The Naval Treaty - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

<v Speaker 1>Adventure ten in the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir
<v Speaker 1>Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public
<v Speaker 1>domain Adventure ten The Naval Treaty, Part one. The July,
<v Speaker 1>which immediately succeeded my marriage, was made memorable by three
<v Speaker 1>cases of interest in which I had the privilege of
<v Speaker 1>being associated with Sherlock Holmes and of studying his methods.
<v Speaker 1>I find them recorded in my notes under the headings
<v Speaker 1>of the Adventure of the Second Stain, the Adventure of
<v Speaker 1>the Naval Treaty, and the Adventure of the Tired Captain.
<v Speaker 1>The first of these, however, deals with interest of such
<v Speaker 1>importance and implicates so many of the first families in
<v Speaker 1>the Kingdom that for many years it will be impossible
<v Speaker 1>to make it public. No case, however, in which Holmes
<v Speaker 1>was engaged, has ever illustrated the value of his analytical
<v Speaker 1>methods so clearly, or has impressed those who were associated
<v Speaker 1>with him so deeply. I still retain an almost verbatim
<v Speaker 1>report of the interview in which he demonstrated the true
<v Speaker 1>facts of the case to Monsieur de Bugue of the
<v Speaker 1>Paris Police and Fritz von Waltbaum, the well known specialist
<v Speaker 1>of Dancy, both of whom had wasted their energies upon
<v Speaker 1>what proved to be side issues. The new century will
<v Speaker 1>have come, however, before the story can be safely told. Meanwhile,
<v Speaker 1>I pass on to the second on my list, which
<v Speaker 1>promised also at one time to be of national importance,
<v Speaker 1>and was marked by several incidents which give it a
<v Speaker 1>quite unique character. During my school days I had been
<v Speaker 1>intimately associated with a lad named Percy Phelps, who was
<v Speaker 1>of much the same age as myself, though he was
<v Speaker 1>two classes ahead of me. He was a very brilliant
<v Speaker 1>boy and carried away every prize which the school had
<v Speaker 1>to offer. Finished his exploits by winning a scholarship which
<v Speaker 1>sent him on to continue his triumphant career at Cambridge.
<v Speaker 1>He was, i remember, extremely well connected, and even when
<v Speaker 1>we were all little boys together we knew that his
<v Speaker 1>mother's brother was Lord Holthurst, the great Conservative politician. This
<v Speaker 1>gaudy relationship did him little good at school. On the contrary,
<v Speaker 1>it seemed rather a piquant thing to us to chevy
<v Speaker 1>him about the playground and hit him over the shins
<v Speaker 1>with a wicket. But it was another thing when he
<v Speaker 1>came out into the world. I heard vaguely that his
<v Speaker 1>abilities and the influences which he commanded had won him
<v Speaker 1>a good position at the Foreign Office, And then he
<v Speaker 1>passed completely out of my mind until the following letter
<v Speaker 1>recalled his existence. Briar Bray Woking, My dear Watson, I
<v Speaker 1>have no doubt that you can remember Tadpole Phelps, who
<v Speaker 1>was in the fifth form when you were in the third.
<v Speaker 1>It is possible even that you may have heard that
<v Speaker 1>through my uncle's infant duance, I obtained a good appointment
<v Speaker 1>at the Foreign Office, and that I was in a
<v Speaker 1>situation of trust and honor until a horrible misfortune came
<v Speaker 1>suddenly to blast my career. There is no use writing
<v Speaker 1>of the details of that dreadful event. In the event
<v Speaker 1>of your acceding to my request, it is probable that
<v Speaker 1>I shall have to narrate them to you. I have
<v Speaker 1>only just recovered from nine weeks of brain fever, and
<v Speaker 1>am still exceedingly weak. Do you think that you could
<v Speaker 1>bring your friend mister Holmes down to see me. I
<v Speaker 1>should like to have his opinion of the case. Though
<v Speaker 1>the authorities assure me that nothing more can be done,
<v Speaker 1>Do try to bring him down and as soon as possible.
<v Speaker 1>Every minute seems an hour while I live in this
<v Speaker 1>state of horrible suspense. Assure him that if I have
<v Speaker 1>not asked his advice sooner, it was not because I
<v Speaker 1>did not appreciate his talents, but because I have been
<v Speaker 1>off my head ever since the blow fell. Now I
<v Speaker 1>am clear again, though I dare not think of it
<v Speaker 1>too much for fear of a relapse, I am still
<v Speaker 1>so weak that I have to write, as you see
<v Speaker 1>by dictating, do try to bring him your old schoolfellow,
<v Speaker 1>Percy Phelps. There was something that touched me as I
<v Speaker 1>read this letter, something pitiable in the reiterated appeals to
<v Speaker 1>bring Holmes. So moved was I that, even had it
<v Speaker 1>been a difficult matter, I should have tried it. But
<v Speaker 1>of course I knew well that Holmes loved his art,
<v Speaker 1>so that he was ever as ready to bring his
<v Speaker 1>aid as his client could be to receive it. My
<v Speaker 1>wife agreed with me that not a moment should be
<v Speaker 1>lost in laying the matter before him, and so within
<v Speaker 1>an hour of breakfast time, I found myself back once
<v Speaker 1>more in the old rooms in Baker Street. Holmes was
<v Speaker 1>seated at his side table, clad in his dressing gown
<v Speaker 1>and working hard over a chemical investigation, A large curved
<v Speaker 1>retort boiling furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner,
<v Speaker 1>and the distilled drops were condensing into a two liter measure.
<v Speaker 1>My friend hardly glanced up as I entered, and I,
<v Speaker 1>seeing that his investigation must be of importance, seated myself
<v Speaker 1>in an arm chair and waited. He dipped into this
<v Speaker 1>bottle or that, drawing out a few drops of each
<v Speaker 1>with his glass pipette, and finally brought a test tube
<v Speaker 1>containing a solution over to the table. In his right
<v Speaker 1>hand he held a slip of lipless paper. You come
<v Speaker 1>at a crisis, Watson said he. If this paper remains blue,
<v Speaker 1>all is well. If it turns red, it means a
<v Speaker 1>man's life. He dipped it into the test tube, and
<v Speaker 1>it flushed at once into a dull, dirty crimson. Hum
<v Speaker 1>I thought as much, He cried, I will be at
<v Speaker 1>your service in an instant, Watson, you will find tobacco
<v Speaker 1>in the persian slipper. He turned to his desk and
<v Speaker 1>scriveled off several telegrams, which were handed over to the
<v Speaker 1>page boy. Then he threw himself down into the chair opposite,
<v Speaker 1>and drew up his knees until his fingers clasped round
<v Speaker 1>his long, thin shins. A very commonplace little murder, said he,
<v Speaker 1>you've got something better. I fancy you are the stormy
<v Speaker 1>petrol of crime. Watson. What is it? I handed him
<v Speaker 1>the letter, which he read with the most concentrated attention.
<v Speaker 1>It does not tell us very much, does it, he remarked,
<v Speaker 1>as he handed it back to me. Hardly anything. And
<v Speaker 1>yet the writing is of interest. But the writing is
<v Speaker 1>not his own. Precisely it is a woman's a man, surely,
<v Speaker 1>I cried, No, a woman's, and a woman of rare character.
<v Speaker 1>You see at the commencement of an investigation, it is
<v Speaker 1>something to know that your client is in close contact
<v Speaker 1>with some one who, who, for good or evil, has
<v Speaker 1>an exceptional nature. My interest is already awakened in the case.
<v Speaker 1>If you are ready, we will start at once for
<v Speaker 1>Woking and see this diplomatist who is in such evil case,
<v Speaker 1>and the lady to whom he dictates his letter. We
<v Speaker 1>were fortunate enough to catch an early train at Waterloo,
<v Speaker 1>and in a little under an hour we found ourselves
<v Speaker 1>among the fir woods and the heather of Woking Briarbray
<v Speaker 1>proved to be a large detached house standing in extensive
<v Speaker 1>grounds within a few minutes walk of the station. On
<v Speaker 1>sending in our cards, we were shown into an elegantly
<v Speaker 1>appointed drawing room, where we were joined in a few
<v Speaker 1>minutes by a rather stout man who received us with
<v Speaker 1>much hospitality. His age may have been nearer forty than thirty,
<v Speaker 1>but his cheeks were so ruddy and his eyes so
<v Speaker 1>merry that he still conveyed the impression of a plump
<v Speaker 1>and mischievous boy. I am solar that you've come, said he,
<v Speaker 1>shaking our hands with effusion. Percy has been inquiring for
<v Speaker 1>you all morning. Ah, poor old chap he clings to
<v Speaker 1>any straw. His father and his mother asked me to
<v Speaker 1>see you, for the mere mention of the subject is
<v Speaker 1>very painful to them. We have no details yet, observed Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>I perceive that you are not yourself a member of
<v Speaker 1>the family. Our acquaintance looked surprised, and then, glancing down,
<v Speaker 1>he began to laugh. Of course you saw the j
<v Speaker 1>H monogram on my locket, said he. For a moment
<v Speaker 1>I thought you had done something clever. Joseph Harrison is
<v Speaker 1>my name, and as Percy is to marry my sister Annie,
<v Speaker 1>I shall at least be a relation by marriage. You
<v Speaker 1>will find my sister in his room, for she has
<v Speaker 1>nursed him hand and foot this two months back. Perhaps
<v Speaker 1>we'd better go in at once, for I know how
<v Speaker 1>impatient he is. The chamber in which we were shown
<v Speaker 1>was on the same floor as the drawing room. It
<v Speaker 1>was furnished partly as a sitting and partly as a bedroom,
<v Speaker 1>with flowers arranged daintily in every nook and corner. A
<v Speaker 1>young man, very pale and worn, was lying upon a
<v Speaker 1>sofa near the open window, through which came the rich
<v Speaker 1>scent of the garden and the balmy summer air. A
<v Speaker 1>woman was sitting beside him, who rose as we entered.
<v Speaker 1>Shall I leave Percy, she asked. He clutched her hand
<v Speaker 1>to detain her. How are you, Watson said he cordially.
<v Speaker 1>I should never have known you under that mustache, and
<v Speaker 1>I dare say you would not be prepared to swear
<v Speaker 1>to me. This I presume is your celebrated friend, mister
<v Speaker 1>Sherlock Holmes. I introduced him in a few words, and
<v Speaker 1>we both sat down. The stout young man had left
<v Speaker 1>us but his sister still remained with her hand in
<v Speaker 1>that of the invalid. She was a striking looking woman,
<v Speaker 1>a little short and thick for symmetry, but with a
<v Speaker 1>beautiful olive complexion, large dark Italian eyes, and a wealth
<v Speaker 1>of deep black hair. Her rich tints made the white
<v Speaker 1>face of her companion the more worn and haggard by
<v Speaker 1>the contrast. I won't waste your time, said he, raising
<v Speaker 1>himself upon the sofa. I'll plunge into the matter without
<v Speaker 1>further preamble. I was a happy and successful man, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>and on the eve of being married, when a sudden
<v Speaker 1>and dreadful misfortune wrecked all my prospects in life. I was,
<v Speaker 1>as Watson may have told you, in the Foreign Office,
<v Speaker 1>and through the influences of my uncle, Lord Holthurst, I
<v Speaker 1>rose rapidly to a responsible position when my uncle became
<v Speaker 1>Foreign Minister in this administration. He gave me several missions
<v Speaker 1>of trust, and as I always brought them to a
<v Speaker 1>successful conclusion, he came at last to have the utmost
<v Speaker 1>confidence in my ability and tact. Nearly ten weeks ago,
<v Speaker 1>to be more accurate, on the twenty third of May,
<v Speaker 1>he called me into his private room and after complimenting
<v Speaker 1>me on the good work which I had done, he
<v Speaker 1>informed me that he had a new commission of trust
<v Speaker 1>for me to execute. This said he, taking a gray
<v Speaker 1>roll of paper from his bureau, is the original of
<v Speaker 1>that secret treaty between England and Italy, of which I
<v Speaker 1>regret to say some rumors have already got into the
<v Speaker 1>public press. It is of enormous importance that nothing further
<v Speaker 1>should leak out. The French or the Russian embassy would
<v Speaker 1>pay an immense sum to learn the contents of these papers.
<v Speaker 1>I should not leave my bureau were it not that
<v Speaker 1>it is absolutely necessary to have them copied. You have
<v Speaker 1>a desk in your office, yes, sir, Then take the
<v Speaker 1>treaty and lock it up there. I shall give directions
<v Speaker 1>that you may remain behind when the others go, so
<v Speaker 1>that you may copy it at your leisure without fear
<v Speaker 1>of being overlooked. When you have finished, relock both the
<v Speaker 1>original and the draft in the desk, and hand them
<v Speaker 1>over to me personally to morrow morning. I took the papers,
<v Speaker 1>and excuse me, an instant, said Holmes, Were you alone
<v Speaker 1>during this conversation? Absolutely in a large room thirty feet
<v Speaker 1>each way in the center yes about it, and speaking low.
<v Speaker 1>My uncle's voice is always remarkably low. I hardly spoke
<v Speaker 1>at all. Thank you, said Holmes, shutting his eyes. Pray
<v Speaker 1>go on. I did exactly what he indicated, and waited
<v Speaker 1>until the other clerks had departed. One of them in
<v Speaker 1>my room, Charles Gorro, had some arrears of work to
<v Speaker 1>make up, so I left him there and went out
<v Speaker 1>to dine. When I returned, he was gone. I was
<v Speaker 1>anxious to hurry my work, for I knew that Joseph,
<v Speaker 1>the mister Harrison whom you saw just now, was in town,
<v Speaker 1>and that he would travel down to Woking by the
<v Speaker 1>eleven o'clock train, and I wanted, if possible, to catch it.
<v Speaker 1>When I came to examine the treaty, I saw at
<v Speaker 1>once that it was of such importance that my uncle
<v Speaker 1>had been guilty of no exaggeration in what he had said.
<v Speaker 1>Without going into details, I may say that it defined
<v Speaker 1>the position of Great Britain towards the Triple Alliance, and
<v Speaker 1>foreshadowed the policy which this country would pursue in the
<v Speaker 1>event of a French fleet gaining a complete ascendency over
<v Speaker 1>that of Italy in the Mediterranean. The questions treated in
<v Speaker 1>it were purely naval. At the end were the signatures
<v Speaker 1>of the high dignitaries who had signed it. I glanced
<v Speaker 1>my eyes over it, and then set down to make
<v Speaker 1>my task of copying. It was a long document, written
<v Speaker 1>in the French language and containing twenty six separate articles.
<v Speaker 1>I copied as quickly as I could, but at nine
<v Speaker 1>o'clock I had only done nine articles, and it seemed
<v Speaker 1>hopeless for me to attempt to catch my train. I
<v Speaker 1>was feeling drowsy and stupid, partly from my dinner and
<v Speaker 1>also from the effects of a long day's work. A
<v Speaker 1>cup of coffee would clear my brain. A commissionaire remains
<v Speaker 1>all night in a little lodge at the foot of
<v Speaker 1>the stairs, and is in the habit of making coffee
<v Speaker 1>at his spirit lamp for any of the officials who
<v Speaker 1>may be working over time. I rang the bell therefore
<v Speaker 1>to summon him. To my surprise, it was a woman
<v Speaker 1>who answered the summons, a large, coarse faced, elderly woman
<v Speaker 1>in an apron She explained that she was the commissionaire's
<v Speaker 1>wife who did the charring, and I gave her the
<v Speaker 1>order for the coffee. I wrote two more articles, and then,
<v Speaker 1>feeling more drowsy than ever. I rose and walked up
<v Speaker 1>and down the room to stretch my legs. My coffee
<v Speaker 1>had not yet come, and I wondered what the cause
<v Speaker 1>of the delay could be opening the door. I started
<v Speaker 1>down the corridor to find out. There was a straight passage,
<v Speaker 1>dimly lighted, which led from the room in which I
<v Speaker 1>had been working, and was the only exit from it.
<v Speaker 1>It ended in a curving staircase with the Commissionaire's lodge
<v Speaker 1>in the passage at the bottom. Half Way down the
<v Speaker 1>staircase is a small landing with another passage running into
<v Speaker 1>it at right angles. This second one leads by means
<v Speaker 1>of a second small stair to a side door used
<v Speaker 1>by servants and also as a short cut by clerk's
<v Speaker 1>when coming from Charles Street. Here is a rough chart
<v Speaker 1>of the place. Thank you, I think that I quite
<v Speaker 1>follow you, said Sherlock Holmes. It is of the utmost
<v Speaker 1>importance that you should notice this point. I went down
<v Speaker 1>the stairs and into the hall, where I found the
<v Speaker 1>Commissionaire fast asleep in his box, with the kettle boiling
<v Speaker 1>furiously upon the spirit lamp. I took off the kettle
<v Speaker 1>and blew out the lamp for the water was spurting
<v Speaker 1>over the floor. Then I put out my hand and
<v Speaker 1>was about to shake the man, who was still sleeping soundly,
<v Speaker 1>when a bell over his head rang loudly, and he
<v Speaker 1>woke with a start. Mister Phelps, sir, said, he looking
<v Speaker 1>at me in bewilderment. I came down to see if
<v Speaker 1>my coffee was ready. I was boiling the kettle when
<v Speaker 1>I fell asleep, Sir. He looked at me, and then
<v Speaker 1>up at the still quivering bell, with an ever growing
<v Speaker 1>astonishment upon his face. If you was here, sir, then
<v Speaker 1>who rang the bell? He asked the bell? I cried,
<v Speaker 1>what bell is it? It's the bell of the room
<v Speaker 1>you were working in. A cold hand seemed to close
<v Speaker 1>round my heart. Some one then was in that room
<v Speaker 1>where my precious treaty lay upon the table. I ran
<v Speaker 1>frantically up the stair and along the passage. There was
<v Speaker 1>no one in the corridors, mister Holmes, there was no
<v Speaker 1>one in the room. All was exactly as I left it,
<v Speaker 1>save only that the papers which had been committed to
<v Speaker 1>my care had been taken from the desk on which
<v Speaker 1>they lay. The copy was there, and the original was gone.
<v Speaker 1>Holmes sat up in his chair and rubbed his hands.
<v Speaker 1>I could see that the problem was entirely to his heart. Pray,
<v Speaker 1>what did you do? Then, he murmured. I recognized in
<v Speaker 1>an instant that the thief must have come up the
<v Speaker 1>stairs from the side door. Of course I must have
<v Speaker 1>met him if he had come the other way. You
<v Speaker 1>were satisfied that he could not have been concealed in
<v Speaker 1>the room all the time, or in the corridor, which
<v Speaker 1>you have just described as dimly lighted. It is absolutely
<v Speaker 1>impossible a rat could not conceal himself, either in the
<v Speaker 1>room or the corridor. There is no cover at all.
<v Speaker 1>Thank you. Pray proceed. The Commissionaire, seeing by my pale
<v Speaker 1>face that something was to be feared, had followed me upstairs.
<v Speaker 1>Now we both rushed along the corridor and down the
<v Speaker 1>steep steps which led to Charles Street. The door at
<v Speaker 1>the bottom was closed but unlocked. We flung it open
<v Speaker 1>and rushed out. I can distinctly remember that as we
<v Speaker 1>did so, there came three chimes from a neighboring clock.
<v Speaker 1>It was quarter to ten. That is of enormous importance,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, making a note upon his shirt cuff. The
<v Speaker 1>night was very dark, and a thin warm rain was falling.
<v Speaker 1>There was no one in Charles Street, but a great
<v Speaker 1>traffic was going on as usual in Whitehall. At the extremity,
<v Speaker 1>we rushed along the pavement, bareheaded as we were, and
<v Speaker 1>at the far corner we found a policeman standing. A
<v Speaker 1>robbery has been committed, I gasped. A document of immense
<v Speaker 1>value has been stolen from the Foreign Office. Has anyone
<v Speaker 1>passed this way? I've been standing here for a quarter
<v Speaker 1>of an hour, Sir said he. Only one person has
<v Speaker 1>passed during that time, a woman, tall and elderly with
<v Speaker 1>a Paisley shawl. Ah, that is only my wife, cried
<v Speaker 1>the commissionaire. As no one else passed, no one, then
<v Speaker 1>it must be the other way that the thief took,
<v Speaker 1>cried the fellow, tugging at my sleeve. But I was
<v Speaker 1>not satisfied, and the attempt which he made to draw
<v Speaker 1>me away increased my suspicions. Which way did the woman go?
<v Speaker 1>I cried? I don't know, Sir. I noticed her pass,
<v Speaker 1>but I no special reason for watching her. She seemed
<v Speaker 1>to be in hurry. How long ago was it? Oh,
<v Speaker 1>not very many minutes, within the last five well, it
<v Speaker 1>could not be more than five you are only wasting
<v Speaker 1>your time, sir, and every minute now as of importance,
<v Speaker 1>cried the commissionaire. Take my word for it that my
<v Speaker 1>old woman has nothing to do with it, and come
<v Speaker 1>down to the other end of the street. Well, if
<v Speaker 1>you won't, I will. And with that he rushed off
<v Speaker 1>in the other direction. But I was after him in
<v Speaker 1>an instant and caught him by the sleeve. Where do
<v Speaker 1>you live, said I sixteen ivylying Brixton, he answered, But
<v Speaker 1>don't let yourself be drawn away upon a false scent,
<v Speaker 1>mister Phelps, come to the other end of the street
<v Speaker 1>and let us see if we can hear of anything.
<v Speaker 1>Nothing was to be lost by following his advice with
<v Speaker 1>the policemen. We both hurried down, but only to find
<v Speaker 1>the street full of traffic, many people coming and going,
<v Speaker 1>but all only too eager to get to a place
<v Speaker 1>of safety. Upon so wet a night, there was no
<v Speaker 1>lounger who could tell us who had passed. Then we
<v Speaker 1>returned to the office and searched the stairs and the
<v Speaker 1>passage without result. The corridor which led to the room
<v Speaker 1>was laid down with a kind of creamy linoleum, which
<v Speaker 1>shows an impression very easily We examined it very carefully,
<v Speaker 1>but found no outline of any footmark. Had it been
<v Speaker 1>raining all evening since about seven? How is it then
<v Speaker 1>that the woman who came into the room about nine
<v Speaker 1>left no traces with her muddy boots. I am glad
<v Speaker 1>you raised that point. It occurred to me at the time.
<v Speaker 1>The charwomen are in the habit of taking off their
<v Speaker 1>boots at the Commissionaire's office and putting on list slippers.
<v Speaker 1>That is very clear there were no marks then, though
<v Speaker 1>the night was a wet one. The chain of events
<v Speaker 1>is certainly one of extraordinary interest. What did you do next?
<v Speaker 1>Exam in the room? Also, there is no possibility of
<v Speaker 1>a secret door, and the windows are quite thirty feet
<v Speaker 1>from the ground. Both of them were fastened on the inside.
<v Speaker 1>The carpet prevents any possibility of a trap door, and
<v Speaker 1>the ceiling is of the ordinary whitewashed kind. I will
<v Speaker 1>pledge my life that whoever stole my papers could only
<v Speaker 1>have come through the door. How about the fireplace they
<v Speaker 1>use none. There is a stove. The bell rope hangs
<v Speaker 1>from the wire just to the right of my desk.
<v Speaker 1>Whoever rang it must have come right up to the desk.
<v Speaker 1>To do it. But why should any criminal wish to
<v Speaker 1>ring the bell? It is a most insoluble mystery. Certainly,
<v Speaker 1>the incident was unusual. What were your next steps? You
<v Speaker 1>examined the room, I presume to see if the intruder
<v Speaker 1>had left any traces, any cigar end or dropped glove
<v Speaker 1>or hairpin or other trifle. There was nothing of the sort.
<v Speaker 1>No smell. Well, we never thought of that. Ah ascent
<v Speaker 1>of tobacco would have been worth a great deal to
<v Speaker 1>us in such an investigation. I never smoke myself, so
<v Speaker 1>I think I should have observed if there had been
<v Speaker 1>any smell of tobacco. There was absolutely no clue of
<v Speaker 1>any kind. The only tangible fact was that the Commissionaire's wife,
<v Speaker 1>Missus Tangy was the name, had hurried out of the place.
<v Speaker 1>He could give no explanation, say that it was about
<v Speaker 1>the time when the woman always went home. The policeman
<v Speaker 1>and I agreed that our best plan would be to
<v Speaker 1>seize the woman before she could get rid of the papers,
<v Speaker 1>presuming that she had them. The alarm had reached Scotland
<v Speaker 1>Yard by this time, and mister Forbes, the detective, came
<v Speaker 1>round at once and took up the case. With a
<v Speaker 1>great deal of energy. We hired a hansom, and in
<v Speaker 1>half an hour we were at the address which had
<v Speaker 1>been given to us. A young woman opened the door
<v Speaker 1>who proved to be Missus Tangy's eldest daughter. Her mother
<v Speaker 1>had not come back yet, and we were shown into
<v Speaker 1>the front room to wait. About ten minutes later a
<v Speaker 1>knock came at the door, and here we made the
<v Speaker 1>one serious mistake for which I blame myself. Instead of
<v Speaker 1>opening the door ourselves, we allowed the girl to do so.
<v Speaker 1>We heard her say, mother, there are two men in
<v Speaker 1>the house waiting to see you. And an instant afterwards
<v Speaker 1>we heard the patter of feet rushing down the passage.
<v Speaker 1>Forbes flung open the door and we both ran into
<v Speaker 1>the back room or kitchen, but the woman had got
<v Speaker 1>there before us. She stared at us with defiant eyes,
<v Speaker 1>and then, suddenly recognizing me, an expression of absolute astonishment
<v Speaker 1>came over her face. Why if it isn't mister Phelps
<v Speaker 1>of the office, she cried, Come, come, Who did ye
<v Speaker 1>think we were when you ran away from us? Asked
<v Speaker 1>my companion, Ah, I thought you were the brokers, said she.
<v Speaker 1>We've had some trouble with a tradesman. That's not quite
<v Speaker 1>good enough, answered Forbes. We have reason to believe that
<v Speaker 1>you have taken a paper of importance from the Foreign Office,
<v Speaker 1>and that you ran in here to dispose of it.
<v Speaker 1>He must come back with us to Scotland Yard to
<v Speaker 1>be searched. It was in vain that she protested and resisted.
<v Speaker 1>A four wheeler was brought and we all three drove
<v Speaker 1>back in it. We had first made an examination of
<v Speaker 1>the kitchen, and especially of the kitchen fire, to see
<v Speaker 1>whether she might have made away with the papers during
<v Speaker 1>the instant that she was alone. There were no signs, however,
<v Speaker 1>of any ashes or scraps. When we reached Scotland Yard,
<v Speaker 1>she was handed over at once to the female searcher.
<v Speaker 1>I waited in an agony of suspense until she came
<v Speaker 1>back with her report. There were no signs of the papers. Then,
<v Speaker 1>for the first time, the horror of my situation came
<v Speaker 1>in its full force. Hitherto I had been acting, and
<v Speaker 1>action had none thought. I had been so confident of
<v Speaker 1>regaining the treaty at once that I had not dared
<v Speaker 1>to think of what would be the consequence if I
<v Speaker 1>failed to do so. But now there was nothing more
<v Speaker 1>to be done, and I had leisure to realize my position.
<v Speaker 1>It was horrible. Watson there would tell you that I
<v Speaker 1>was a nervous, sensitive boy at school. It is my nature.
<v Speaker 1>I thought of my uncle and of his colleagues in
<v Speaker 1>the cabinet, of the shame which I had brought upon him,
<v Speaker 1>upon myself, upon every one connected with me. What though
<v Speaker 1>I was the victim of an extraordinary accident, no allowance
<v Speaker 1>is made for accidents where diplomatic interests are at stake.
<v Speaker 1>I was ruined, shamefully, hopelessly ruined. I don't know what
<v Speaker 1>I did. I fancy I must have made a scene.
<v Speaker 1>I have a dim recollection of a group of officials
<v Speaker 1>who crowded round me, endeavoring to soothe me. One of
<v Speaker 1>them drove down with me to Waterloo and saw me
<v Speaker 1>into the Woking train. I believed that he would have
<v Speaker 1>come all the way had it not been that doctor Ferrier,
<v Speaker 1>who lives near me, was going down by that very train.
<v Speaker 1>The doctor most kindly took charge of me, and it
<v Speaker 1>was well he did so, for I had a fit
<v Speaker 1>in the station, and before we reached home I was
<v Speaker 1>practically a raving maniac. You can imagine the state of
<v Speaker 1>things here when they were roused from their beds by
<v Speaker 1>the doctor's ringing and found me in this condition. Poor
<v Speaker 1>Annie here and my mother were broken hearted. Doctor Ferrier
<v Speaker 1>had just heard enough from the detective at the station
<v Speaker 1>to be able to give an idea of what had happened,
<v Speaker 1>and his story did not mend matters. It was evident
<v Speaker 1>to all that I I was in for a long illness.
<v Speaker 1>So Joseph was bundled out of this cheery bedroom and
<v Speaker 1>it was turned into a sick room for me. Here
<v Speaker 1>I have lain mister Holmes for over nine weeks, unconscious
<v Speaker 1>and raving with brain fever. If it had not been
<v Speaker 1>for missus Harrison here and for the doctor's care, I
<v Speaker 1>should not be speaking to you now. She has nursed
<v Speaker 1>me by day, and a hired nurse has looked after
<v Speaker 1>me by night, For in my mad fits I was
<v Speaker 1>capable of anything. Slowly my reason has cleared, but it
<v Speaker 1>is only during the last three days that my memory
<v Speaker 1>has quite returned. Sometimes I wish that it never had.
<v Speaker 1>The first thing that I did was to wire to
<v Speaker 1>mister Forbes, who had the case in hand. He came
<v Speaker 1>out and assures me that though everything has been done,
<v Speaker 1>no trace of a clue has been discovered. The Commissionaire
<v Speaker 1>and his wife have been examined in every way without
<v Speaker 1>any light being thrown upon the matter. The suspicions of
<v Speaker 1>the police then rested upon young Goro, who, as you
<v Speaker 1>may remember, stayed over time in the office that night.
<v Speaker 1>His remaining behind and his French name were really the
<v Speaker 1>only two points which could suggest suspicion. But as a
<v Speaker 1>matter of fact, I did not begin work until he
<v Speaker 1>had gone, and his people are of Huguenot extraction. But
<v Speaker 1>as English in sympathy and tradition as you and I are,
<v Speaker 1>nothing was found to implicate him in any way, and
<v Speaker 1>there the matter dropped. I turned to you, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>as absolutely my last hope. If you fail me, then
<v Speaker 1>my honor, as well as my position, are forever forfeited.
<v Speaker 1>The invalid sank back upon his cushions, tired out by
<v Speaker 1>this long recital, while his nurse poured him out a
<v Speaker 1>glass of some stimulating medicine. Holmes sat silently, with his
<v Speaker 1>head thrown back and his eyes closed, in an attitude
<v Speaker 1>which might seem listless to a stranger, but which I
<v Speaker 1>knew betokened the most intense self absorption. Your statement has
<v Speaker 1>been so explicit, said he at last, that you have
<v Speaker 1>really left me very few questions to ask. There is
<v Speaker 1>one of the very utmost importance. However, did you tell
<v Speaker 1>any one that you had this special task to perform?
<v Speaker 1>No one, not Miss Harrison here for example. No, I
<v Speaker 1>had not been back to Woking between getting the order
<v Speaker 1>and executing the commission and none of your people had
<v Speaker 1>by chance been to see you. None. Did any of
<v Speaker 1>them know their way about in the office. Oh? Yes,
<v Speaker 1>all of them had been shown over it. Still, of course,
<v Speaker 1>if you said nothing to any one about the treaty,
<v Speaker 1>these inquiries are irrelevant. I said nothing. Do you know
<v Speaker 1>anything of the commissionaire? Nothing except that he is an
<v Speaker 1>old soldier? What regiment? Oh? I have heard cold Stream Guards?
<v Speaker 1>Thank you. I have no doubt I can get details
<v Speaker 1>from Forbes. The authorities are excellent at amassing facts, though
<v Speaker 1>they do not always use them to advantage. What a
<v Speaker 1>lovely thing a roses. He walked past the couch to
<v Speaker 1>the open window and held up the drooping stalk of
<v Speaker 1>a moss rose, looking down at the dainty blend of
<v Speaker 1>crimson and green. It was a new phase of his
<v Speaker 1>character to me, for I'd never seen him show any
<v Speaker 1>keen interest in natural objects. There is nothing in which
<v Speaker 1>deduction is so necessary as in religion, said he, leaning
<v Speaker 1>with his back against the shutters. It can be built
<v Speaker 1>up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest
<v Speaker 1>assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to
<v Speaker 1>rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires,
<v Speaker 1>our food are all really necessary for our existence in
<v Speaker 1>the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its
<v Speaker 1>smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not
<v Speaker 1>a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras.
<v Speaker 1>And so I say again that we have much to
<v Speaker 1>hope from the flowers. Percy Phelps and his nurse looked
<v Speaker 1>at Holmes during this demonstration with surprise and a good
<v Speaker 1>deal of disappointment written upon their faces. He had fallen
<v Speaker 1>into a reverie with the moss rose between his fingers.
<v Speaker 1>It had lasted some minutes before the young lady broke
<v Speaker 1>in upon it. Do you see any prospect of solving
<v Speaker 1>this mystery, mister Holmes, she asked, with a touch of
<v Speaker 1>asperity in her voice. Oh the mystery, he answered, coming
<v Speaker 1>back with a start to the realities of life. Well,
<v Speaker 1>it would be absurd to deny that the case is
<v Speaker 1>a very abstruse and complicated one. But I can promise
<v Speaker 1>you that I will look into the matter and let
<v Speaker 1>you know any points which may strike me. Do you
<v Speaker 1>see any clue? You have furnished me with seven But
<v Speaker 1>of course I must test them before I can pronounce
<v Speaker 1>upon their value. You suspect some one, I suspect myself.
<v Speaker 1>What of coming to conclusions too rapidly? Then go to
<v Speaker 1>London and test your conclusions. Your advice is very excellent,
<v Speaker 1>Miss Harrison, said Holmes, rising, I think Watson, we cannot
<v Speaker 1>do better. Do not allow yourself to indulge in false hopes,
<v Speaker 1>mister Phelps. The affair is a very tangled one. I
<v Speaker 1>shall be in a fever until I see you again,
<v Speaker 1>cried the diplomatist. Well, i'll come out by the same
<v Speaker 1>train to morrow, though it's more than likely that my
<v Speaker 1>report will be a negative one. God bless you for
<v Speaker 1>promising to come, cried our client. It gives me fresh
<v Speaker 1>life to know that something is being done by the way.
<v Speaker 1>I have had a letter from Lord Holthurst. Ha what
<v Speaker 1>did he say? He was cold, but not harsh, I
<v Speaker 1>daresay my severe illness prevented him from being that. He
<v Speaker 1>repeated that the matter was of the utmost importance, and
<v Speaker 1>added that no steps would be taken about my future,
<v Speaker 1>by which he means, of course, my dismissal until my
<v Speaker 1>health was restored and I had an opportunity of repairing
<v Speaker 1>my misfortune. Well that was reasonable and considerate, said Holmes.
<v Speaker 1>Come Watson, for we have a good day's work before
<v Speaker 1>us in town. Mister Joseph Harrison drove us down to
<v Speaker 1>the station, and we were soon whirling up in a
<v Speaker 1>Portsmouth train. Holmes was sunk in profound thought and hardly
<v Speaker 1>opened his mouth until we had passed Clapham Junction. It's
<v Speaker 1>a very cheery thing to come into London by any
<v Speaker 1>of these lines, which run high and allow you to
<v Speaker 1>look down upon the houses like this. I thought he
<v Speaker 1>was joking, for the view was sore, but he soon
<v Speaker 1>explained himself. Look at those big, isolated clumps of building
<v Speaker 1>rising up above the slates, like brick islands in a
<v Speaker 1>lead colored sea. The board schools, lighthouses, my boy, beacons
<v Speaker 1>of the future, capsules with hundreds of bright little seeds
<v Speaker 1>in each, out of which will spring the wise better
<v Speaker 1>England of the future. I suppose that man Phelps does
<v Speaker 1>not drink. I should not think so, nor should I,
<v Speaker 1>but we are bound to take every possibility into account.
<v Speaker 1>The poor devil has certainly got himself into very deep water,
<v Speaker 1>and it's a question whether we shall ever be able
<v Speaker 1>to get him ashore. What did you think of miss Harrison?
<v Speaker 1>A girl of strong character? Yes, but she is a
<v Speaker 1>good sort, or I am mistaken. She and her brother
<v Speaker 1>are the only children of an iron master somewhere up
<v Speaker 1>Northumberland Way. He got engaged to her when traveling last winter,
<v Speaker 1>when she came down to be introduced to his people,
<v Speaker 1>with her brother as escort. Then came the smash, and
<v Speaker 1>she stayed on to nurse her lover, while brother Joseph,
<v Speaker 1>finding himself pretty snug, stayed on too. I've been making
<v Speaker 1>a few independent inquiries, you see, but to day must
<v Speaker 1>be a day of inquiries my practice, I began. Oh,
<v Speaker 1>if you find your own cases more interesting than mine,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes with some asperity. I was going to say
<v Speaker 1>that my practice could get along very well for a
<v Speaker 1>day or two, since it is the slackest time in
<v Speaker 1>the year. Excellent, said he, recovering his good humor. Then
<v Speaker 1>we'll look into this matter together. I think that we
<v Speaker 1>should begin by seeing Forbes. He can probably tell us
<v Speaker 1>all the details we want, until we know from what
<v Speaker 1>side the case is to be approached. You said he
<v Speaker 1>had a clue. Well, we have several, but we can
<v Speaker 1>only test their value by further inquiry. The most difficult
<v Speaker 1>crime to track is the one which is purposeless. Now
<v Speaker 1>this is not purposeless. Who is it? Who profits by it?
<v Speaker 1>There is the French ambassador, there is the Russian. There
<v Speaker 1>is whoever might sell it to either of these? And
<v Speaker 1>there is Lord Holdhurst. Lord Holdhurst, Well, it is just
<v Speaker 1>conceivable that a statesman might find himself in a position
<v Speaker 1>where he was not sorry to have such a document
<v Speaker 1>accidentally destroyed, not a statesman with the honorable record of
<v Speaker 1>Lord Holthurst. It is a possibility, and we cannot afford
<v Speaker 1>to disregard it. We shall see the noble Lord to
<v Speaker 1>day and find out if he can tell us anything. Meanwhile,
<v Speaker 1>I have already set inquiries on foot already. Yes, I
<v Speaker 1>sent wires from Woking Station to every evening paper in London.
<v Speaker 1>This advertisement will appear in each of them. He handed
<v Speaker 1>over a sheet from a notebook on it was scribbled
<v Speaker 1>in pencil ten pounds reward the number of the cab
<v Speaker 1>which dropped a fair at or about the door of
<v Speaker 1>the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter to ten
<v Speaker 1>in the evening of May twenty third. Apply to twenty
<v Speaker 1>one B Baker Street. You're confident that the thief came
<v Speaker 1>in a cab. If not, there is no harm done.
<v Speaker 1>But if mister Phelps is correct in stating that there
<v Speaker 1>is no hiding place, either in the room or the corridors,
<v Speaker 1>then the person must have come from outside. If he
<v Speaker 1>came from outside on so wet a night, and yet
<v Speaker 1>left no trace of damp upon the linoleum, which was
<v Speaker 1>examined within a few minutes of his passing, then it
<v Speaker 1>is exceeding probable that he came in a cab. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>I think that we may safely deduce a cab. It
<v Speaker 1>sounds plausible. That is one of the clues of which
<v Speaker 1>I spoke. It may lead us to something. And then,
<v Speaker 1>of course there is the bell, which is the most
<v Speaker 1>distinctive feature of the case. Why should the bell ring?
<v Speaker 1>Was it the thief who did it out of Bravado
<v Speaker 1>or was it someone who was with the thief who
<v Speaker 1>did it in order to prevent the crime? Or was
<v Speaker 1>it an accident? Or was it He sank back into
<v Speaker 1>the state of intense and silent thought from which he
<v Speaker 1>had emerged. But it seemed to me, accustomed as I was,
<v Speaker 1>to his every mood, that some new possibility had dawned
<v Speaker 1>suddenly upon him. Part two. It was twenty past three
<v Speaker 1>when we reached our terminus, and after a hasty luncheon
<v Speaker 1>at the buffet, we pushed on at once to Scotland Yard.
<v Speaker 1>Holmes had already wired to Forbes, and we found him
<v Speaker 1>waiting to receive us, A small, foxy man with a
<v Speaker 1>sharp but by no means amiable expression. He was decidedly
<v Speaker 1>frigid in his manner to us, especially when he heard
<v Speaker 1>the errand upon which we had come your methods before. Now,
<v Speaker 1>mister Olmes said he tartly, you are ready enough to
<v Speaker 1>use all the information that the police can lay at
<v Speaker 1>your disposal, and then you try to finish the case
<v Speaker 1>yourself and bring discredit on him. On the contrary, said Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>out of my last fifty three cases, my name has
<v Speaker 1>only appeared in four, and the police have had all
<v Speaker 1>the credit. In forty nine. I don't blame you for
<v Speaker 1>not knowing this, for you are young and inexperienced. But
<v Speaker 1>if you wish to get on in your new duties,
<v Speaker 1>you will work with me and not against me. I'll
<v Speaker 1>be very glad of a hint or two, said the detective,
<v Speaker 1>changing his manner. I have certainly had no credit from
<v Speaker 1>the case so far. What steps have you taken? Tangy?
<v Speaker 1>The commissionaire has been shadowed. He left the guards with
<v Speaker 1>a good character and we can find nothing against him.
<v Speaker 1>His wife is a bad lot, though I fancy she
<v Speaker 1>knows more about this than appears. Have you shadowed her?
<v Speaker 1>We have set one of our women to her. Missus
<v Speaker 1>Tangy drinks and our woman has been with her twice
<v Speaker 1>when she was well on, but she could get nothing
<v Speaker 1>out of her. I understand that they have brokers in
<v Speaker 1>the house, yes, but they were paid off. Where did
<v Speaker 1>the money come from? And that was all right? His
<v Speaker 1>pension was due. They have not shown any sign of
<v Speaker 1>being in funds. What explanation did she give of having
<v Speaker 1>answered the bell when mister Phelps rang for the coffee?
<v Speaker 1>She said that her husband was very tired and she
<v Speaker 1>wished to relieve him. Well, certainly that would agree with
<v Speaker 1>his being found a little later asleep in his chair.
<v Speaker 1>There is nothing against them then, but the woman's character.
<v Speaker 1>Did you ask her why she hurried away that night?
<v Speaker 1>Her haste attracted the attention of the police Constable, She
<v Speaker 1>was lighter than usual and wanted to go home. Did
<v Speaker 1>you point out to her that you and mister Phelps,
<v Speaker 1>who started at least twenty minutes after her, got home
<v Speaker 1>before her. She explains that by the difference between a
<v Speaker 1>bus and a handsom. Did she make it clear why,
<v Speaker 1>on reaching her house she ran into the back kitchen
<v Speaker 1>because she had the money there with which to pay
<v Speaker 1>off the brokers. She has at least an answer for everything.
<v Speaker 1>Did you ask her whether in leaving she met anyone
<v Speaker 1>or saw anyone loitering about Charles Street? She saw no
<v Speaker 1>one but the constable. Well, you seem to have cross
<v Speaker 1>examined her pretty thoroughly. What else have you done? The
<v Speaker 1>clerk Goro has been shadowed all these nine weeks, but
<v Speaker 1>without result we can show nothing against him. Anything else. Well,
<v Speaker 1>we have nothing else to go upon, no evidence of
<v Speaker 1>any kind. Have you formed a theory about how that
<v Speaker 1>bell rang? Well, I must confess that it beats me
<v Speaker 1>it was a cool land whoever it was to go
<v Speaker 1>and give the alarm like that, Yes, it was a
<v Speaker 1>queer thing to do. Many thanks to you for what
<v Speaker 1>you've told me. If I can put the man into
<v Speaker 1>your hands, you shall hear from me. Come along, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>where are we going to now, I asked as we
<v Speaker 1>left the office. We are now going to interview Lord Holthurst,
<v Speaker 1>the Cabinet Minister and future Premiere of England. We were
<v Speaker 1>fortunate in finding that Lord Holthurst was still in his
<v Speaker 1>chambers in Downing Street, and on Holmes sending in his card,
<v Speaker 1>we were instantly shown up. The Statesman received us with
<v Speaker 1>that old fashioned courtesy for which he is remarkable, and
<v Speaker 1>seated us on the two luxuriant loungers on either side
<v Speaker 1>of the fireplace, standing on the rug between us. With
<v Speaker 1>his slight, tall figure, his sharp features, thoughtful face, and
<v Speaker 1>curling hair prematurely tinged with gray, he seemed to represent
<v Speaker 1>that not too common type, a nobleman who is, in
<v Speaker 1>truth noble. Your name is very familiar to me, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>said he smiling, And of course I cannot pretend to
<v Speaker 1>be ignorant of the object of your visit. There has
<v Speaker 1>only been one occurrence in these offices which could call
<v Speaker 1>for your attention. In Whose interest are you acting? May
<v Speaker 1>I ask? In that of mister Percy. Phelps answered Holmes, Ah,
<v Speaker 1>my unfortunate nephew. You can understand that our kinship makes
<v Speaker 1>it the more impossible for me to screen him in
<v Speaker 1>any way. I fear that the incident must have a
<v Speaker 1>very prejudicial effect upon his career. But if the document
<v Speaker 1>is found, Ah, that of course would be different. I
<v Speaker 1>had one or two questions which I wish to ask you,
<v Speaker 1>Lord Holthurst. I shall be happy to give you any
<v Speaker 1>information in my power. Was it in this room that
<v Speaker 1>you gave your instructions as to the copying of the document?
<v Speaker 1>It was then you could hardly have been overheard. It
<v Speaker 1>is out of the question. Did you ever mention to
<v Speaker 1>any one that is was your intention to give any
<v Speaker 1>one the treaty to be copied? Never? You are certain
<v Speaker 1>of that absolutely well. Since you never said so, and
<v Speaker 1>mister Phelps never said so, and nobody else knew anything
<v Speaker 1>of the matter, then the thief's presence in the room
<v Speaker 1>was purely accidental. He saw his chance and he took it.
<v Speaker 1>The statesman smiled, you take me out of my province there,
<v Speaker 1>said he. Holmes considered for a moment. There is another
<v Speaker 1>very important point which I wished to discuss with you,
<v Speaker 1>said he. You feared, as I understand, that very grave
<v Speaker 1>results might follow from the details of this treaty becoming known.
<v Speaker 1>A shadow passed over the expressive face of the statesman.
<v Speaker 1>Very grave results, indeed, and have they occurred? Not yet?
<v Speaker 1>If the treaty had reached let us say, the French
<v Speaker 1>or Russian Foreign Office, you would expect to hear of it,
<v Speaker 1>I should, said Lord Holthurst, with a wry face. Since
<v Speaker 1>nearly ten weeks have elapsed then and nothing has been heard.
<v Speaker 1>It is not unfair to suppose that, for some reason,
<v Speaker 1>the treaty has not reached them. Lord Holthurst shrugged his shoulders.
<v Speaker 1>We can hardly suppose, mister Holmes, that the thief took
<v Speaker 1>the treaty in order to frame it and hang it up.
<v Speaker 1>Perhaps he's waiting for a better price. If he waits
<v Speaker 1>a little longer, he will get no price at all.
<v Speaker 1>The treaty will cease to be secret in a few months.
<v Speaker 1>That is most important, said Holmes. Of course, it is
<v Speaker 1>a possible supposition that the thief has had a sudden illness,
<v Speaker 1>an attack of brain fever, for example, asked the Statesman,
<v Speaker 1>flashing a swift glance at him. I did not say so,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, imperturbably. And now, Lord Holthurst, we have already
<v Speaker 1>taken up too much of your valuable time, and we
<v Speaker 1>shall wish you good day. Every success to your investigation.
<v Speaker 1>Be the criminal who it may, answered the nobleman, as
<v Speaker 1>he bowed us out the door. He is a fine fellow,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, as we came out into Whitehall. But he
<v Speaker 1>has a struggle to keep up his position. He is
<v Speaker 1>far from rich and has many calls. You noticed, of course,
<v Speaker 1>that his boots had been resold. Now, Watson, I won't
<v Speaker 1>detain you from your legitimate work any longer. I shall
<v Speaker 1>do nothing more to day unless I have an answer
<v Speaker 1>to my cab advertisement. But I should be extremely obliged
<v Speaker 1>to you if you would come down with me to
<v Speaker 1>Woking tomorrow by the same train which we took yesterday.
<v Speaker 1>I met him accordingly next morning, and we traveled down
<v Speaker 1>to Woking together. He had had no answer to his advertisement,
<v Speaker 1>he said, and no fresh light had been thrown upon
<v Speaker 1>the case. He had when he so willed it the
<v Speaker 1>utter immobility of countenance of a red inn, and I
<v Speaker 1>could not gather from his appearance whether he was satisfied
<v Speaker 1>or not with the position of the case. His conversation,
<v Speaker 1>I remember, was about the Berthilent system of measurements, and
<v Speaker 1>he expressed his enthusiastic admiration of the French savant. We
<v Speaker 1>found our clients, still under the charge of his devoted nurse,
<v Speaker 1>but looking considerably better than before. He rose from the
<v Speaker 1>sofa and greeted us without difficulty. When we entered, any news,
<v Speaker 1>he asked eagerly. My report, as I expected, is a
<v Speaker 1>negative one, said Holmes. I have seen Forbes, and I
<v Speaker 1>have seen your uncle, and I have set one or
<v Speaker 1>two trains of inquiry upon foot which may lead to something.
<v Speaker 1>You have not lost heart, then, by no means, God
<v Speaker 1>bless you for saying that, cried Miss Harrison. If we
<v Speaker 1>keep our courage and our patience, the truth must come out.
<v Speaker 1>We have more to tell you than you have for us,
<v Speaker 1>said Phelps, reseating himself upon the couch. I hoped you
<v Speaker 1>might have something. Yes, we have had an adventure during
<v Speaker 1>the night, and one which might have proved to be
<v Speaker 1>a serious one. His expression grew very grave as he spoke,
<v Speaker 1>and the look of something akin to fear sprang up
<v Speaker 1>in his eyes. Do you know, said he that I
<v Speaker 1>begin to believe that I am the unconscious center of
<v Speaker 1>some monstrous conspiracy, and that my life is aimed at
<v Speaker 1>as well as my honor. Ah cried Holmes. It sounds incredible,
<v Speaker 1>for I have not, as far as I know, an
<v Speaker 1>enemy in the world. Yet from last night's experience, I
<v Speaker 1>can come to no other conclusion. Pray, let me hear it.
<v Speaker 1>You must know that last night was the very first
<v Speaker 1>night that I have ever slept without a nurse in
<v Speaker 1>the room. I was so much better that I thought
<v Speaker 1>I could dispense with one. I had a night light burning. However,
<v Speaker 1>well about two in the morning, I had sunk into
<v Speaker 1>a light sleep when I was suddenly aroused by a
<v Speaker 1>slight noise. It was like the sound which a mouse
<v Speaker 1>makes when it is gnawing a plank, and I lay
<v Speaker 1>listening to it for some time, under the impression that
<v Speaker 1>it must come from that cause. Then it grew louder,
<v Speaker 1>and suddenly there came from the window a sharp, metallic snick.
<v Speaker 1>I sat up in amazement. There could be no doubt
<v Speaker 1>what the sounds were now. The first ones had been
<v Speaker 1>caused by some one forcing an instrument through the slit
<v Speaker 1>between the sashes, and the second by the catch being
<v Speaker 1>pressed back. There was a pause then, for about ten minutes,
<v Speaker 1>as if the person were waiting to see whether the
<v Speaker 1>noise had awakened me. Then I heard a gentle creaking
<v Speaker 1>as the window was very slowly opened. I could stand
<v Speaker 1>it no longer, for my nerves are not what they
<v Speaker 1>used to be. I sprang out of bed and flung
<v Speaker 1>open the shutters. A man was crouching at the window.
<v Speaker 1>I could see little of him, for he was gone
<v Speaker 1>like a flash. He was wrapped in some sort of
<v Speaker 1>cloth which came across the lower part of his face.
<v Speaker 1>One thing only I am sure of, and that is
<v Speaker 1>he had some weapon in his hand. It looked to
<v Speaker 1>me like a long knife. I distinctly saw the gleam
<v Speaker 1>of it as he turned to run. This is most interesting,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, Pray, What did you do? Then? I should
<v Speaker 1>have followed him through the open window if I'd been
<v Speaker 1>stronger as it was, I rang the bell and roused
<v Speaker 1>the house. It took me some little time for the
<v Speaker 1>bell rings in the kitchen, and the servants all asleep upstairs.
<v Speaker 1>I shouted, however, and that brought Joseph down, and he
<v Speaker 1>roused the others. Joseph and the groom found marks on
<v Speaker 1>the bed outside the window. But the weather has been
<v Speaker 1>so dry lately that they found it hopeless to follow
<v Speaker 1>the trail across the grass. There's a place, however, on
<v Speaker 1>the wooden fence which skirts the road, which shows signs,
<v Speaker 1>they tell me, as if some one had got over
<v Speaker 1>and had snapped the top of the rail in doing so.
<v Speaker 1>I have said nothing to the local police yet, for
<v Speaker 1>I thought i'd best have your opinion first. This tale
<v Speaker 1>of our clients appeared to have an extraordinary effect upon
<v Speaker 1>Sherlock Holmes. He rose from his chair and paced about
<v Speaker 1>the room in uncontrollable excitement. Misfortunes never come, single, said Phelps, smiling,
<v Speaker 1>though it was evident that his adventure had somewhat shaken him.
<v Speaker 1>You have certainly had your share, said Holmes. Do you
<v Speaker 1>think you could walk round the house with me? Oh? Yes,
<v Speaker 1>I should like a little sunshine. Joseph will come too,
<v Speaker 1>and I also said miss Harrison. I am afraid not,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, shaking his head. I think I must ask
<v Speaker 1>you to remain sitting exactly where you are. The young
<v Speaker 1>lady resumed her seat with an air of displeasure. Her brother, however,
<v Speaker 1>had joined us, and we set off, all four together.
<v Speaker 1>We passed round the lawn to the outside of the
<v Speaker 1>young diplomatist's window. They were, as he had said, marks
<v Speaker 1>upon the bed, but they were hopelessly blurred and vague.
<v Speaker 1>Holmes stooped over them for an instant and then rose,
<v Speaker 1>shrugging his shoulders. I don't think any one could make
<v Speaker 1>much of this, said he. Let us go round the
<v Speaker 1>house and see why this particular room was chosen by
<v Speaker 1>the burglar. I should have thought those larger windows of
<v Speaker 1>the drawing room and dining room would have had more
<v Speaker 1>attractions for him. They are more visible from the road,
<v Speaker 1>suggested mister Joseph Harrison. Ah. Yes, of course there is
<v Speaker 1>a door here which he might have attempted. What is
<v Speaker 1>it for? It is a side entrance for tradespeople. Of
<v Speaker 1>course it is locked at night. Have you ever had
<v Speaker 1>an alarm like this before? Never, said our client. Do
<v Speaker 1>you keep plate in the house or anything to attract burglars?
<v Speaker 1>Nothing of value? Holmes strolled round the house with his
<v Speaker 1>hands in his pockets, and a negligent air, which was
<v Speaker 1>unusual with him. By the way, said he to Joseph Harrison.
<v Speaker 1>You found some place I understand where the fellows scaled
<v Speaker 1>the fence. Let us have a look at it. The
<v Speaker 1>plump young man led us to a spot where the
<v Speaker 1>top of one of the wooden rails had been cracked.
<v Speaker 1>A small fragment of the wood was hanging down. Holmes
<v Speaker 1>pulled it off and examined it critically. Do you think
<v Speaker 1>that was done last night? It looks rather old, does
<v Speaker 1>it not? Well? Possibly so, there are no marks of
<v Speaker 1>any one jumping down upon the other side. No, I
<v Speaker 1>fancy we shall get no help here. Let us go
<v Speaker 1>back to the bedroom and talk the matter over. Percy
<v Speaker 1>Phelps was walking very slowly, leaning upon the arm of
<v Speaker 1>his future brother in law. Holmes walked swiftly across the lawn,
<v Speaker 1>and we were at the open window of the bedroom
<v Speaker 1>long before the others came. Miss Harrison, said Holmes, speaking
<v Speaker 1>with the utmost intensity of manner. You must stay where
<v Speaker 1>you are all day. Let nothing prevent you from staying
<v Speaker 1>where you are all day. It is of the utmost importance,
<v Speaker 1>certainly if you wish it, mister Holmes, said the girl
<v Speaker 1>in astonishment. When you go to bed, lock the door
<v Speaker 1>of this room on the outside and keep the key.
<v Speaker 1>Promise to do this, But Percy, he will come to
<v Speaker 1>London with us, and am I to remain here? It
<v Speaker 1>is for his sake. You can serve him quick promise.
<v Speaker 1>She gave a quick nod of assent, just as the
<v Speaker 1>other two came up. Why do you sit moping there,
<v Speaker 1>Annie cried her brother. Come out into the sunshine. No,
<v Speaker 1>thank you, Joseph. I have a slight headache, and this
<v Speaker 1>room is deliciously cool and soothing. What do you propose now,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes asked our client. Well, in investigating this minor affair,
<v Speaker 1>we must not lose sight of our MANINGQ. It would
<v Speaker 1>be a very great help to me if you would
<v Speaker 1>come up to London with us at once, well, as
<v Speaker 1>soon as you conveniently can say in an hour. I
<v Speaker 1>feel quite strong enough if I can really be of
<v Speaker 1>any help the greatest possible. Perhaps you would like me
<v Speaker 1>to stay there tonight. I was just going to propose it. Then,
<v Speaker 1>if my friend of the night comes to revisit me,
<v Speaker 1>he will find the bird flown. We are all in
<v Speaker 1>your hands, mister Holmes, and you must tell us exactly
<v Speaker 1>what you would like done. Perhaps you would prefer that
<v Speaker 1>Joseph came with us so as to look after me.
<v Speaker 1>Oh no, my friend Watson is a medical man, you know,
<v Speaker 1>and he'll look after you. We'll have our lunch here
<v Speaker 1>if you will permit us, and then we shall all
<v Speaker 1>three set off for town together. It was arranged as
<v Speaker 1>he suggested, though Miss Harrison excused herself from leaving the
<v Speaker 1>bedroom in accordance with Holmes's suggestion, what the object of
<v Speaker 1>my friend's maneuvers was. I could not go unless it
<v Speaker 1>were to keep the lady away from Phelps, who, rejoiced
<v Speaker 1>by his returning health and by the prospect of action,
<v Speaker 1>lunched with us in the dining room. Holmes had a
<v Speaker 1>still more startling surprise for us, however, for after accompanying
<v Speaker 1>us down to the station and seeing us into our carriage,
<v Speaker 1>he calmly announced that he had no intention of leaving Woking.
<v Speaker 1>There are one or two small points which I should
<v Speaker 1>desire to clear up before I go, said he. Your absence,
<v Speaker 1>mister Phelps will in some ways rather assist me. Watson
<v Speaker 1>when you reach London, you would oblige me by driving
<v Speaker 1>at once to bake a street with our friend here,
<v Speaker 1>and remaining with him until I see you again. It
<v Speaker 1>is fortunate that you are old schoolfellows, as you must
<v Speaker 1>have much to talk over. Mister Phelps. Can have the
<v Speaker 1>spare bedroom to night, and I will be with you
<v Speaker 1>in time for breakfast, for there is a train which
<v Speaker 1>will take me into Waterloo at eight. But how about
<v Speaker 1>our investigation in London, asked Phelps ruefully. We can do
<v Speaker 1>that to morrow. I think that just at present I
<v Speaker 1>can be of more immediate use here. You might tell
<v Speaker 1>them at Briarbray that I hope to be back to
<v Speaker 1>morrow night, cried Phelps, as we began to move from
<v Speaker 1>the platform. I hardly expect to go back to Briarbray,
<v Speaker 1>answered Holmes, and waved his hand to us cheerily as
<v Speaker 1>we shut out from the station. Phelps and I talked
<v Speaker 1>it over on our journey, but neither of us could
<v Speaker 1>devise a satisfactory reason for this new development. I suppose
<v Speaker 1>he wants to find out some clue as to the
<v Speaker 1>burglary last night. If a burglar, it was for myself,
<v Speaker 1>I don't believe it was an ordinary thief. What is
<v Speaker 1>your own idea? Then upon my word, you may put
<v Speaker 1>it down to my weak nerves or not. But I
<v Speaker 1>believe there is some deep political intrigue going on around me,
<v Speaker 1>and that, for some reason that passes my understanding, my
<v Speaker 1>life is aimed at by the conspirators. It sounds high
<v Speaker 1>flown and absurd, but consider the facts. Why should a
<v Speaker 1>thief try to break in at a bedroom window where
<v Speaker 1>there could be no hope of any plunder? And why
<v Speaker 1>should he come with a long knife in his hand?
<v Speaker 1>You're sure it was not a housebreaker's Jimmy, Oh no,
<v Speaker 1>it was a knife. I saw the flash of the
<v Speaker 1>blade quite distinctly. But why on earth should you be
<v Speaker 1>pursued with such animosity? Ah, that is the question. Well,
<v Speaker 1>if Holmes takes the same view, that would account for
<v Speaker 1>his action, would it not? Presuming that your theory is correct,
<v Speaker 1>if he can lay his hands upon the man who
<v Speaker 1>threatened you last night, he will have gone a long
<v Speaker 1>way toward finding who took the naval treaty. Tis absurd
<v Speaker 1>to suppose that you have two enemies, one of whom
<v Speaker 1>robs you while the other threatens your life. But Holmes
<v Speaker 1>said that he was not going to Briarbray. I have
<v Speaker 1>known him for some time, said I, but I never
<v Speaker 1>know him to do anything yet without a very good reason.
<v Speaker 1>And with that our conversation drifted off on to other topics.
<v Speaker 1>But it was a weary day for me. Phelps was
<v Speaker 1>still weak after his long illness, and his misfortune made
<v Speaker 1>him querulous and nervous in vain. I endeavored to interest
<v Speaker 1>him in Afghanistan, in India, in social questions, in anything
<v Speaker 1>which might take his mind out of the groove. He
<v Speaker 1>would always come back to his lost treaty, wondering, guessing,
<v Speaker 1>speculating as to what Holmes was doing, what steps Lord
<v Speaker 1>Holthurst was taking, what news we should have in the morning.
<v Speaker 1>As the evening wore on, his excitement became quite painful.
<v Speaker 1>You have implicit faith in homes, he asked. I have
<v Speaker 1>seen him do some remarkable things, but he never brought
<v Speaker 1>light into anything quite so dark as this. Oh. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>I have known him solve questions which presented fewer clues
<v Speaker 1>than yours, but not where such large interests are at stake.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know that, to my certain knowledge, he has
<v Speaker 1>acted on behalf of three of the reigning houses of Europe.
<v Speaker 1>In very vital matters. But you know him well, Watson.
<v Speaker 1>He is such an inscrutable fellow that I never quite
<v Speaker 1>know what to make of him. Do you think he
<v Speaker 1>is hopeful? Do you think he expects to make a
<v Speaker 1>success of it? He has said nothing that is a
<v Speaker 1>bad sign. On the contrary, I have noticed that when
<v Speaker 1>he is off the trail he generally says. So. It
<v Speaker 1>is when he is on ascent and is not quite
<v Speaker 1>absolutely sure yet that it is the right one that
<v Speaker 1>he is most taciturn. Now, my dear fellow, we can't
<v Speaker 1>help matters by making ourselves nervous about them. So let
<v Speaker 1>me implore you to go to bed and so be
<v Speaker 1>fresh for whatever may await us to morrow. I was
<v Speaker 1>able at last to persuade my companion to take my advice,
<v Speaker 1>though I knew from his excited manner that there was
<v Speaker 1>not much hope of sleep for him. Indeed, his mood
<v Speaker 1>was infectious. For I lay tossing half the night myself,
<v Speaker 1>brooding over this strange problem, and inventing a hundred theories,
<v Speaker 1>each of which was more impossible than the last. Why
<v Speaker 1>at homes and at Woking? Why had he asked Miss
<v Speaker 1>Harrison to remain in the sick room all day. Why
<v Speaker 1>had he been so careful not to inform the people
<v Speaker 1>at Briarbray that he intended to remain near them. I
<v Speaker 1>cudgeled my brains until I fell asleep in the endeavor
<v Speaker 1>to find some explanation which would cover all these facts.
<v Speaker 1>It was seven o'clock when I awoke, and I set
<v Speaker 1>off at once for Phelps's room to find him haggard
<v Speaker 1>and spent after a sleepless night. His first question was
<v Speaker 1>where the homes had arrived. Yet he'll be here when
<v Speaker 1>he promised, said I, and not an instant sooner or later.
<v Speaker 1>And my words were true, for shortly after eight a
<v Speaker 1>hansom dashed up to the door, and our friend got
<v Speaker 1>out of it. Standing in the window, we saw that
<v Speaker 1>his left hand was swathed in a bandage, and that
<v Speaker 1>his face was very grim and pale. He entered the house,
<v Speaker 1>but it was some little time before he came upstairs.
<v Speaker 1>He looks like a beaten man, cried Phelps. I was
<v Speaker 1>forced to confess that he was right after all, said I.
<v Speaker 1>The clue of the matter lies probably here in town.
<v Speaker 1>Phelps gave a groan. I don't know how it is
<v Speaker 1>said he. But I had hoped for so much from
<v Speaker 1>his return. But surely his hand was not tied up
<v Speaker 1>like that yesterday. What can be the matter? You are
<v Speaker 1>not wounded, Holmes, I asked, as my friend entered the room. Tut,
<v Speaker 1>it is only a scratch through my own clumsiness, he answered,
<v Speaker 1>nodding his good mornings to us. This case of yours,
<v Speaker 1>mister Phelps, is certainly one of the darkest which I
<v Speaker 1>have ever investigated. I feared that you would find it
<v Speaker 1>beyond you. It has been a most remarkable experience that
<v Speaker 1>bandage tells adventures, said, I won't you tell us what
<v Speaker 1>has happened after breakfast, My dear Watson, remember that I
<v Speaker 1>have breathed thirty miles of surry air this morning. I
<v Speaker 1>suppose that there has been no answer from my cabman advertisement. Well, well,
<v Speaker 1>we cannot expect to score every time. The table was
<v Speaker 1>all laid, and just as I was about to ring,
<v Speaker 1>missus Hudson entered with the tea and coffee. A few
<v Speaker 1>minutes later she brought in three covers, and we all
<v Speaker 1>drew up to the table. Holmes ravenous, I curious, and Phelps,
<v Speaker 1>in the gloomiest state of depression. Missus Hudson has risen
<v Speaker 1>to the occasion, said Holmes, uncovering a dish of curried chicken.
<v Speaker 1>Her cuisine is a little limited, but she has as
<v Speaker 1>good an idea of breakfast as a scotchwoman. What have
<v Speaker 1>you here, Watson? Have an eggs? I answered? Good? What
<v Speaker 1>are you going to take, mister Phelps, curried fowl or eggs?
<v Speaker 1>Or will you help yourself? Thank you? I can eat nothing,
<v Speaker 1>said Phelps. Oh, come try the dish before you. Thank you.
<v Speaker 1>I would really rather not, well, then, said Holmes, with
<v Speaker 1>a mischievous twinkle. I suppose that you have no objection
<v Speaker 1>to helping me. Phelps raised the cover, and as he
<v Speaker 1>did so, he uttered a scream, and sat there staring
<v Speaker 1>with a face as white as a plate upon which
<v Speaker 1>he looked. Across the center of it was lying a
<v Speaker 1>little cylinder of blue gray paper. He caught it up,
<v Speaker 1>devoured it with his eyes, and then danced madly about
<v Speaker 1>the room, pressing it to his bosom and shrieking out
<v Speaker 1>in his delight. Then he fell back into an arm chair,
<v Speaker 1>so limp and exhausted with his own emotions that we
<v Speaker 1>had to pour brandy down his throat to keep him
<v Speaker 1>from fainting. There there, said Holmes, soothing, patting him upon
<v Speaker 1>the shoulder. It was too bad to spring it on
<v Speaker 1>you like this, But Watson here will tell you that
<v Speaker 1>I never can resist a touch of the dramatic. Phelps
<v Speaker 1>seized his hand and kissed it. God bless you, he cried,
<v Speaker 1>You have saved my honor. Well, my own was at stake,
<v Speaker 1>you know, said Holmes. I assure you it is just
<v Speaker 1>as hateful to me to fail in a case as
<v Speaker 1>it can be to you to blunder over a commission.
<v Speaker 1>Phelps thrust away the precious document into the innermost pocket
<v Speaker 1>of his coat. I have not the heart to enter
<v Speaker 1>up your breakfast any further, and yet I am dying
<v Speaker 1>to know how you got it and where it was.
<v Speaker 1>Sherlock Holmes swallowed a cup of coffee and turned his
<v Speaker 1>attention to the Hammond eggs. Then he rose, lit his pipe,
<v Speaker 1>and settled himself down into his chair. I'll tell you
<v Speaker 1>what I did first, and how I came to do
<v Speaker 1>it afterwards, said he, After leaving her at the station,
<v Speaker 1>I went for a charming walk through some admirable Surrey
<v Speaker 1>scenery to a pretty little village called Ripley, where I
<v Speaker 1>had my tea at an inn, and took the precaution
<v Speaker 1>of filling my flask and of putting a paper of
<v Speaker 1>sandwiches in my pocket. There I remained until evening, when
<v Speaker 1>I set off for Woking again, and found myself in
<v Speaker 1>the high road outside Briarbray just after sunset. Well, I
<v Speaker 1>waited until the road was clear, tis never a very
<v Speaker 1>frequent one at any time I fancy, and then I
<v Speaker 1>clambered over the fence into the grounds. Surely the gate
<v Speaker 1>was open, ejaculated phelps, Yes, but I have a peculiar
<v Speaker 1>taste in these matters. I chose the place where the
<v Speaker 1>three fir trees stand, and behind their screen I got
<v Speaker 1>over without the least chance of any one in the
<v Speaker 1>house being able to see me. I crouched down among
<v Speaker 1>the bushes on the other side and crawled from one
<v Speaker 1>to the other, witnessed the distributable state of my trousines
<v Speaker 1>until I had reached the clump of rhododendrons just opposite
<v Speaker 1>to your bedroom window. There I squatted down and awaited developments.
<v Speaker 1>The blind was not down in your room, and I
<v Speaker 1>could see Miss Harrison sitting there reading by the table.
<v Speaker 1>It was quarter past ten when she closed her book,
<v Speaker 1>fastened the shutters, and retired. I heard her shut the
<v Speaker 1>door and felt quite sure that she had turned the
<v Speaker 1>key in the lock. The key ejaculated, Phelps. Yes, I
<v Speaker 1>had given miss Harrison instructions to lock the door on
<v Speaker 1>the outside and take the key with her when she
<v Speaker 1>went to bed. She carried out every one of my
<v Speaker 1>injunctions to the letter, and certainly without her co operation
<v Speaker 1>you would not have that paper in your coat pocket.
<v Speaker 1>She departed then, and the lights went out, and I
<v Speaker 1>was left squatting in the rhododendron bush. The night was fine,
<v Speaker 1>but still it was a very weary vigil. Of course,
<v Speaker 1>it has the sort of excitement about it that the
<v Speaker 1>sportsman feels when he lies beside the water course and
<v Speaker 1>waits for the big game. It was very long, though
<v Speaker 1>almost as long, Watson, as when you and I waited
<v Speaker 1>in that deadly room when we looked into the little
<v Speaker 1>problem of the speckled band. There was a church clock
<v Speaker 1>down at Woking which struck the quarters, and I thought
<v Speaker 1>more than once that it had stopped at last. However,
<v Speaker 1>about two in the morning, I suddenly heard the gentle
<v Speaker 1>sound of a bolt being pushed back, and the creaking
<v Speaker 1>of a key. A moment later, the servant's door was
<v Speaker 1>opened and mister Joseph Harrison stepped out into the moonlight.
<v Speaker 1>Joseph ejaculated phelps. He was bare headed, but he had
<v Speaker 1>a black coat thrown over his shoulder, so that he
<v Speaker 1>could conceal his face in an instant if there were
<v Speaker 1>any alarm. He walked on tiptoe under the shadow of
<v Speaker 1>the wall, and when he reached the window, he worked
<v Speaker 1>a long bladed knife through the sash and pushed back
<v Speaker 1>the catch. Then he flung open the window, and, putting
<v Speaker 1>his knife through the crack in the shutters, he thrust
<v Speaker 1>the bar up and swung them open. From where I lay,
<v Speaker 1>I had a perfect view of the inside of the
<v Speaker 1>room and of every one of his movements. He lit
<v Speaker 1>the two candles which stood upon the mantelpiece, and then
<v Speaker 1>he proceeded to turn back the corner of the carpet
<v Speaker 1>in the neighborhood of the door. Presently, he stopped and
<v Speaker 1>picked out a square piece of board, such as is
<v Speaker 1>usually left to enable plumbers to get at the joints
<v Speaker 1>of the gas pipes. This one covered, as a matter
<v Speaker 1>of fact, the tea joint which gives off the pipe
<v Speaker 1>which supply lies the kitchen underneath. Out of this hiding place,
<v Speaker 1>he drew that little cylinder of paper, pushed down the board,
<v Speaker 1>rearranged the carpet, blew out the candles, and walked straight
<v Speaker 1>into my arms as I stood waiting for him outside
<v Speaker 1>the window. Well, he has rather more viciousness than I
<v Speaker 1>gave him credit for. As Master Joseph. He flew at
<v Speaker 1>me with his knife, and I had to grasp him
<v Speaker 1>twice and got a cut over the knuckles before I
<v Speaker 1>had the upper hand of him. He looked murder out
<v Speaker 1>of the only eye he could see with when we
<v Speaker 1>had finished, but he listened to reason and gave up
<v Speaker 1>the papers, having got them. I let my man go,
<v Speaker 1>but I wired full particulars to Forbes this morning. If
<v Speaker 1>he is quick enough to catch his bird, well and good.
<v Speaker 1>But if as I shrewdly suspect, he finds the nest
<v Speaker 1>empty before he gets there, why all the better for
<v Speaker 1>the government. I fancy that Lord Holthurst, for one, and
<v Speaker 1>mister Percy Phelps for another, would very much rather that
<v Speaker 1>the affair never got as far as a police court.
<v Speaker 1>My God gasped our client. Do you tell me that
<v Speaker 1>during these long ten weeks of agony the stolen papers
<v Speaker 1>were within the very room with me all the time.
<v Speaker 1>So it was, and Joseph, Joseph a villain and a thief. Hum,
<v Speaker 1>I am afraid Joseph's character is a rather deeper and
<v Speaker 1>more dangerous one than one might judge from his appearance.
<v Speaker 1>From what I have heard from him this morning, I
<v Speaker 1>gather that he has lost heavily in dabbling with stocks,
<v Speaker 1>and that he is ready to do anything on earth
<v Speaker 1>to better his fortunes, being an absolutely selfish man. When
<v Speaker 1>a chance presented itself, he did not allow either his
<v Speaker 1>sister's happiness or your reputation to hold his hand. Percy
<v Speaker 1>Phelps sank back in his chair. My head whirls, said he,
<v Speaker 1>Your words have dazed me. The principal difficulty in your case,
<v Speaker 1>remarked Holmes, in his didactic fashion, lay in the fact
<v Speaker 1>there being too much evidence. What was vital was overlaid
<v Speaker 1>and hidden by what was irrelevant. Of all the facts
<v Speaker 1>which were presented to us, we had to pick just
<v Speaker 1>those which we deemed to be essential, and then piece
<v Speaker 1>them together in their order, so as to reconstruct this
<v Speaker 1>very remarkable chain of events. I had already begun to
<v Speaker 1>suspect Joseph from the fact that you had intended to
<v Speaker 1>travel home with him that night, and that therefore it
<v Speaker 1>was a likely enough thing that he should call for you,
<v Speaker 1>knowing the Foreign Office well upon his way. When I
<v Speaker 1>heard that some one had been so anxious to get
<v Speaker 1>into the bedroom in which no one but Joseph could
<v Speaker 1>have concealed anything, you told us in your narrative how
<v Speaker 1>you had turned Joseph out when you arrived with the doctor.
<v Speaker 1>My suspicions all changed to certainties, especially as the attempt
<v Speaker 1>was made on the first night upon which the nurse
<v Speaker 1>was absent, showing that the intruder was well acquainted with
<v Speaker 1>the ways of the house. How blind I have been.
<v Speaker 1>The facts of the case, as far as I have
<v Speaker 1>worked them out, are these this. Joseph Harrison entered the
<v Speaker 1>office through the Charles Street door, and knowing his way,
<v Speaker 1>he walked straight into your room the instant after you
<v Speaker 1>left it. Finding no one there, he promptly rang the bell,
<v Speaker 1>and at the instant that he did so, his eyes
<v Speaker 1>caught the paper upon the table. A glance showed him
<v Speaker 1>that chance had put in his way a state document
<v Speaker 1>of immense value, and in an instant he had thrust
<v Speaker 1>it into his pocket and was gone. A few minutes elapsed,
<v Speaker 1>as you remember before the sleepy Commissionaire drew your attention
<v Speaker 1>to the bell, and those were just enough to give
<v Speaker 1>the thief time to make his escape. He made his
<v Speaker 1>way to Woking by the first train, and, having examined
<v Speaker 1>his booty and assured himself that it really was of
<v Speaker 1>immense value, he had concealed it in what he thought
<v Speaker 1>was a very safe place, with the intention of taking
<v Speaker 1>it out again in a day or two and carrying
<v Speaker 1>it to the French embassy or wherever he thought that
<v Speaker 1>a long price was to be had. Then came your
<v Speaker 1>sudden return. He, without a moment's warning, was bundled out
<v Speaker 1>of his room, and from that time onward there were
<v Speaker 1>always at least two of you there to prevent him
<v Speaker 1>from regaining his treasure. The situation to him must have
<v Speaker 1>been a maddening one, but at last he thought he
<v Speaker 1>saw his chance. He tried to steal in, but was
<v Speaker 1>baffled by your wakefulness. You remember that you did not
<v Speaker 1>take your usual draft that night. I remember I fancy
<v Speaker 1>that he had taken steps to make that draft efficacious,
<v Speaker 1>and that he quite relied upon you being unconscious. Of course,
<v Speaker 1>I understood that he would repeat the attempt whenever it
<v Speaker 1>could be done with safety. Your leaving the room gave
<v Speaker 1>him the chance he wanted. I kept Miss Harrison in
<v Speaker 1>it all day so that he might not anticipate us. Then,
<v Speaker 1>having given him the idea that the coast was clear,
<v Speaker 1>I kept guard. As I have described. I already knew
<v Speaker 1>that the papers were probably in the room, but I
<v Speaker 1>had no desire to rip up all the planking and
<v Speaker 1>skirting in search of them. I let him take them, therefore,
<v Speaker 1>from the hiding place, and so saved myself an infinity
<v Speaker 1>of trouble. Is there any other point which I can
<v Speaker 1>make clear? Why did he try the wind on the
<v Speaker 1>first occasion? I asked, when he might have entered by
<v Speaker 1>the door. In reaching the door, he would have to
<v Speaker 1>pass seven bedrooms. On the other hand, he could get
<v Speaker 1>out onto the lawn with ease. Anything else, you do
<v Speaker 1>not think, asked Phelps, that he had any murderous intention.
<v Speaker 1>The knife was only meant as a tool. It may
<v Speaker 1>be so, answered Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. I can only
<v Speaker 1>say for certain that mister Joseph Harrison is a gentleman
<v Speaker 1>to whose mercy I should be extremely unwilling to trust.
<v Speaker 1>End of the Naval Treaty Hey