professional reputation,
Speaker 1: but the lady has fainted. I think that mister Kent
Speaker 1: had better be with her until she recovers from this
Speaker 1: joyous shock. That is the end of The Blanched Soldier
Speaker 1: by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Greg Wagland for Magpie
Speaker 1: Audio twenty twenty two. Thank you for listening. Please like
Speaker 1: the video, subscribe to the channel, or see the Patreon
Speaker 1: link below. Thanks again,