The Adventure of the Second Stain - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

<v Speaker 1>The Adventure of the Second Stain. I had intended the
<v Speaker 1>Adventure of the Abbe Grange to be the last of
<v Speaker 1>those exploits of my friend mister Sherlock Holmes which I
<v Speaker 1>should ever communicate to the public. This resolution of mine
<v Speaker 1>was not due to any lack of material, since I
<v Speaker 1>have notes of many hundreds of cases to which I
<v Speaker 1>have never alluded, nor was it caused by any waning
<v Speaker 1>interest on the part of my readers in the singular
<v Speaker 1>personality and unique methods of this remarkable man. The real
<v Speaker 1>reason lay in the reluctance which mister Holmes has shown
<v Speaker 1>to the continued publication of his experiences. So long as
<v Speaker 1>he was in actual professional practice, the records of his
<v Speaker 1>successes were of some practical value to him. But since
<v Speaker 1>he has definitely retired from London and betaken himself to
<v Speaker 1>study and bee farming on the Sussex Downs, notoriety has
<v Speaker 1>become hateful to him, and he has peremptorily requested that
<v Speaker 1>his wishes in this matter should be strictly observed. It
<v Speaker 1>was only upon my representing to him that I had
<v Speaker 1>given a promise that the Adventure of the Second Stain
<v Speaker 1>should be published. When the times were ripe and pointing
<v Speaker 1>out to him that it is only appropriate that this
<v Speaker 1>long series of episodes should culminate in the most important
<v Speaker 1>international case which he has ever been called upon to handle.
<v Speaker 1>That I at last succeeded in obtaining his consent that
<v Speaker 1>a carefully guarded account of the incident should at last
<v Speaker 1>be laid before the public. If in telling the story
<v Speaker 1>I seemed to be somewhat vague in certain details, the
<v Speaker 1>public will readily understand that there is an excellent reason
<v Speaker 1>for my reticence. It was then, in a year, and
<v Speaker 1>even in a decade that shall be nameless, that upon
<v Speaker 1>one Tuesday morning in autumn, we found two visitors of
<v Speaker 1>European fame within the walls of our humble home in
<v Speaker 1>Baker Street. The one, austere, high nosed, eagle eyed, and dominant,
<v Speaker 1>was none other than the illustrious Lawrd Bellinger, twice Premiere
<v Speaker 1>of Britain. The other, dark, clear cut and elegant, hardly
<v Speaker 1>yet of middle age, and endowed with every beauty of
<v Speaker 1>body and of mind, was the right Honorable Trelawny Hope,
<v Speaker 1>Secretary for European Affairs, and the most rising statesmen in
<v Speaker 1>the country. They sat side by side upon our paper
<v Speaker 1>littered settee, and it was easy to see from their
<v Speaker 1>worn and anxious faces that it was business of the
<v Speaker 1>most pressing importance which had brought them. The Premiere's thin,
<v Speaker 1>blue veined hands were clasped tightly over the ivory head
<v Speaker 1>of his umbrella, and his gaunt, ascetic face looked gloomily
<v Speaker 1>from Holmes to me. The European Secretary pulled nervously at
<v Speaker 1>his mustache and fidgeted with the seals of his watch chain.
<v Speaker 1>When I discovered my loss, mister Holmes, which was at
<v Speaker 1>eight o'clock this morning, I at once informed the Prime Minister.
<v Speaker 1>It was his suggestion that we have both come to you.
<v Speaker 1>Have you informed the police, No, sir, said the Prime Minister,
<v Speaker 1>which the quick, decisive manner for which he was famous.
<v Speaker 1>We have not done so, nor is it possible that
<v Speaker 1>we should do so. To inform the police must, in
<v Speaker 1>the long run mean to inform the public. This is
<v Speaker 1>what we particularly desire to avoid, and why, sir, Because
<v Speaker 1>the documented question is of such immense importance that its
<v Speaker 1>publication might very easily, I might almost say probably, lead
<v Speaker 1>to European complications of the utmost moment. It is not
<v Speaker 1>too much to say that peace or war may hang
<v Speaker 1>upon the issue. Unless its recovery can be attended with
<v Speaker 1>the utmost sub secrecy, then it may as well not
<v Speaker 1>be recovered at all. For all that is aimed at
<v Speaker 1>by those who have taken it is that its contents
<v Speaker 1>should be generally known. I understand now, mister Trelawney, hope.
<v Speaker 1>I should be much obliged if you would tell me
<v Speaker 1>exactly the circumstances under which this document disappeared. That can
<v Speaker 1>be done in a very few words, mister Holmes. The
<v Speaker 1>letter for it was a letter from a foreign potentate
<v Speaker 1>was received six days ago. It was of such importance
<v Speaker 1>that I have never left it in my safe, but
<v Speaker 1>have taken it across each evening to my house in
<v Speaker 1>Whitehall Terrace and kept it in my bedroom in a
<v Speaker 1>locked despatch box. It was there last night, of that
<v Speaker 1>I am certain. I actually opened the box while I
<v Speaker 1>was dressing for dinner and saw the document inside. This
<v Speaker 1>morning it was gone. The despatch box had stood beside
<v Speaker 1>the glass upon my dressing table all night. I'm a
<v Speaker 1>light sleeper, and so is my wife. We're both prepared
<v Speaker 1>to swear that no one could have entered the room
<v Speaker 1>during the night, and yet I repeat that the paper
<v Speaker 1>is gone. What time did you dine off bus seven?
<v Speaker 1>Long was it before you went to bed? My wife
<v Speaker 1>had gone to the theater. I waited up for her.
<v Speaker 1>It was half past eleven before we went to our room.
<v Speaker 1>Then for four hours the despatch box had lain unguarded.
<v Speaker 1>No one is ever permitted to enter that room save
<v Speaker 1>the housemaid in the morning, and my valet or my
<v Speaker 1>wife's maid during the rest of the day. They are
<v Speaker 1>both trusty servants who have been with us for some time. Besides,
<v Speaker 1>neither of them could possibly have known that there was
<v Speaker 1>anything more valuable than the ordinary departmental papers in my
<v Speaker 1>despatch box. Who did know the existence of that letter?
<v Speaker 1>No one in the house. Surely your wife knew, no, Sir.
<v Speaker 1>I had said nothing to my wife until I missed
<v Speaker 1>the paper this morning. The premiere nodded approvingly. I have
<v Speaker 1>long known, sir. How high is your sense of public duty?
<v Speaker 1>Said he. I am convinced that in the case of
<v Speaker 1>a secret of this importance, it would rise superior to
<v Speaker 1>the most intimate domestic ties. The European secretary bowed, you
<v Speaker 1>do me no more than justice sir. Until this morning,
<v Speaker 1>I have never breathed one word to my wife upon
<v Speaker 1>this matter. Could she have guessed, No, mister Holmes, she
<v Speaker 1>could not have guessed, nor could any one have guessed.
<v Speaker 1>Have you lost any documents before? No, sir, Who is
<v Speaker 1>there in England who did know of the existence of
<v Speaker 1>this letter? Each member of the Cabinet was informed of
<v Speaker 1>it yesterday. But the pledge of secrecy which attends every
<v Speaker 1>Cabinet meeting was increased by the solemn warning which was
<v Speaker 1>given by the Prime Minister. Good heavens to think that
<v Speaker 1>within a few hours I should myself have lost it.
<v Speaker 1>His handsome face was distorted with a spasm of despair,
<v Speaker 1>and his hands tore at his hair. For a moment
<v Speaker 1>we caught a glimpse of the natural man, impulsive, ardent,
<v Speaker 1>keenly sensitive. The next the aristocratic mask was replaced and
<v Speaker 1>the gentle voice had returned. Besides the members of the Cabinet,
<v Speaker 1>there are two or possibly three departmental officials who know
<v Speaker 1>of the letter. No one else in England, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>I assure you, but abroad, I believe that no one
<v Speaker 1>abroad has seen it save the man who wrote it.
<v Speaker 1>I am well convinced that his ministers that the usual
<v Speaker 1>official channels have not been employed. Holmes considered for some
<v Speaker 1>little time. Now, Sir, I must ask you more particularly
<v Speaker 1>what this document is and why its disappearance should have
<v Speaker 1>such momentous consequences. The two statesmen exchanged a quick glance,
<v Speaker 1>and the Premierre's shaggy eyebrows gathered in a frown. Mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>the envelope is a long, thin one of pale blue color.
<v Speaker 1>There is a seal of red wax stamped with a
<v Speaker 1>crouching lion. It is addressed in large, bold handwriting to
<v Speaker 1>I fear, Sir, said Holmes, that interesting, and indeed essential
<v Speaker 1>as these details are, my inquiries must go more to
<v Speaker 1>the root of things. What was the letter? That is
<v Speaker 1>a state secret of the utmost importance? And I fear
<v Speaker 1>that I cannot tell you, nor do I see that
<v Speaker 1>it is necessary. If by the aid of the powers
<v Speaker 1>which you are said to possess, you can find such
<v Speaker 1>an envelope as I describe, with its enclosure, you will
<v Speaker 1>have deserved well of your country and earned any reward
<v Speaker 1>which it lies in our power to bestow. Sherlock Holmes
<v Speaker 1>rose with a smile. You are two of the most
<v Speaker 1>busy men in the country, said he, And in my
<v Speaker 1>own small way, I have also a good many calls
<v Speaker 1>upon me. I regret exceedingly that I cannot help you
<v Speaker 1>in this matter, and any cantinuation of this interview would
<v Speaker 1>be a waste of time. The Premier sprang to his
<v Speaker 1>feet with that quick, fierce gleam of his deep set
<v Speaker 1>eyes before which a cabinet has cowered. I am not accustomed, sir,
<v Speaker 1>he began, but mastered his anger and resumed his seat.
<v Speaker 1>For a minute or more, we all sat in silence.
<v Speaker 1>Then the old Statesman shrugged his shoulders. We must accept
<v Speaker 1>your terms, mister Holmes. No doubt you are right when
<v Speaker 1>it is unreasonable for us to expect you to act
<v Speaker 1>unless we give you your entire confidence. I agree with you,
<v Speaker 1>said the younger statesman. Then I will tell you, relying
<v Speaker 1>entirely upon your honor and that of your colleague, doctor Watson.
<v Speaker 1>I may appeal to your patriotism also, for I could
<v Speaker 1>not imagine a greater misfortune for the country than that
<v Speaker 1>this affair should come out. You may safely trust us.
<v Speaker 1>The letter, then, is from a certain foreign potentate who
<v Speaker 1>has been ruffled by some recent colonial developments of this country.
<v Speaker 1>It has been written hurriedly and upon his own responsibility entirely.
<v Speaker 1>Inquiries have shown that his ministers know nothing of the matter.
<v Speaker 1>At the same time, it is couched in so unfortunate
<v Speaker 1>a manner, and certain phrases in it are of so
<v Speaker 1>provocative a character, that its publication would undoubtedly lead to
<v Speaker 1>a most dangerous state of feeling in this country. There
<v Speaker 1>would be such a ferment, sir, that I do not
<v Speaker 1>hesitate to say that within a week of the publication
<v Speaker 1>of that letter, this country would be involved in a
<v Speaker 1>great war. Holmes wrote a name upon a slip of
<v Speaker 1>paper and handed it to the premiere. Exactly it was he,
<v Speaker 1>And it is this letter, this letter which may well
<v Speaker 1>mean the expenditure of a thousand millions and the lies
<v Speaker 1>of a hundred thousand men, which has become lost in
<v Speaker 1>this unaccountable fashion. Have you informed the sender? Yes, sir,
<v Speaker 1>A cipher telegram has been dispatched. Perhaps he desires the
<v Speaker 1>publication of the letter. No, sir, we have strong reason
<v Speaker 1>to believe that he already understands that he has acted
<v Speaker 1>in an indiscreet and hot headed manner. It would be
<v Speaker 1>a greater blow to him and to his country than
<v Speaker 1>to us if this letter were to come out. If
<v Speaker 1>this is so, whose interest is it that the letter
<v Speaker 1>should come out? Why should any one desire to steal
<v Speaker 1>it or to publish it? There, mister Holmes, you take
<v Speaker 1>me into regions of high international politics. But if you
<v Speaker 1>consider the European situation, you will have no difficulty in
<v Speaker 1>perceiving the motive. The whole of Europe is an armed camp.
<v Speaker 1>There is a double league which makes a fair balance
<v Speaker 1>of military power. Great Britain holds the scales. If Britain
<v Speaker 1>were driven into war with in one confederacy, it will
<v Speaker 1>assure the supremacy of the other confederacy, whether they joined
<v Speaker 1>in the war or not. Do you follow very clearly?
<v Speaker 1>It is then the interest of the enemies of this
<v Speaker 1>potentate to secure and publish this letter so as to
<v Speaker 1>make a breach between his country and ours, Yes, sir,
<v Speaker 1>And to whom would this document be sent if it
<v Speaker 1>fell into the hands of an enemy, to any of
<v Speaker 1>the great chancellors of Europe? It is probably speeding on
<v Speaker 1>its way thither at the present instant, as fast as
<v Speaker 1>steam can take it. Mister Trelawney, Hope dropped his head
<v Speaker 1>on his chest and groaned aloud. The premiere placed his
<v Speaker 1>hand kindly upon his shoulder. It is your misfortune, my
<v Speaker 1>dear fellow. No one can blame you. There is no
<v Speaker 1>precaution which you have neglected. Now, mister Holmes, you are
<v Speaker 1>in full possession of the facts. What course do you recommend?
<v Speaker 1>Holmes shook his head mournfully. You think, sir, that unless
<v Speaker 1>this document is recovered, there will be war. I think
<v Speaker 1>it is very probable, then, sir, prepare for war. That
<v Speaker 1>is a hard saying, mister Holmes, Consider the fact, sir.
<v Speaker 1>It is inconceivable that it was taken after eleven thirty
<v Speaker 1>at night, since I understand that mister Hope and his
<v Speaker 1>wife were both in the room from that hour until
<v Speaker 1>the loss was found out. It was taken then yesterday evening,
<v Speaker 1>between seven thirty and eleven thirty, probably near the earlier hour,
<v Speaker 1>since whoever took it evidently knew that it was there
<v Speaker 1>and would naturally secure it as early as possible. Now, Sir,
<v Speaker 1>if a document of this importance were taken at that hour,
<v Speaker 1>where can it be now? No one has any reason
<v Speaker 1>to retain it. It has been passed rapidly on to
<v Speaker 1>those who need it. What chance have we now to
<v Speaker 1>overtake or even to trace it? It is beyond our reach.
<v Speaker 1>The Prime Minister rose from the citee. What you say
<v Speaker 1>is perfectly logical, mister Holmes, I feel that the matter
<v Speaker 1>is indeed out of our hands. Let us presume, for
<v Speaker 1>argument's sake, that the document was taken by the maid
<v Speaker 1>or by the valet. They are both old and tried servants.
<v Speaker 1>I understand you to say that your room is on
<v Speaker 1>the second floor, that there is no entrance from without,
<v Speaker 1>and that from within no one could go up unobserved.
<v Speaker 1>It must then be somebody in the house who has
<v Speaker 1>taken it to whom would the thief take it to?
<v Speaker 1>One of several international spies and secret agents whose names
<v Speaker 1>are tolerably familiar to me. There are three who may
<v Speaker 1>be said to be the heads of their profession. I
<v Speaker 1>will begin my research by going round and finding if
<v Speaker 1>each of them is at his post is missing, especially
<v Speaker 1>if he has disappeared since last night, we will have
<v Speaker 1>some indication as to where the document has gone. Why
<v Speaker 1>should he be missing, asked the European Secretary. He would
<v Speaker 1>take the letter to an embassy in London as likely
<v Speaker 1>as not. I fancy not. These agents work independently and
<v Speaker 1>their relations with the embassies are often strained. The Prime
<v Speaker 1>Minister nodded his acquiescence. I believe you are right, mister Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>He would take so valuable a prize to headquarters with
<v Speaker 1>his own hands. I think that your course of action
<v Speaker 1>is an excellent one. Meanwhile, hope we cannot neglect all
<v Speaker 1>our other duties on account of this one misfortune. Should
<v Speaker 1>there be any fresh developments during the day, we shall
<v Speaker 1>communicate with you, and you will, no doubt let us
<v Speaker 1>know the results of your own inquiries. The two statesmen
<v Speaker 1>bowed and walked gravely from the room. When our illustrious
<v Speaker 1>visitors had departed, Holmes lit his pipe in silence and
<v Speaker 1>sat for some time, lost in the deepest thought. I
<v Speaker 1>had opened the morning paper and was immersed in a
<v Speaker 1>sensational crime which had occurred in London the night before.
<v Speaker 1>When my friend gave an exclamation, sprang to his feet
<v Speaker 1>and laid his pipe down upon the mantel piece. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>said he, there is no better way of approaching it.
<v Speaker 1>The situation is desperate, but not hopeless. Even now. If
<v Speaker 1>we should be sure which of them has taken it.
<v Speaker 1>It is just possible that it has not yet passed
<v Speaker 1>out of his hands. After all, it is a question
<v Speaker 1>of money with these fellows, and I have the British
<v Speaker 1>Treasury behind me. If it's on the market, I'll buy
<v Speaker 1>it if it means another penny on the income tax.
<v Speaker 1>Hum it is inconceivable that the fellow might hold it
<v Speaker 1>back to see what bids come from this side before
<v Speaker 1>he tries his luck on the other. There are only
<v Speaker 1>those three capable of playing so bold a game. There
<v Speaker 1>are Oberstein, la Rothier and Edouardo Lucas. I will see
<v Speaker 1>each of them. I glanced at my morning paper. Is
<v Speaker 1>that Eduardo Lucas of Godolphin Street? Yes, you will not
<v Speaker 1>see him. Why not? He was murdered in his house
<v Speaker 1>last night. My friend has so often astonished me in
<v Speaker 1>the course of our adventures that it was with a
<v Speaker 1>sense of exultation that I realized how completely I had
<v Speaker 1>astonished him. He stared in amazement, and then snatched the
<v Speaker 1>paper from my hands. This was the paragraph which I
<v Speaker 1>had been engaged in reading when he rose from his chair.
<v Speaker 1>Murder in Westminster, a crime of mysterious character, was committed
<v Speaker 1>last night at sixteen Godolphin Street, one of the old
<v Speaker 1>fashioned and secluded rows of eighteen century houses which lie
<v Speaker 1>between the river and the Abbey, almost in the shadow
<v Speaker 1>of the Great Tower of the Houses of Parliament. This
<v Speaker 1>small but select mansion has been inhabited for some years
<v Speaker 1>by mister Eduardo Lucas, well known in society circles, both
<v Speaker 1>on account of his charming personality and because he has
<v Speaker 1>the well deserved reputation of being one of the best
<v Speaker 1>amateur tenors in the country. Mister Lucas is an unmarried
<v Speaker 1>man thirty four years of age, and his establishment consists
<v Speaker 1>of missus Pringle, an elderly housekeeper, and of Mitton, his valet.
<v Speaker 1>The former retires early and sleeps at the top of
<v Speaker 1>the house. The valet was out for the evening, visiting
<v Speaker 1>a friend at Hammersmith. From ten o'clock onward, mister Lucas
<v Speaker 1>had the house to himself. What occurred during that time
<v Speaker 1>has not yet transpired, but at a quarter to twelve
<v Speaker 1>police Constable Barrett, passing along Godolphin Street, observed that the
<v Speaker 1>door of number sixteen was ajar. He knocked but received
<v Speaker 1>no answer. Perceiving a light in the front room, he
<v Speaker 1>advanced into the passage and again knocked, but without reply.
<v Speaker 1>He then pushed open the door and entered. The room
<v Speaker 1>was in a state of wild disorder, the furniture being
<v Speaker 1>all swept to one side, and one chair lying on
<v Speaker 1>its back in the center. Beside this chair, and still
<v Speaker 1>grasping one of its legs, lay the unfortunate tenant of
<v Speaker 1>the house. He had been stabbed to the heart and
<v Speaker 1>must have died instantly. The knife with which the crime
<v Speaker 1>had been committed was a curved Indian dagger, plucked down
<v Speaker 1>from a trophy of oriental arms which adorned one of
<v Speaker 1>the walls. Robbery does not appear to have been the
<v Speaker 1>motive of the crime, for there had been no attempt
<v Speaker 1>to remove the valuable contents of the room. Mister Eduardo
<v Speaker 1>Lucas was so well known and popular that his violent
<v Speaker 1>and mysterious fate will arouse painful interest and intense sympathy
<v Speaker 1>in a widespread circle of friends. Well, Watson, what do
<v Speaker 1>you make of this? Asked Holmes, after a long pause.
<v Speaker 1>It is an amazing coincidence, a coincidence. Here is one
<v Speaker 1>of the three men whom we had named as possible
<v Speaker 1>actors in this drama, and he meets a violent death
<v Speaker 1>during the very hours when we know that the drama
<v Speaker 1>was being enacted. The odds are enormous against it being coincidence.
<v Speaker 1>No figures could express them. No, my dear Watson, the
<v Speaker 1>two events are connected, must be connected. It is for
<v Speaker 1>us to find the connection. But now the official police
<v Speaker 1>must know all, not at all, they know all they
<v Speaker 1>see at Godolphin Street. They know and shall know nothing
<v Speaker 1>of Whitehall Terrace. Only we know of both events and
<v Speaker 1>can trace the relation between them. There is one obvious
<v Speaker 1>point which would in any case have turned my suspicions
<v Speaker 1>against Lucas. Godolphin Street, Westminster, is only a few minutes
<v Speaker 1>walk from Whitehall Terrace. The other secret agents whom I
<v Speaker 1>have named, live in the extreme west end. It was
<v Speaker 1>easier therefore, for Lucas than for the others to establish
<v Speaker 1>a connection or receive a message from the European Secretary's household.
<v Speaker 1>A small thing, and yet where events are compressed into
<v Speaker 1>a few hours, it may prove essential. Hello, what have
<v Speaker 1>we here, missus? Hudson had appeared with a lady's card.
<v Speaker 1>Upon her Salver Holmes glanced at it, raised his eyebrows,
<v Speaker 1>and handed it over to me. Ask the lady Hilda Trelawney.
<v Speaker 1>Hope if she will be kind enough to step up,
<v Speaker 1>said he a moment later. Our modest apartment, already so
<v Speaker 1>distinguished that morning, was further honored by the entrance of
<v Speaker 1>the most lovely woman in London. I had often heard
<v Speaker 1>heard of the beauty of the youngest daughter of the
<v Speaker 1>Duke of Bellminster, but no description of it, and no
<v Speaker 1>contemplation of colorless photographs had prepared me for the subtle,
<v Speaker 1>delicate charm and the beautiful coloring of that exquisite head.
<v Speaker 1>And yet as we saw it that autumn morning, it
<v Speaker 1>was not its beauty which would be the first thing
<v Speaker 1>to impress the observer. The cheek was lovely, but it
<v Speaker 1>was paled with emotion. The eyes were bright, but it
<v Speaker 1>was the brightness of fever. The sensitive mouth was tight
<v Speaker 1>and drawn in an effort after self command. Terror, not beauty,
<v Speaker 1>was what sprang first to the eye as our fair
<v Speaker 1>visitor stood framed for an instant in the open door.
<v Speaker 1>Has my husband been here, mister Hearlmes, Yes, madam, he
<v Speaker 1>has been here. Mister Hermes, I implore you not to
<v Speaker 1>tell him that I came here. Holmes bowed coldly and
<v Speaker 1>motioned the lady to a chair. Your ladyship places me
<v Speaker 1>in a very delicate position. I beg that you will
<v Speaker 1>sit down and tell me what you desire. But I
<v Speaker 1>fear that I cannot make any unconditional promise. She swept
<v Speaker 1>across the room and seated herself with her back to
<v Speaker 1>the window. It was a queenly presence, tall, graceful, and
<v Speaker 1>intensely womanly. Mister Holmes, she said, and her white gloved
<v Speaker 1>hands clasped and unclasped as she spoke. I will speak
<v Speaker 1>frankly to you in the hopes that it may induce
<v Speaker 1>you to speak frankly in return. There is complete confidence
<v Speaker 1>between my husband and me on all matters save one
<v Speaker 1>that one is politics. On this his lips are sealed.
<v Speaker 1>He tells me nothing. Now. I am aware that there
<v Speaker 1>was a most deplorable occurrence in our house last night.
<v Speaker 1>I know that a paper has disappeared, But because the
<v Speaker 1>matter is political, my husband refuses to take me into
<v Speaker 1>his complete confidence. Now it is essential essential, I say
<v Speaker 1>that I should thoroughly understand it. You are the only
<v Speaker 1>other person, save only these politicians, who knows the true facts.
<v Speaker 1>I beg you, then, mister Holmes, to tell me exactly
<v Speaker 1>what has happened and what it will lead to tell
<v Speaker 1>me all, mister Holmes, let no regard for your client's
<v Speaker 1>interests keep you silent, for I assure you that his interests,
<v Speaker 1>if you would only see it, would be best served
<v Speaker 1>by taking me into his complete confidence. What was this
<v Speaker 1>paper which was stolen? Madam? What you ask me is
<v Speaker 1>really impossible, She groaned and sank her face in her hands.
<v Speaker 1>You must see that it is so, madam. If your
<v Speaker 1>husband thinks fit to keep you in the dark over
<v Speaker 1>this matter, is it for me, who has only learned
<v Speaker 1>the true facts under the pledge of professional secrecy, to
<v Speaker 1>tell what he has withheld? It is not fair to
<v Speaker 1>ask it. It is him you must ask. I have
<v Speaker 1>asked him. I came to you as a last resource,
<v Speaker 1>but without you your telling me anything definite. Mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>you may do a great service if you would enlighten
<v Speaker 1>me on one point. What is it, madame? Is my
<v Speaker 1>husband's political career likely to suffer through this incident? Well, madam,
<v Speaker 1>unless it is set right, it may certainly have a
<v Speaker 1>very unfortunate effect. Ah, She drew in her breath sharply,
<v Speaker 1>as one whose doubts are resolved one more question, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>from an expression which my husband dropped in the first
<v Speaker 1>shock of this disaster, I understood that terrible public consequences
<v Speaker 1>might arise from the loss of this document. If he
<v Speaker 1>said so, I certainly cannot deny it. Of what nature
<v Speaker 1>are they? Nay, Madam, there again you ask me more
<v Speaker 1>than I can possibly answer. Then I will take up
<v Speaker 1>no more of your time. I cannot blame you, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>for having refused to speak more freely, and you, on
<v Speaker 1>your side, will not, I am sure think the worse
<v Speaker 1>of me, because I desire, even against his will, to
<v Speaker 1>share my husband's anxieties. Once more, I beg that you
<v Speaker 1>will say nothing of my visit. She looked back at
<v Speaker 1>us from the door, and I had a last impression
<v Speaker 1>of that beautiful, haunted face, the startled eyes, and the
<v Speaker 1>drawn mouth. Then she was gone. Now, Watson, the fair
<v Speaker 1>Sex is your department, said Holmes with a smile, when
<v Speaker 1>the dwindling fru threw of skirts had ended in the
<v Speaker 1>slam of the front door. What was the fair lady's game?
<v Speaker 1>What did she really want? Surely her own statement is clear,
<v Speaker 1>and her anxiety very natural. Hum think of her appearance, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>her manner, her suppressed excitement, her restlessness, her tenacity in
<v Speaker 1>asking questions. Remember that she comes of a cast who
<v Speaker 1>do not likely show emotion. She was certainly much moved.
<v Speaker 1>Remember also the curious earnestness with which she assured us
<v Speaker 1>that it was the best for her husband that she
<v Speaker 1>should know all What did she mean by that? And
<v Speaker 1>you must have observed, Watson, how she maneuvered to have
<v Speaker 1>the light at her back. She did not wish us
<v Speaker 1>to read her expression. Yes, she chose the one chair
<v Speaker 1>in the room. And yet the motives of women are
<v Speaker 1>so inscrutable. You remember the woman at Margate whom I
<v Speaker 1>suspected for the same reason no powder on her nose.
<v Speaker 1>That proved to be the correct solution. How can you
<v Speaker 1>build on such a quicksand their most trivial action may
<v Speaker 1>mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon
<v Speaker 1>a hairpin or a curling tongues. Good morning, Watson, you
<v Speaker 1>are off. Yes, I will while away the morning at
<v Speaker 1>Cadolphin Street with our friends of the regular establishment. With
<v Speaker 1>Eduardo Lucas lies the solution of our problem, though I
<v Speaker 1>must admit that I have not an inkling as to
<v Speaker 1>what form it may take. It is a capital mistake
<v Speaker 1>to theorize in advance of the facts. Do you stay
<v Speaker 1>on guard, my good Watson, and receive any fresh visitors.
<v Speaker 1>I'll join you at lunch if I am able. All
<v Speaker 1>that day and the next and the next Holmes was
<v Speaker 1>in a mood which his friends would call taciturn and
<v Speaker 1>others morose. He ran out and ran in, smoked, incessantly
<v Speaker 1>played snatches on his violin, sank into reveries, devoured sandwiches
<v Speaker 1>at irregular hours, and hardly answered the casual questions which
<v Speaker 1>I put to him. It was evident to me that
<v Speaker 1>things were not going well with him or his quest.
<v Speaker 1>He would say nothing of the case, and it was
<v Speaker 1>from the papers that I learned the particulars of the
<v Speaker 1>inquest and the arrest. With the subsequent release of John Mitton,
<v Speaker 1>the valet of the deceased, the coroner's jury brought in
<v Speaker 1>the obvious wilful murder, but the parties remained as unknown.
<v Speaker 1>As ever, no motive was suggested. The room was full
<v Speaker 1>of articles of value, but none had been taken. The
<v Speaker 1>dead man's papers had not been tampered with. They were
<v Speaker 1>carefully examined and showed that he was a keen student
<v Speaker 1>of international politics, an indefatigable gossip, a remarkable linguist, and
<v Speaker 1>an untiring letter writer. He had been on intimate terms
<v Speaker 1>with the leading politicians of several countries, but nothing sensational
<v Speaker 1>was discovered among the documents which filled his drawers. As
<v Speaker 1>to his relations with women, they appeared to have been
<v Speaker 1>promiscuous but superficial. He had many acquaintances among them, but
<v Speaker 1>few friends, and no one whom he loved. His habits
<v Speaker 1>were regular, his conduct inoffensive. His death was an absolute
<v Speaker 1>mystery and likely to remain so. As to the arrest
<v Speaker 1>of John mitton the Valets, it was a council of
<v Speaker 1>despair as an alternative to absolute inaction, but no case
<v Speaker 1>could be sustained against him. He had visited friends in
<v Speaker 1>Hammersmith that night. The alibi was complete. It is true
<v Speaker 1>that he started home at an hour which would have
<v Speaker 1>brought him to Westminster before the time when the crime
<v Speaker 1>was discovered, but his own explanation that he had walked
<v Speaker 1>part of the way seemed probably enough in view of
<v Speaker 1>the fineness of the night. He had actually arrived at
<v Speaker 1>twelve o'clock and appeared to be overwhelmed by the unexpected tragedy.
<v Speaker 1>He had always been on good terms with his master.
<v Speaker 1>Several of the dead man's possessions, notably a small case
<v Speaker 1>of razors, had been found in the valet's boxes, but
<v Speaker 1>he explained that they had been presents from the deceased,
<v Speaker 1>and the housekeeper was able to corroborate the story. Mitton
<v Speaker 1>had been in Lucas's employment for three years. It was
<v Speaker 1>noticeable that Lucas did not take Mitton on the continent
<v Speaker 1>with him. Sometimes he visited Paris for three months on end,
<v Speaker 1>but Mitton was left in charge of the Godolphin Street house.
<v Speaker 1>As to the housekeeper, she had heard nothing on the
<v Speaker 1>night of the crime. If her master had a visitor,
<v Speaker 1>he had himself admitted him. So for three mornings. The
<v Speaker 1>mystery remained so far as I could follow it in
<v Speaker 1>the papers. If Holmes knew more, he kept his own counsel.
<v Speaker 1>But as he told me that Inspector Lestrade had taken
<v Speaker 1>him into his confidence in the case, I knew that
<v Speaker 1>he was in close touch with every development. Upon the
<v Speaker 1>fourth day there appeared a long telegram from Paris which
<v Speaker 1>seemed to solve the whole question. A discovery has just
<v Speaker 1>been made by the Parisian police, said the Daily Telegraph,
<v Speaker 1>which raises the veil which hung around the tragic fate
<v Speaker 1>of mister Eduardo Lucas, who met his death by violence
<v Speaker 1>last Monday night at Godolphin Street, Westminster. Our readers will
<v Speaker 1>remember that the deceased gentleman was found stabbed in his room,
<v Speaker 1>and that some suspicion attached to his valet, but that
<v Speaker 1>the case broke down on an alibi. Yesterday, a lady
<v Speaker 1>who has been known as Madame Ingri Furney, occupying a
<v Speaker 1>small villa in the Rue Oustolitz, was reported to the
<v Speaker 1>authorities by her servants as being insane. An examination showed
<v Speaker 1>she had indeed developed mania of a dangerous and permanent form.
<v Speaker 1>On inquiry, the police have discovered that Madame Ingri Furney
<v Speaker 1>only returned from a journey to London on Tuesday last,
<v Speaker 1>and there is evidence to connect her with the crime
<v Speaker 1>at Westminster. A comparison of photographs has proved conclusively that
<v Speaker 1>Monsieur Enre Fernay and Edouard de Lucas were really one
<v Speaker 1>and the same person, and that the deceased had for
<v Speaker 1>some reason lived a double life in London and Paris.
<v Speaker 1>Madame Fernay, who is of Creole origin, is of an
<v Speaker 1>extremely excitable nature, and has suffered in the past from
<v Speaker 1>attacks of jealousy which have amounted to frenzy. It is
<v Speaker 1>conjectured that it was in one of these that she
<v Speaker 1>committed the terrible crimes which has caused such a sensation
<v Speaker 1>in London. Her movements upon the Monday night have not
<v Speaker 1>yet been traced, but it is undoubted that a woman
<v Speaker 1>answering to her description attracted much attention at Charing Cross
<v Speaker 1>station on Tuesday morning by the wildness of her appearance
<v Speaker 1>and the violence of her gestures. It is probable therefore,
<v Speaker 1>that the crime was either committed when insane, or that
<v Speaker 1>its immediate effect was to drive the unhappy woman out
<v Speaker 1>of her mind. At present, she is unable to give
<v Speaker 1>any coherent account of the past, and the doctors hold
<v Speaker 1>out no hopes of the re establishment of her reason.
<v Speaker 1>There is evidence that a woman who might have been
<v Speaker 1>Madame v Renay was seen for some hours upon Monday
<v Speaker 1>night watching the house in Godolphin Street. What do you
<v Speaker 1>think of that? Homes I had read the account aloud
<v Speaker 1>to him while he finished his breakfast. My dear Watson
<v Speaker 1>said he as he rose from the table and paced
<v Speaker 1>up and down the room. You are most long suffering.
<v Speaker 1>But if I have told you nothing in the last
<v Speaker 1>three days, it is because there is nothing to tell.
<v Speaker 1>Even now. This report from Paris does not help us much.
<v Speaker 1>Surely it is final as regards the man's death. The
<v Speaker 1>man's death is a mere incident, a trivial episode, in
<v Speaker 1>comparison with our real task, which is to trace this
<v Speaker 1>document and save a European catastrophe. Only one important thing
<v Speaker 1>has happened in the last three days, and that is
<v Speaker 1>that nothing has happened. I get reports almost hourly from
<v Speaker 1>the government, and it is certain that nowhere in Europe
<v Speaker 1>is there any sign of trouble. Now, if this letter
<v Speaker 1>were loose, no it can't be loose. But if it
<v Speaker 1>isn't loose, where can it be? Who has it? Why
<v Speaker 1>is it held back? That's the question that beats in
<v Speaker 1>my brain like a hammer. Was it indeed a coincidence
<v Speaker 1>that Lucas should meet his death on the night when
<v Speaker 1>the letter disappeared? Did the letter ever reach him? If so,
<v Speaker 1>why is it not among his papers? Did this mad
<v Speaker 1>wife of his carry it off with her? If so,
<v Speaker 1>is it in her house in Paris. How could I
<v Speaker 1>search for it without the French police having their suspicions aroused.
<v Speaker 1>It is a case, my dear Watson, where the law
<v Speaker 1>is as dangerous to us as the criminals are. Every
<v Speaker 1>man's hand is against us, and yet the interests at
<v Speaker 1>stake are colossal. Should I bring it to a successful conclusion,
<v Speaker 1>it will certainly represent the crowning glory of my career.
<v Speaker 1>Ah here is my latest from the front. He glanced
<v Speaker 1>hurriedly at the note which had been handed in. Hello, Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>seems to have observed something of interest. Put on your hat, watch,
<v Speaker 1>and we will stroll down together to Westminster. It was
<v Speaker 1>my first visit to the scene of the crime. A high, dingy,
<v Speaker 1>narrow chested house, prim formal and solid, like the century
<v Speaker 1>which gave it birth. Lestrade's bulldog features gazed out at
<v Speaker 1>us from the front window, and he greeted us warmly
<v Speaker 1>when a big constable had opened the door and let
<v Speaker 1>us in. The room into which we were shown was
<v Speaker 1>that in which the crime had been committed, but no
<v Speaker 1>trace of it now remained, save an ugly irregular stain
<v Speaker 1>upon the carpet. This carpet was a small square drugget
<v Speaker 1>in the center of the room, surrounded by a broad
<v Speaker 1>expanse of beautiful old fashioned wood flooring in square blocks
<v Speaker 1>highly polished. Over the fireplace was a magnificent trophy of weapons,
<v Speaker 1>one of which had been used on that tragic night.
<v Speaker 1>In the window was a sumptuous writing desk, and every
<v Speaker 1>detail of the apartment, the pictures, the rugs, and the hangings,
<v Speaker 1>all pointed to a taste which was luxurious to the
<v Speaker 1>verge of effeminacy seen. The Paris News asked Lestrade Holmes nodded.
<v Speaker 1>Our French friends seem to have touched the spot this time,
<v Speaker 1>no doubt, is just as they say. She knocked at
<v Speaker 1>the door. Surprise visit our guests. For he kept his
<v Speaker 1>life in watertight compartments. He let her in, couldn't keep
<v Speaker 1>her in the street. She told him how she had
<v Speaker 1>traced him, reproached him. One thing led to another, and
<v Speaker 1>then with that dagger so andy, the end soon came.
<v Speaker 1>It wasn't all done in an instant, though, for these
<v Speaker 1>chairs were all swept over yonder, and he had one
<v Speaker 1>in his hand, as if he tried to hold her
<v Speaker 1>off with it. We've got it all clear, as if
<v Speaker 1>we can see it. Holmes raised his eyebrows. And yet
<v Speaker 1>you have sent for me. Oh, yes, that's another matter,
<v Speaker 1>a mere trifle. But the sort of thing you take
<v Speaker 1>an interest in queer, you know, and what you might
<v Speaker 1>call freakish. There's nothing to do with the main fact.
<v Speaker 1>Can't have on the face of it. What is it? Then? Well,
<v Speaker 1>you know, after a crime of this sort, we're very
<v Speaker 1>careful to keep things in their position. Nothing's been moved.
<v Speaker 1>Officer in charge here day and night, this morning, as
<v Speaker 1>the man was buried, and the investigation over so far
<v Speaker 1>as this room is concerned, we thought we could tidy
<v Speaker 1>up a bit. This carpet, you see, it's not fastened down,
<v Speaker 1>only just laid there. We'd occasion to raise it. We found, Yes,
<v Speaker 1>you found. Holmes's face grew tense with anxiety. Well, I'm
<v Speaker 1>sure you'd never guess in a hundred years what we
<v Speaker 1>did find. You see that stain on that carpet, Well,
<v Speaker 1>a great deal must have soaked through, must it not?
<v Speaker 1>Undoubtedly it must. Well you'll be surprised to hear that
<v Speaker 1>there's no stain on the white woodwork. To correspond, no stain,
<v Speaker 1>but there must. Yeah, so you'd say, But the fact
<v Speaker 1>remains that there isn't. He took the corner of the
<v Speaker 1>carpet in his hand, and turning it over, he showed
<v Speaker 1>that it was indeed as he said, But the underside
<v Speaker 1>is as stained as the upper. It must have left
<v Speaker 1>a mark. Lestrade chuckled with delight at having puzzled the
<v Speaker 1>famous expert. Now I'll show you the explanation. There is
<v Speaker 1>a second stain, but it does not correspond with the other.
<v Speaker 1>Say for yourself, as he spoke, he turned over another
<v Speaker 1>portion of the carpet, and there, sure enough was a
<v Speaker 1>great crimson spill upon the square white facing of the
<v Speaker 1>old fashioned floor. What do you make of that, mister Olmes?
<v Speaker 1>Why it is simple enough. The two stains did correspond.
<v Speaker 1>But the carpet has been turned round. As it was
<v Speaker 1>square and unfastened, it was easily done. The official police
<v Speaker 1>don't need you, mister Olmes, to tell them that the
<v Speaker 1>carpet must have been turned round. That's clear enough, for
<v Speaker 1>the stains lie above each other if you lay over
<v Speaker 1>this way. But what I want to know is who
<v Speaker 1>shifted the carpet and why. I could see from Holmes's
<v Speaker 1>rigid face that he was vibrating with inward excitement. Look here,
<v Speaker 1>Lestrade said, he has that constable in the passage, been
<v Speaker 1>in the charge of the place all the time. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>he as well take my advice. Examine him carefully. Don't
<v Speaker 1>do it before us. We'll wait here. You take him
<v Speaker 1>into the back room. You'll be more likely to get
<v Speaker 1>a confession out of him alone. Ask him how he
<v Speaker 1>dared to admit people and leave them alone in this room.
<v Speaker 1>Don't ask him if he's done it, take it for granted.
<v Speaker 1>Tell him you know some one has been here. Press him,
<v Speaker 1>Tell him that a full confession is his only chance
<v Speaker 1>of forgiveness. Do exactly what I tell you, by George.
<v Speaker 1>If he knows, I'll have it out of him, cried Lestrade.
<v Speaker 1>He darted into the hall, and a few moments later
<v Speaker 1>his bullying voice sounded from the back room. Now Watson
<v Speaker 1>now cried Holmes, with frenzied eagerness. All the demoniacal force
<v Speaker 1>of the man masked behind that listless manner burst out
<v Speaker 1>in a paroxysm of energy. He tore the drugget from
<v Speaker 1>the floor, and in an instant was down on his
<v Speaker 1>hands and knees, clawing at each of the squares of
<v Speaker 1>wood beneath it one turned sideways. As he dug his
<v Speaker 1>nails into the edge of it, it hinged back like
<v Speaker 1>the lid of a box. A small black cavity opened
<v Speaker 1>beneath it. Holmes plunged his eager hand into it and
<v Speaker 1>drew it out with a bitter snarl of anger and disappointment.
<v Speaker 1>It was empty. Quick, Watson, quick, get it back again.
<v Speaker 1>The wooden lid was replaced, and the drugget had only
<v Speaker 1>just been drawn straight when Lestrade's voice was heard in
<v Speaker 1>the passage. He found Holmes leaning languidly against the mantelpiece,
<v Speaker 1>resigned and patient, endeavoring to conceal his irrepressible yawns. Sorry
<v Speaker 1>to keep you waiting, mister Olmes, I can see that
<v Speaker 1>you're bored to death with the ole affair. Well, he
<v Speaker 1>has confessed. All right, come in here, Macpherson. Let these
<v Speaker 1>gentlemen are of your most inexcusable conduct. The big Constable,
<v Speaker 1>very hot and penitent, sidled into the room. Arman, no arm, sir.
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure the young woman came to the door last evening.
<v Speaker 1>Mistook the house, she did, And then we got talking.
<v Speaker 1>It's lonesome when you're on duty. Year all day. Well,
<v Speaker 1>what happened? Then? She wanted to see where the crime
<v Speaker 1>was done. I'd read about it in the papers, she said.
<v Speaker 1>She's very respectable, well spoken young woman, Sir. I saw
<v Speaker 1>no arm in letting her have a peep. When she
<v Speaker 1>saw that mark on the carpet down, she dropped on
<v Speaker 1>the floor and lay as if she were dead. I
<v Speaker 1>ran to the back and got some water, but I
<v Speaker 1>couldn't bring it to her that. I went round the
<v Speaker 1>corners of the ivy plant for some brandy, and by
<v Speaker 1>the time I brought it back, the young woman had
<v Speaker 1>recovered and was off shamed of herself, I dare say,
<v Speaker 1>and dared not face me. How about moving that drug? It? Well, sir,
<v Speaker 1>it was a bit rumpled, certainly when I came back.
<v Speaker 1>You see, she fell on it, and it lies on
<v Speaker 1>a polished floor with nothing to keep it in place.
<v Speaker 1>I strained it out afterwards. It's a lesson to you
<v Speaker 1>that you can't deceive me, Constable mac Pherson said, Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>with dignity, no doubt, you thought that your breach of
<v Speaker 1>duty could never be discovered. And yet a mere glance
<v Speaker 1>at that drugger was enough to convince me that some
<v Speaker 1>one has been admitted to the room. It's lucky for you,
<v Speaker 1>my man, that nothing is missing, or you'd find yourself
<v Speaker 1>in Queer Street. I'm sorry to have caught you down
<v Speaker 1>over such a petty business, mister Olmes, but I thought
<v Speaker 1>the point of the second stain, not corresponding with the first,
<v Speaker 1>would interest you certainly. It was most interesting. Has this
<v Speaker 1>womanly been here once? Constable? Yes, sir, only once. Who
<v Speaker 1>was she? No? No, the name, sir. Was answering an
<v Speaker 1>advertisement about typewriting and came to the wrong number. Very pleasant,
<v Speaker 1>genteel young woman, sir. Tall handsome, Yes, sir, she was
<v Speaker 1>a well grown young woman. I suppose you might say
<v Speaker 1>she was handsome. Perhaps some would say she was very handsome. Oh, officer,
<v Speaker 1>do let me have a peep, says she. She had
<v Speaker 1>pre coaxing ways, as you might say, and I thought
<v Speaker 1>there was no harm in letting her just put her
<v Speaker 1>head through the door. How was she dressed? Quiet, sir,
<v Speaker 1>A long mantle down to her feet. What time was it?
<v Speaker 1>It was just growing dusk at the time. There were
<v Speaker 1>lighting the lamps as I came back with the brandy.
<v Speaker 1>Very good, said Holmes. Come Watson, I think that we
<v Speaker 1>have more important work elsewhere. As we left the house,
<v Speaker 1>Lestradra meant in the front room while the repentant Constable
<v Speaker 1>opened the door to let us out. Holmes turned on
<v Speaker 1>the step and held up something in his hand. The
<v Speaker 1>Constable stared intently. Good Lord, sir, he cried, with amazement
<v Speaker 1>on his face. Holmes put his fingers on his lips,
<v Speaker 1>replaced his hand in his breast pocket, and burst out laughing.
<v Speaker 1>As we turned down the street, Excellent, said he, Come, friend, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>the curtain rings up for the last act. You will
<v Speaker 1>be relieved to hear that there will be no war,
<v Speaker 1>that the right Honorable Trelawney Hope will suffer no setback
<v Speaker 1>in his brilliant career, that the indiscreet Sovereign will receive
<v Speaker 1>no punishment for his indiscretion, That the Prime Minister will
<v Speaker 1>have no European complication to deal with, and that with
<v Speaker 1>a little tact and management upon our part, nobody will
<v Speaker 1>be a penny the worse for what might have been
<v Speaker 1>a very ugly incident. My mind filled with admiration for
<v Speaker 1>this excit, extraordinary man, you've solved it. I cried hardly,
<v Speaker 1>that Watson, there are some points which are as dark
<v Speaker 1>as ever, But we have so much that it will
<v Speaker 1>be our own fault if we cannot get the rest.
<v Speaker 1>We will go straight to Whitehall Terrace and bring the
<v Speaker 1>matter to a head. When we arrived at the residence
<v Speaker 1>of the European Secretary, it was for Lady Hilda Trelawney
<v Speaker 1>Hope that Sherlock Holmes inquired. We were shown into the
<v Speaker 1>morning room, mister Holmes said the lady, and her face
<v Speaker 1>was pink with her indignation. This is surely most unfair
<v Speaker 1>and ungenerous upon your part. I desired, as I have explained,
<v Speaker 1>to keep my visit to you a secret, lest my
<v Speaker 1>husband should think that I was intruding into his affairs.
<v Speaker 1>And yet you compromise me by coming here and so
<v Speaker 1>showing that there are business relations between us. Unfortunately, Madam,
<v Speaker 1>I had no possible alternative. I have been commissioned to
<v Speaker 1>recover this in immensely important paper. I must therefore ask you, madam,
<v Speaker 1>to be kind enough to place it in my hands.
<v Speaker 1>The lady sprang to her feet, with the color all
<v Speaker 1>dashed in an instant from her beautiful face, her eyes glazed,
<v Speaker 1>she tottered. I thought that she would faint. Then with
<v Speaker 1>a grand effort. She rallied from the shock, and a
<v Speaker 1>supreme astonishment and indignation chased every other expression from her features.
<v Speaker 1>Who you insult me, mister Holmes, Come come, madam. It
<v Speaker 1>is a useless Give up the letter. She darted to
<v Speaker 1>the bell. The butler shall show you out. Do not ring,
<v Speaker 1>Lady Hilda. If you do, then all my earnest efforts
<v Speaker 1>to avoid a scandal will be frustrated. Give up the
<v Speaker 1>letter and all be set right. If you will work
<v Speaker 1>with me, I can arrange everything. If you work against me,
<v Speaker 1>I must expose you. She stood grandly defiant, a queenly figure,
<v Speaker 1>her eyes fixed upon his as if she would read
<v Speaker 1>his very soul. Her hand was on the bell, but
<v Speaker 1>she had forborne to ring it. You are trying to
<v Speaker 1>frighten me. It is not a very manly thing, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>to come here and browbe to woman. You say that
<v Speaker 1>you know something. What is it that you know? Pray?
<v Speaker 1>Sit down, madam. You will hurt yourself there if you fall.
<v Speaker 1>I will not speak until you sit down. Thank you.
<v Speaker 1>I give you five minutes, mister Holmes. One is enough,
<v Speaker 1>Lady Hilda. I know of your visit to Eduardo, Lucas,
<v Speaker 1>of your giving him this document, of your ingenious return
<v Speaker 1>to the room last night, and of the manner in
<v Speaker 1>which you took the letter from the hiding place under
<v Speaker 1>the carpet. She stared at him with an ashen face
<v Speaker 1>and gulped twice before she could speak. You are mad,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes, You are mad, she cried. At last, He
<v Speaker 1>drew a small piece of cardboard from his pocket. It
<v Speaker 1>was the face of a woman cut out of a portrait.
<v Speaker 1>I have carried this because I thought it might be useful,
<v Speaker 1>said he. The policeman has recognized it. She gave a
<v Speaker 1>gasp and her head dropped back in the chair. Come,
<v Speaker 1>lady Hilda, you have the letter. The matter may still
<v Speaker 1>be adjusted. I have no desire to bring trouble to you.
<v Speaker 1>My duty ends when I have returned the lost letter
<v Speaker 1>to your husband. Take my advice and be frank with me.
<v Speaker 1>It is your only chance. Her courage was admirable. Even now.
<v Speaker 1>She would not own defeat. I tell you again, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>that you are under some absurd illusion. Holmes rose from
<v Speaker 1>his chair. I am sorry for you, Lady Hilda. I
<v Speaker 1>have done my best for you. I can see that
<v Speaker 1>it is all in vain. He rang the bell. The
<v Speaker 1>butler entered, Is mister Trelawney hope at home? He will be,
<v Speaker 1>I'm sir er a quarter one. Holmes glanced at his watch,
<v Speaker 1>still a quarter of an hour, said he very good,
<v Speaker 1>I shall wait. The butler had hardly closed the door
<v Speaker 1>behind him when Lady Hilda was down on her knees
<v Speaker 1>at Holmes's feet, her hands outstretched, her beautiful face upturned
<v Speaker 1>and wet with her tears. Oh spare me, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>Spare me, she pleaded, in a frenzy of supplication. For
<v Speaker 1>Heaven's sake, don't tell him I love him so I
<v Speaker 1>would not bring one shadow on his life, and this
<v Speaker 1>I know would break his noble heart. Holmes raised the lady.
<v Speaker 1>I am thankful, madame, that you have come to your senses.
<v Speaker 1>Even at this last moment. There is not an instant
<v Speaker 1>to lose. Where is the letter? She darted across to
<v Speaker 1>a writing desk, unlocked it, and drew out a long
<v Speaker 1>blue envelope. Here it is, mister Holmes, would heaven, I
<v Speaker 1>had never seen it. How can we return it? Holmes muttered,
<v Speaker 1>quick quick, we must think of some way. Where is
<v Speaker 1>the despatch? Box still in his bedroom. What a stroke
<v Speaker 1>of luck, Quick, madam, bring it here. A moment later,
<v Speaker 1>she had appeared with a red flat box in her hand.
<v Speaker 1>How did you open it before? You have a duplicate key? Yes,
<v Speaker 1>of course you have open it. From out of her bosom,
<v Speaker 1>Lady Hilda had drawn a small key. The box flew open.
<v Speaker 1>It was stuffed with papers. Holmes thrust the blue envelope
<v Speaker 1>deep down into the heart of them, between the leaves
<v Speaker 1>of some other document. The box was shut, locked and
<v Speaker 1>returned to the bedroom. Now we are ready for him,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes. We have still ten minutes. I am going
<v Speaker 1>far to screen you, Lady Hilda. In return, you will
<v Speaker 1>spend the time in telling me, frankly, the real meaning
<v Speaker 1>of this extraordinary affair. Mister Holmes, I will tell you everything,
<v Speaker 1>cried the lady. Oh, mister Holmes, I would cut off
<v Speaker 1>my right hand before I gave him a moment of sorrow.
<v Speaker 1>There is no woman in all London who loves her
<v Speaker 1>husband as I do. And yet if he knew how
<v Speaker 1>I have acted, how I have been compelled to act,
<v Speaker 1>he would never forgive me. For his own honor stands
<v Speaker 1>so high that he could not forget or pardon a
<v Speaker 1>lapse in another. Help me, mister Holmes, my happiness, his happiness,
<v Speaker 1>Our very lives are at stake. Quick, madam, the time
<v Speaker 1>grows short. It was a letter of mine, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>an indiscreet letter written before my marriage, A foolish letter,
<v Speaker 1>a letter of an impulsive, loving girl. I meant no harm,
<v Speaker 1>and yet he would have thought it criminal. Had he
<v Speaker 1>read that letter, his confidence would have been for ever destroyed.
<v Speaker 1>It is years since I wrote it. I had thought
<v Speaker 1>that the whole matter was forgotten. Then at last I
<v Speaker 1>heard from this man Lucas, that it had passed into
<v Speaker 1>his hands, and that he would lay it before my husband.
<v Speaker 1>I implored his mercy. He said that he would return
<v Speaker 1>my letter if I would bring him a certain document,
<v Speaker 1>which he described in my husband's despatch box. He had
<v Speaker 1>some spy in the office who had told him of
<v Speaker 1>his existence. He assured me that no harm would come
<v Speaker 1>to my husband. Put yourself in my position, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>What was I to do? Take your husband into your confidence?
<v Speaker 1>I could not, mister Holmes. I could not, on the
<v Speaker 1>one side, seem certain ruin, on the other terrible as
<v Speaker 1>it seemed to take my husband's paper. Still, in a
<v Speaker 1>matter of politics, I could not understand the consequences, while
<v Speaker 1>in a matter of love and trust they were only
<v Speaker 1>too clear to me. I did it, mister Holmes. I
<v Speaker 1>took an impression of his key. This man Lucas furnished
<v Speaker 1>a duplicate. I opened his despatch box, took the paper
<v Speaker 1>and conveyed it to Godolf in the street. What happened there, Madam?
<v Speaker 1>I tapped at the door as agreed, Lucas opened it.
<v Speaker 1>I followed him into his room, leaving the hall door
<v Speaker 1>Ajar behind me, for I feared to be alone with
<v Speaker 1>the man. I remember that there was a woman outside.
<v Speaker 1>As I entered. Our business was soon done. He had
<v Speaker 1>my letter on his desk. I handed him the document.
<v Speaker 1>He gave me the letter. At this instant there was
<v Speaker 1>a sound at the door. There were steps in the passage.
<v Speaker 1>Lucas quickly turned back the drugget, thrust the document into
<v Speaker 1>some hiding place there and covered it over. What happened
<v Speaker 1>after that is like some fearful dream. I have a
<v Speaker 1>vision of a dark, frantic face, of a woman's voice
<v Speaker 1>which screamed in French. My waiting is not in vain.
<v Speaker 1>At last, at last, I have found you with her.
<v Speaker 1>There was a savage struggle. I saw him with a
<v Speaker 1>chair in his hand and knife gleamed in hers. I
<v Speaker 1>rushed from the horrible scene, ran from the house, and
<v Speaker 1>only next morning in the paper did I learn the
<v Speaker 1>dreadful result. That night, I was happy, for I had
<v Speaker 1>my letter, and I had not seen yet what the
<v Speaker 1>future would bring. It was the next morning that I
<v Speaker 1>realized that I had only exchanged one trouble for another.
<v Speaker 1>My husband's anguish at the loss of his paper went
<v Speaker 1>to my heart. I could hardly prevent myself from there
<v Speaker 1>and then kneeling down at his feet and telling him
<v Speaker 1>what I had done, But that again would mean a
<v Speaker 1>confession of the past. I came to you that morning
<v Speaker 1>in order to understand the full enormity of my offense.
<v Speaker 1>From the instant that I grasped it, my whole mind
<v Speaker 1>was turned to the one thought of getting back my
<v Speaker 1>husband's paper. It must still be where Lucas had placed it,
<v Speaker 1>for it was con sealed before this dreadful woman entered
<v Speaker 1>the room. If it had not been for her coming,
<v Speaker 1>I should not have known where his hiding place was.
<v Speaker 1>How was I to get into the room for two
<v Speaker 1>days I watched the place, but the door was never
<v Speaker 1>left open. Last night I made a last attempt. What
<v Speaker 1>I did and how I succeeded, you have already learned.
<v Speaker 1>I brought the paper back with me and thought of
<v Speaker 1>destroying it, since I could see no way of returning
<v Speaker 1>it without confessing my guilt to my husband. Heavens, I
<v Speaker 1>hear his step upon the stair. The European Secretary burst
<v Speaker 1>excitedly into the room. Any news, mister Holmes, any news,
<v Speaker 1>he cried, I have some hopes. Ah, thank Heaven. His
<v Speaker 1>face became radiant. The Prime Minister is lunching with me.
<v Speaker 1>May he share your hopes? He has nerves of steel,
<v Speaker 1>and yet I know that he has hardly slept since
<v Speaker 1>this terrible event. Jacob's will you ask the Prime Minister
<v Speaker 1>to come up as to you, Dear, I fear that
<v Speaker 1>this is a matter of politics. We will join you
<v Speaker 1>in a few minutes in the dining room. The Prime
<v Speaker 1>Minister's manner was subdued, but I could see, by the
<v Speaker 1>gleam of his eyes and the twitchings of his bony
<v Speaker 1>hands that he shared the excitement of his young colleague.
<v Speaker 1>I understand that you have something to report. Mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>purely negative as yet, my friend answered. I have inquired
<v Speaker 1>at every point where it might be, and I am
<v Speaker 1>sure that there is no danger to be apprehended. But
<v Speaker 1>that is not enough, mister Holmes. We cannot live forever
<v Speaker 1>on such a volcano. We must have something definite. I
<v Speaker 1>am in hopes of getting it. That is why I
<v Speaker 1>am here. The more I think of the matter, the
<v Speaker 1>more convinced I am that the letter has never left
<v Speaker 1>this house, mister Holmes. If it had, it would have
<v Speaker 1>certainly been public by now. But why should anyone take
<v Speaker 1>it in order to keep it? In this hand? I
<v Speaker 1>am not convinced that anyone did take it. Then how
<v Speaker 1>could it leave the despatch box? I am not convinced
<v Speaker 1>that it ever did leave the despatch box, mister Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>This joking is very ill timed. You have my assurance
<v Speaker 1>that it left the box. Have you examined the box
<v Speaker 1>since Tuesday morning? No, it was not necessary. You may
<v Speaker 1>conceivably have overlooked it. Impossible, I say, but I am
<v Speaker 1>not convinced of it. I have known such things to happen.
<v Speaker 1>I presume there are other papers there well. It may
<v Speaker 1>have got mixed up with them. It was on the top.
<v Speaker 1>Some one may have shaken the box and displaced it. No, no,
<v Speaker 1>I had everything out. Surely it is easily decided, Hope,
<v Speaker 1>said the Premiere. Let us have the despatch box brought in.
<v Speaker 1>The secretary rang the bell. Jacobs, bring down my dispatch box.
<v Speaker 1>This is a fascical waste of time. But still, if
<v Speaker 1>nothing else will satisfy you, it shall be done. Thank you, Jacobs.
<v Speaker 1>Put it here. I have always had the key on
<v Speaker 1>my watch chain. Here are the papers you see. Letter
<v Speaker 1>from Lord Merrow, report from Sir Charles Hardy, memorandum from Belgrade,
<v Speaker 1>note on the Russo German grain taxes, letter from Madrid,
<v Speaker 1>note from Lord Flowers. Good heavens, what is this, Lord Bellinger?
<v Speaker 1>Lord Bellinger, The Premier snatched the blue envelope from his hand. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>it is it, and the letter is intact. Hope. I
<v Speaker 1>congratulate you, thank you, thank you. What a weight from
<v Speaker 1>my heart. But this is inconceivable, impossible. Mister Holmes, you're
<v Speaker 1>a wizard, a sorcerer. How did you know is there?
<v Speaker 1>Because I knew it was nowhere else. I cannot believe
<v Speaker 1>my eyes. He ran wildly to the door. Where is
<v Speaker 1>my wife? I must tell her all is well. Hilda, Hilda,
<v Speaker 1>We heard his voice on the stairs. The premiere looked
<v Speaker 1>at Holmes with twinkling eyes. Come, sir, said he. There
<v Speaker 1>is more than this than meets the eye. How came
<v Speaker 1>the letter back in the box. Holmes turned away, smiling
<v Speaker 1>from the keen scrutiny of those wonderful eyes. We also
<v Speaker 1>have our diplomatic secrets, said he, and picking up his hat,
<v Speaker 1>he turned to the door. End of the Adventure of
<v Speaker 1>the Second Stain