The Adventure of the Norwood Builder - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

<v Speaker 1>The adventure of the Norward builder. From the point of
<v Speaker 1>view of the criminal expert, said mister Sherlock Holmes, London
<v Speaker 1>has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of
<v Speaker 1>the late lamented Professor Moriarty. I can hardly think you
<v Speaker 1>would find many decent citizens to agree with you, I answered, well, well,
<v Speaker 1>I must not be selfish, said he with a smile,
<v Speaker 1>as he pushed back his chair from the breakfast table.
<v Speaker 1>The community is certainly the gainer, and no one the loser,
<v Speaker 1>save the poor out of work specialist whose occupation has
<v Speaker 1>gone with that man in the field. One's morning paper
<v Speaker 1>presented infinite possibilities. Often it was only the smallest trace, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>the faintest indication, and yet it was enough to tell
<v Speaker 1>me that the great malignant brain was there. As the
<v Speaker 1>gentlest tremors of the edges of the web remind one
<v Speaker 1>of the foul spider which lurks in the center. Petty thefts,
<v Speaker 1>wanton assaults, purposeless outrage to the man who held the clue.
<v Speaker 1>All could be worked into one connected hole. To the
<v Speaker 1>scientific student of the higher criminal world. No capital in
<v Speaker 1>Europe offered the advantage which London then possessed, But now
<v Speaker 1>he shrugged his shoulders in humorous depreciation of the state
<v Speaker 1>of things which he had himself done so much to produce.
<v Speaker 1>At the time of which I speak, Holmes had been
<v Speaker 1>back for some months, and I, at his request, had
<v Speaker 1>sold my practice and returned to share the old quarters
<v Speaker 1>in Baker Street. A young doctor named Werner had purchased
<v Speaker 1>my small Kensington practice and given, with astonishingly little demur
<v Speaker 1>the highest price that I ventured to ask, an incident
<v Speaker 1>which only explained itself some years later, when I found
<v Speaker 1>that Verner was a distant relation of homes, and that
<v Speaker 1>it was my friend who had really found the money.
<v Speaker 1>Our months of partnership had not been so uneventful as
<v Speaker 1>he had stated, for I find, on looking over my
<v Speaker 1>notes that this period includes the case of the papers
<v Speaker 1>of ex President Murillo, and also the shocking affair of
<v Speaker 1>the Dutch steamship Frieslant, which so nearly cost us both
<v Speaker 1>our lives. His cold and proud nature was always a verse, however,
<v Speaker 1>from anything in the shape of public applause, and he
<v Speaker 1>bound me, in the most stringent terms, to say no
<v Speaker 1>further word of himself, his methods, or his successes. A prohibition, which,
<v Speaker 1>as I have explained, has only now been removed. Mister
<v Speaker 1>Sherlock Holmes was leaning back in his chair after his
<v Speaker 1>whimsical protest, and was unfolding his morning paper in a
<v Speaker 1>leisurely fashion when our attention was arrested by a tremendous
<v Speaker 1>ring at the bell, followed immediately by a hollow, drumming sound,
<v Speaker 1>as if someone were beating on the outer door with
<v Speaker 1>his fist. As it opened, there came a tumultuous rush
<v Speaker 1>into the hall. Rapid feet clattered up the stair, and
<v Speaker 1>an instant later a wild eyed and frantic young man, pale,
<v Speaker 1>disheveled and palpitating, burst into the room. He looked from
<v Speaker 1>one to the other of us, and under our gaze
<v Speaker 1>of inquiry, he became conscious that some apology was needed
<v Speaker 1>for this unceremonious entry. I'm sorry, mister Elmes, he cried,
<v Speaker 1>You mustn't blame me. I'm nearly mad, mister Elmes. I
<v Speaker 1>am the unhappy John Hector mac farlane. He made the
<v Speaker 1>announcement as if the name alone would explain both his
<v Speaker 1>visit and its manner. But I could see by my
<v Speaker 1>companion's unresponsive face that it meant no more to him
<v Speaker 1>than to me have a cigarette, mister mac Farland said,
<v Speaker 1>he pushing his case across. I am sure that with
<v Speaker 1>your symptoms, my friend doctor Watson here would prescribe a sedative.
<v Speaker 1>The weather has been so very warm these last few days. Now,
<v Speaker 1>if you feel a little more more composed, I should
<v Speaker 1>be glad if you would sit down in that chair
<v Speaker 1>and tell us very slowly and quietly, who you are
<v Speaker 1>and what it is that you want. You mentioned your
<v Speaker 1>name as if I should recognize it, but I assure
<v Speaker 1>you that beyond the obvious facts that you are a bachelor,
<v Speaker 1>a solicitor, a freemason, and an asthmatic, I know nothing
<v Speaker 1>whatever about you. Familiar as I was with my friend's methods,
<v Speaker 1>it was not difficult for me to follow his deductions
<v Speaker 1>and to observe the untidiness of attire, the sheaf of
<v Speaker 1>legal papers, the watch charm, and the breathing which had
<v Speaker 1>prompted them. Our client, however, stared in amazement. Yes, I'm
<v Speaker 1>all that, mister Elmes. And in addition, I am the
<v Speaker 1>most unfortunate man at this moment in London. For Evan's sake,
<v Speaker 1>don't abandon me, mister Holmes. If they come to arrest
<v Speaker 1>me before I have finished my story, make them give
<v Speaker 1>me time so that I may tell you the whole truth.
<v Speaker 1>I could go to jail happy if I knew that
<v Speaker 1>you were working for me outside arrest you said, Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>this is really most gratty, most interesting. On what charge
<v Speaker 1>do you expect to be arrested? Upon the charge of
<v Speaker 1>murdering mister James Oldacre of Lower Norwood. My companion's expressive
<v Speaker 1>face showed a sympathy which was not I am afraid,
<v Speaker 1>entirely unmixed with satisfaction, dear me, said he. It was
<v Speaker 1>only this moment at breakfast that I was saying to
<v Speaker 1>my friend doctor Watson, that sensational cases had disappeared out
<v Speaker 1>of our papers. Our visitor stretched forward a quivering hand
<v Speaker 1>and picked up the Daily Telegraph, which still lay upon
<v Speaker 1>Holmes's knee. If you had looked at it, sir, you
<v Speaker 1>would have seen at a glance what the errand is
<v Speaker 1>on which I have come to you this morning. I
<v Speaker 1>feel as if my name and my misfortune must be
<v Speaker 1>in every man's mouth. He turned it over to expose
<v Speaker 1>the central page. Here it is, and with your permission,
<v Speaker 1>I will read it to you. Listen to this, mister Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>The headlines are mysterious affair at Lower Norwood, disappearance of
<v Speaker 1>a well known builder, suspicion of murder and arson. A
<v Speaker 1>clue to the criminal. That is the clue which they
<v Speaker 1>are already following, mister Holmes, and I know that it
<v Speaker 1>leads infallibly to me. I have been followed from London
<v Speaker 1>Bridge Station, and I am sure that they are only
<v Speaker 1>waiting for the warrant to arrest me. It will break
<v Speaker 1>my mother's heart. It will break her heart. He wrung
<v Speaker 1>his hands in an agony of apprehension, and swayed backward
<v Speaker 1>and forward in his chair. I looked with interest upon
<v Speaker 1>this man who was accused of being the perpetrator of
<v Speaker 1>a crime of violence. He was flaxen haired and handsome
<v Speaker 1>in a washed out negative fashion, with frightened blue eyes
<v Speaker 1>and a clean shaven face with a weak, sensitive mouth.
<v Speaker 1>His age may have been about twenty seven. His dress
<v Speaker 1>and bearing that of a gentleman. From the pocket of
<v Speaker 1>his light summer overcoat protruded the bundle of endorsed papers
<v Speaker 1>which proclaimed his profession. We must use what time we have,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, Watson, would you have the kindness to take
<v Speaker 1>the paper and to read the paragraph in question. Underneath
<v Speaker 1>the vigorous headlines which our client had quoted, I read
<v Speaker 1>the following suggestive narrative. Late last night or early this morning,
<v Speaker 1>an incident occurred at Lower Norward which points it is
<v Speaker 1>feared to a serious crime. Mister Jonas Oldacre is a
<v Speaker 1>well known resident of that suburb, where he is carried
<v Speaker 1>on his business as a builder for many years. Mister
<v Speaker 1>Oldacre is a bachelor fifty two years of age, and
<v Speaker 1>lives in deep Dean House at the Sydenham end of
<v Speaker 1>the road of that aim. He has had the reputation
<v Speaker 1>of being a man of eccentric habits, secretive and retiring.
<v Speaker 1>For some years, he has practically withdrawn from the business
<v Speaker 1>in which he is said to have massed considerable wealth.
<v Speaker 1>A small timber yard still exists, however, at the back
<v Speaker 1>of the house, and last night about twelve o'clock, an
<v Speaker 1>alarm was given that one of the stacks was on fire.
<v Speaker 1>The engines were soon upon the spot, but the dry
<v Speaker 1>wood burned with great fury, and it was impossible to
<v Speaker 1>arrest the conflagration until the stack had been entirely consumed
<v Speaker 1>up to this point, the incident bore the appearance of
<v Speaker 1>an ordinary accident, but fresh indications seemed to point to
<v Speaker 1>serious crime. Surprise was expressed at the absence of the
<v Speaker 1>Master of the establishment from the scene of the fire,
<v Speaker 1>and an inquiry followed which showed that he had disappeared
<v Speaker 1>from the house. An examination of his room revealed that
<v Speaker 1>the bed had not been slept in, that a safe
<v Speaker 1>which stood in it was open, that a number of
<v Speaker 1>imp important papers were scattered about the room, and finally
<v Speaker 1>that there were signs of a murderous struggle, slight traces
<v Speaker 1>of blood being found within the room, and an oaken
<v Speaker 1>walking stick which also showed stains of blood upon the handle.
<v Speaker 1>It is known that mister Jonas Oldacre had received a
<v Speaker 1>late visitor in his bedroom upon that night, and the
<v Speaker 1>stick found has been identified as the property of this person,
<v Speaker 1>who is a young London solicitor named John Hector MacFarlane,
<v Speaker 1>junior partner of Graham and McFarlane of four twenty six
<v Speaker 1>Gresham Buildings, e c. The police believe that they have
<v Speaker 1>evidence in their possession which supplies a very convincing motive
<v Speaker 1>for the crime, and altogether it cannot be doubted that
<v Speaker 1>sensational developments will follow later. It is rumoured, as we
<v Speaker 1>go to press that mister John Hector MacFarlane has actually
<v Speaker 1>been arrested on the charge of the murder of mister
<v Speaker 1>Jonas Oldacre. It is at least certain that a warrant
<v Speaker 1>has been issued. There have been further and sinister developments
<v Speaker 1>in the investigation at Norwood. Besides the signs of a
<v Speaker 1>struggle in the room of the unfortunate builder, it is
<v Speaker 1>now known that the French windows of his bedroom, which
<v Speaker 1>is on the ground floor, were found to be open,
<v Speaker 1>that there were marks as if some bulky object had
<v Speaker 1>been dragged across to the woodpile. And finally it is
<v Speaker 1>asserted that charred remains have been found among the charcoal
<v Speaker 1>ashes of the fire. The police theory is that a
<v Speaker 1>most sensational crime has been committed, that the victim was
<v Speaker 1>clubbed to death in his own bedroom, his papers rifled,
<v Speaker 1>and his dead body dragged across to the woodstack, which
<v Speaker 1>was then ignited so as to hide all traces of
<v Speaker 1>the crime. The conduct of the criminal investigation has been
<v Speaker 1>left in the experienced hands of Inspector Less Strade of
<v Speaker 1>Scotland Yard, who is following up the clues with his
<v Speaker 1>accustomed energy and sagacity. Sherlock Holmes listened with closed eyes
<v Speaker 1>and finger tips together to this remarkable account. The case
<v Speaker 1>has certainly some points of interest, said he, in his
<v Speaker 1>languid fashion. May I ask, in the first place, mister
<v Speaker 1>mac Farland, how it is that you are still at liberty,
<v Speaker 1>since there appears to be enough evidence to justify your arrest.
<v Speaker 1>I live at Torrington Lodge, Blackheath, with my parents, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>but last night, having to do business very late with
<v Speaker 1>mister Jonas Oldacre, I stayed at an hotel in Norwood
<v Speaker 1>and came to my business from there. I knew nothing
<v Speaker 1>of this affair until I was in the train when
<v Speaker 1>I read what you have just heard. I at once
<v Speaker 1>saw the horrible danger of my position, and I hurried
<v Speaker 1>to put the case into your hands. I have no
<v Speaker 1>doubt that I should have been arrested, either at my
<v Speaker 1>city office or at my home. A man followed me
<v Speaker 1>from London Bridge station, and I have no doubt, Great Heaven,
<v Speaker 1>what is that? It was a clang of the bell,
<v Speaker 1>followed instantly by heavy steps upon the stair. A moment later,
<v Speaker 1>our old friend Lestrade appeared in the doorway. Over his shoulder,
<v Speaker 1>I caught a glimpse of one or two uniformed policemen outside.
<v Speaker 1>Mister Johnnick to mac Farland, said Lestrade, our unfortunate client
<v Speaker 1>rose with a ghastly face. I arrest you for the
<v Speaker 1>wilful murder of mister Jonas Oldacre of Lower Norwood. Mac
<v Speaker 1>Farland turned to us with a gesture of despair, and
<v Speaker 1>sank into his chair once more, like one who is crushed.
<v Speaker 1>One moment, Lestrade said Holmes. Half an hour more or
<v Speaker 1>less can make no difference to you, and the gentleman
<v Speaker 1>was about to give us an account of this very
<v Speaker 1>interesting affair, which might aid us in clearing it up. Oh,
<v Speaker 1>I think there will be no difficulty in clear it up,
<v Speaker 1>said Lestrade grimly, none the less, with your permission, I
<v Speaker 1>should be much interested to hear his account. Well, mister Olmes,
<v Speaker 1>it is difficult for me to refuse you anything, for
<v Speaker 1>you have been of use to the force once or
<v Speaker 1>twice in the past, and we owe your good turn
<v Speaker 1>at Scotland Yard, said Lestrade. At the same time, I
<v Speaker 1>must remain with my prisoner, and I am bound to
<v Speaker 1>warn him that anything he may say will appear in
<v Speaker 1>evidence against him. I wish nothing better, said our client.
<v Speaker 1>All I ask is that you should hear and recognize
<v Speaker 1>the absolute truth. Lestride looked at his watch. I'll give
<v Speaker 1>you half an hour, said he. I must explain first,
<v Speaker 1>said mac Farland, that I knew nothing of mister Jonas Oldacre.
<v Speaker 1>His name was familiar to me for many years ago.
<v Speaker 1>My parents were acquainted with him, but they drifted apart.
<v Speaker 1>I was very much surprised therefore, when yesterday, about three
<v Speaker 1>o'clock in the afternoon, he walked into my office in
<v Speaker 1>the city. But I was still more astonished when he
<v Speaker 1>told me the object of his visit. He had in
<v Speaker 1>his hand several sheets of a note book covered with
<v Speaker 1>scribled writing. Here they are, and he laid them on
<v Speaker 1>my table. Here is my will, said he. I want you,
<v Speaker 1>mister mac Farland, to cast it into proper legal shape.
<v Speaker 1>I will sit here while you do so. I set
<v Speaker 1>myself to copy it, and you can imagine my astonishment
<v Speaker 1>when I found that, with some reservations, he had left
<v Speaker 1>all his property to me. He was a strange, little
<v Speaker 1>ferret like man with white eyelashes, and when I looked
<v Speaker 1>up at him, I found his keen, gray eyes fixed
<v Speaker 1>upon me with an amused expression. I could hardly believe
<v Speaker 1>my own as I read the terms of the will.
<v Speaker 1>But he explained that he was a bachelor with hardly
<v Speaker 1>any living relation, that he had known my parents in
<v Speaker 1>his youth, and that he had always heard of me
<v Speaker 1>as a very deserving young man, and was assured that
<v Speaker 1>his money would be in worthy hands. Of course, I
<v Speaker 1>could only stammer out my thanks. The will was duly finished,
<v Speaker 1>signed and witnessed by my clerk. This is it on
<v Speaker 1>the blue paper, and these slips, as I've explained, are
<v Speaker 1>the rough draft. Mister Jonas Oldacre then informed me that
<v Speaker 1>there were a number of documents building, leases, title deeds, mortgages,
<v Speaker 1>scrip and so forth, which it was necessary that I
<v Speaker 1>should see and understand. He said that his mind would
<v Speaker 1>not be easy until the whole thing was settled, and
<v Speaker 1>he begged me to come out to his house at
<v Speaker 1>Norwould that night, bringing the will with me, and to
<v Speaker 1>arrange matters. Remember, my boy, not one word to your
<v Speaker 1>parents about the affair until everything is settled. We will
<v Speaker 1>keep it as a little surprise for them. He was
<v Speaker 1>very insist upon this point, and made me promise it faithfully.
<v Speaker 1>You can imagine, mister Holmes, that I was not in
<v Speaker 1>a humor to refuse him anything that he might ask.
<v Speaker 1>He was my benefactor, and all my desire was to
<v Speaker 1>carry out his wishes in every particular. I sent a
<v Speaker 1>telegram home therefore, to say that I had important business
<v Speaker 1>on hand, and that it was impossible for me to
<v Speaker 1>say how late I might be. Mister Oldacre had told
<v Speaker 1>me that he would like me to have supper with
<v Speaker 1>him at nine, as he might not be home before
<v Speaker 1>that hour. I had some difficulty in finding his house, however,
<v Speaker 1>and it was nearly half past before I reached it.
<v Speaker 1>I found him one moment, said Holmes, who opened the
<v Speaker 1>door a middle aged woman who was I suppose his housekeeper.
<v Speaker 1>And it was she, I presume, who mentioned your name exactly,
<v Speaker 1>said mac farlan. Pray proceed. Mac Farland wiped his damp
<v Speaker 1>brow and then continued his narrative. I was shown by
<v Speaker 1>this woman into a sitting room, where a frugal supper
<v Speaker 1>was laid out. Afterwards, mister Jonas Oldacre led me into
<v Speaker 1>his bedroom, in which there stood a heavy safe. This
<v Speaker 1>he opened and took out a mass of documents, which
<v Speaker 1>we went over together. It was between eleven and twelve.
<v Speaker 1>When we finished, he remarked that we must not disturb
<v Speaker 1>the housekeeper. He showed me out through his own French window,
<v Speaker 1>which had been open all this time. Was the blind down,
<v Speaker 1>asked Holmes. I will not be sure, but I believe
<v Speaker 1>that it was only half down. Yes, I remember how
<v Speaker 1>we pulled it up in order to swing open the window.
<v Speaker 1>I could not find my stick, and he said, never mind,
<v Speaker 1>my boy, and I shall see a good deal of
<v Speaker 1>you now, I hope, And I'll keep your stick until
<v Speaker 1>you come back to claim it. I left him there,
<v Speaker 1>the safe open and the papers made up in packets
<v Speaker 1>upon the table. It was so late that I could
<v Speaker 1>not get back to Blackheath, so I spent the night
<v Speaker 1>at the Anneley Arms, and I knew nothing more until
<v Speaker 1>I read of this horrible affair in the morning. Anything
<v Speaker 1>more that you'd like to ask, mister Elmes, said Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>whose eyebrows had gone up once or twice during this
<v Speaker 1>remarkable explanation. Not until I've been to black Heath. You
<v Speaker 1>mean to Norwood, said Lestrade. Oh, yes, no doubt, that
<v Speaker 1>is what I must have meant, said Holmes, with his
<v Speaker 1>enigmatical smile. Lestrade had learned, by more experiences than he
<v Speaker 1>could care to acknowledge that that brain could cut through
<v Speaker 1>that which was impenetrable to him. I saw him look
<v Speaker 1>curiously at my companion. I think I should like to
<v Speaker 1>have a word with you. Presently, mister Sherlock Holmes said
<v Speaker 1>he Now, mister mac farlane, two more constables are at
<v Speaker 1>the door, and there is a four wheel away in
<v Speaker 1>the wretched young man arose, and, with a last beseeching
<v Speaker 1>glance at us, walked from the room. The officers conducted
<v Speaker 1>him to the cab, but Lestrade remained. Holmes had picked
<v Speaker 1>up the pages which formed the rough draft of the will,
<v Speaker 1>and was looking at them with the keenest interest upon
<v Speaker 1>his face. There are some points about that document, Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>are they not? Said he, pushing them over. The official
<v Speaker 1>looked at them with a puzzled expression. I could read
<v Speaker 1>the first few lines when these in the middle of
<v Speaker 1>the second page, and one or two at the end,
<v Speaker 1>those are as clear as print, said he. But the
<v Speaker 1>writing in between is very bad, and there are three
<v Speaker 1>places where I cannot read it at all. What do
<v Speaker 1>you make of that, said Holmes, Well, what do you
<v Speaker 1>make of it? That it was written in a train.
<v Speaker 1>The good writing represents stations, the bad writing movement, and
<v Speaker 1>the very bad writing passing over points. A scientific expert
<v Speaker 1>would pronounce at once that this was drawn up on
<v Speaker 1>a suburban line, since nowhere save in the immediate vicinity
<v Speaker 1>of a great city could there be so quick a
<v Speaker 1>succession of points. Granting that his whole journey was occupied
<v Speaker 1>in drawing up the will, then the train was an express,
<v Speaker 1>only stopping once between Norwood and London Bridge. Lestrade began
<v Speaker 1>to laugh, Ah, you are too many for me when
<v Speaker 1>you begin to get on your theories. Mister Olmes said he,
<v Speaker 1>how does this bear on the case. Well, it corroborates
<v Speaker 1>the young man's story to the extent that the will
<v Speaker 1>was drawn up by Jonas Oldacre in his journey yesterday.
<v Speaker 1>It is curious, is it not that a man should
<v Speaker 1>draw up so important a document in so haphazard a fashion.
<v Speaker 1>It suggests that he did not think it was going
<v Speaker 1>to be of much practical importance. If a man drew
<v Speaker 1>up a will which he did not in tend ever
<v Speaker 1>to be effective, he might do it so well he
<v Speaker 1>drew up his own death warrant. At the same time,
<v Speaker 1>said Lestride, Oh, you think so, don't you. Well, this
<v Speaker 1>is quite possible, But the case is not clear to
<v Speaker 1>me yet not clear. Well, if that isn't clear, what
<v Speaker 1>could be clear. Here is a young man who learns
<v Speaker 1>suddenly that if a certain older man dies, he will
<v Speaker 1>succeed to a fortune. What does he do? He says
<v Speaker 1>nothing to anyone, but he arranges that he shall go out,
<v Speaker 1>on some pretext to see his client that night. He
<v Speaker 1>waits until the only other person in the house is
<v Speaker 1>in bed, and then, in the solitude of a man's room,
<v Speaker 1>he murders him, burns his body in the woodpile, and
<v Speaker 1>departs to a neighboring hotel. The bloodstains in the room
<v Speaker 1>and also on the stick, are very slight. It is
<v Speaker 1>probable that he imagined his crime to be a bloodless one,
<v Speaker 1>and hope. But if the body were consumed, it would
<v Speaker 1>adde all traces of the method of his death, traces
<v Speaker 1>which for some reason must have pointed to him. Is
<v Speaker 1>not all this obvious. It strikes me, my good lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>as being just a trifle too obvious, said Holmes. You
<v Speaker 1>do not add imagination to your other great qualities. But
<v Speaker 1>if you could, for one moment to put yourself in
<v Speaker 1>the place of this young man. Would you choose the
<v Speaker 1>very night after the will had been made to commit
<v Speaker 1>your crime? Would it not seem dangerous to you to
<v Speaker 1>make so very close a relation between the two incidents. Again,
<v Speaker 1>would you choose an occasion when you are known to
<v Speaker 1>be in the house, when a servant has let you in?
<v Speaker 1>And finally, would you take the great pains to conceal
<v Speaker 1>the body and yet leave your own stick as a
<v Speaker 1>sign that you were the criminal? Confess Lestrade that all
<v Speaker 1>this is very unlikely. As to the stick, mister Olmes,
<v Speaker 1>you know as well as I do that a criminal
<v Speaker 1>is often flurried and does such things which a cool
<v Speaker 1>man would avoid. He is very likely afraid to go
<v Speaker 1>back to the room. Give me another theory that would
<v Speaker 1>fit the facts. I could very easily give you half
<v Speaker 1>a dozen, said Holmes. Here, for example, is a very
<v Speaker 1>possible and even probable one. I make you a free
<v Speaker 1>present of it. The older man is showing documents which
<v Speaker 1>are of evident value. A passing tramp sees them through
<v Speaker 1>the window, the blind of which is only half down.
<v Speaker 1>Exit the solicitor enter the tramp he sees as a
<v Speaker 1>stick which he observes there kills Oldacre and departs after
<v Speaker 1>burning the body. Why should the tramp burn the body?
<v Speaker 1>For the matter of that, why should MacFarlane to hide
<v Speaker 1>some evidence? Possibly the tramp wanted to hide that any
<v Speaker 1>murder at all had been committed. And why did the
<v Speaker 1>tramp take nothing because there were papers that he could
<v Speaker 1>not negotiate? Thestrage shook his head, though it seemed to
<v Speaker 1>me that his manner was less absolutely assured than before. Well,
<v Speaker 1>mister Sherlock Holmes, you may look for your tramp, and
<v Speaker 1>while you're finding him, we will hold on to our man.
<v Speaker 1>The future will show which is right. Just notice this point,
<v Speaker 1>mister Olmes. And so far as we know, none of
<v Speaker 1>the papers were removed, and that the prisoner is the
<v Speaker 1>one man in the world who had no reason for
<v Speaker 1>removing them, since he was heir at law and would
<v Speaker 1>come into them in any case. My friend seemed struck
<v Speaker 1>by this remark. I don't mean to deny that the
<v Speaker 1>evidence is in some ways very strongly in favor of
<v Speaker 1>your theory, said he. I only wish to point out
<v Speaker 1>that there are other theories possible. As you say, the
<v Speaker 1>future will decide. Good morning, I dare say that in
<v Speaker 1>the course of the day I shall drop in at
<v Speaker 1>Norward and see how you are getting on. When the
<v Speaker 1>detective departed, my friend rose and made his preparations for
<v Speaker 1>the day's work with the alert air of a man
<v Speaker 1>who has a congenial task before him. My first movement,
<v Speaker 1>Watson said he as he bustled into his frock coat, must,
<v Speaker 1>as I said, be in the direction of Blackheath, And
<v Speaker 1>why not Norward, Because we have in this case one
<v Speaker 1>singular incident coming close to the heels of another singular incident.
<v Speaker 1>The police are making the mistake of concentrating their attention
<v Speaker 1>upon the second, because it happens to be the one
<v Speaker 1>which is actually criminal. But it is evident to me
<v Speaker 1>that the logical way to approach the case is to
<v Speaker 1>begin by trying to throw some light upon the first incident.
<v Speaker 1>The curious will so suddenly made, and to so unactit
<v Speaker 1>spected an air, it may do something to simplify what followed. No,
<v Speaker 1>my dear fellow, I don't think you can help me.
<v Speaker 1>There is no prospect of danger, or I should not
<v Speaker 1>dream of stirring out without you. I trust that when
<v Speaker 1>I see you in the evening, I will be able
<v Speaker 1>to report that I have been able to do something
<v Speaker 1>for this unfortunate youngster who has thrown himself upon my protection.
<v Speaker 1>It was late when my friend returned, and I could see,
<v Speaker 1>by a glance at his haggard and anxious face, that
<v Speaker 1>the high hopes with which he had started had not
<v Speaker 1>been fulfilled. For an hour, he droned away upon his violin,
<v Speaker 1>endeavoring to soothe his own ruffled spirits. At last he
<v Speaker 1>flung down the instrument and plunged into a detailed account
<v Speaker 1>of his misadventures. It's all going wrong, Watson, all as
<v Speaker 1>wrong as it can go. I kept a bold face
<v Speaker 1>before Lestrade, but upon my soul I believe that for
<v Speaker 1>once a fellow is on the right track, and we
<v Speaker 1>are on the wrong. All my instincts are one way,
<v Speaker 1>and all the facts are the other. And I much
<v Speaker 1>fear that British juries have not yet attained that pitch
<v Speaker 1>of intelligence when they will give the preference to my
<v Speaker 1>theories over Lestrade's facts. Did you go to Blackheath, yes, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>I went there, and I found very quickly that the
<v Speaker 1>late lamented Oldacre was a pretty considerable blackguard. The father
<v Speaker 1>was away in search of his son, the mother was
<v Speaker 1>at home, a little, fluffy, blue eyed person in a
<v Speaker 1>tremor of fear and indignation. Of course, she would not
<v Speaker 1>admit even the possibility of his guilt, but she would
<v Speaker 1>not express either surprise or regret over the fate of Oldacre.
<v Speaker 1>On the contrary, she spoke of him with such bitterness
<v Speaker 1>that she was unconsciously considerably strengthening the case of the police. For,
<v Speaker 1>of course, if her son had heard her speak of
<v Speaker 1>the man in this fashion, it would predispose him towards
<v Speaker 1>hatred and violence. He was more like a malignant and
<v Speaker 1>cunning ape than a human being, said she, And he
<v Speaker 1>always was ever since he was a young man. You
<v Speaker 1>knew him at that time, said I, yes, I knew
<v Speaker 1>him well. In fact, he was an old suitor of mine.
<v Speaker 1>Thank Heaven that I had the sense to turn away
<v Speaker 1>from him and to marry a better, if poorer man.
<v Speaker 1>I was engaged to him, mister Olmes, when I heard
<v Speaker 1>a shocking story of how he had turned a cat
<v Speaker 1>loose in an avery, and I was so horrified at
<v Speaker 1>this brutal cruelty that I would have nothing more to
<v Speaker 1>do with him. She rummaged in a bureau and presently
<v Speaker 1>she produced a photograph of a woman shamefully defaced and
<v Speaker 1>mutilated with a knife, my own photograph, she said, He
<v Speaker 1>sent it to me in that state with this curse
<v Speaker 1>upon my wedding morning. Well, said I, at least he
<v Speaker 1>has forgiven you now, since he has left all his
<v Speaker 1>property to your son. Neither my son nor I want
<v Speaker 1>anything from Jonas Oldacre, dead or alive. She cried with
<v Speaker 1>a proper spirit. There is a god in heaven, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>and that same God who has punished that wicked man,
<v Speaker 1>will show in his own good time that my son's
<v Speaker 1>hands are guiltless of his blood. Well. I tried one
<v Speaker 1>or two leads, but could get at nothing which would
<v Speaker 1>help our hypothesis, and several points which would make against it.
<v Speaker 1>I gave it at last, and off I went to Norwood.
<v Speaker 1>This place, Deep Dean House, is a big modern villa
<v Speaker 1>of staring brick, standing back in its own grounds, with
<v Speaker 1>a laurel clumped lawn in front of it. To the right,
<v Speaker 1>and some distance back from the road was the timber
<v Speaker 1>yard which had been the scene of the fire. Here
<v Speaker 1>is a rough plan on a leaf of my note book.
<v Speaker 1>This window on the left is the one which opens
<v Speaker 1>into Oldacre's room. You can look into it from the road.
<v Speaker 1>You see. That is about the only bit of consolation
<v Speaker 1>I've had to day. Lestrade was not there, but his
<v Speaker 1>head constable did the honors. They had just found a
<v Speaker 1>great treasure trove. They had spent the morning raking among
<v Speaker 1>the ashes of the burned woodpile, and besides the charred
<v Speaker 1>organic remains, they had secured several discolored metal disks. I
<v Speaker 1>examined them with care, and there was no doubt that
<v Speaker 1>they were trouser buttons. I even distinguished that one of
<v Speaker 1>them was marked with the name of Higham's, who was
<v Speaker 1>Oldacre's tailor. I then worked the lawn very carefully for
<v Speaker 1>signs and traces, but this drought has made everything as
<v Speaker 1>hard as iron. Nothing was to be seen save that
<v Speaker 1>some body or bundle had been dragged through a low
<v Speaker 1>privet hedge, which is in a line with the woodpile.
<v Speaker 1>All that, of course, fits in with the official theory.
<v Speaker 1>I crawled about the lawn an August sun on my back,
<v Speaker 1>but I got up at the end of an hour
<v Speaker 1>no wiser than before. Well after this fiasco, I went
<v Speaker 1>into the bedroom and examined that also The blood stains
<v Speaker 1>were very slight, mere smears and discolorations, but undoubtedly fresh.
<v Speaker 1>The stick had been removed, but there also the remarks
<v Speaker 1>were slight. There is no doubt about the stick belonging
<v Speaker 1>to our client. He admits it. Footmarks of both men
<v Speaker 1>could be made out on the carpet, but none of
<v Speaker 1>any third person, which again is a trick for the
<v Speaker 1>other side. They were piling up their score all the time,
<v Speaker 1>and we were at a standstill. Only one little gleam
<v Speaker 1>of hope did I get, and yet it amounted to nothing.
<v Speaker 1>I examined the contents of the safe, most of which
<v Speaker 1>had been taken out and left on the table. The
<v Speaker 1>papers had been made up into sealed envelopes, one or
<v Speaker 1>two of which had been opened by the police. They
<v Speaker 1>were not, so far as I could judge, of any
<v Speaker 1>great value. Nor did the bank book show that mister
<v Speaker 1>Oldacre was in such very affluent circumstances. But it seemed
<v Speaker 1>to me that all the papers were not there. There
<v Speaker 1>were allusions to some deeds, possibly the more valuable, which
<v Speaker 1>I could not find. This, of course, if we could
<v Speaker 1>definitely prove it would turn Lestrade's argument against himself, For
<v Speaker 1>who would steal a thing if he knew that he
<v Speaker 1>would shortly inherit it. Finally, having drawn every other cover
<v Speaker 1>and picked up no scent, I tried my luck with
<v Speaker 1>the housekeeper, missus Lexington is her name, A little, dark,
<v Speaker 1>silent person with suspicious and sidelong eyes. She could tell
<v Speaker 1>us something if she would. I am convinced of it.
<v Speaker 1>But she was as close as wax. Yes. She had
<v Speaker 1>let mister mac farlan in at half past nine. She
<v Speaker 1>wished her hand had withered before she had done so.
<v Speaker 1>She had gone to bed at past ten. Her room
<v Speaker 1>was at the other end of the house, and she
<v Speaker 1>could hear nothing of what had passed. Mister mac Farland
<v Speaker 1>had left his hat and, to the best of her belief,
<v Speaker 1>his stick in the hall. She had been awakened by
<v Speaker 1>the alarm of fire. Her poor dear master had certainly
<v Speaker 1>been murdered. Had he any enemies, well, every man had enemies,
<v Speaker 1>but mister Oldacre kept himself very much to himself and
<v Speaker 1>only met people in the way of business. She had
<v Speaker 1>seen the buttons and was sure that they belonged to
<v Speaker 1>the clothes which he had worn last night. The wood
<v Speaker 1>pile was very dry, for it had not rained for
<v Speaker 1>a month. It burned like tinder, and by the time
<v Speaker 1>she reached the spot nothing could be seen but flames.
<v Speaker 1>She and all the firemen smelled the burned flesh from
<v Speaker 1>inside it. She knew nothing of the papers, nor of
<v Speaker 1>mister Oldacre's private affairs. So, my dear Watson, there's my
<v Speaker 1>report of a failure. And yet, and yet he clenched
<v Speaker 1>his thin hands in a paroxysm of conviction. I know
<v Speaker 1>it's all wrong. I feel it in my bones. There
<v Speaker 1>is something that has not come out, and that housekeeper
<v Speaker 1>knows it. There was a sort of sulky defiance in
<v Speaker 1>her eyes, which only goes with guilty knowledge. However, there's
<v Speaker 1>no good talking any more about it, Watson. But unless
<v Speaker 1>some lucky chance comes our way, I fear that the
<v Speaker 1>Norward disappearance case will not figure in that chronicle of
<v Speaker 1>our successes, which I foresee that a patient public will
<v Speaker 1>sooner or later have to endure. Surely, said I, the
<v Speaker 1>man's appearance would go far with any jury. That is
<v Speaker 1>a dangerous argument, My dear Watson. You remember that terrible
<v Speaker 1>murderer Bert Stevens, who wanted us to get him off
<v Speaker 1>in eighty seven. Was there ever a more mild mannered
<v Speaker 1>Sunday school young man. It is true, true. Unless we
<v Speaker 1>succeed in establishing an alternative theory, this man is lost.
<v Speaker 1>You can hardly find a flaw in the case which
<v Speaker 1>can now be presented against him, and all further investigation
<v Speaker 1>has served to strengthen it. By the way, there is
<v Speaker 1>one curious little point about those papers, which may serve
<v Speaker 1>us as the starting point for an inquiry. On looking
<v Speaker 1>over the bank book, I found that the low state
<v Speaker 1>of the balance was principally due to large checks which
<v Speaker 1>have been made out during the last year to mister Cornelius.
<v Speaker 1>I confess that I should be interested to know who
<v Speaker 1>this mister Cornelius may be, with whom a retired builder
<v Speaker 1>has such very large transactions. Is it possible that he
<v Speaker 1>has had a hand in the affair? Cornelius might be
<v Speaker 1>a broker, But we have found no script to correspond
<v Speaker 1>with these large payments. Failing any other indication, my research
<v Speaker 1>is must now take the direction of an inquiry at
<v Speaker 1>the bank for the gentleman who has cashed these checks.
<v Speaker 1>But I fear, my dear fellow, that our case will
<v Speaker 1>end ingloriously by lestrade hanging our client, which will certainly
<v Speaker 1>be a triumph for Scotland Yard. I do not know
<v Speaker 1>how far Sherlock Holmes took any sleep that night, but
<v Speaker 1>when I came down to breakfast, I found him pale
<v Speaker 1>and harassed. His bright eyes the brighter for the dark
<v Speaker 1>shadows round them. The carpet round his chair was littered
<v Speaker 1>with cigarette ends and with the early editions of the
<v Speaker 1>morning papers. An open telegram lay upon the table. What
<v Speaker 1>do you think of this, Watson, he asked, tossing it across.
<v Speaker 1>It was from Norwood and ran as follows important fresh
<v Speaker 1>evidence to hand. Mac Farland's guilt definitely established, advised you
<v Speaker 1>to abandon case Lastrade, this sounds serious, said I. It
<v Speaker 1>is Lestrade's little cock adoodle of victory. Holmes answered with
<v Speaker 1>a bitter smile. And yet it may be premature to
<v Speaker 1>abandon the case. After all, important fresh evidence is a
<v Speaker 1>two edged thing and may possibly cut in a very
<v Speaker 1>different direction to that which Lestrade imagines. Take your breakfast, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>and we will go out together and see what we
<v Speaker 1>can do. I feel as if I shall need your
<v Speaker 1>company and your moral support to day. My friend had
<v Speaker 1>no breakfast himself, for it was one of his peculiarities
<v Speaker 1>that in his more intense moments he would permit himself
<v Speaker 1>no food, and I have known him presume upon his
<v Speaker 1>eyron strength until he has fainted from pure in nation.
<v Speaker 1>At present, I cannot spare energy and nerve force for digestion,
<v Speaker 1>he would say, in answer to my medical remonstrances. I
<v Speaker 1>was not surprised therefore, when this morning he left his
<v Speaker 1>untouched meal behind him and started with me for Norwood.
<v Speaker 1>A crowd of morbid sightseers was still gathered round deep
<v Speaker 1>Dean House, which was just such a suburban villa as
<v Speaker 1>I had pictured within the gates. Lestrade met us, his
<v Speaker 1>face flushed with victory, his manner grossly triumphant. Well, mister Elmes,
<v Speaker 1>have you proved us to be wrong? Yet? Have you
<v Speaker 1>found your tramp? He cried. I have formed no conclusion whatever,
<v Speaker 1>my companion answered. But we formed ours yesterday, and now
<v Speaker 1>it proves to be correct. So you must acknowledge that
<v Speaker 1>we have been a little in front of you this time.
<v Speaker 1>Mister Elmes, you certainly have the air of something unusual
<v Speaker 1>having occurred, said Holmes. Lestrade laughed loudly. Ha, you don't
<v Speaker 1>like being beaten any more than the rest of us do,
<v Speaker 1>said he. A man can't expect always to have it
<v Speaker 1>his own way, can he? Doctor Watson? Step this way,
<v Speaker 1>if you please, gentlemen, and I think I can convince
<v Speaker 1>you once for all that it was John mc farlane
<v Speaker 1>who did this crime. He led us through the passage
<v Speaker 1>and out into a dark hall beyond. This is why
<v Speaker 1>young mac Farland must have come out to get his
<v Speaker 1>hat after the crime was done. Said he. Now look
<v Speaker 1>at this with dramatic suddenness. He struck a match and
<v Speaker 1>by its light exposed a stain of blood upon the
<v Speaker 1>whitewashed wall. As he held the match nearer, I saw
<v Speaker 1>that it was more than a stain. It was the
<v Speaker 1>well marked print of a thumb. Look at that with
<v Speaker 1>your magnifying glass, mister Olmes, Yes, I am doing so.
<v Speaker 1>You are aware that no two thumb marks are alike.
<v Speaker 1>I have heard something of the kind. Well, then, will
<v Speaker 1>you please compare that print with this wax impression of
<v Speaker 1>young mac Farland's right thumb, taken by my orders this morning.
<v Speaker 1>As he held the wax and print close to the
<v Speaker 1>blood stain, it did not take a magnifying glass to
<v Speaker 1>see that the two were undoubtedly from the same thumb.
<v Speaker 1>It was evident to me that our unfortunate client was lost.
<v Speaker 1>That is final, said Lestrade. Yes, that is final. I
<v Speaker 1>involuntary echoed, It is final, said Holmes. Something in his
<v Speaker 1>tone caught my ear, and I turned to look at him.
<v Speaker 1>An extraordinary change had come over his face. It was
<v Speaker 1>writhing with inward merriment. His two eyes were shining like stars.
<v Speaker 1>It seemed to me that he was making desperate efforts
<v Speaker 1>to restrain a convulsive attack of laughter. Dear me, dear me,
<v Speaker 1>he said at last. Well, now, who would have thought it?
<v Speaker 1>And how deceptive appearances may be? To be sure, such
<v Speaker 1>a nice young man to look at. It is a
<v Speaker 1>lesson to us not to trust our own judgment, is
<v Speaker 1>it not, Lestrade? Yes, some of us are a little
<v Speaker 1>too much inclined to be cockashare mister Elmes? Said Lestrade.
<v Speaker 1>The man's insolence was maddening, but we could not resent it.
<v Speaker 1>What a providential thing that this young man should press
<v Speaker 1>his right thumb against the wall in taking his hat
<v Speaker 1>from the peg. Such a very natural action, too, if
<v Speaker 1>you come to think of it. Holmes was outwardly calm,
<v Speaker 1>but his whole body gave a wriggle of suppressed excitement
<v Speaker 1>as he spoke. By the way, Lestrade who made this
<v Speaker 1>remarkable discovery. It was the housekeeper, missus Lexington, who drew
<v Speaker 1>the narc constable's attention to it. Where was the night constable?
<v Speaker 1>He remained on guard in the bedroom where the crime
<v Speaker 1>was committed, so as to say that nothing was touched.
<v Speaker 1>But why didn't the police see this mark yesterday? Well,
<v Speaker 1>we had no particular reason to make a careful examination
<v Speaker 1>of all. Besides, it's not in a very prominent place,
<v Speaker 1>as you see. No, no, of course not. I suppose
<v Speaker 1>there is no doubt that the mark was there yesterday.
<v Speaker 1>Lestrade looked at Holmes as if he thought he was
<v Speaker 1>going out of his mind. I confess that I was
<v Speaker 1>myself surprised, both at his hilarious manner, and that is
<v Speaker 1>rather wild observation. I don't know whether you think that
<v Speaker 1>MacFarland came out of jail in the dead of the
<v Speaker 1>knight in order to strengthen the evidence against himself, said Lestrade.
<v Speaker 1>I'll leave it to any expert in the world whether
<v Speaker 1>that is not the mark of his thumb. It is
<v Speaker 1>unquestionably the mark of his thumb. Here that's enough, said Lestrade.
<v Speaker 1>I am a practical man, mister Elmes. And when I've
<v Speaker 1>got my evidence, so I come to my conclusions. If
<v Speaker 1>you have anything to say, you'll find me right in
<v Speaker 1>my report. In my sitting room, Holmes had recovered his equanimity,
<v Speaker 1>though I still seemed to detec gleams of musement in
<v Speaker 1>his expression. Dear me, this is a very sad development, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>is it not, said he? And yet there are singular
<v Speaker 1>points about it which hold out some hopes for our client.
<v Speaker 1>I am delighted to hear it, said I heartily. I
<v Speaker 1>was afraid it was all up with him. I would
<v Speaker 1>hardly go so far as to say that, my dear Watson.
<v Speaker 1>The fact is that there is one really serious flow
<v Speaker 1>in this evidence to which our friend attaches so much importance. Indeed, Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>what is it only this that I know that that
<v Speaker 1>mark was not there when I examined the hall yesterday?
<v Speaker 1>And now, Watson, let us have a little stroll round
<v Speaker 1>in the sunshine. With a confused brain, but with a
<v Speaker 1>heart into which some warmth of hope was returning. I
<v Speaker 1>accompanied my friend in a walk round the garden. Holmes
<v Speaker 1>took each face of the house in turn and examined
<v Speaker 1>it with great interest. He then led the way inside
<v Speaker 1>and went over the whole building, from basement to attic.
<v Speaker 1>Most of the rooms were unfurnished, but none the less
<v Speaker 1>Holmes inspected them all minutely. Finally, on the top corridor,
<v Speaker 1>which ran outside three untenanted bedrooms, he again was seized
<v Speaker 1>with a spasm of merriment. There are really some very
<v Speaker 1>unique features about this case, Watson said he. I think
<v Speaker 1>it is time now that we took our friend Lestrade
<v Speaker 1>into our confidence. He has had his little smile at
<v Speaker 1>our expense, and perhaps we may do as much by
<v Speaker 1>him if my reading of this problem proves to be correct. Yes, yes,
<v Speaker 1>I think I see how we should approach it. The
<v Speaker 1>Scotland Yard Inspector was still writing in the parlor when
<v Speaker 1>Holmes interrupted him. I understand that you were writing a
<v Speaker 1>report of this case, said he, so, I M. And
<v Speaker 1>don't you think it might be a little premature? I
<v Speaker 1>can't help thinking that your evidence is not complete. Lestrade
<v Speaker 1>knew my friend too well to disregard his words. He
<v Speaker 1>laid down his pen and looked curiously at him. What
<v Speaker 1>do you mean, mister Olmes? Only that there is an
<v Speaker 1>important witness whom you have not seen. Can you produce him?
<v Speaker 1>I think I can then do so. I will do
<v Speaker 1>my best. How many constables have you? There are three
<v Speaker 1>within call? Excellent, said Holmes. May I ask if they
<v Speaker 1>are all large, able bodied men with powerful voices. I've
<v Speaker 1>no doubt they are, though or fail to see what
<v Speaker 1>their voices have to do with it. Perhaps I can
<v Speaker 1>help you to see that, and one or two other
<v Speaker 1>things as well, said Holmes. Kindly summon your men and
<v Speaker 1>I will try. Five minutes later, three policemen had assembled
<v Speaker 1>in the hall in the outhouse. You will find a
<v Speaker 1>considerable quantity of straw, said Holmes. I will ask you
<v Speaker 1>to carry in two bundles of it. I think it
<v Speaker 1>will be of the greatest assistance in producing the witness
<v Speaker 1>whom I require. Thank you very much. I believe you
<v Speaker 1>have some matches in your pocket Watson. Now, mister Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>I will ask you all to accompany me to the
<v Speaker 1>top landing. As I have said, there was a broad
<v Speaker 1>corridor there which ran outside three empty bedrooms. At one
<v Speaker 1>end of the corridor, we were all marshaled by Sherlock Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>the constables grinning and Lestrade staring at my friend with amazement, expectation,
<v Speaker 1>and derision, chasing each other across his features. Holmes stood
<v Speaker 1>before us with the air of a conjurer who is
<v Speaker 1>performing a trick. Would you kindly send one of your
<v Speaker 1>constables for two buckets of water? Put the straw on
<v Speaker 1>the floor here, free from the wall on either side.
<v Speaker 1>Now I think that we are all ready. Lestrade's face
<v Speaker 1>had begun to grow red and angry. Ah don't know
<v Speaker 1>whether you're playing a game with us, mister Sherlock, Holmes
<v Speaker 1>said he If you know anything, you can surely say
<v Speaker 1>it without all this tomfoolery. I assure you, my good Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>that I have an excellent reason for everything that I do.
<v Speaker 1>You may possibly remember that you chased me a little
<v Speaker 1>some hours ago when the sun seemed on your side
<v Speaker 1>of the hedge, So you must not grudge me a
<v Speaker 1>little pomp and ceremony. Now, might I ask you, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>to open that window and then to put a match
<v Speaker 1>to the edge of the straw. I did so, and,
<v Speaker 1>driven by the draft, a coil of gray smoke swirled
<v Speaker 1>down the corridor, while the dry straw crackled and flamed.
<v Speaker 1>Now we must see if we can find this witness
<v Speaker 1>for you, lestrade, Might I ask you all to join
<v Speaker 1>in the cry of fire now? Then one, two, three, fire?
<v Speaker 1>We all yelled, thank you, I will trouble you once again. Fire,
<v Speaker 1>just one small gentleman, and all together fire. A shout
<v Speaker 1>must have rung over norward. It had hardly died away
<v Speaker 1>when an amazing thing happened. A door suddenly flew open
<v Speaker 1>out of what appeared to be solid wall at the
<v Speaker 1>end of the corridor, and a little wizened man darted
<v Speaker 1>out of it like a rabbit out of its burrow. Capital,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, calmly, Watson, a bucket of water over the straw.
<v Speaker 1>That will do, Lestrade, Allow me to present you with
<v Speaker 1>your principal missing witness, mister Jonas Oldacre. The detective stared
<v Speaker 1>at the newcomer with blank amazement. The latter was blinking
<v Speaker 1>in the bright light of the corridor and peering at us,
<v Speaker 1>and that the smalling fire. It was an odious face, crafty, vicious, malignant,
<v Speaker 1>with shifty light, gray eyes and white lashes. What cists, then,
<v Speaker 1>said Lestrade? At last, what have you been doing all
<v Speaker 1>this time? Eh? Oldacre gave an uneasy laugh, shrinking back
<v Speaker 1>from the furious red face of the angry detective. I
<v Speaker 1>have done no harm, no harm. You've done your best
<v Speaker 1>to get an innocent man hanged. If it wasn't for
<v Speaker 1>this gentleman here, I'm not sure that you would not
<v Speaker 1>have succeeded. The wretched creature began to whimper. I'm sure, sir,
<v Speaker 1>it was only my practical joke. Oh a joke, was it.
<v Speaker 1>You won't find a laugh on your side. I'll promise
<v Speaker 1>you take him down and keep him in the sitting
<v Speaker 1>room until I come, mister Olmes, he continued, when they
<v Speaker 1>had gone, I could not speak before the constables, but
<v Speaker 1>I don't mind saying in the presence of Dr Watson,
<v Speaker 1>for this is the brightest thing that you you have
<v Speaker 1>done yet, though it is a mystery to me how
<v Speaker 1>he did it. You have saved an innocent man's life,
<v Speaker 1>and you have prevented a very grave scandal which would
<v Speaker 1>have ruined more reputation in the force. Holmes smiled and
<v Speaker 1>clapped Lestrade upon the shoulder. Instead of being ruined, my
<v Speaker 1>good sir, you will find that your reputation has been
<v Speaker 1>enormously enhanced. Just make a few alterations in that report
<v Speaker 1>which you were writing, and they will understand how hard
<v Speaker 1>it is to throw dust in the eyes of Inspector Lestrade.
<v Speaker 1>And you don't want your name to appear not at all.
<v Speaker 1>The work is its own reward. Perhaps I shall get
<v Speaker 1>the credit also at some distant day, when I permit
<v Speaker 1>my zealous historian to lay out his foolscap once more.
<v Speaker 1>Hey Watson, Well, now let us see where this rat
<v Speaker 1>has been lurking. A lathe and plaster partition had been
<v Speaker 1>run across the passage, six feet from the end, with
<v Speaker 1>a door cunning concealed in it. It was lit within
<v Speaker 1>by slits under the eaves. A few articles of furniture
<v Speaker 1>and a supply of food and water were within, together
<v Speaker 1>with a number of books and papers. There's the advantage
<v Speaker 1>of being a builder, said Holmes as we came out.
<v Speaker 1>He was able to fix up his own little hiding
<v Speaker 1>place without any confederate, save, of course, that precious housekeeper
<v Speaker 1>of his, whom I should lose no time in adding
<v Speaker 1>to your bag, Lestrade. I'll take your advice, But how
<v Speaker 1>did you know of this place, mister Olmes? I made
<v Speaker 1>up my mind that the fellow was in hiding in
<v Speaker 1>the house when I paced one corridor and found it
<v Speaker 1>six feet shorter than the corresponding one below. It was
<v Speaker 1>pretty clear where he was. I thought he had not
<v Speaker 1>the nerve to lie quiet before an alarm of fire.
<v Speaker 1>We could of course have gone in and taken him,
<v Speaker 1>but it amused me to make him reveal himself. Besides,
<v Speaker 1>I owed you a little mystification lestrade for your chafe
<v Speaker 1>in the morning. Well, sir, you certainly got equal with
<v Speaker 1>me on that. But how in the world did you
<v Speaker 1>know that he was in the house at all? The
<v Speaker 1>thumb marked lestrade? You said it was final, and so
<v Speaker 1>it was. In a very different sense. I knew it
<v Speaker 1>had not been there the day before. I pay a
<v Speaker 1>good deal of attention to matters of detail, as you
<v Speaker 1>may have observed, and I had examined the hall and
<v Speaker 1>was sure that the wall was clear. Therefore it had
<v Speaker 1>been put on during the night. But how very simply
<v Speaker 1>when those packets were sealed up, Jonas Oldacre got mac
<v Speaker 1>Farland to secure one of the seals by putting his
<v Speaker 1>thumb upon the soft wax. It would be done so
<v Speaker 1>quickly and so naturally that I dare say the young
<v Speaker 1>man himself has no recollection of it. Very likely it
<v Speaker 1>just so happened, and Oldacre had himself no notion of
<v Speaker 1>the use. He would put it to brooding over the
<v Speaker 1>case in that den of his it suddenly struck him
<v Speaker 1>what absolutely damning evidence he could make against mac Farland
<v Speaker 1>by using that thumb mark. It was the simplest thing
<v Speaker 1>in the world for him to take a wax impression
<v Speaker 1>from the seal, to moisten it in as much blood
<v Speaker 1>as he could get from a pinprick, and to put
<v Speaker 1>the mark upon the wall during the night, either with
<v Speaker 1>his own hand or with that of his housekeeper. If
<v Speaker 1>you examine among those documents which he took with him
<v Speaker 1>into his retreat, I will lay your wager that you
<v Speaker 1>will find the seal with the thumb mark upon it. Wonderful,
<v Speaker 1>said Lestrade. Wonderful, It's all as clear as crystal as
<v Speaker 1>you put it. But what is the object of this
<v Speaker 1>deep deception, mister Alms. It was amusing to me to
<v Speaker 1>see how the detective's overbearing manner had changed suddenly to
<v Speaker 1>that of a child asking questions of its teacher. Well,
<v Speaker 1>I don't think that it is very hard to explain.
<v Speaker 1>A very deep, malicious, vindictive person. Is the gentleman who
<v Speaker 1>is now waiting us downstairs. You know that he was
<v Speaker 1>once refused by mac Farland's mother. You don't, I told
<v Speaker 1>you that you should go to Blackheath first and Norwold afterwards. Well,
<v Speaker 1>this injury, as he would consider it, has rankled in
<v Speaker 1>his wicked, scheming brain, and all his life he has
<v Speaker 1>longed for vengeance, but never seen his chance. During the
<v Speaker 1>last year or two, things have gone against him, secret speculation,
<v Speaker 1>I think, and he finds himself in a bad way.
<v Speaker 1>He determines to swindle his creditors, and for this purpose
<v Speaker 1>he pays large checks to a certain mister Cornelius, who
<v Speaker 1>is I imagine himself under another name. I have not traced
<v Speaker 1>these checks yet, but I have no doubt that they
<v Speaker 1>were banked under that name at some provincial town where Oldacre,
<v Speaker 1>from time to time led a double existence. He intended
<v Speaker 1>to change his name altogether, draw this money, and vanish,
<v Speaker 1>starting life again elsewhere. Well, that's likely enough. It would
<v Speaker 1>strike him in that in disappearing he might throw all
<v Speaker 1>pursuit of his track and at the same time have
<v Speaker 1>an ample and crushing revenge upon his old sweetheart. If
<v Speaker 1>he could give the impression that he had been murdered
<v Speaker 1>by her only child. It was a masterpiece of villainy,
<v Speaker 1>and he carried it out like a master. The idea
<v Speaker 1>of the will, which would have given an obvious motive
<v Speaker 1>for the crime, the secret visit unknown to his own parents,
<v Speaker 1>the retention of the stick, the blood and the animal remains,
<v Speaker 1>and buttons in the woodpile, all were admirable. It was
<v Speaker 1>a net from which it seemed to me a few
<v Speaker 1>hours ago that there was no possible escape. But he
<v Speaker 1>had not that supreme gift of the artist, the knowledge
<v Speaker 1>of when to stop. He wished to improve that which
<v Speaker 1>was already perfect, to draw the rope tighter yet round
<v Speaker 1>the neck of his unfortunate victim, And so he ruined all.
<v Speaker 1>Let us descend, lestrade. There are just one or two
<v Speaker 1>questions that I would ask him. The malignant creature was
<v Speaker 1>seated in his own parlor, with a policeman upon each
<v Speaker 1>side of him, who was a joke, my good sir,
<v Speaker 1>A practical joke, nothing more, he whined incessantly. I assure you, sir,
<v Speaker 1>that I simply concealed myself in order to see the
<v Speaker 1>effect of my disappearance. And I am sure that you
<v Speaker 1>would not be so unjust as to imagine that I
<v Speaker 1>would have allowed any harm to befall poor young m
<v Speaker 1>mac farlane. That's for a jury to decide, said lestrade. Anyhow,
<v Speaker 1>we shall have you on a charge of conspiracy, if
<v Speaker 1>not for attempted murder, and you will probably find that
<v Speaker 1>your creditors will impound the banking account of mister Cornelius,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes. The little man started and turned his malignant
<v Speaker 1>eyes upon my friend. I have to thank you. Thank
<v Speaker 1>you for a good deal, said he. Perhaps I'll pay
<v Speaker 1>my debt some day, Holmes smiled indulgently. I fancy that
<v Speaker 1>for some few years you will find your time very
<v Speaker 1>fully occupied, said he. By the way, what was it
<v Speaker 1>you put into the wood pile besides your old trousers?
<v Speaker 1>A dead dog, or rabbits or what? You won't tell
<v Speaker 1>dear me, how very unkind of you? Well, well, I
<v Speaker 1>dare say that a couple of rabbits would account both
<v Speaker 1>for the blood and for the charred ashes. If ever
<v Speaker 1>you write an account, Watson, you can make rabbits serve
<v Speaker 1>your turn. End of the Adventure of the Norward Builder