WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:05.719 The Lost Special by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The confession 2 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:08.480 of Herbert de Lernac, now lying under sentence of death 3 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.119 at Marseilles, has thrown a light upon one of the 4 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:15.080 most inexplicable crimes of the century, an incident which is 5 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:18.679 I believe absolutely unprecedented in the criminal annals of any country. 6 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:22.079 Although there is a reluctance to discuss the matter in 7 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.800 official circles, and little information has been given to the press, 8 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:29.079 there are still indications that the statement of this arch 9 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:32.840 criminal is corroborated by the facts, and that we have 10 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:35.880 at last found a solution for a most astonishing business. 11 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:39.200 As the matter is eight years old, and as its 12 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:42.200 importance was somewhat obscured by a political crisis which was 13 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:45.320 engaging the public attention at the time, it may be 14 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:46.960 as well to state the fact as far as we 15 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.280 have been able to ascertain them. They are collated from 16 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.320 the Liverpool papers of that date, from the proceedings at 17 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:57.200 the inquest upon John Slatter, the engine driver, and from 18 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.880 records of the London and West Coast Railway Company, which 19 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.439 had been courteously put at my disposal. Briefly, they are 20 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.799 as follows on the third of June eighteen ninety a 21 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:13.439 gentleman who gave his name as Monsieur Louis Caratal desired 22 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.480 an interview with mister James Bland, the superintendent of the 23 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:21.599 London and West Coast Central Station in Liverpool. He was 24 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:24.239 a small man, middle aged and dark, with stoop which 25 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:27.760 was so marked that it suggested some deformity of the spine. 26 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.400 He was accompanied by a friend, a man of imposing physique, 27 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:35.200 whose deferential manner and constant attention showed that his position 28 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:39.000 was one of dependents. His friend or companion, whose name 29 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:42.519 did not transpire, was certainly a foreigner, and probably from 30 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.640 his swarthy complexion, either a Spaniard or a South American. 31 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:49.319 One peculiarity was observed in him. He carried in his 32 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:53.760 left hand a small black leather despatch box, and it 33 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.040 was noticed by a sharp eyed clerk in the central 34 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:58.959 office that this box was fastened to his wrist by 35 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.439 a strap. No importance was attached to the fact at 36 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:05.799 the time, but subsequent events endowed it with some significance. 37 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.520 Monsieur Carrettal was shown up to mister Bland's office, while 38 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:15.280 his companion remained outside. Mister Bland struck the electric bell, 39 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.280 summoned mister potter Hood, the traffic manager, and had the 40 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:22.759 matter arranged in five minutes. The train would start in 41 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:24.960 three quarters of an hour. It would take that time 42 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:28.759 to ensure that the line should be clear. The powerful engine, 43 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:32.479 called Roachdale number two forty seven on the company's register, 44 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:36.159 was attached to two carriages, with a guard's van behind. 45 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:39.919 The first carriage was solely for the purpose of decreasing 46 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:44.439 the inconvenience arising from the oscillation. The second was divided 47 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:48.159 as usual into four compartments, a first class, a first 48 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:51.960 class smoking, a second class and a second class smoking. 49 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.360 The first compartment, which was nearest to the engine, was 50 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:59.159 the one allotted to the travelers. The other three were empty. 51 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:02.280 The guard of the special train was James mc pherson, 52 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:04.719 who had been some years in the service of the company. 53 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:10.000 The stoker, William Smith, was a new hand Monsieur Carettel. 54 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:14.000 Upon leaving the superintendent's office, rejoined his companion, and both 55 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:17.800 of them manifested extreme impatience to be off. Having paid 56 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:20.840 the money asked, which amounted to fifty pounds five shillings 57 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:23.719 at the usual special rate of five shillings a mile, 58 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:27.080 they demanded to be shown the carriage, and at once 59 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:29.439 took their seats in it, although they were assured that 60 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:31.479 the better part of an hour must elapse before the 61 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.319 line could be cleared. In the meantime, a singular coincidence 62 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:38.280 had occurred in the office which Monsieur Carretel had just quitted. 63 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:42.159 A request for a special is not a very uncommon 64 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:46.000 circumstance in a rich commercial center, but the two should 65 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:49.800 be required upon the same afternoon was most unusual. It 66 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:52.400 so happened, however, that mister Bland had hardly dismissed the 67 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:56.039 first traveler before a second entered with a similar request. 68 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:00.360 This was a mister Horace Moore, a gentlemanly man of 69 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:04.080 military appearance, who alleged that the sudden serious illness of 70 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.199 his wife in London made it absolutely imperative that he 71 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.159 should not lose an instant in starting upon the journey. 72 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.960 His distress and anxiety were so evident that mister Bland 73 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.800 did all that was possible to meet his wishes. A 74 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:19.959 second special was out of the question, as the ordinary 75 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:23.839 local service was already somewhat deranged by the first. There 76 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.800 was the alternative, however, that mister Moore should share the 77 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:30.600 expense of Monsieur Carretel's train, and should travel in the 78 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:35.480 other empty first class compartment, if Monsieur Carretel objected to 79 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:38.639 having him in the one which he occupied. It was 80 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:41.399 difficult to see any objection to such an arrangement. And 81 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.319 yet Monsieur Carretel, upon the suggestion being made to him 82 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:48.160 by mister potter Hood, absolutely refused to consider it for 83 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:52.800 an instant. The train was his, he said, and he 84 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:56.519 would insist upon the exclusive use of it. All argument 85 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:59.920 failed to overcome his ungracious objections, and finally the pl 86 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.439 had to be abandoned. Mister Horace Moore left the station 87 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.519 in great distress after learning that his only course was 88 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.759 to take the ordinary slow train which leaves Liverpool at 89 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:14.040 six o'clock. At four thirty one, exactly by the station clock, 90 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:17.759 the special train containing the crippled Monsieur Carattel and his 91 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:22.759 gigantic companion steamed out of the Liverpool station. The line 92 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:24.720 was at that time clear and there should have been 93 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:28.959 no stoppage. Before Manchester. The trains of the London and 94 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:32.199 West Coast Railway run over the lines of another company 95 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.079 as far as this town, which should have been reached 96 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:38.480 by a special rather before six o'clock. At a quarter 97 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:42.040 after six, considerable surprise and some consternation were caused amongst 98 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:45.439 the officials at Liverpool by the receipt of a telegram 99 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.639 from Manchester to say that it had not yet arrived. 100 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:52.480 An inquiry directed to Saint Helens, which is a third 101 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:54.759 of the way between the two cities, elicited the following 102 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:00.240 reply to James Bland, Superintendent Central l and W see 103 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:04.079 Liverpool Special passed here at four fifty two, well up 104 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:09.199 to time, Dowster Saint Helen's. This telegram was received at 105 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.800 six forty. At six fifty a second message was received 106 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:17.160 from Manchester, no sign of special as advised by you, 107 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:22.519 and then ten minutes later a third more bewildering. Presume 108 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:26.480 some mistake as to propose running of special local train 109 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.319 from Saint Helen's. Time to follow. It has just arrived 110 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.120 and has seen nothing of it. Kindly, wire advises Manchester. 111 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:39.319 The matter was assuming a most amazing aspect, although in 112 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.600 some respects the last telegram was a relief to the 113 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:45.360 authorities at Liverpool. If an accident had occurred at the special, 114 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.240 it seemed hardly possible that the local train could have 115 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:51.720 passed down the same line without observing it, And yet 116 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:55.199 what was the alternative? Where could the train be had 117 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:57.639 it possibly been sidetracked for some reason in order to 118 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.279 allow the slower train to go past. Such an explanation 119 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:03.800 was possible if some small repair had to be effected. 120 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:07.120 A telegram was despatched to each of the stations between 121 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:11.519 Saint Helens and Manchester, and the superintendent and traffic manager waited, 122 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.720 in the utmost suspense at the instrument for the series 123 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:17.120 of replies which would enable them to say for certain 124 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.879 what had become of the missing train. The answers came 125 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:24.399 back in the order of questions, which was the order 126 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:28.639 of the stations, beginning at Saint Helen's End. Special Past 127 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:33.519 here five o'clock, Collins Green Special Past here, six past five, 128 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:39.560 Earlstown Special Past here five ten, Newton Special Past here 129 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:45.120 five twenty Kenyon Junction. No special train has passed here. 130 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:49.560 Barton Moss. The two officials stared at each other in amazement. 131 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.519 This is unique in my thirty years of experience, mister 132 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:59.560 Plann said, absolutely unprecedented and inexplicable, Sir, The special has 133 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:04.199 gone wrong between Kenyon Junction and Barton Mosse, and yet 134 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:06.199 there is no siding so far as my memory, Sir 135 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:09.399 has made between the two stations. The Special must have 136 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.160 run off the metals. But how could the four fifty 137 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:17.480 Parliamentary pass over the same line without observing it. There 138 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.839 is no alternative, mister Hood. It must be so. Possibly 139 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.399 the local train may have observed something which may throw 140 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:26.399 some light upon the matter. We'll wire to Manchester for 141 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:29.720 more information, and to Kenyon Junction with instructions that the 142 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:34.120 line be examined instantly as far as Barton Moss. The 143 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.559 answer from Manchester came within a few minutes. No news 144 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.039 of missing special, driver and guard of slow train positive. 145 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.519 No accident between Kenyon Junction and Barton Moss line quite clear, 146 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:51.240 and no sign of anything unusual. Manchester, that driver and 147 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:54.759 guard will have to go, said mister Bland grimly. There 148 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.039 has been a wreck and they have missed it. The 149 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:00.000 Special has obviously run off the metals without disturbing the line. 150 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.600 How it could have done so passes my comprehension. But 151 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.519 so it must be, and we shall have a wire 152 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.000 from Kenyon or Barton Moss presently to say that they 153 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.559 have found her at the bottom of an embankment, but 154 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:15.000 mister Bland's prophecy was not destined to be fulfilled. Half 155 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:17.320 an hour passed and then there arrived the following message 156 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:20.960 from the station master of Kenyon Junction. There are no 157 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:23.639 traces of the missing Special. It is quite certain that 158 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:26.440 she passed here and that she did not arrive at 159 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:30.000 Barton Moss. We have detached engine from goods train and 160 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.399 have myself ridden down the line. But all is clear 161 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:37.519 and there is no sign of an accident. Mister Bland 162 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:42.320 tore his hair in his perplexity. This is rank lunacyhood, 163 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:45.320 he cried. Does a train vanish into thin air in 164 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:49.960 England in broad daylight? The thing is preposterous. An engine 165 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:53.639 at tender, two carriages, a van, five human beings and 166 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.440 all lost on a straight line of railway. Unless we 167 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:59.759 get something positive within the next hour, I'll take in 168 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.399 space to Collins and go down myself. And then at 169 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.480 last something positive did occur. It took the shape of 170 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:10.200 another telegram from Kenyon Junction, regret to report that the 171 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.799 dead body of John Slater, driver of the Special train, 172 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:16.440 has just been found among the Gorse bushes at a 173 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.600 point two and a quarter miles from the junction, had 174 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:22.279 fallen from his engine, pitched down the embankment, and rolled 175 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.519 among the bushes. Injuries to his head from the fall 176 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:28.480 appear to be cause of death. Grounds has now been 177 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:32.000 carefully examined, and there is no trace of the missing train. 178 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:38.559 The country, of course, was, as has already been stated, 179 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:41.879 in the throes of a political crisis, and the intention 180 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:44.399 of the public was further distracted by the importance and 181 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:48.600 sensational developments in Paris, where a huge scandal threatened to 182 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.039 destroy the government and to wreck the reputations of many 183 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:54.399 of the leading men in France. The papers were full 184 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.840 of these events, and the singular disappearance of the special 185 00:10:56.840 --> 00:10:59.600 train attracted less attention than would have been the case 186 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:03.639 in more peaceful times. The grotesque nature of the event 187 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:06.799 helped to detract from its importance, for the papers were 188 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.480 disinclined to believe the facts as reported to them. More 189 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:12.840 than one of the London journals treated the matter as 190 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:17.840 an ingenious hoax until the coroner's inquest upon the unfortunate driver, 191 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:22.000 an inquest which elicited nothing of importance, convinced them of 192 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:26.720 the tragedy of the incident. Mister Bland, accompanied by Inspector Collins, 193 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:29.080 the senior detective officer in the service of the company, 194 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.120 went down to Kenyon Junction the same evening, and their 195 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:35.919 research lasted throughout the following day, but was attended with 196 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:39.480 purely negative results. Not only was no trace found of 197 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:42.559 the missing train, but no conjecture could be put forward 198 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:46.000 which would possibly explain the facts. At the same time, 199 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:50.200 Inspector Collins's official report, which lies before me, as I write, 200 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.759 served to show that the possibilities were more numerous than 201 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:59.080 might have been expected. Inspector Collins writes, in the stretch 202 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:02.840 of railway between these two points, the country is dotted 203 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:06.480 with iron works and collieries. Of these, some are being worked, 204 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.080 and some have been abandoned. There are no fewer than 205 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:12.440 twelve which have small gage lines which run trolley cars 206 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:16.080 down to the main line. These can of course be disregarded. 207 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.879 Beside these, however, there are seven which have or have 208 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:23.720 had proper lines running down and connecting with points to 209 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:27.159 the main line, so as to convey their produce from 210 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:30.519 the mouth of the mine to the great centers of distribution. 211 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.120 In every case these lines are only a few miles 212 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.679 in length. Out of the seven, four belong to collieries 213 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:40.679 which are worked out, or at least two shafts which 214 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:44.639 are no longer used. These are the Red Gauntlet, Hero 215 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:50.600 Slov Despond and Heart's Ease mines, the latter having ten 216 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.080 years ago been one of the principal mines in Lancashire. 217 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:57.399 These four side lines may be eliminated from our inquiry, 218 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:01.000 for to prevent possible accidents. The rail nearest to the 219 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:04.120 main line have been taken up and there is no 220 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:08.960 longer any connection. There remain three other side lines, leading 221 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:14.559 A to the Carnstock Iron Works, B to the big 222 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:20.639 Ben colliery C to the Perseverance Colliery. Of these, the 223 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.639 big Ben line is not more than a quarter of 224 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:25.440 a mile long and ends at a dead wall of 225 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:29.320 coal waiting removal from the mouth of the mine. Nothing 226 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.480 had been seen or heard there of any special. The 227 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:35.720 Carnstock Iron Works line was blocked all day upon the 228 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:40.000 third of June by sixteen truck loads of hematite. It's 229 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.480 a single line and nothing could have passed at the 230 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:48.080 Perseverance line, a large double line which does a considerable 231 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.879 traffic for the output of the mine is very large. 232 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:54.080 On the third of June, this traffic proceeded as usual. 233 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:57.480 Hundreds of men, including a gang of railway plate layers, 234 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:00.480 were working along the two lines and a quarter which 235 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.840 constituted the total length of the line, and it is 236 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:07.399 inconceivable that an unexpected train could have come down there 237 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:11.919 without attracting universal attention. It may be remarked in conclusion 238 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:14.200 that this branch line is nearer to Saint Helens than 239 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:17.320 the point at which the engine driver was discovered, so 240 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.159 that we have every reason to believe that the train 241 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.159 was past that point before his fortune overtook her. As 242 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:25.759 to John Slater, there is no clue to be gathered 243 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:28.919 from his appearance or injuries. We can only say that, 244 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:30.720 so far as we can see, he met his end 245 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.759 by falling off his engine. Though why he fell or 246 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:36.559 what became of the engine after his fall is a 247 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.080 question upon which I do not feel qualified to offer 248 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:43.679 an opinion. In conclusion, the inspector offered his resignation to 249 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:47.679 the board, being much nettled by an accusation of incompetence 250 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:52.039 in the London papers. A month elapsed during which both 251 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:54.879 the police and the company prosecuted their inquiries without the 252 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:58.679 slightest success. A reward was offered and a pardon promised 253 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:02.519 in case of crime, but they were both unclaimed. Every 254 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.080 day the public opened their papers with a conviction that 255 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.559 so grotesque a mystery would at last be solved. But 256 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:11.360 week after week passed by, and a solution remained as 257 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:15.279 far off as ever. In broad daylight upon a June afternoon, 258 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.639 in the most thickly inhabited portion of England, a train 259 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:22.480 with its occupants had disappeared, as completely as if some 260 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:27.960 master of subtle chemistry had volatilized it into gas. Indeed, 261 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:30.279 among the various conjectures which were put forward in the 262 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:34.480 public press, there were some which seriously asserted that supernatural 263 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:39.320 or at least preternatural agencies had been at work, and 264 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.480 that the deformed Monsieur Caratal was probably a person who 265 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:47.639 was better known under a less polite name. Others fixed 266 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:50.519 upon his swarthy companion as being the author of the mischief, 267 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.720 but what it was exactly which he had done could 268 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:58.279 never be clearly formulated in words. Among the many suggestions 269 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:02.039 put forward by various newspapers or private individuals, there were 270 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.080 one or two which were feasible enough to attract the 271 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.879 attention of the public. One which appeared in the Times 272 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.799 over the signature of an amateur reasoner of some celebrity 273 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:13.120 at that date, attempted to deal with the matter in 274 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:17.559 a critical and semi scientific manner. An extract must suffice, 275 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:19.720 although the curious can see the whole letter in the 276 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:23.240 issue of the third of July. It's one of the 277 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:27.240 elementary principles practical reasoning. He remarked that when the impossible 278 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:31.399 has been eliminated, the residuum, however improbable, must contain the truth. 279 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:35.559 It is certain that the train left Kenyon Junction. It 280 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:39.080 is certain that it did not reach Barton Moss. It 281 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.639 is in the highest degree unlikely, but still possible, that 282 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.279 it may have taken one of the seven available sidelines. 283 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:47.879 It's obviously impossible for a train to run where there 284 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:51.639 are no rails, and therefore we may reduce our improbables 285 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.320 to the three open lines, namely the Carnstock Iron Works, 286 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:59.000 the Big Ben and the Perseverance. Is there a secret 287 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:03.240 society of Klia an English camorra which is capable of 288 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:07.839 destroying both train and passengers. Now it's improbable, but it 289 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:11.000 is not impossible. I confess that I am unable to 290 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:14.759 suggest any other solution. I should certainly advise the company 291 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:17.720 to direct all their energies toward the observation of those 292 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:21.640 three lines, and of the workmen at the end of them. 293 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:25.039 A careful supervision of the pawnbrokers shops of the district 294 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:30.519 might possibly bring some suggestive facts to light. The suggestion, 295 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:34.160 coming from a recognized authority upon such matters, created considerable 296 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:37.640 interest and a fierce opposition from those who considered such 297 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:40.960 a statement to be a preposterous libel upon an honest 298 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:44.200 and deserving set of men. The only answer to this 299 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:46.839 criticism was it challenged to the objectors to lay any 300 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.599 more feasible explanations before the public. In reply to this, 301 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:55.480 two others were forthcoming the Times July seventh and ninth. 302 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:58.759 The first suggested that the train might have run off 303 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:02.319 the metals and belying merged in the Lancashire and Staffordshire Canal, 304 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.640 which runs parallel to the railway for some hundreds of yards. 305 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:10.119 This suggestion was thrown out of court by the published 306 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:13.599 depth of the canal, which was entirely insufficient to conceal 307 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:17.599 so large an object. The second correspondent wrote, calling attention 308 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:19.799 to the bag which appeared to be the sole luggage 309 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:23.000 which the travelers had brought with them, and suggesting that 310 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:26.440 some novel explosive of immense and pulverizing power might have 311 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:31.039 been concealed in it. The obvious absurdity, however, of a 312 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:34.240 supposing that the whole train might be blown to dust 313 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:38.599 while the metals remained uninjured, reduced any such explanation to 314 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.759 a farce. The investigation had drifted into this hopeless position 315 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:47.039 when a new and most unexpected incident occurred. This was 316 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:50.400 nothing less than the receipt by Missus mc pherson of 317 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:53.599 a letter from her husband, James mc pherson, who had 318 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:56.480 been the guard on the missing train. The letter, which 319 00:18:56.519 --> 00:19:00.240 was dated July fifth, eighteen ninety, was posted from New 320 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:04.799 York and came to hand upon July fourteenth. Some doubts 321 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.799 were expressed as to its genuine character, but Missus mc 322 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:10.799 pherson was positive as to the writing, and the fact 323 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:13.000 that it contained a remittance of a hundred dollars and 324 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:15.519 five dollar notes was enough in itself to discount the 325 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:18.759 idea of a hoax. No address was given in the letter, 326 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:22.559 which ran in this way, my dear wife, I've been 327 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:25.559 thinking a great deal, and I find it very hard 328 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:28.680 to give you up. The same with Lizzie. I try 329 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:30.640 to fight against it, but it will always come back 330 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:33.240 to me. I send you some money which will change 331 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:36.400 into twenty English pounds. This should be enough to bring 332 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:39.440 both Lizzie and you across the Atlantic, and you'll find 333 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.440 the Hamburg boats which stop at Southampton, very good boats 334 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.720 and cheaper than Liverpool. If you could come here and 335 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:48.640 stop at the Johnston House, I would try and send 336 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:51.319 you word how to meet. But things are very difficult 337 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:53.799 with me at present, and I am not very happy 338 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:56.680 finding it hard to give you both up. So no 339 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:02.000 more at present from your loving husband, James mc For 340 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:05.039 a time it was confidently anticipated that this letter would 341 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:07.599 lead to the clearing up of the whole matter, the 342 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.079 more so as it was ascertained that a passenger who 343 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:13.359 bore a close resemblance to the missing guard had traveled 344 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.680 from Southampton under the name of Somers in the Hamburg 345 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:20.440 and New York liner Vistula, which started upon the seventh 346 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:24.160 of June. Missus mc pherson and her sister Lizzie Dalton 347 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.960 went across to New York as directed, and stayed for 348 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:30.319 three weeks at the Johnston House without hearing anything from 349 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:34.119 the missing man. It's probable that some injudicious comments in 350 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:36.559 the press may have warned him that the police were 351 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:40.119 using them as a bait. However this may be, it's 352 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.279 certain that he neither wrote nor came, and the women 353 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:45.920 were eventually compelled to return to Liverpool. And so the 354 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:48.759 matter stood and has continued to stand up to the 355 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:53.279 present year eighteen ninety eight. Incredible as it may seem, 356 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:56.839 nothing has transpired during these eight years which has shed 357 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:59.799 the least light upon the extraordinary disappearance of the special 358 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:05.400 tree which contained Monsieur Carretel and his companion. Careful inquiries 359 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:08.039 into the antecedents of the two travelers have only established 360 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:11.240 the fact that Monsieur Carretal was well known as a 361 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:15.599 financier and political agent in Central America, and that during 362 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:19.279 his voyage to Europe he had betrayed extraordinary anxiety to 363 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:22.839 reach Paris. His companion, whose name was entered upon the 364 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:27.440 passenger list, says Eduardo Gomez, was a man whose record 365 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:29.680 was a violent one and whose reputation was that of 366 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:33.319 a bravo and a bully. There was evidence to show, however, 367 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.359 that he was honestly devoted to the interests of Monsieur Carretal, 368 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:39.960 and that the latter, being a man of puny physique, 369 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:43.400 employed the other as a guard and protector. It may 370 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.440 be added that no information came from Paris as to 371 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:49.759 what the objects of Monsieur Carratill's hurried journey may have been. 372 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.119 This compromises all the facts of the case. Upon the 373 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:58.240 publication in the Marseilles papers of the recent confession of 374 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:01.920 Herbert de Lernac, now under sentence of death for the 375 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:05.559 murder of a merchant named bon Balow. This statement may 376 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:10.279 be literally translated as follows. It is not out of 377 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:13.799 mere pride or boasting that I give this information, for 378 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:16.400 if that were my object, I could tell a dozen 379 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.400 actions of mine which are quite as splendid. But I 380 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.640 do it in order that certain gentlemen in Paris may 381 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:24.640 understand that I, who am able here to tell about 382 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:28.000 the fate of Monsieur Caratal, can also tell in whose 383 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:31.440 interest and at whose request the deed was done, unless 384 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:34.200 the reprieve which I am awaiting comes to me very quickly. 385 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:39.039 Take warning, monsieurs, before it is too late. You know 386 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:42.480 Herbert de Lernac, and you are aware that his deeds 387 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:45.720 are as ready as his words. Hasten then, or you 388 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:49.799 are lost at present, I shall mention no names. If 389 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.720 you only heard the names, what would you not think? 390 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.599 But I shall merely tell you how cleverly I did it. 391 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.640 I was true to my employers then, and no doubt 392 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:02.559 they will be true to me now. I hope so. 393 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:05.440 And until I am convinced that they have betrayed me, 394 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:09.559 these names, which would convulse Europe, shall not be divulged. 395 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:16.400 But on that day where I say no more in 396 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:18.519 a word. Then there was a famous trial in Paris 397 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:20.880 in the year eighteen ninety, in connection with a monstrous 398 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:25.359 scandal in politics and finance. How monstrous that scandal was 399 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:28.519 can never be known save by such confidential agents as myself. 400 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:31.839 The honor and careers of many of the chief men 401 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:34.680