The Yelllow Face - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

<v Speaker 1>The Yellow Face. In publishing these short sketches, based upon
<v Speaker 1>the numerous cases in which my companion's singular gifts have
<v Speaker 1>made us the listeners to and eventually the actors in
<v Speaker 1>some strange drama. It is only natural that I should
<v Speaker 1>dwell rather upon his successes than upon his failures. And
<v Speaker 1>this not so much for the sake of his reputation.
<v Speaker 1>For indeed, it was when he was at his wits
<v Speaker 1>end that his energy and his versatility were most admirable.
<v Speaker 1>But because where he failed, it happened too often that
<v Speaker 1>no one else succeeded, and that the tale was left
<v Speaker 1>forever without a conclusion. Now and again, however, it chanced
<v Speaker 1>that even when he erred, the truth was still discovered.
<v Speaker 1>I have noted of some half dozen cases of the kind.
<v Speaker 1>The adventure of the Musgrave Ritual and that which I
<v Speaker 1>am about to recount are the two which present the
<v Speaker 1>strongest features of interest Sherlock Holmes was a man who
<v Speaker 1>who seldom took exercise. For exercise's sake. Few men were
<v Speaker 1>capable of greater muscular effort, and he was undoubtedly one
<v Speaker 1>of the finest boxers of his weight that I have
<v Speaker 1>ever seen. But he looked upon aimless bodily exertion as
<v Speaker 1>a waste of energy, and he seldom bestirred himself, save
<v Speaker 1>when there was some professional object to be served. Then
<v Speaker 1>he was absolutely untiring and indefatigable. That he should have
<v Speaker 1>kept himself in training under such circumstances is remarkable. But
<v Speaker 1>his diet was usually of the sparest, and his habits
<v Speaker 1>were simple to the verge of austerity. Save for the
<v Speaker 1>occasional use of cocaine. He had no vices, and he
<v Speaker 1>only turned to the drug as a protest against the
<v Speaker 1>monotony of existence when cases were scanty and the papers uninteresting.
<v Speaker 1>One day in early spring, he had so far relaxed
<v Speaker 1>as to go for a walk with me in the park,
<v Speaker 1>where the first faint shoots of green were breaking out
<v Speaker 1>upon the elms, and the sticky spear heads of the
<v Speaker 1>chestnuts were just beginning to burst into their fivefold leaves.
<v Speaker 1>For two hours we rambled about together in silence, for
<v Speaker 1>the most part, as befits, two men who know each
<v Speaker 1>other intimately. He was nearly five before we were back
<v Speaker 1>in Baker Street. Once more. Beg pardon, sir, said our
<v Speaker 1>page boy as he opened the door. There's been a
<v Speaker 1>gentleman here? Ask him for you, sir. Holmes glanced reproachfully
<v Speaker 1>at me. So much for afternoon, Walks said, he has
<v Speaker 1>this gentleman gone? Then, yes, sir, didn't you ask him in? Yes, sir,
<v Speaker 1>he came in. How long did he wait? Half an hour? Sir?
<v Speaker 1>He was a very restless gentleman, a walking and a
<v Speaker 1>stamping all the time he was here. I was waiting
<v Speaker 1>outside the door, sir, and I could hear him. At
<v Speaker 1>last he outs into the passage and he cries, is
<v Speaker 1>that man never going to come? Those were his very words, Sir.
<v Speaker 1>You only need to wait a little longer, says I.
<v Speaker 1>Then I'll wait in the open air, for I feel
<v Speaker 1>half choked, says he. I'll be back before long. And
<v Speaker 1>with that he up send ye outs and all I
<v Speaker 1>could say wouldn't hold him back. Well, well you did
<v Speaker 1>your best, said Holmes as we walked into our room.
<v Speaker 1>It's very annoying, though, Watson. I was badly in need
<v Speaker 1>of a case, and this looks from the man's impatience
<v Speaker 1>as if it were of importance. Hullo, that's not your
<v Speaker 1>pipe on the table. He must have left his behind him,
<v Speaker 1>A nice old briar with a good long stem of
<v Speaker 1>what the tobacconists call amber. I wonder how many real
<v Speaker 1>amber mouthpieces there are in London. Some people think that
<v Speaker 1>a fly in it is a sign. Well, he must
<v Speaker 1>have been disturbed in his mind to leave a pipe
<v Speaker 1>behind him which he evidently values highly. How do you
<v Speaker 1>know that he values it highly? I asked, Well, I
<v Speaker 1>should put the original cost of the pie at seven
<v Speaker 1>and sixpence. Now it has, you see, been twice mended,
<v Speaker 1>once in the wooden stem and once in the amber.
<v Speaker 1>Each of these mends, done as you observe, with silver brands,
<v Speaker 1>must have cost more than the pipe did originally. The
<v Speaker 1>man must value the pipe highly when he prefers to
<v Speaker 1>patch it up rather than buy a new one with
<v Speaker 1>the same money. Anything else I asked for. Holmes was
<v Speaker 1>turning the pipe about in his hand and staring at
<v Speaker 1>it in his peculiar, pensive way. He held it up
<v Speaker 1>and tapped on it with his long, thin forefinger, as
<v Speaker 1>a professor might who is lecturing on a bone. Pipes
<v Speaker 1>are occasionally of extraordinary interest, said he. Nothing has more individuality,
<v Speaker 1>save perhaps watches and boot laces. The indications here, however,
<v Speaker 1>are neither very marked nor very important. The owner is
<v Speaker 1>obviously a muscular man, left handed, with an excellent set
<v Speaker 1>of teeth, careless in his habits, and with no need
<v Speaker 1>to practice economy. My friend threw out the information in
<v Speaker 1>a very off hand way, but I saw that he
<v Speaker 1>cocked his eye at me to see if I had
<v Speaker 1>followed his reasoning. You think a man must be well
<v Speaker 1>to do if he smokes a seven shilling pipe, said I.
<v Speaker 1>This is grove and a mixture at eightpence an ounce.
<v Speaker 1>Holmes answered, knocking a little out on his palm, as
<v Speaker 1>he might get an excellent smoke for half the price.
<v Speaker 1>He has no need to practice economy. And the other points.
<v Speaker 1>He has been in the habit of lighting his pipe
<v Speaker 1>at lamps and gas jets, and you can see that
<v Speaker 1>it is quite charred, all down one side. Of course,
<v Speaker 1>a match could not have done that. Why should a
<v Speaker 1>man hold a match to the side of his pipe,
<v Speaker 1>But you cannot light it at a lamp without getting
<v Speaker 1>the bowl charred, and it is all on the right
<v Speaker 1>side of the pipe. From that I gather that he
<v Speaker 1>is a left handed man. You hold your own pipe
<v Speaker 1>to the lamp, and see how naturally you, being right handed,
<v Speaker 1>hold the left side to the flame. You might do
<v Speaker 1>it once the other way, but not as a constancy.
<v Speaker 1>This has always been held. So then he has bitten
<v Speaker 1>through his amber. It takes a muscular, energetic fellow, and
<v Speaker 1>one with a good set of teeth to do that.
<v Speaker 1>But if I am not mistaken, I hear him upon
<v Speaker 1>the stair, so we shall have something more interesting than
<v Speaker 1>his pipe to study. An instant later our door opened
<v Speaker 1>and a tall young man entered the room. He was
<v Speaker 1>well but quietly dressed in a dark gray suit, and
<v Speaker 1>carried a brown wide awake in his hand. I should
<v Speaker 1>have put him at about thirty, though he is really
<v Speaker 1>some years older. I beg your pardon, said he, with
<v Speaker 1>some embarrassment. I suppose I should have not. Yes, of
<v Speaker 1>course I should have noted. The fact is that I
<v Speaker 1>am a little upset, and you must put it all
<v Speaker 1>down to that. He passed his hand over his forehead
<v Speaker 1>like a man who is half dazed, and then fell
<v Speaker 1>rather than sat down upon a chair. I can see
<v Speaker 1>that you have not slept for a night or two,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, in his easy, genial way that tries a
<v Speaker 1>man's nerves more than work, and more even than pleasure.
<v Speaker 1>May I ask how I can help you. I wanted
<v Speaker 1>your advice, sir. I don't know what to do, and
<v Speaker 1>my whole life seems to have gone to pieces. You
<v Speaker 1>wish to employ me as a consulting detective, not that
<v Speaker 1>only I want your opinion as a judicious man, as
<v Speaker 1>a man of the world. I want to know what
<v Speaker 1>I ought to do next. I hope to God you'll
<v Speaker 1>be able to tell me. He spoke in little, sharp,
<v Speaker 1>jerky outbursts, and it seemed to me that to speak
<v Speaker 1>at all was very painful to him, and that his
<v Speaker 1>will all through was overriding his inclinations. It's a very
<v Speaker 1>delicate thing, said he. One does not like to speak
<v Speaker 1>of one's domestic affairs to strangers. It seems dreadful to
<v Speaker 1>discuss the conduct of one's wife with two men whom
<v Speaker 1>I have never seen before. It's horrible to have to
<v Speaker 1>do it. But I've got to the end of my tether,
<v Speaker 1>and I must have advice. My dear mister Grant Monroe,
<v Speaker 1>began Holmes, our visitor, sprang from his chair what he cried.
<v Speaker 1>You know my name. If you wish to preserve your incognito,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, smiling, I would suggest that you cease to
<v Speaker 1>write your name upon the lining of your hat, or
<v Speaker 1>else that you turn the crown towards the person whom
<v Speaker 1>you are addressing. I was about to say that my
<v Speaker 1>friend and I have listened to a good many strange
<v Speaker 1>secrets in this room, and that we have had the
<v Speaker 1>good fortune to bring peace to many troubled souls. I
<v Speaker 1>trust that we may do as much for you might.
<v Speaker 1>I beg you, as time may prove to be of importance,
<v Speaker 1>to furnish me with the facts of your case without
<v Speaker 1>further delay. Our visitor again passed his hand over his forehead,
<v Speaker 1>as if he found it bitter hard. From every gesture
<v Speaker 1>and expression I could see that he was a reserved,
<v Speaker 1>self contained man, with a dash of pride in his nature,
<v Speaker 1>more likely to hide his wounds than to expose them.
<v Speaker 1>Then suddenly, with a fierce gesture of his closed hand,
<v Speaker 1>like one who throws reserve to the winds, he began
<v Speaker 1>The facts are these, said he. I am a married man,
<v Speaker 1>and have been so for three years. During that time,
<v Speaker 1>my wife and I have loved each other as fondly
<v Speaker 1>and lived as happily as any two that ever were joined.
<v Speaker 1>We have not had a difference not one in thought,
<v Speaker 1>or word or deed. And now since last Monday, there
<v Speaker 1>has suddenly sprung up a barrier between us, and I
<v Speaker 1>find that there is something in her life and in
<v Speaker 1>her thought of which I know as little as if
<v Speaker 1>she were the woman who brushes by me in the street.
<v Speaker 1>We are estranged, and I want to know why. Now.
<v Speaker 1>There is one thing that I want to impress upon
<v Speaker 1>you before I go any further, mister Holmes, Effie loves me.
<v Speaker 1>Don't let there be any mistake about that. She loves
<v Speaker 1>me with her whole heart and soul, and never more
<v Speaker 1>than now I know it, I feel it. I don't
<v Speaker 1>want to argue about that. A man can tell easy
<v Speaker 1>enough when a woman loves him. But there's this secret
<v Speaker 1>between us, and we can never be the same until
<v Speaker 1>it is cleared. Kindly, let me have the facts, mister Monroe,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, with some impatience. I'll tell you what I
<v Speaker 1>know about Effie's history. She was a widow when I
<v Speaker 1>met her first, though quite young, only twenty five. Her
<v Speaker 1>name then was missus Hebron. She went out to America
<v Speaker 1>when she was young and lived in the town of Atlanta,
<v Speaker 1>where she married this Hebron who was a lawyer with
<v Speaker 1>a good practice. They had one child, but the yellow
<v Speaker 1>fever broke out badly in the place, and both husband
<v Speaker 1>and child died of it. I've seen his death certificate.
<v Speaker 1>This sickened her of America, and she came back to
<v Speaker 1>live with a maiden aunt at Pinna in miss Sex.
<v Speaker 1>I may mention that her husband had left her comfortably off,
<v Speaker 1>and that she had a capital of about four thousand,
<v Speaker 1>five hundred pounds, which had been so well invested by
<v Speaker 1>him that it returned an average of seven percent. She
<v Speaker 1>had only been six months at Pinna when I met her.
<v Speaker 1>We fell in love with each other, and we married
<v Speaker 1>a few weeks afterwards. I am a hot merchant myself,
<v Speaker 1>and as I have an income of seven or eight hundred,
<v Speaker 1>we found ourselves comfortably off and took a nice eighty
<v Speaker 1>pound a year villa at Norbury. Our little place was
<v Speaker 1>very countrified, considering that it is so close to town.
<v Speaker 1>We had an inn and two houses a little above us,
<v Speaker 1>and a single cottage at the other side of the
<v Speaker 1>field which faces us, And except those there were no
<v Speaker 1>houses until you got half way to the station. My
<v Speaker 1>business took me into town at certain seasons but in
<v Speaker 1>summer I had less to do, and then in our
<v Speaker 1>country home, my wife and I were just as happy
<v Speaker 1>as could be wished. I tell you that there never
<v Speaker 1>was a shadow between us until this a cursed affair began.
<v Speaker 1>There's one thing I ought to tell you before I
<v Speaker 1>go further. When we're married, my wife made over all
<v Speaker 1>her property to me, rather against my will, for I
<v Speaker 1>saw how awkward it would be if my business affairs
<v Speaker 1>went wrong. However, she would have it so, and it
<v Speaker 1>was done well. About six weeks ago she came to me, Jack,
<v Speaker 1>said she. When you took my money, you said that
<v Speaker 1>if ever I wanted any I was to ask you
<v Speaker 1>for it certainly, said I. It's all your own. Well,
<v Speaker 1>said she, I want a hundred pounds. I was a
<v Speaker 1>bit staggered at this, for I had imagined it was
<v Speaker 1>simply a new dress or something of the kind. That
<v Speaker 1>she was after What on earth for, I asked, Oh,
<v Speaker 1>said she, in her playful way, You said that you
<v Speaker 1>were only my banker, and bankers never ask questions. You know,
<v Speaker 1>if you really mean it, of course you shall have
<v Speaker 1>the money, said I. Oh, yes, I really mean it,
<v Speaker 1>and you won't tell me what you want it for
<v Speaker 1>some day perhaps, but not just at present. Jack, so
<v Speaker 1>I had to be content with that, though it was
<v Speaker 1>the first time that there had ever been any secret
<v Speaker 1>between us. I gave her a check and never thought
<v Speaker 1>any more of the matter. It may have nothing to
<v Speaker 1>do with what came afterwards, but I thought it only
<v Speaker 1>right to mention it. Well. I told you just now
<v Speaker 1>that there is a cottage not far from our house.
<v Speaker 1>There is just a field between us, but to reach
<v Speaker 1>it you have to go along the road and then
<v Speaker 1>turn down a lane. Just beyond it is a nice
<v Speaker 1>little grove of Scotch firs, and I used to be
<v Speaker 1>very fond of strolling down there, for trees are always
<v Speaker 1>a neighborly kind of thing. The cottage had been standing
<v Speaker 1>empty this eight months, and it was a pity, for
<v Speaker 1>it was a pretty two storied place, with an old
<v Speaker 1>fashioned porch and honeysuckle about it. I have stood many
<v Speaker 1>a time and thought what a neat little homestead it
<v Speaker 1>would make. Well. Last Monday evening I was taking a
<v Speaker 1>stroll down that way when I met an empty van
<v Speaker 1>coming up the lane and saw a pile of carpets
<v Speaker 1>and things lying about on the grass plot beside the porch.
<v Speaker 1>It was clear that the cottage had at last been let.
<v Speaker 1>I walked past it and wondered what sort of folk
<v Speaker 1>they were who had come to live so near us.
<v Speaker 1>And as I looked, I suddenly became aware that a
<v Speaker 1>face was watching me out of one of the upper windows.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know what there was about that face, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>but it seemed to send a chill right down my back.
<v Speaker 1>I was some little way off so that I could
<v Speaker 1>not make out the features, but there was something unnatural
<v Speaker 1>and inhuman about the face. That was the impression that
<v Speaker 1>I had, and I moved quickly forwards to get a
<v Speaker 1>nearer view of the person who was watching me. But
<v Speaker 1>as I did so, the face suddenly disappeared, so suddenly
<v Speaker 1>that it seemed to have been plucked away into the
<v Speaker 1>darkness of the room. I stood for five minutes, thinking
<v Speaker 1>the business over and trying to analyze my impressions. I
<v Speaker 1>could not tell of the face with that of a
<v Speaker 1>man or a woman, it had been too far from
<v Speaker 1>me for that. But its color was what had impressed
<v Speaker 1>me most. It was of a livid, chalky white, and
<v Speaker 1>with something set and rigid about it, which was shockingly
<v Speaker 1>and natural So disturbed was I that I determined to
<v Speaker 1>see a little more of the new inmates of the cottage.
<v Speaker 1>I approached and knocked at the door, which was instantly
<v Speaker 1>opened by a tall, gaunt woman with a harsh, forbidding face.
<v Speaker 1>What may you be want in, she asked, in a
<v Speaker 1>northern accent. I am your neighbor over yonder, said I,
<v Speaker 1>nodding towards my house. I see that you have only
<v Speaker 1>just moved in, so I thought that if I could
<v Speaker 1>be of any help to you in any ay, we'll
<v Speaker 1>just ask you when we want, ye, said she, and
<v Speaker 1>shut the door in my face. Annoyed at the churlish rebuff,
<v Speaker 1>I turned my back and walked home. All evening, though
<v Speaker 1>I tried to think of other things, my mind would
<v Speaker 1>still turn to the apparition at the window and the
<v Speaker 1>rudeness of the woman. I determined to say nothing about
<v Speaker 1>the former to my wife, for she is a nervous,
<v Speaker 1>highly strung woman, and I had no wish that she
<v Speaker 1>should share the unpleasant impression which had been produced upon myself.
<v Speaker 1>I remarked to her, however, before I fell asleep, that
<v Speaker 1>the cottage was now occupied, to which she returned no reply.
<v Speaker 1>I am usually an extremely sound sleeper. It has been
<v Speaker 1>a standing jest in the family that nothing could ever
<v Speaker 1>wake me during the night. And yet somehow on that
<v Speaker 1>particular night, Whether it may have been the slight excitement
<v Speaker 1>produced by my little adventure or not, I know not,
<v Speaker 1>but I slept much more lightly than usual. Half in
<v Speaker 1>my dreams, I was dimly conscious that something was going
<v Speaker 1>on in the room, and gradually became aware that my
<v Speaker 1>wife had dressed herself and was slipping on her mantle
<v Speaker 1>and her bonnet. My lips were parted to murmur out
<v Speaker 1>some sleepy words of surprise or remonstrance at this untimely preparation,
<v Speaker 1>when suddenly my half opened eyes fell upon her face,
<v Speaker 1>illuminated by the candle light, and astonishment held me dumb.
<v Speaker 1>She wore an expression such as I had never seen before,
<v Speaker 1>such as I should have thought her incapable of, assuming
<v Speaker 1>she was deadly pale and breathing fast, glancing furtively towards
<v Speaker 1>the bed as she fastened her mantle to see if
<v Speaker 1>she had disturbed me. Then, thinking that I was still asleep,
<v Speaker 1>she slipped noiselessly from the room, and an instant later
<v Speaker 1>I heard a sharp creaking which could only come from
<v Speaker 1>the hinges of the front door. I sat up in
<v Speaker 1>bed and wrapped my knuckles against the rail to make
<v Speaker 1>certain that I was truly awake. Then I took my
<v Speaker 1>watch from under the pillow. It was three in the morning.
<v Speaker 1>What on this earth could my wife doing out on
<v Speaker 1>the country road at three in the morning. I had
<v Speaker 1>sat for about twenty minutes, turning the thing over in
<v Speaker 1>my mind and trying to find some possible explanation. The
<v Speaker 1>more I thought, the more extraordinary and inexplicable did it appear.
<v Speaker 1>I was still puzzling over it when I heard the
<v Speaker 1>door gently close again and her footsteps coming up the stairs.
<v Speaker 1>Where in the world have you been, Effie? I asked?
<v Speaker 1>As she entered. She gave a violent start and a
<v Speaker 1>kind of gasping cry when I spoke, And that cry
<v Speaker 1>and start troubled me more than all the rest, for
<v Speaker 1>there was something indescribably guilty about them. My wife had
<v Speaker 1>always been a woman of a frank and open nature,
<v Speaker 1>and it gave me a chill to see her slinking
<v Speaker 1>into her own room and crying out and wincing. When
<v Speaker 1>her own husband spoke to her, you wake Jack, She
<v Speaker 1>cried with a nervous laugh. Why I thought that nothing
<v Speaker 1>could a wake you? Where have you been? I asked
<v Speaker 1>more sternly. I don't wonder that you're surprised, said she,
<v Speaker 1>and I could see that her fingers were trembling as
<v Speaker 1>she undid the fastenings of her mantle. Why I never
<v Speaker 1>remember having done such a thing in my life before.
<v Speaker 1>The fact is that I felt as though I were
<v Speaker 1>choking and had a perfect longing for a breath of
<v Speaker 1>fresh air. I really think that I should have fainted
<v Speaker 1>if I had not gone out. I stood at the
<v Speaker 1>door for a few minutes, and now I am quite
<v Speaker 1>myself again. All the time she was telling me this story,
<v Speaker 1>she never once looked in my direction, and her voice
<v Speaker 1>was quite unlike her usual tones. It was evident to
<v Speaker 1>me that she was saying what was false. I said
<v Speaker 1>nothing in reply, but turned my face to the wall,
<v Speaker 1>sick at heart, with my mind filled with a thousand
<v Speaker 1>venomous doubts and suspicions. What was it that my wife
<v Speaker 1>was concealing from me? Where had she been during that
<v Speaker 1>strange expedition? I felt that I should have no peace
<v Speaker 1>until I knew, And yet I shrank from asking her
<v Speaker 1>again after once she had told me what was false.
<v Speaker 1>All the rest of the night I tossed and tumbled,
<v Speaker 1>framing theory after theory, each more unlikely than the last.
<v Speaker 1>I should have gone to the city that day, but
<v Speaker 1>I was too disturbed in my mind to be able
<v Speaker 1>to pay attention to business matters. My wife seemed to
<v Speaker 1>be as upset as myself, and I could see from
<v Speaker 1>the little questioning glances which she kept shooting at me
<v Speaker 1>that she understood that I disbelieved her statement, and that
<v Speaker 1>she was at her wits end what to do. We
<v Speaker 1>hardly exchanged a word during breakfast, and immediately afterwards I
<v Speaker 1>went out for a walk that I might think the
<v Speaker 1>matter out in the fresh morning air. I went as
<v Speaker 1>far as the Crystal Palace, spent an hour in the grounds,
<v Speaker 1>and was back in Norbury by one o'clock. It happened
<v Speaker 1>that my way took me past the cottage, and I
<v Speaker 1>stopped for an instant to look at the windows and
<v Speaker 1>see if I could catch a glimpse of the strange
<v Speaker 1>face which had looked out at me on the day before.
<v Speaker 1>As I stood there, imagine my surprise, mister Holmes, when
<v Speaker 1>the door suddenly opened and my wife walked out. I
<v Speaker 1>was struck dumb with astonishment at the sight of her,
<v Speaker 1>But my emotions were nothing to those which showed themselves
<v Speaker 1>upon her face. When our eyes met, she seemed for
<v Speaker 1>an instant to wish to shrink back inside the house again,
<v Speaker 1>And then, seeing how useless all concealment must be, she
<v Speaker 1>came forward with a very white face and frightened eyes
<v Speaker 1>which belied the smile upon her lips. Ah, Jack, she said,
<v Speaker 1>I have just been in to see if I can
<v Speaker 1>be of any assistance to our new neighbors. Why do
<v Speaker 1>you look at me like that? Jack? You are not
<v Speaker 1>angry with me, so said I. This is where you
<v Speaker 1>went during the night. What do you mean, she cried,
<v Speaker 1>you came here. I am sure of it. Who are
<v Speaker 1>these people that you should visit them at such an hour?
<v Speaker 1>I have not been here before. How can you tell
<v Speaker 1>me what you know is false? I cried? Your very
<v Speaker 1>voice changes as you speak. When have I ever had
<v Speaker 1>a secret from you? I shall enter that cottage and
<v Speaker 1>I shall probe the matter to the bottom. No, No, Jack,
<v Speaker 1>for God's sake, she gasped in uncontrollable emotion. Then, as
<v Speaker 1>I approached the door, she seized my sleeve and pulled
<v Speaker 1>me back with convulsive strength. I implore you not to
<v Speaker 1>do this, Jack, she cried. I swear that I will
<v Speaker 1>tell you everything some day, but nothing but misery can
<v Speaker 1>come of it if you enter that cottage. Then, as
<v Speaker 1>I tried to shake her off, she clung to me
<v Speaker 1>in a frenzy of entreaty. Trust me, Jack, she cried,
<v Speaker 1>Trust me only this once. You will never have cause
<v Speaker 1>to regret it. You know that I would not have
<v Speaker 1>a secret from you if it were not for your
<v Speaker 1>own sake. Our whole lives are at stake in this.
<v Speaker 1>If you come home with me, all will be well.
<v Speaker 1>If you force your way into that cottage, all is
<v Speaker 1>over between us. There was such an earnestness, such despair
<v Speaker 1>in her manner, that her words arrested me, and I
<v Speaker 1>stood irresolute before the door. I will trust you on
<v Speaker 1>one condition, and on one condition only, said I. At last,
<v Speaker 1>it is that this mystery comes to an end. From
<v Speaker 1>now you are at liberty to preserve your secret. But
<v Speaker 1>you must promise me that there shall be no more
<v Speaker 1>knightly visits, no more doings which are kept from my knowledge.
<v Speaker 1>I am willing to forget those which are past if
<v Speaker 1>you will promise that there shall be no more in
<v Speaker 1>the future. I was sure that you would trust me,
<v Speaker 1>she cried, with a great sigh of relief. It shall
<v Speaker 1>be just as you wish. Come away, oh, come away,
<v Speaker 1>up to the house. Still pulling at my sleeve, she
<v Speaker 1>led me away from the cottage. As we went, I
<v Speaker 1>glanced back, and there was that yellow, livid face watching
<v Speaker 1>us out of the upper window. What link could there
<v Speaker 1>be between that creature and my wife? Or how could
<v Speaker 1>the coarse rough woman whom I had seen the day
<v Speaker 1>before be connected with her? It was a strange puzzle,
<v Speaker 1>and yet I knew that my mind could never know
<v Speaker 1>ease again until I had solved it. For two days
<v Speaker 1>after this, I stayed at home, and my wife appeared
<v Speaker 1>to abide loyally by our engagement. For as far as
<v Speaker 1>I know, she never stirred out of the house. On
<v Speaker 1>the third day, however, I had ample evidence that her
<v Speaker 1>solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from
<v Speaker 1>this secret influence which drew her away from her husband
<v Speaker 1>and her duty. I had gone into town on that day,
<v Speaker 1>but I returned by the two forty instead of the
<v Speaker 1>three thirty six, which is my usual train. As I
<v Speaker 1>entered the house, the maid ran into the hall with
<v Speaker 1>a startled face. Where is your mistress, I asked, I
<v Speaker 1>think that she's gone out for a walk, she answered.
<v Speaker 1>My mind was instantly filled with suspicion. I rushed upstairs
<v Speaker 1>to make sure that she was not in the house.
<v Speaker 1>As I did so, I happened to glance out of
<v Speaker 1>one of the upper windows and saw the maid with
<v Speaker 1>whom I had just been speaking running across the field
<v Speaker 1>in the direction of the cottage. Then, of course I
<v Speaker 1>saw exactly what it all meant. My wife had gone
<v Speaker 1>over there and had asked the servant to call her
<v Speaker 1>if I should return. Tingling with anger, I rushed down
<v Speaker 1>and hurried across, determined to end the matter once and
<v Speaker 1>for ever. I saw my wife and the maid hurrying
<v Speaker 1>back along the lane, but I did not stop to
<v Speaker 1>speak with them. In the cottage lay the secret which
<v Speaker 1>was casting a shadow over my life. I vowed that
<v Speaker 1>come what might, it should be a secret no longer.
<v Speaker 1>I did not even knock when I reached it, but
<v Speaker 1>turned the handle and rushed into the passage. It was
<v Speaker 1>all still and quiet upon the ground floor. In the kitchen,
<v Speaker 1>a kettle was singing on the fire, and a large
<v Speaker 1>black cat lay coiled up in the basket, but there
<v Speaker 1>was no sign of the woman whom I had seen before.
<v Speaker 1>I ran into the other room, but it was equally deserted.
<v Speaker 1>Then I rushed up the stairs, only to find two
<v Speaker 1>other rooms empty and deserted. At the top, there was
<v Speaker 1>no one at all in the whole house. The furniture
<v Speaker 1>and pictures were of the most common and vulgar description,
<v Speaker 1>save in the one chamber, at the window of which
<v Speaker 1>I had seen the strange face that was comfortable and elegant.
<v Speaker 1>And all my suspicions rose into a fierce, bitter flame
<v Speaker 1>when I saw that on the mantel piece stood a
<v Speaker 1>copy of a full length photograph of my wife, which
<v Speaker 1>had been taken at my request only three months ago.
<v Speaker 1>I stayed long enough to make certain that the house
<v Speaker 1>was absolutely empty. Then I left it, feeling a weight
<v Speaker 1>at my heart such as I had never had before.
<v Speaker 1>My wife came out into the hall as I entered
<v Speaker 1>my house, but I was too hurt and angry to
<v Speaker 1>speak with her, and pushing past her, I made my
<v Speaker 1>way into my study. She followed me. However, before I
<v Speaker 1>could close the door, I am so sorry that I
<v Speaker 1>broke my promise, Jack, said she. But if you knew
<v Speaker 1>all the circumstances, I am sure that you would forgive
<v Speaker 1>me tell me everything, then said I. I cannot, Jack,
<v Speaker 1>I cannot, she cried, Until you tell me who it
<v Speaker 1>is that has been living in that cottage, and who
<v Speaker 1>it is to whom you have given that photograph. There
<v Speaker 1>can never be any confidence between us, said I, and
<v Speaker 1>breaking away from her, I left the house. That was yesterday,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes, and I have not seen her since, nor
<v Speaker 1>do I know anything more about this strange business. It
<v Speaker 1>is the first shadow that has come between us, and
<v Speaker 1>it has so shaken me that I do not know
<v Speaker 1>what I should do for the best. Suddenly this morning
<v Speaker 1>it occurred to me that you were the man to
<v Speaker 1>advise me. So I have hurried to you now, and
<v Speaker 1>I place myself unreservedly in your hands. If there is
<v Speaker 1>any point which I have not made clear, pray question
<v Speaker 1>me about it, but above all, tell me quickly what
<v Speaker 1>I am to do, for this misery is more than
<v Speaker 1>I can bear. Holmes and I had listened with the
<v Speaker 1>utmost interest to this extraordinary statement, which had been delivered
<v Speaker 1>in the jerky, broken fashion of a man who is
<v Speaker 1>under the influence of extreme emotions. My companion sat silent
<v Speaker 1>for some time, with his chin upon his hand, lost
<v Speaker 1>in thought. Tell me, said he at last. Could you
<v Speaker 1>swear that this was a man's face which you saw
<v Speaker 1>at the window? Each time that I saw it, I
<v Speaker 1>was some distance away from it, so that it is
<v Speaker 1>impossible for me to say. You appear, however, to have
<v Speaker 1>been disagreeably impressed by it. It seemed to be of
<v Speaker 1>an unnatural color, and to have a strange rigidity about
<v Speaker 1>the features. When I approached it vanished with a jerk.
<v Speaker 1>How long is it since your wife asked you for
<v Speaker 1>a hundred pounds? Nearly two months? Have you ever seen
<v Speaker 1>a photograph of her first husband? No? There was a
<v Speaker 1>great fire at Atlanta very shortly after his death, and
<v Speaker 1>all her papers were destroyed. And yet she had a
<v Speaker 1>certificate of death. You say that you saw it. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>she got a duplicate after the fire. Did you ever
<v Speaker 1>meet any one who knew her in America? No? Did
<v Speaker 1>she ever talk of revisiting the place? No? Or get
<v Speaker 1>letters from it? No? Thank you. I should like to
<v Speaker 1>think over the matter a little now. If the cottage
<v Speaker 1>is now permanently deserted, we may have some difficulty. If,
<v Speaker 1>on the other hand, as I fancy, is more likely
<v Speaker 1>the inmates were warned of your coming and left before
<v Speaker 1>you entered yesterday, then they may be back now, and
<v Speaker 1>we should clear it all up easily. Let me advise
<v Speaker 1>you then to return to Norbury and to examine the
<v Speaker 1>windows of the cottage again. If you have reason to
<v Speaker 1>believe that it is inhabited, do not force your way in,
<v Speaker 1>but send a wire to my friend and me. We
<v Speaker 1>shall be with you within an hour of receiving it,
<v Speaker 1>and we shall then very soon get to the bottom
<v Speaker 1>of the business. And if it is still empty, in
<v Speaker 1>that case, I shall come out to morrow and talk
<v Speaker 1>it over with you. Good Bye, and above all, do
<v Speaker 1>not fret until you know that you really have a
<v Speaker 1>cause for it. I am afraid that this is a
<v Speaker 1>bad business, Watson, said my companion, as he returned after
<v Speaker 1>accompanying mister Grant Monroe to the door. What do you
<v Speaker 1>make of it? It had an ugly sound, I answered, Yes,
<v Speaker 1>there's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken. And
<v Speaker 1>who is the blackmailer? Well, it must be the creature
<v Speaker 1>who lives in the only comfortable room in the place,
<v Speaker 1>and has her photograph above his fireplace. Upon my word, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>there is something very attractive about that livid face at
<v Speaker 1>the window, and I would not have missed the case
<v Speaker 1>for worlds. You have a theory, yes, a provisional one,
<v Speaker 1>but I shall be surprised if it does not turn
<v Speaker 1>out to be correct. This woman's first husband is in
<v Speaker 1>that cottage. Why do you think so? How else can
<v Speaker 1>we explain her frenzied anxiety that her second one should
<v Speaker 1>not enter it. The facts as I read them, are
<v Speaker 1>something like this. This woman was married in America. Her
<v Speaker 1>husband developed some hateful qualities, or shall we say that
<v Speaker 1>he contracted some loathsome disease, and became a leper or
<v Speaker 1>an imbecile. She flies for from him, at last, returns
<v Speaker 1>to England, changes her name, and starts her life as
<v Speaker 1>she thinks afresh. She has been married three years and
<v Speaker 1>believes that her position is quite secure, having shown her
<v Speaker 1>husband the death certificate of some man whose name she
<v Speaker 1>has assumed, when suddenly her whereabouts is discovered by her
<v Speaker 1>first husband, or we may suppose, by some unscrupulous woman
<v Speaker 1>who has attached herself to the invalid. They write to
<v Speaker 1>the wife and threaten to come and expose her. She
<v Speaker 1>asks for one hundred pounds and endeavors to buy them off.
<v Speaker 1>They come in spite of it, and when the husband
<v Speaker 1>mentions casually to the wife that there are newcomers in
<v Speaker 1>the cottage, she knows in some way that they are
<v Speaker 1>her pursuers. She waits until her husband is asleep, and
<v Speaker 1>then she rushes down to endeavor to persuade them to
<v Speaker 1>leave her in peace. Having no success, she goes again
<v Speaker 1>next morning, and her husband meets her as he has
<v Speaker 1>told us. As she comes out, she promises him then
<v Speaker 1>not to go there again. But two days afterwards, the
<v Speaker 1>hope of getting rid of those dreadful neighbors was too
<v Speaker 1>strong for her, and she made another attempt, taking down
<v Speaker 1>with her the photograph which had probably been demanded from her.
<v Speaker 1>In the midst of this interview, the maid rushed in
<v Speaker 1>to say that the master had come home, on which
<v Speaker 1>the wife, knowing that he would come straight down to
<v Speaker 1>the cottage, hurried the inmates out the back door into
<v Speaker 1>the grove of fir trees, probably which was mentioned as
<v Speaker 1>standing near. In this way he found the place deserted.
<v Speaker 1>I shall be very much surprised. However, if it is
<v Speaker 1>still so when he reconnoiters it this evening, what do
<v Speaker 1>you think of my theory? It is all surmise, but
<v Speaker 1>at least it covers all the facts. When new facts
<v Speaker 1>come to our knowledge which cannot be covered by it,
<v Speaker 1>it will be time enough to reconsider it. We can
<v Speaker 1>do nothing more until we have a message from our
<v Speaker 1>friend at nort Awbury. But we had not very long
<v Speaker 1>time to wait for that. It came just as we
<v Speaker 1>had finished our tea. The cottage is still tenanted, it said,
<v Speaker 1>have seen the face again at the window. We'll meet
<v Speaker 1>the seven o'clock train and will take no steps until
<v Speaker 1>you arrive. He was waiting on the platform when we
<v Speaker 1>stepped out, and we could see in the light of
<v Speaker 1>the station lamps that he was very pale and quivering
<v Speaker 1>with agitation. They are still there, mister Holmes said, he
<v Speaker 1>laying his hand hard upon my friend's sleeve. I saw
<v Speaker 1>lights in the cottage as I came down. We shall
<v Speaker 1>settle it now, once and for all. What is your plan,
<v Speaker 1>then asked Holmes, as he walked down the dark tree
<v Speaker 1>lined road. I am going to force my way in
<v Speaker 1>and see for myself who is in the house. I
<v Speaker 1>wish you both to be there as witnesses. You are
<v Speaker 1>quite determined to do this, in spite of your wife's
<v Speaker 1>warning that it is better that you should not solve
<v Speaker 1>the mystery. Yes, I am determ well, I think that
<v Speaker 1>you are in the right. Any truth is better than
<v Speaker 1>indefinite doubt. We had better go up at once. Of course,
<v Speaker 1>legally we are putting ourselves hopelessly in the wrong, but
<v Speaker 1>I think that it is worth it. It was a
<v Speaker 1>very dark night, and a thin rain began to fall
<v Speaker 1>as we turned from the high road into a narrow lane,
<v Speaker 1>deeply rutted, with hedges on either side. Mister Grant Monroe
<v Speaker 1>pushed impatiently forward, however, and we stumbled after him as
<v Speaker 1>best we could. There are the lights of my house,
<v Speaker 1>he murmured, pointing to a glimmer among the trees. And
<v Speaker 1>here is the cottage which I am going to enter.
<v Speaker 1>We turned a corner in the lane as he spoke,
<v Speaker 1>and there was the building close beside us. A yellow
<v Speaker 1>bar falling across the black foreground showed that the door
<v Speaker 1>was not quite closed, and one window in the upper
<v Speaker 1>story was brightly illuminated. As we looked, we saw a
<v Speaker 1>dark blur moving across the bloe. There is that creature,
<v Speaker 1>cried Grant Monroe. You can see for yourselves that some
<v Speaker 1>one is there. Now follow me and we shall soon
<v Speaker 1>know all. We approached the door, but suddenly a woman
<v Speaker 1>appeared out of the shadow and stood in the golden
<v Speaker 1>track of the lamp light. I could not see her
<v Speaker 1>face in the darkness, but her arms were thrown out
<v Speaker 1>in an attitude of entreaty. For God's sake, don't jack,
<v Speaker 1>she cried, I had a presentiment that you would come
<v Speaker 1>this evening. Think better of it. Dear, trust me again,
<v Speaker 1>and you will never have cause to regret it. I
<v Speaker 1>have trusted you too long, Effie, he cried sternly. Leave
<v Speaker 1>go of me. I must pass through my friends, and
<v Speaker 1>I are going to settle this matter once and for ever.
<v Speaker 1>He pushed her to one side, and we followed closely
<v Speaker 1>after him. As he threw the door open, an old
<v Speaker 1>woman ran out in front of him and tried to
<v Speaker 1>bar his passage, but he thrust her back, and an
<v Speaker 1>instant afterwards we were all upon the stairs. Grant Monroe
<v Speaker 1>rushed into the lighted room at the top, and we
<v Speaker 1>entered at his heels. It was a cozy, well furnished apartment,
<v Speaker 1>with two candles burning upon the table and two upon
<v Speaker 1>the mantel piece. In the corner, stooping over a desk,
<v Speaker 1>there sat what appeared to be a little girl. Her
<v Speaker 1>face was turned away as we entered, but we could
<v Speaker 1>see that she was dressed in a red frock, and
<v Speaker 1>that she had long white gloves on. As she whisked
<v Speaker 1>round to us, I gave a cry of surprise and horror.
<v Speaker 1>The face which she turned towards us was of the
<v Speaker 1>strangest livid tint, and the features were absolutely devoid of
<v Speaker 1>any expression. An instant later the mystery was explained Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>with a laugh, passed his hand behind the child's ear.
<v Speaker 1>A mask peeled off from her countenance, and there was
<v Speaker 1>a little coal black negress with all her white teeth
<v Speaker 1>flashed in amusement at our amazed faces. I burst out,
<v Speaker 1>laughing out of sympathy with her merriment. But grantman Rose
<v Speaker 1>stood staring with his hand clutching his throat. My God,
<v Speaker 1>he cried, what can be the meaning of this? I
<v Speaker 1>will tell you the meaning of it, cried the lady,
<v Speaker 1>sweeping into the room with a proud set face. You
<v Speaker 1>have forced me against my own judgment to tell you,
<v Speaker 1>and now we must both make the best of it.
<v Speaker 1>My husband died at Atlanta. My child survived your child.
<v Speaker 1>She drew a large silver locket from her bosom. You
<v Speaker 1>have never seen this open. I understood that it did
<v Speaker 1>not open. She touched a spring, and the front hinged back.
<v Speaker 1>There was a portrait within of a man, strikingly handsome
<v Speaker 1>and intelligent looking, but bearing unmistakable signs upon his features
<v Speaker 1>of his African descent. This is John, he of Atlanta,
<v Speaker 1>said the lady, and a nobler man never walked the earth.
<v Speaker 1>I cut myself off from my race in order to
<v Speaker 1>wed him, But never once while he lived did I
<v Speaker 1>for an instant regret it. It was our misfortune that
<v Speaker 1>our only child took after his people rather than mine.
<v Speaker 1>It is often so in such matches. And little Lucy
<v Speaker 1>is darker far than ever her father was, but dark
<v Speaker 1>or fair. She is my own dear little girlie and
<v Speaker 1>her mother's pet. The little creature ran across at the
<v Speaker 1>words and nestled up against the lady's dress. When I
<v Speaker 1>left her in America, she continued, it was only because
<v Speaker 1>her health was weak. And the change might have done
<v Speaker 1>her harm. She was given to the care of a
<v Speaker 1>faithful scotchwoman who had once been our servant. Never for
<v Speaker 1>an instant did I dream of disowning her as my child.
<v Speaker 1>But when chance threw you in my way, Jack, and
<v Speaker 1>I learned to love you, I feared to tell you
<v Speaker 1>about my child. God forgive me. I feared that I
<v Speaker 1>should lose you, and I had not the courage to
<v Speaker 1>tell you. I had to choose between you, and in
<v Speaker 1>my weakness, I turned away from my own little girl.
<v Speaker 1>For three years, I have kept her existence a secret
<v Speaker 1>from you, but I heard from the nurse, and I
<v Speaker 1>knew that all was well with her. At last, however,
<v Speaker 1>there came an overwhelming desire to see the child once more.
<v Speaker 1>I struggled against it, but in vain though I knew
<v Speaker 1>the danger, I determined to have the child over if
<v Speaker 1>it were but for a few weeks. I sent a
<v Speaker 1>hundred pounds to the nurse, and I gave her instructions
<v Speaker 1>about this cottage, so that she might come as a
<v Speaker 1>neighbor without my appearing to be in any way connected
<v Speaker 1>with her. I pushed my precautions so far as to
<v Speaker 1>order her to keep the child in the house during
<v Speaker 1>the daytime, and to cover up her little face and hands,
<v Speaker 1>so that even those who might see her at the
<v Speaker 1>window should not go about there being a black child
<v Speaker 1>in the neighborhood. If I had been less cautious, I
<v Speaker 1>might have been more wise, But I was half crazy
<v Speaker 1>with fear that you should learn the truth. It was
<v Speaker 1>you who told me first that the cottage was occupied.
<v Speaker 1>I should have waited for the morning, but I could
<v Speaker 1>not sleep for excitement, and so at last I slipped out,
<v Speaker 1>knowing how difficult it is to awake you. But you
<v Speaker 1>saw me go, and that was the beginning of my troubles.
<v Speaker 1>Next day you had my secret at your mercy, but
<v Speaker 1>you nobly refrained from pursuing your advantage. Three days later, however,
<v Speaker 1>the nurse and child only just escaped from the back
<v Speaker 1>door as you rushed in at the front. One. And
<v Speaker 1>now to night you at last know all. And I
<v Speaker 1>ask you what is to become of us, my child
<v Speaker 1>and me? She clasped her hands and waited for an answer.
<v Speaker 1>It was a long ten minutes before grantman Row broke
<v Speaker 1>the silence, and when his answer came, it was one
<v Speaker 1>of which I loved to think. He lifted the little child,
<v Speaker 1>kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held his
<v Speaker 1>other hand out to his wife and turned towards the door.
<v Speaker 1>We can talk it over more comfortably at home, said he.
<v Speaker 1>I am not a very good man, Effie, but I
<v Speaker 1>think that I am a better one than you have
<v Speaker 1>given me credit for. Holmes and I followed them down
<v Speaker 1>the lane, and my friend plucked at my sleeve as
<v Speaker 1>we came out. I think, said he, that we shall
<v Speaker 1>be of more use in London than in Norbury. Not
<v Speaker 1>another word did he say of the case until late
<v Speaker 1>that night, when he was turning away with his lighted
<v Speaker 1>candle for his bedroom. Watson said he, if it should
<v Speaker 1>ever strike you that I am getting a little over
<v Speaker 1>confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a
<v Speaker 1>case than it deserves, kindly whisper nowbery in my ear,
<v Speaker 1>and I shall be infinitely obliged to you. End of
<v Speaker 1>the Yellow Face