The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton - The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

<v Speaker 1>The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton. It is years since
<v Speaker 1>the incidents of which I speak took place, and yet
<v Speaker 1>it is with diffidence that I allude to them. For
<v Speaker 1>a long time, even with the utmost discretion and reticence,
<v Speaker 1>it would have been impossible to make the facts public.
<v Speaker 1>But now the principal person concerned is beyond the reach
<v Speaker 1>of human law, and with due suppression, the story may
<v Speaker 1>be told in such fashion as to injure no one.
<v Speaker 1>It records an absolutely unique experience in the career, both
<v Speaker 1>of mister Sherlock Holmes and of myself. The reader will
<v Speaker 1>excuse me if I concealed the date or any other
<v Speaker 1>fact by which he might trace the actual occurrence. We
<v Speaker 1>had been out for one of our evening rambles Homes
<v Speaker 1>and I and had returned about six o'clock on a cold,
<v Speaker 1>frosty winter's evening. As Holmes turned up the lamp, the
<v Speaker 1>light fell upon a card on the table. He glanced
<v Speaker 1>at it, and then, with an ejaculation of disgusted, threw
<v Speaker 1>it on the floor. I picked it up and read,
<v Speaker 1>Charles Augustus Milverton Appledore Towers Hampstead Agent. Who is he?
<v Speaker 1>I asked the worst man in London. Holmes answered, as
<v Speaker 1>he sat down and stretched his legs before the fire.
<v Speaker 1>He is anything on the back of the card. I
<v Speaker 1>turned it over. We'll call at six thirty see a
<v Speaker 1>m I read hum he's about you. Do you feel
<v Speaker 1>a creeping, shrinking sensation, Watson? When you stand before the
<v Speaker 1>serpents in the zoo and see the slithery, gliding, venomous
<v Speaker 1>creatures with their deadly eyes and wicked, flattened faces, Well,
<v Speaker 1>that's how Milverton impresses me. I've had to do with
<v Speaker 1>fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them
<v Speaker 1>never gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow.
<v Speaker 1>And yet I can't get out of doing business with him. Indeed,
<v Speaker 1>he's here at my invitation. But who is he? I'll
<v Speaker 1>tell you, Watson. He is the king of all the blackmailers.
<v Speaker 1>Heaven help the man, and still more the woman whose
<v Speaker 1>secret and reputation come into the power of Milverton. With
<v Speaker 1>a smiling face and a heart of marble, he will
<v Speaker 1>squeeze and squeeze until he has drained them dry. The
<v Speaker 1>fellow is a genius in his way, and would have
<v Speaker 1>made his mark in some more savory trade. His method
<v Speaker 1>is as follows. He allows it to be known that
<v Speaker 1>he is prepared to pay very high sums for letters
<v Speaker 1>which compromise people of wealth and position. He receives these
<v Speaker 1>wares not only from treacherous valets or maids, but frequently
<v Speaker 1>from genteel ruffians who have gained the confidence and affection
<v Speaker 1>of trusting women. He deals with no niggard hand. I
<v Speaker 1>happen to know that he paid seven hundred pounds to
<v Speaker 1>a footman for a note two lines in length, and
<v Speaker 1>that the ruin of a noble family was the result.
<v Speaker 1>Everything which is in the market goes to Milverton. And
<v Speaker 1>there are hundreds in this great city who turn white
<v Speaker 1>at his name. No one knows where his grip may fall,
<v Speaker 1>for he is far too rich and far too cunning
<v Speaker 1>to work from hand to mouth. He will hold a
<v Speaker 1>card back for years in order to play it at
<v Speaker 1>the moment when the stake is best worth winning. I've
<v Speaker 1>said that he is the worst man in London, and
<v Speaker 1>I would ask you how could one compare the ruffian who,
<v Speaker 1>in hot blood bludgeons his mate with this man who
<v Speaker 1>methodically and it is leisure tortures the soul and wrings
<v Speaker 1>the nerves in order to add to his already swollen
<v Speaker 1>money bags. I had seldom heard my friends speak with
<v Speaker 1>such intensity of feeling, But surely, said I, the fellow
<v Speaker 1>must be within the grasp of the law. Technically, no doubt,
<v Speaker 1>but practically not. What would it profit a woman, for example,
<v Speaker 1>to get him a few months imprisonment, if her own
<v Speaker 1>ruin must immediately follow his victims, dare not hit back?
<v Speaker 1>If ever he blackmailed an innocent person, then indeed we
<v Speaker 1>should have him. But he is as cunning as the
<v Speaker 1>evil one. No, no, we must find other ways to
<v Speaker 1>fight him. And why is he here? Because an illustrious
<v Speaker 1>client has placed her piteous case in my hands. It
<v Speaker 1>is the lady Eva Blackwell, the most beautiful debutante of
<v Speaker 1>last season. She is to be married in a fortnight
<v Speaker 1>to the Earl of Dovercourt. This fiend has several imprudent
<v Speaker 1>letters imprudent Watson, nothing worse, which were written to an
<v Speaker 1>impecunious young squire in the country, they would suffice to
<v Speaker 1>break off the match. Milverton will send the letters to
<v Speaker 1>the Earl unless a large sum of money is paid him.
<v Speaker 1>I have been commissioned to meet him, and to make
<v Speaker 1>the best terms I can. At that instant there was
<v Speaker 1>a clatter and the rattle in the street below. Looking down,
<v Speaker 1>I saw a stately carriage and pair the brilliant lamps
<v Speaker 1>gleaming on the glossy haunches of the noble chestnuts. A
<v Speaker 1>footman opened the door, and a small, stout man in
<v Speaker 1>a shaggy Astrakhan overcoat descended. A minute later he was
<v Speaker 1>in the room. Charles Augustus Milverton was a man of fifty,
<v Speaker 1>with a large intellectual head, a round, plump, hairless face,
<v Speaker 1>a perpetual frozen smile, and two keen gray eyes which
<v Speaker 1>gleamed brightly from behind broad gold rimmed glasses. There was
<v Speaker 1>something of mister Pickwick's benevolence in his appearance, marred only
<v Speaker 1>by the insincerity of the fixed smile and by the
<v Speaker 1>hard glitter of those restless and penetrating eyes. His voice
<v Speaker 1>was as smooth and suave as his countenance, as he
<v Speaker 1>advanced with a plump little hand extended, murmuring his regret
<v Speaker 1>for having missed us at his first visit. Holmes disregarded
<v Speaker 1>the outstretched hand and looked at him with a face
<v Speaker 1>of granite. Milverton's smile broadened. He shrugged his shoulders, removed
<v Speaker 1>his overcoat, folded it with great deliberation over the back
<v Speaker 1>of a chair, and then took a seat. This gentleman
<v Speaker 1>said he with a wave in my direction. Is it discreet?
<v Speaker 1>Is it right? Dr Watson is my friend and partner.
<v Speaker 1>Very good, mister Holmes. It is only in your client's
<v Speaker 1>interests that I protested. The matter is so very delicate.
<v Speaker 1>Dr Watson has already heard of it. Then we can
<v Speaker 1>proceed to business. Say that your acting for lady Eva,
<v Speaker 1>has she empowered you to accept my terms? What are
<v Speaker 1>your terms? Seven thousand pounds and the alternative? My dear sir,
<v Speaker 1>it is painful for me to discuss it, but if
<v Speaker 1>the money is not paid on the fourteenth, there certainly
<v Speaker 1>will be no marriage on the eighteenth. His insufferable smile
<v Speaker 1>was more complaisant than ever. Holmes thought, for a while,
<v Speaker 1>you appear to me, he said, at last, to be
<v Speaker 1>taking matters too much. For granted, I am, of course
<v Speaker 1>familiar with the contents of these letters. My client will
<v Speaker 1>certainly do what I may advise. I shall counsel her
<v Speaker 1>to tell her future husband the whole story and to
<v Speaker 1>trust to his generosity. Milverton chuckled, You evidently do not
<v Speaker 1>know the Earl, said he. From the baffled look upon
<v Speaker 1>her Holmes's face, I could see clearly that he did.
<v Speaker 1>What harm is there in the letters? He asked? They
<v Speaker 1>are sprightly, very sprightly. Milverton answered, the lady was a
<v Speaker 1>charming correspondent. But I can assure you that the Earl
<v Speaker 1>of Dovercourt would fail to appreciate them. However, since you
<v Speaker 1>think otherwise, we'll let it rest at that. It is
<v Speaker 1>purely a matter of business. If you think that it
<v Speaker 1>is in the best interests of your client that these
<v Speaker 1>letters should be placed in the hands of the Earl,
<v Speaker 1>then you would indeed be foolish to pay so large
<v Speaker 1>a sum of money to regain them. He rose and
<v Speaker 1>seized his Astrakhan coat. Holmes was gray with anger and mortification.
<v Speaker 1>Wait a little, he said, you go too fast. We
<v Speaker 1>should certainly make every effort to avoid scandal in so
<v Speaker 1>delicate a matter. Milverton relapsed into his chair. I was
<v Speaker 1>sure that you would see it in that light, he purred.
<v Speaker 1>At the same time, Holmes continued, Lady Eva is not
<v Speaker 1>a wealthy woman. I assure you that two thousand pounds
<v Speaker 1>would be a drain upon her resources, and that the
<v Speaker 1>sum you name is utterly beyond her power. I beg therefore,
<v Speaker 1>that you will moderate your demands, and that you will
<v Speaker 1>return the letters at the price I indicate, which is,
<v Speaker 1>I assure you the highest that you can get. Milverton's
<v Speaker 1>smile broadened and his eyes twinkled humorously. I am aware
<v Speaker 1>that what you say is true about the lady's resources,
<v Speaker 1>said he. At the same time, you must admit that
<v Speaker 1>the occasion of a lady's marriage is a very suitable
<v Speaker 1>time for her friends and relatives to make some little
<v Speaker 1>effort upon her behalf. They may hesitate as to an
<v Speaker 1>acceptable wedding present. Let me assure them that this little
<v Speaker 1>bundle of letters would give more joy than all the
<v Speaker 1>candelarbra and butter dishes in London. It is impossible, said Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>Dear me, dear me, how unfortunate, cried Milverton, taking out
<v Speaker 1>a bulky pocket book. I cannot help thinking that ladies
<v Speaker 1>are ill advised in not making an effort. Look at this.
<v Speaker 1>He held up a little note with a coat of
<v Speaker 1>arms upon the envelope that belongs to well, perhaps it
<v Speaker 1>is hardly fair to tell the name until to morrow morning.
<v Speaker 1>But at that time it will be in the hands
<v Speaker 1>of the lady's husband, and all because she will not
<v Speaker 1>find a beggarly sum which she could get by turning
<v Speaker 1>her diamonds into paste. It is such a pity. Now
<v Speaker 1>you remember the sudden end of the engagement between the
<v Speaker 1>honorable Miss Miles and Colonel Dorking. Only two days before
<v Speaker 1>the wedding, there was a paragraph in the Morning Post
<v Speaker 1>to say that it was all off, and why it
<v Speaker 1>is almost incredible. But the absurd sum of twelve hundred
<v Speaker 1>pounds would have settled the whole question. Is it not pitiful?
<v Speaker 1>And here I find you a man of sense, boggling
<v Speaker 1>about terms when your client's future and honor are at stake.
<v Speaker 1>You surprise me, mister Holmes. What I say is true,
<v Speaker 1>Holmes answered, the money cannot be found. Surely it is
<v Speaker 1>better for you to take the substantial sum which I offer,
<v Speaker 1>and to ruin this woman's career, which can profit you
<v Speaker 1>in no way. There you make a mistake, mister Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>An exposure would profit me indirectly to a considerable extent.
<v Speaker 1>I have eight or ten similar cases, maturing if it
<v Speaker 1>was circulated among them that I had made a severe
<v Speaker 1>example of the lady Eva, I should find all of
<v Speaker 1>them much more open to reason. You see my point?
<v Speaker 1>Holmes sprang from his chair. Get behind him, Watson, don't
<v Speaker 1>let him out now, sir, let us see the contents
<v Speaker 1>of that note book. Milberton had glided as quickly as
<v Speaker 1>a rat to the side of the room and stood
<v Speaker 1>with his back against the wall. Mister Holmes, Mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>he said, turning the front of his coat and exhibiting
<v Speaker 1>the butt of a large revolver, which projected from the
<v Speaker 1>inside pocket. I have been expecting you to do something original.
<v Speaker 1>This has been done so often, and what good has
<v Speaker 1>ever come from it. I assure you that I am
<v Speaker 1>armed to the teeth, and I am perfectly prepared to
<v Speaker 1>use my weapons, knowing that the law will support me. Besides,
<v Speaker 1>your supposition that I would bring the letters here in
<v Speaker 1>a note book is entirely mistaken. I would do nothing
<v Speaker 1>so foolish. And now, gentlemen, I have one or two
<v Speaker 1>little interviews this evening, and it is a long drive
<v Speaker 1>to Hampstead. He stepped forward, took up his coat, laid
<v Speaker 1>his hand on his revolver and turned to the door.
<v Speaker 1>I picked up a chair, but Holmes shook his head,
<v Speaker 1>and I laid it down again with bow, a smile
<v Speaker 1>and a twinkle. Milverton was out of the room, and
<v Speaker 1>a few moments after we heard the slam of the
<v Speaker 1>carriage door and the rattle of the wheels as he
<v Speaker 1>drove away. Holmes sat motionless by the fire, his hands
<v Speaker 1>buried deep in his trouser pockets, his chin sunk upon
<v Speaker 1>his breast, his eyes fixed upon the glowing embers. For
<v Speaker 1>half an hour. He was silent and still. Then, with
<v Speaker 1>the gesture of a man who has taken his decision,
<v Speaker 1>he sprang to his feet and passed into his bedroom.
<v Speaker 1>A little later, a rakish young workman with a goatey
<v Speaker 1>beard and a swagger, lit his clay pipe at the
<v Speaker 1>lamp before descending into the street. I'll be back some time, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>said he, and vanished into the night. I understood that
<v Speaker 1>he had opened his campaign against Charles Augustus Milverton, but
<v Speaker 1>I little dreamed the strange shape which that campaign was
<v Speaker 1>destined to take. For some days Holmes came and went
<v Speaker 1>at all hours in this attire, but beyond the remark
<v Speaker 1>that his time was spent at Hampstead, and that it
<v Speaker 1>was not wasted. I knew nothing of what he was doing.
<v Speaker 1>At last, However, on a wild, tempestuous evening, when the
<v Speaker 1>wind screamed and rattled against the windows, he returned from
<v Speaker 1>his last expedition, and having removed his disguise, he sat
<v Speaker 1>before the fire and laughed heartily in his sight inward fashion.
<v Speaker 1>You would not call me a marrying man, Watson. No, indeed,
<v Speaker 1>you will be interested to hear that I am engaged,
<v Speaker 1>my dear fellow, I congret to Milverton's housemaid, Good heavens, Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>I wanted information, Watson. Surely you've gone too far. It
<v Speaker 1>was a most necessary step. I am a plumber with
<v Speaker 1>a rising business, Escott by name. I have walked out
<v Speaker 1>with her each evening, and I have talked with her.
<v Speaker 1>Good heavens those talks, however, I have got all I wanted.
<v Speaker 1>I know Milverton's house as I know the palm of
<v Speaker 1>my hand. But the girl, Holmes, he shrugged his shoulders.
<v Speaker 1>You can't help it, my dear Watson. You must play
<v Speaker 1>your cards as best you can when such a stake
<v Speaker 1>is on the table. However, I rejoice to say that
<v Speaker 1>I have a hated rival who will certainly cut me
<v Speaker 1>out the instant that my back is turned. What a
<v Speaker 1>splendid night it is. You like this weather? It suits
<v Speaker 1>my purpose, Watson, I mean to burgle Milverton's house to night.
<v Speaker 1>I had a catching of the breath, and my skin
<v Speaker 1>went cold at the words, which were slowly uttered in
<v Speaker 1>a tone of concentrated resolution. As a flash of lightning
<v Speaker 1>in the night shows up in an instant every detail
<v Speaker 1>of a wild landscape. So at one glance I seem
<v Speaker 1>to see every possible result of such an action, the detection,
<v Speaker 1>the capture, the honored career, ending in irreparable failure and disgrace,
<v Speaker 1>my friend himself lying at the mercy of the odious Milverton.
<v Speaker 1>For Heaven's sake, Holmes, think what you're doing, I cried,
<v Speaker 1>my dear fellow. I have given it every consideration. I
<v Speaker 1>am never precipitate in my actions, nor would I adopt
<v Speaker 1>so energetic, and indeed so dangerous a course if any
<v Speaker 1>other were possible. Let us look at the matter clearly
<v Speaker 1>and fairly. I suppose that you admit that the action
<v Speaker 1>is morally justifiable, though technically criminal. To burgle his house
<v Speaker 1>is no more than to forcibly take his pocket book,
<v Speaker 1>an action in which you were prepared to aid me.
<v Speaker 1>I turned it over in my mind. Yes, I said,
<v Speaker 1>it is morally justifiable, so long as our object is
<v Speaker 1>to take no articles, save those which are used for
<v Speaker 1>an illegal purpose. Exactly since it is morally justifiable, I
<v Speaker 1>have only to consider the question of personal risk. Surely
<v Speaker 1>a gentleman should not lay much stress upon this. When
<v Speaker 1>a lady is in most desperate need of his help,
<v Speaker 1>you will be in such a false position. Well, that
<v Speaker 1>is part of the risk. There is no other possible
<v Speaker 1>way of regaining those letters. The unfortunate lady is not
<v Speaker 1>the money, and there are none of her people in
<v Speaker 1>whom she could confide to Morrow is the last day
<v Speaker 1>of grace, and unless we can get the letters to night,
<v Speaker 1>this villain will be as good as his word and
<v Speaker 1>will bring about her ruin. I must therefore abandon my
<v Speaker 1>client to her fate, or I must play this last
<v Speaker 1>card between ourselves. Watson, it's a sporting duel between this
<v Speaker 1>fellow Milverton and me. He had, as you saw, the
<v Speaker 1>best of the first exchanges. But my self, respect and
<v Speaker 1>my reputation are concerned to fight it to a finish. Well,
<v Speaker 1>I don't like it, but I suppose it must be,
<v Speaker 1>said I, when do we start? You are not coming?
<v Speaker 1>Then you are not going? Said I. I give you
<v Speaker 1>my word of honor, and I never broke it in
<v Speaker 1>my life that I will take a cab straight to
<v Speaker 1>the police station and give you a way. Unless you
<v Speaker 1>let me share this adventure with you. You can't help me.
<v Speaker 1>How do you know that you can't tell what may
<v Speaker 1>happen anyway? My resolution is taken other people. Besides, you
<v Speaker 1>have self respect and even reputations. Holmes had looked annoyed,
<v Speaker 1>but his brow cleared and he clapped me on the shoulder. Well, well,
<v Speaker 1>my dear fellow, be it so we have shared this
<v Speaker 1>same room for some years, and it would be amusing
<v Speaker 1>if we ended by sharing the same cell. You know, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>I don't mind confessing to you that I have always
<v Speaker 1>had an idea that I would have made a highly
<v Speaker 1>efficient criminal. This is the chance of my lifetime in
<v Speaker 1>that direction. See here he took a neat little leather
<v Speaker 1>case out of a drawer, and opening it, he exhibited
<v Speaker 1>a number of shining instruments. This is a first class,
<v Speaker 1>up to date burgling kit with nickel plated Jemmy, diamond
<v Speaker 1>lipped glass cutter, adaptable keys, and every modern improvement which
<v Speaker 1>the March of civilization demands. Here too is my dark lantern.
<v Speaker 1>Everything is in order. Have you a pair of silent shoes?
<v Speaker 1>I have rubber soled tennis shoes excellent, and a mask.
<v Speaker 1>I can make a couple out of black silk. I
<v Speaker 1>can see that you have a strong natural turn for
<v Speaker 1>this sort of thing. Very good? Do you make the masks?
<v Speaker 1>We shall have some cold supper before we start. It
<v Speaker 1>is now nine thirty. At eleven. We shall drive as
<v Speaker 1>far as Church Row. It is a quarter of an
<v Speaker 1>hour's walk from there to apple Doore Towers. We shall
<v Speaker 1>be at work before midnight. Milverton is a heavy sleeper
<v Speaker 1>and retires punctually at ten thirty. With any luck, we
<v Speaker 1>should be back here by two. With the lady Eva's
<v Speaker 1>letters in my pocket. Holmes and I put on our
<v Speaker 1>dress clothes so that we might appear to be two
<v Speaker 1>theater goers. Homeward bound in Oxford Street, we picked up
<v Speaker 1>a hansom and drove to an address in Hampstead. Here
<v Speaker 1>we paid off our cab and with our greatcoats buttoned up,
<v Speaker 1>for it was bitterly cold, and the wind seemed to
<v Speaker 1>blow through us. We walked along the edge of the heath.
<v Speaker 1>It's a business that needs delicate treatment, said Holmes. These
<v Speaker 1>documents are contained and safe in the fellow's study, and
<v Speaker 1>the study is the ante room of his bedchamber. On
<v Speaker 1>the other hand, like all these stout little men who
<v Speaker 1>do themselves well, he is a plethoric sleeper. Agatha, that's
<v Speaker 1>my fiance, says. It is a joke in the servants
<v Speaker 1>hall that it's impossible to wake the master. He has
<v Speaker 1>a secretary who is devoted to his interests and never
<v Speaker 1>budges from the study all day. That's why we're going
<v Speaker 1>at night. Then he has a beast of a dog
<v Speaker 1>which roams the guard. I met Agatha late the last
<v Speaker 1>two evenings, and she locks the brute up so as
<v Speaker 1>to give me a clear run. This is the house,
<v Speaker 1>this big one, in its own grounds. Through the gate
<v Speaker 1>now to the right, among the laurels, we might put
<v Speaker 1>on our masks here. I think you see there is
<v Speaker 1>not a glimmer of light in any of the windows,
<v Speaker 1>and everything is working splendidly. With our black silk face coverings,
<v Speaker 1>which turned us into two of the most truculent figures
<v Speaker 1>in London. We stole up to the silent, gloomy house,
<v Speaker 1>a sort of tiled verandah extended along one side of it,
<v Speaker 1>lined by several windows and two doors. That's his bedroom,
<v Speaker 1>Holmes whispered. This door opened straight into the study. It
<v Speaker 1>would suit us best, but it is bolted as well
<v Speaker 1>as locked, and we should make too much noise getting in.
<v Speaker 1>Come round here. There's a greenhouse which opened into the
<v Speaker 1>drawing room. The place was locked, but Homes removed a
<v Speaker 1>circle of glass and turned the key from the inside.
<v Speaker 1>An instant afterwards, he had closed the door behind us,
<v Speaker 1>and we had become felons in the eyes of the law.
<v Speaker 1>The thick, warm air of the conservatory and the rich,
<v Speaker 1>choking fragrance of exotic plants took us by the throat.
<v Speaker 1>He seized my hand in the darkness and led me
<v Speaker 1>swiftly past banks of shrubs which brushed against our faces.
<v Speaker 1>Holmes had remarkable powers, carefully cultivated of seeing in the dark.
<v Speaker 1>Still holding my hand in one of his, he opened
<v Speaker 1>a door, and I was vaguely conscious that we had
<v Speaker 1>entered a large room in which a cigar had been
<v Speaker 1>smoked not long before. He felt his way among the furniture,
<v Speaker 1>opened another door and closed it behind us, putting out
<v Speaker 1>my hand, I felt several coats hanging from the wall,
<v Speaker 1>and I understood that I was in a passage. We
<v Speaker 1>passed along it, and Homes very gently opened the door
<v Speaker 1>upon the right hand side. Something rushed out at us,
<v Speaker 1>and my heart sprang into my mouth, but I could
<v Speaker 1>have laughed when I realized that it was the cat.
<v Speaker 1>A fire was burning in this new room, and again
<v Speaker 1>the air was heavy with tobacco smoke. Holmes entered on tiptoe,
<v Speaker 1>waited for me to follow, and then very gently closed
<v Speaker 1>the door. We were in Milverton's study, and a portiere
<v Speaker 1>at the farther side showed the entrance to his bedroom.
<v Speaker 1>It was a good fire, and the room was illuminated
<v Speaker 1>by it. Near the door, I saw the gleam of
<v Speaker 1>an electric switch, but it was unnecessary, even if it
<v Speaker 1>had been safe to turn it on. At one side
<v Speaker 1>of the fireplace was a heavy curtain which covered the
<v Speaker 1>bay window we had seen from outside. On the other
<v Speaker 1>side was the door which communicated with the verandah deesque
<v Speaker 1>stood in the center with a turning chair of shining
<v Speaker 1>red leather. Opposite was a large bookcase with a marble
<v Speaker 1>bust of athene on the top. In the corner between
<v Speaker 1>the bookcase and the wall, there stood a tall green safe,
<v Speaker 1>the firelight flashing back from the polished brass knobs upon
<v Speaker 1>its face. Home stole across and looked at it. Then
<v Speaker 1>he crept to the door of the bedroom and stood
<v Speaker 1>with slanting head, listening intently. No sound came from within. Meanwhile,
<v Speaker 1>it had struck me that it would be wise to
<v Speaker 1>secure our retreat through the outer door, so I examined it.
<v Speaker 1>To my amazement, it was neither locked nor bolted. I
<v Speaker 1>touched homes on the arm, and he turned his masked
<v Speaker 1>face in that direction. I saw him start, and he
<v Speaker 1>was evidently as surprised as I was. I don't like it,
<v Speaker 1>he whispered, putting his lips to my very ear. I
<v Speaker 1>can't quite make it out anyhow. We have no time
<v Speaker 1>to lose. Can I do anything? Yes, stand by the door.
<v Speaker 1>If you hear anyone come, bolt it on the inside
<v Speaker 1>and we can get away as we came. If they
<v Speaker 1>come the other way, we can get through the door.
<v Speaker 1>If our job is done, or hide behind these window
<v Speaker 1>curtains if it is not, Do you understand? I nodded
<v Speaker 1>and stood by the door. My first feeling of fear
<v Speaker 1>had passed away, and I thrilled now with a keener
<v Speaker 1>zest than I had ever enjoyed when we were the
<v Speaker 1>defenders of the law instead of its defires. The high
<v Speaker 1>object of our mission, the consciousness that it was unselfish
<v Speaker 1>and chivalrous, the villainous character of our opponent, all added
<v Speaker 1>to the sporting interest of the adventure. Far from feeling guilty,
<v Speaker 1>I rejoiced and exalted in our dangers with a glow
<v Speaker 1>of admiration. I watched Holmes unrolling his case of instruments
<v Speaker 1>and choosing his tool with the calm, scientific accuracy a
<v Speaker 1>surgeon who performs a delicate operation. I knew that the
<v Speaker 1>opening of safes was a particular hobby with him, and
<v Speaker 1>I understood the joy which it gave him to be
<v Speaker 1>confronted with this green and gold monster, the dragon which
<v Speaker 1>held in its more the reputations of many fair ladies.
<v Speaker 1>Turning up the cuffs of his dress coat, he had
<v Speaker 1>placed his overcoat on a chair. Homes laid out two drills,
<v Speaker 1>a Gemmy and several skeleton keys. I stood at the
<v Speaker 1>center door, with my eyes glancing at each of the others,
<v Speaker 1>ready for any emergency, though indeed my plans were somewhat
<v Speaker 1>vague as to what I should do if we were interrupted.
<v Speaker 1>For half an hour, Holmes worked with concentrated energy, laying
<v Speaker 1>down one tool, picking up another, handling each with the
<v Speaker 1>strength and delicacy of the trained mechanic. Finally I heard
<v Speaker 1>a click. The broad green door swung open, and inside
<v Speaker 1>I had a glimpse of a number of paper packets,
<v Speaker 1>each tied, sealed and inscribed. Holmes picked one out, but
<v Speaker 1>it was as hard to read by the flickering fire,
<v Speaker 1>and he drew out his little dark lantern, for it
<v Speaker 1>was too dangerous with Milerton in the next room to
<v Speaker 1>switch on the electric light. Suddenly I saw him halt,
<v Speaker 1>listen intently, and then in an instant he had swung
<v Speaker 1>the door of the safe too, picked up his coat,
<v Speaker 1>stuffed his tools into the pockets, and darted behind the
<v Speaker 1>window curtain, motioning me to do the same. It was
<v Speaker 1>only when I had joined him there that I heard
<v Speaker 1>what had alarmed his quicker senses. There was a noise
<v Speaker 1>somewhere within the house. A door slammed in the distance.
<v Speaker 1>Then a confused dull murmur broke itself into the measured
<v Speaker 1>thud of heavy footsteps rapidly approaching. They were in the
<v Speaker 1>passage outside the room. They paused at the door opened.
<v Speaker 1>There was a sharp snick as the electric light was
<v Speaker 1>turned on. The door closed once more, and the pungent
<v Speaker 1>reek of a strong cigar was borne to our nostrils.
<v Speaker 1>Then the footsteps continued backward and forward, backward and forward,
<v Speaker 1>within a few yards of us. Finally there was a
<v Speaker 1>creak from a chair, and the footsteps ceased. Then a
<v Speaker 1>key clicked in a lock, and I heard the rustle
<v Speaker 1>of papers. So far I had not dared to look out,
<v Speaker 1>But now I gently parted the division of the curtains
<v Speaker 1>in front of me and peeped through. From the pressure
<v Speaker 1>of Holmes's shoulder against mine, I knew that he was
<v Speaker 1>sharing my observations. Right in front of us, and almost
<v Speaker 1>within our reach was the broad rounded back of Milverton.
<v Speaker 1>It was evident that we had entirely miscalculated his movements,
<v Speaker 1>that he'd never been to his bedroom, but that he'd
<v Speaker 1>been sitting up in some smoking or billiard room in
<v Speaker 1>the farther wing of the house, the windows of which
<v Speaker 1>we had not seen. His broad, grizzled head with its
<v Speaker 1>shining patch of baldness, was in the immediate foreground of
<v Speaker 1>our vision. He was leaning far back in the red
<v Speaker 1>leather chair, his legs outstretched, a long black cigar projecting
<v Speaker 1>at an angle from his mouth. He wore a semi
<v Speaker 1>military smoking jacket, claret colored with a black velvet collar.
<v Speaker 1>In his hand he held a long legal document which
<v Speaker 1>he was reading in an indolent fashion, blowing rings of
<v Speaker 1>tobacco smoke from his lips as he did so. There
<v Speaker 1>was no promise of a speedy departure. In his composed
<v Speaker 1>bearing and his comfortable attitude. I felt Holmes's hand steal
<v Speaker 1>into mine and give me a reassuring shake, as if
<v Speaker 1>to say that the situation was within his powers and
<v Speaker 1>that he was easy in his mind. I was not
<v Speaker 1>so sure that he'd seen what was only too obvious
<v Speaker 1>from my pers that the door of the safe was
<v Speaker 1>imperfectly closed, and that Milverton might at any moment observe it.
<v Speaker 1>In my own mind, I had determined that if I
<v Speaker 1>was sure from the rigidity of his gaze that it
<v Speaker 1>had caught his eye. I would at once spring out,
<v Speaker 1>throw my greatcoat over his head, pinion him, and leave
<v Speaker 1>the rest to Holmes. But Milverton never looked up. He
<v Speaker 1>was languidly interested by the papers in his hand, and
<v Speaker 1>page after page was turned as he followed the argument
<v Speaker 1>of the lawyer. At least, I thought, when he's finished
<v Speaker 1>the document and the cigar, he will go to his room.
<v Speaker 1>But before he had reached the end of either, there
<v Speaker 1>came a remarkable development which turned our thoughts into quite
<v Speaker 1>another channel. Several times I had observed that Milverton looked
<v Speaker 1>at his watch, and once he had risen and sat
<v Speaker 1>down again with a gesture of impatience. The idea, however,
<v Speaker 1>that he might have an appointment at so strange an hour,
<v Speaker 1>never occurred to me until a faint sound reached my
<v Speaker 1>ears from the verandah outside. Milverton dropped his papers and
<v Speaker 1>sat rigid in his chair. The sound was repeated, and
<v Speaker 1>then there came a gentle tap at the door. Millerton
<v Speaker 1>rose and opened it well, said he curtly, you're nearly
<v Speaker 1>half an hour late. So this was the explanation of
<v Speaker 1>the unlocked door and of the nocturnal vigil of Milverton.
<v Speaker 1>There was the gentle rustle of a woman's dress. I
<v Speaker 1>had closed the slit between the curtains as Milverton's face
<v Speaker 1>had turned in our direction, But now I ventured very
<v Speaker 1>carefully to open it once more. He had resumed his seat,
<v Speaker 1>the cigar still projecting at an insolent angle from the
<v Speaker 1>corner of his mouth. In front of him, in the
<v Speaker 1>full glare of the electric light, there stood a tall, slim,
<v Speaker 1>dark woman, a veil over her face, a mantle drawn
<v Speaker 1>round her chin. Her breath came quick and fast, and
<v Speaker 1>every inch of the lithe figure was quivering with strong emotion. Well,
<v Speaker 1>said Milverton, you made me lose a good night's rest,
<v Speaker 1>my dear. I hope you'll prove worth it. You couldn't
<v Speaker 1>come any other time, eh, The woman shook her head. Well,
<v Speaker 1>if you couldn't, you couldn't. If the Countess is a
<v Speaker 1>hard mistress, you have your chance to get level with her. Now,
<v Speaker 1>bless the girl. What are you shivering about? Now? Write?
<v Speaker 1>Pull yourself together. Now let's get down to business. He
<v Speaker 1>took a note book from the drawer of his desk.
<v Speaker 1>You say that you have five letters which compromise the
<v Speaker 1>Countess Delbert. You want to sell them, I want to
<v Speaker 1>buy them. So far, so good, It only remains to
<v Speaker 1>fix a price. I should want to inspect the letters,
<v Speaker 1>of course, if they're really good specimens, great heavens, is
<v Speaker 1>it you? The woman without a word, had raised her
<v Speaker 1>veil and dropped the mantle from her chin. It was
<v Speaker 1>a dark, handsome, clear cut face which confronted Milverton, a
<v Speaker 1>face with a curved nose, strong dark eyebrows shading hard
<v Speaker 1>glittering eyes, and a straight, thin lipped mouth set in
<v Speaker 1>a dangerous smile. It is I, she said, the woman
<v Speaker 1>whose life you have ruined. Milverton laughed, but fear vibrated
<v Speaker 1>in his voice. You were so very obstinate, said he.
<v Speaker 1>Why did you drive me to such extremities. I assure
<v Speaker 1>you I wouldn't hurt a fly of my own accord,
<v Speaker 1>But every man has his business, and what was I
<v Speaker 1>to do. I put the price well within your means.
<v Speaker 1>You would not pay. So you sent the letters to
<v Speaker 1>my husband, and he the noblest gentleman that ever lived,
<v Speaker 1>a man whose boots I was never worthy to lace.
<v Speaker 1>He broke his gallant heart and died. You remember that
<v Speaker 1>last night, when I came through that door. I begged
<v Speaker 1>and prayed you for mercy, and you laughed in my face.
<v Speaker 1>As you are trying to laugh now. Only your coward
<v Speaker 1>heart can't keep your lips from twitching. Yes, you never
<v Speaker 1>thought to see me here again. But it was that
<v Speaker 1>night which taught me how I could meet you face
<v Speaker 1>to face and alone. Well, Charles Milburton, what have you
<v Speaker 1>to say. Don't imagine that you can bully me, said he,
<v Speaker 1>rising to his feet. I have only to raise my voice,
<v Speaker 1>and I could call my servants and have your rested.
<v Speaker 1>But I'll make allowance for your natural anger. Leave the
<v Speaker 1>room at once as you came, and I will say
<v Speaker 1>no more. The woman stood with her hand buried in
<v Speaker 1>her bosom, and the same deadly smile on her thin lips.
<v Speaker 1>You will ruin no more lives as you have ruined mine.
<v Speaker 1>You will ring no more heart, But as you wrung mine,
<v Speaker 1>I will free the world of a poisonous thing. Take that,
<v Speaker 1>you hound, and that and that and that. She had
<v Speaker 1>drawn a little gleaming revolver and emptied barrel after barrel
<v Speaker 1>into Milverton's body, the muzzle within two feet of his
<v Speaker 1>shirt front. He shrank away, and then fell forward upon
<v Speaker 1>the table, coughing furiously and clawing among the papers. Then
<v Speaker 1>he staggered to his feet, received another shot, and rolled
<v Speaker 1>upon the floor. You've done me, he cried, and lay still.
<v Speaker 1>The woman looked at him intently and ground her heel
<v Speaker 1>into his upturned face. She looked again, but there was
<v Speaker 1>no sound or movement. I heard a sharp rustle the
<v Speaker 1>night air blew into the heated room, and the avenger
<v Speaker 1>was gone. No interference upon our part could have saved
<v Speaker 1>the man from his fate. But as the woman poured
<v Speaker 1>bullet after bullet into Milverton's shrinking body, I was about
<v Speaker 1>to spring out when I felt Holmes's cold, strong grasp
<v Speaker 1>upon my wrist. I understood the whole argument of that firm,
<v Speaker 1>restraining grip, that it was no affair of ours, that
<v Speaker 1>justice had overtaken a villain, that we had our own
<v Speaker 1>duties and our own objects which were not to be
<v Speaker 1>lost sight of. But hardly had the woman rushed from
<v Speaker 1>the room when Holmes, with swift, silent steps, was over
<v Speaker 1>at the other door. He turned the key in the lock.
<v Speaker 1>At the same instant we heard voices in the house
<v Speaker 1>and the sound of hurrying feet the revolver shots had
<v Speaker 1>roused the household with perfect coolness. Holmes slipped across to
<v Speaker 1>the safe, filled his two arms with bundles of letters,
<v Speaker 1>and poured them all into the fire. Again and again.
<v Speaker 1>He did it until the safe was empty. Some one
<v Speaker 1>turned the handle and beat upon the outside of the door.
<v Speaker 1>Home looked swiftly round the letter, which had been the
<v Speaker 1>messenger of death for Milverton lay All mottled with his
<v Speaker 1>blood upon the table. Holmes tossed it in among the
<v Speaker 1>blazing papers. Then he drew the key from the outer door,
<v Speaker 1>passed through after me, and locked it on the outside.
<v Speaker 1>This way, Watson said he we can scale the garden
<v Speaker 1>wall in this direction. I could not have believed that
<v Speaker 1>an alarm could have spread so swiftly. Looking back, the
<v Speaker 1>huge house was one blaze of light. The front door
<v Speaker 1>was open, and figures were rushing down the drive. The
<v Speaker 1>whole garden was alive with people, and one fellow raised
<v Speaker 1>a view hallo. As we emerged from the verandah and
<v Speaker 1>followed hard at our heels. Holmes seemed to know the
<v Speaker 1>grounds perfectly, and he threaded his way swiftly among a
<v Speaker 1>plantation of small trees. I close at his heels, and
<v Speaker 1>our foremost pursuer panting behind us. It was a six
<v Speaker 1>foot wall which barred our path, but he sprang to
<v Speaker 1>the top and over. As I did the same, I
<v Speaker 1>felt the hand of the man behind me grab at
<v Speaker 1>my ankle, but I kicked myself free and scrambled over
<v Speaker 1>a grass strewn coping. I fell upon my face among
<v Speaker 1>some bushes, but Holmes had me on my feet in
<v Speaker 1>an instant, and together we dashed away across the huge
<v Speaker 1>expanse of Hampstead Heath. We had run two miles, I suppose,
<v Speaker 1>before Holmes at last halted and listened intently. All was
<v Speaker 1>absolute silence behind us. We had shaken off our pursuers
<v Speaker 1>and was safe. We had breakfasted and were smoking our
<v Speaker 1>morning pipe. On the day after the remarkable experience which
<v Speaker 1>I have recorded, when mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard, very
<v Speaker 1>solemn and impressive, was ushered into our modest sitting room.
<v Speaker 1>Good morning, mister Elmes, said he, Good morning. May I
<v Speaker 1>ask you, if you are very busy just now, not
<v Speaker 1>too busy to listen to you. I thought that perhaps,
<v Speaker 1>if you had nothing particular on hand, you might care
<v Speaker 1>to assist us in a most remarkable case, which occurred
<v Speaker 1>only last night at Amstead. Dear me, said Holmes, what
<v Speaker 1>was that a murder? A most dramatic and remarkable murder.
<v Speaker 1>I know how keen you are upon those things, and
<v Speaker 1>I would take it as a great favor if you
<v Speaker 1>would step down to apple Doore Towers and give us
<v Speaker 1>the benefit of your advice. It is no ordinary crime.
<v Speaker 1>We have had our eyes upon this mister Milverton for
<v Speaker 1>some time, and between ourselves it was a bit of
<v Speaker 1>a villain. He is known to have held papers which
<v Speaker 1>he used for blackmailing purposes. These papers have all been
<v Speaker 1>burned by the murderers. No article of value was taken,
<v Speaker 1>as it is probable that the criminals were men of
<v Speaker 1>good position whose sole object was to prevent social exposure. Criminals,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, plural. Yes, there were two of em. They
<v Speaker 1>were as nearly as possible captured red handed. We have
<v Speaker 1>their footmarks, we have their description. It's ten to one
<v Speaker 1>that we trace them. The first fellow was a bit
<v Speaker 1>too active, but the second was caught by the undergardener
<v Speaker 1>and only got away after a struggle. He was a
<v Speaker 1>middle sized, strongly built man, square jaw, thick neck, mustache,
<v Speaker 1>a mask over his eyes. That's rather vague, said Sherlock Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>My it might be a description of Watson. It's true,
<v Speaker 1>said the inspector with amusement. It might be a description
<v Speaker 1>of Watson. Well, I'm afraid I can't help you, Lestrade,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes. The fact is that I knew this fellow Milverton,
<v Speaker 1>that I considered him one of the most dangerous men
<v Speaker 1>in London, and that I think there are certain crimes
<v Speaker 1>which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent,
<v Speaker 1>justify private revenge. No, oh, it's no use arguing. I've
<v Speaker 1>made up my mind. My sympathies are with the criminals
<v Speaker 1>rather than with the victim, and I will not handle
<v Speaker 1>this case. Holmes had not said one word to me
<v Speaker 1>about the tragedy which we had witnessed, But I observed
<v Speaker 1>all the morning that he was in the most thoughtful mood,
<v Speaker 1>and he gave me the impression from his vacant eyes
<v Speaker 1>and his abstracted manner of a man who is striving
<v Speaker 1>to recall something to his memory. We were in the
<v Speaker 1>middle of our lunch when he suddenly sprang to his feet.
<v Speaker 1>By jove, Watson, I've got it, he cried, take your hat,
<v Speaker 1>come with me. He hurried at his top speed down
<v Speaker 1>Baker Street, in along Oxford Street, until we'd almost reached
<v Speaker 1>Regent's Circus. Here on the left hand there stands a
<v Speaker 1>shop window filled with photographs of the celebrities and beauties
<v Speaker 1>of the day. Holmes's eyes fixed themselves upon one of them,
<v Speaker 1>and following his gaze, I saw the picture of a
<v Speaker 1>regal and stately lady in dress with a high diamond
<v Speaker 1>tiara upon her noble head. I looked at that delicately
<v Speaker 1>curved nose, at the marked eyebrows, at the straight mouth,
<v Speaker 1>and the strong little chin beneath it. Then I caught
<v Speaker 1>my breath as I read the time honored title of
<v Speaker 1>the great nobleman and statesman whose wife she had been.
<v Speaker 1>My eyes met those of Holmes, and he put his
<v Speaker 1>finger to his lips as we turned away from the window.
<v Speaker 1>End of the Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton