The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Chapter 1 : A Scandal in Bohemia #audiobook
🕵️♂️ Introduction:
Welcome to Storytime Classics! In this exciting installment, we present the first story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Published in 1891, this timeless mystery is the first of twelve short stories that showcase the brilliance of Sherlock Holmes. This 48-minute video is Part 1 of our audiobook series, with each story from the collection narrated in full. In A Scandal in Bohemia, Holmes faces a clever and resourceful adversary—Irene Adler, the only woman to ever outsmart him. Immerse yourself in this gripping tale of deception, royal scandal, and Holmes’ unmatched powers of deduction.
📚 About A Scandal in Bohemia:
First published on June 25, 1891, in The Strand Magazine, A Scandal in Bohemia remains one of the most famous and influential Sherlock Holmes stories. In this tale, Holmes is hired by the King of Bohemia to retrieve a compromising photograph from Irene Adler, a woman of exceptional wit and intelligence. What begins as a simple case quickly turns into a personal challenge for the great detective, revealing a softer, more respectful side of Holmes in his interactions with Adler. This story highlights Holmes’ extraordinary deductive skills, but also shows that even he can be outmaneuvered.
✨ Trivia and Interesting Facts:
Irene Adler appears only in this story, but she becomes an iconic figure in the Sherlock Holmes universe, known as "The Woman."
The phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson” is often attributed to Holmes, but it never appears in this story.
Arthur Conan Doyle was inspired by real-life events involving European royalty when writing A Scandal in Bohemia.
The character of Irene Adler has been adapted into numerous films, TV shows, and books, often portrayed as a love interest or equal to Holmes, though this dynamic is not present in the original text.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published as a book in 1892, shortly after the stories were serialized in The Strand Magazine.
Listen to "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" on Spotify! 🎧
Immerse yourself in the world of mystery and deduction with Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective.
Stream Chapter 1 – A Scandal in Bohemia now on Spotify: [ https://open.spotify.com/episode/1RLWZQXAHPg1cpTor08rgD ]
Don’t forget to follow for more classic audiobook chapters coming soon! 📖✨
Credits: an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez
Text sourced from Project Gutenberg
#sherlockholmes #theadventuresofsherlockholmes #arthurconandoyle #fullaudiobook #mysteryaudiobook #detectivestories #VictorianMystery #classicliterature #StorytimeClassics #SherlockHolmesAudiobook #freeaudiobooks #SherlockHolmesStories #VictorianDetective #classicmystery #SherlockAndWatson #audiobooknarration #crimefiction #IreneAdler #FamousDetectives #britishliterature
🕵️♂️ Introduction:
Welcome to Storytime Classics! In this exciting installment, we present the first story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Published in 1891, this timeless mystery is the first of twelve short stories that showcase the brilliance of Sherlock Holmes. This 48-minute video is Part 1 of our audiobook series, with each story from the collection narrated in full. In A Scandal in Bohemia, Holmes faces a clever and resourceful adversary—Irene Adler, the only woman to ever outsmart him. Immerse yourself in this gripping tale of deception, royal scandal, and Holmes’ unmatched powers of deduction.
📚 About A Scandal in Bohemia:
First published on June 25, 1891, in The Strand Magazine, A Scandal in Bohemia remains one of the most famous and influential Sherlock Holmes stories. In this tale, Holmes is hired by the King of Bohemia to retrieve a compromising photograph from Irene Adler, a woman of exceptional wit and intelligence. What begins as a simple case quickly turns into a personal challenge for the great detective, revealing a softer, more respectful side of Holmes in his interactions with Adler. This story highlights Holmes’ extraordinary deductive skills, but also shows that even he can be outmaneuvered.
✨ Trivia and Interesting Facts:
Irene Adler appears only in this story, but she becomes an iconic figure in the Sherlock Holmes universe, known as "The Woman."
The phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson” is often attributed to Holmes, but it never appears in this story.
Arthur Conan Doyle was inspired by real-life events involving European royalty when writing A Scandal in Bohemia.
The character of Irene Adler has been adapted into numerous films, TV shows, and books, often portrayed as a love interest or equal to Holmes, though this dynamic is not present in the original text.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published as a book in 1892, shortly after the stories were serialized in The Strand Magazine.
Listen to "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" on Spotify! 🎧
Immerse yourself in the world of mystery and deduction with Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective.
Stream Chapter 1 – A Scandal in Bohemia now on Spotify: [ https://open.spotify.com/episode/1RLWZQXAHPg1cpTor08rgD ]
Don’t forget to follow for more classic audiobook chapters coming soon! 📖✨
Credits: an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez
Text sourced from Project Gutenberg
#sherlockholmes #theadventuresofsherlockholmes #arthurconandoyle #fullaudiobook #mysteryaudiobook #detectivestories #VictorianMystery #classicliterature #StorytimeClassics #SherlockHolmesAudiobook #freeaudiobooks #SherlockHolmesStories #VictorianDetective #classicmystery #SherlockAndWatson #audiobooknarration #crimefiction #IreneAdler #FamousDetectives #britishliterature
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 1
00:03A scandal and bohemia to Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman.
00:09I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
00:12In his eyes, she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
00:18It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.
00:22All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold,
00:28precise, but admirably balanced mind.
00:31He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen,
00:37but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position.
00:42He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a jibe and a sneer.
00:47They were admirable things for the observer,
00:50excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions,
00:54But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament
01:02was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results.
01:10Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses,
01:15would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his.
01:20And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler,
01:26of dubious and questionable memory.
01:29I had seen little of Holmes lately.
01:32My marriage had drifted us away from each other.
01:35My own complete happiness, and the Holmes-centered interests which rise up around the man
01:41who first finds himself master of his own establishment,
01:44were sufficient to absorb all my attention.
01:48While Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole bohemian soul,
01:54remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books,
01:59and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition,
02:03the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature.
02:09He was still, as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime,
02:15and occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation
02:20in following out those clues,
02:22and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police.
02:28From time to time I heard some vague account of his doings,
02:32of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder,
02:35of his clearing up of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomale,
02:41and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so delicately
02:45and successfully for the reigning family of Holland.
02:48Beyond these signs of his activity, however,
02:52which I merely shared with all the readers of the daily press,
02:56I knew little of my former friend and companion.
03:00One night, it was on the 20th of March, 1888,
03:04I was returning from a journey to a patient,
03:07for I had now returned to civil practice,
03:10when my way led me through Baker Street.
03:12As I passed the well-remembered door,
03:15which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing,
03:19and with the dark incidents of the study in Scarlet,
03:22I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again,
03:26and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers.
03:30His rooms were brilliantly lit,
03:33and, even as I looked up,
03:35I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind.
03:42He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly,
03:46with his head sunk upon his chest,
03:49and his hands clasped behind him.
03:51To me, who knew his every mood and habit,
03:55his attitude and manner told their own story.
03:58He was at work again.
03:59He had risen out of his drug-created dreams,
04:02and was hot upon the scent of some new problem.
04:06I rang the bell,
04:07and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own.
04:11His manner was not effusive.
04:14It seldom was,
04:15but he was glad, I think, to see me.
04:18With hardly a word spoken,
04:20but with a kindly eye,
04:22he waved me to an armchair,
04:25threw across his case of cigars,
04:26and indicated a spirit case
04:29and a gasagene in the corner.
04:31Then he stood before the fire
04:33and looked me over in his singular, introspective fashion.
04:37Wedlock suits you,
04:39he remarked.
04:40I think, Watson,
04:42that you have put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you.
04:46Seven,
04:47I answered.
04:48Indeed,
04:49I should have thought a little more.
04:51Just a trifle more,
04:52I fancy, Watson.
04:53And in practice again,
04:55I observe,
04:56you did not tell me that you intended to go in a harness.
05:00Then,
05:00how do you know?
05:02I see it,
05:03I deduce it.
05:04How do I know that you have been getting yourself
05:06very wet lately,
05:08and that you have a most clumsy
05:10and careless servant girl?
05:12My dear Holmes,
05:14said I,
05:14this is too much.
05:16You would certainly have been burned
05:18had you lived a few centuries ago.
05:20It is true that I had a country walk on Thursday
05:23and came home in a dreadful mess.
05:27But as I have changed my clothes,
05:28I can't imagine how you deduce it.
05:31As to Mary Jane,
05:33she is incorrigible,
05:34and my wife has given her notice.
05:37But there again,
05:38I fail to see how you work it out.
05:41He chuckled to himself
05:42and rubbed his long,
05:44nervous hands together.
05:46It is simplicity itself,
05:48said he.
05:49My eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe,
05:53just where the firelight strikes it,
05:55the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts.
05:59Obviously,
06:00they have been caused by someone
06:02who has very carelessly scraped
06:04round the edges of the sole
06:05in order to remove crusted mud from it.
06:09Hence,
06:09you see,
06:10my double deduction that you had been out in vile weather,
06:13and that you had a particularly malignant,
06:16boot-slitting specimen of the London slavey.
06:19As to your practice,
06:21if a gentleman walks into my room
06:23smelling of iota form,
06:25with a black mark of nitrate of silver
06:28upon his right forefinger,
06:30and a bulge on the right side of his top hat
06:32to show where he has secreted his stethoscope,
06:35I must be dull.
06:37Indeed,
06:37if I do not pronounce him to be an active member
06:40of the medical profession,
06:41I could not help laughing at the ease
06:43with which he explained his process of deduction.
06:47When I hear you give your reasons,
06:49I remarked,
06:50the thing always appears to me
06:52to be so ridiculously simple
06:54that I could easily do it myself.
06:57Though at each successive instance of your reasoning,
06:59I am baffled until you explain your process.
07:03And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.
07:07Quite so,
07:08he answered,
07:09lighting a cigarette
07:10and throwing himself down into an armchair.
07:14You see,
07:15but you do not observe.
07:17The distinction is clear.
07:19For example,
07:21you have frequently seen the steps
07:22which lead up from the hall to this room.
07:25Frequently.
07:26How often?
07:28Well,
07:29some hundreds of times.
07:30Then how many are there?
07:32How many?
07:33I don't know.
07:34Quite so.
07:35You have not observed,
07:36and yet you have seen.
07:38That is just my point.
07:39Now I know that there are 17 steps
07:41because I have both seen and observed.
07:44By the way,
07:45since you are interested in these little problems,
07:48and since you are good enough
07:48to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences,
07:52you may be interested in this.
07:54He threw over a sheet of thick,
07:56pink-tinted notepaper
07:57which had been lying open upon the table.
07:59It came by the last post,
08:01said he.
08:01Read it aloud.
08:02The note was undated
08:04and without either signature or address.
08:07There will call upon you tonight
08:08at a quarter to eight o'clock.
08:10It said,
08:11a gentleman who desires to consult you
08:13upon a matter of the very deepest moment.
08:16Your recent services
08:17to one of the royal houses of Europe
08:19have shown that you are one
08:20who may safely be trusted with matters
08:22which are of an importance
08:23which can hardly be exaggerated.
08:26This account of you we have
08:27from all quarters received.
08:29Be in your chamber then at that hour,
08:31and do not take it amiss
08:32if your visitor wear a mask.
08:34This is indeed a mystery,
08:36I remarked.
08:37What do you imagine that it means?
08:39I have no data yet.
08:40It is a capital mistake
08:41to theorize before one has data.
08:44Insensibly one begins to twist facts
08:46to suit theories
08:47instead of theories to suit facts.
08:50But the note itself,
08:51what do you deduce from it?
08:53I carefully examined the writing
08:54and the paper upon which it was written.
08:57The man who wrote it
08:58was presumably well to do,
08:59I remarked,
09:01endeavoring to imitate
09:02my companion's processes.
09:04Such paper could not be bought
09:06under half a crown a packet.
09:07It is peculiarly strong and stiff.
09:10Peculiar.
09:11That is the very word,
09:13said Holmes.
09:14It is not an English paper at all.
09:16Hold it up to the light.
09:18I did so,
09:19and saw a large E with a small G,
09:22a P,
09:23and a large G with a small T
09:25woven into the texture of the paper.
09:27What do you make of that?
09:28Asked Holmes.
09:29The name of the maker,
09:30no doubt.
09:32Or his monogram,
09:33rather.
09:34Not at all.
09:35The G with a small T
09:36stands for
09:37Gesellschaft,
09:39which is the German Ford Company.
09:40It is a customary contraction
09:42like our Co.
09:43P,
09:44of course,
09:44stands for
09:45Papier.
09:46Now for the E.G.
09:48Let us glance
09:48at our continental gazetteer.
09:51He took down
09:51a heavy brown volume
09:53from his shelves.
09:54Iglo,
09:54Eglanitz,
09:55here we are,
09:56Igria.
09:57It is in a German-speaking country,
09:58in Bohemia,
10:00not far from Carlsbad.
10:02Remarkable as being
10:03the scene
10:03of the death of Wallenstein,
10:05and for its numerous
10:06glass factories
10:07and paper mills.
10:08Haha,
10:09my boy,
10:09what do you make of that?
10:10His eyes sparkled,
10:12and he sent up
10:12a great blue
10:14triumphant cloud
10:15from his cigarette.
10:16The paper was made
10:17in Bohemia,
10:18I said.
10:19Precisely.
10:20And the man
10:20who wrote the note
10:21is a German.
10:22Do you note
10:23the peculiar construction
10:24of the sentence?
10:25This account of you
10:26we have from all quarters received.
10:29A Frenchman or Russian
10:30could not have written that.
10:32It is the German
10:33who is so uncourteous
10:34to his verbs.
10:36It only remains,
10:37therefore,
10:38to discover
10:38what is wanted
10:39by this German
10:40who writes upon
10:41Bohemian paper
10:42and prefers wearing a mask
10:44to showing his face.
10:46And here he comes,
10:47if I am not mistaken,
10:48to resolve
10:49all our doubts.
10:50As he spoke,
10:51there was the sharp sound
10:52of horses' hoofs
10:53and grating wheels
10:54against the curb,
10:56followed by a sharp pull
10:57at the bell.
10:58Holmes whistled.
10:59A pair,
11:00by the sound,
11:01said he.
11:02Yes,
11:02he continued,
11:03glancing out of the window.
11:05A nice little brougham
11:06and a pair of beauties.
11:08A hundred and fifty guineas
11:09apiece.
11:10There's money in this case,
11:12Watson,
11:12if there is nothing else.
11:14I think that I had better
11:15go, Holmes.
11:16Not a bit, doctor.
11:18Stay where you are.
11:19I am lost without my Boswell.
11:21And this promises
11:22to be interesting.
11:24It would be a pity
11:24to miss it.
11:25But your client,
11:27never mind him.
11:28I may want your help.
11:29And so may he.
11:31Here he comes.
11:32Sit down in that armchair,
11:33doctor,
11:34and give us your best attention.
11:36A slow and heavy step,
11:38which had been heard
11:38upon the stairs
11:39and in the passage,
11:41paused immediately
11:42outside the door.
11:43Then there was a loud
11:44and authoritative tap.
11:46Come in,
11:47said Holmes.
11:48A man entered
11:49who could hardly
11:50have been less than
11:51six feet six inches
11:52in height,
11:53with the chest
11:53and limbs of a Hercules.
11:56His dress was rich
11:57with a richness
11:58which would,
11:58in England,
11:59be looked upon
12:00as akin to bad taste.
12:02Heavy bands
12:02of astrakhan
12:03were slashed
12:04across the sleeves
12:05and fronts
12:06of his double-breasted coat,
12:07while the deep blue cloak
12:09which was thrown
12:09over his shoulders
12:10was lined
12:11with flame-colored silk
12:12and secured at the neck
12:14with a brooch
12:14which consisted
12:15of a single flaming barrel.
12:17Boots which extended
12:18halfway up his calves
12:20and which were trimmed
12:21at the tops
12:21with rich brown fur
12:23completed the impression
12:24of barbaric opulence
12:26which was suggested
12:26by his whole appearance.
12:28He carried
12:28a broad-brimmed hat
12:30in his hand
12:30while he wore
12:31across the upper part
12:32of his face,
12:33extending down
12:34past the cheekbones,
12:36a black
12:36wizard mask
12:37which he had apparently
12:38adjusted that very moment,
12:40for his hand
12:41was still raised to it
12:42as he entered.
12:43From the lower part
12:43of the face,
12:44he appeared to be
12:45a man of strong character
12:46with a thick,
12:47hanging lip
12:48and a long,
12:50straight chin
12:50suggestive of resolution
12:51pushed to the length
12:52of obstinacy.
12:54You had my note?
12:55He asked with a deep,
12:56harsh voice
12:56and a strongly
12:57marked German accent.
12:59I told you
12:59that I would call.
13:01He looked from one
13:01to the other of us
13:02as if uncertain
13:04which to address.
13:05Pray take a seat,
13:06said Holmes.
13:08This is my friend
13:08and colleague,
13:09Dr. Watson,
13:10who is occasionally
13:11good enough
13:11to help me
13:12in my cases.
13:13Whom have I the honor
13:14to address?
13:15You may address me
13:17as the Count von Cram,
13:19a bohemian nobleman.
13:20I understand
13:21that this gentleman,
13:22your friend,
13:23is a man of honor
13:25and discretion,
13:26whom I may trust
13:27with a matter
13:28of the most extreme importance.
13:30If not,
13:31I should much prefer
13:31to communicate
13:32with you alone.
13:33I rose to go,
13:35but Holmes caught me
13:35by the wrist
13:36and pushed me back
13:37into my chair.
13:38It is both or none,
13:40said he.
13:40You may say
13:41before this gentleman
13:42anything which
13:43you may say to me.
13:45The Count shrugged
13:46his broad shoulders.
13:47Then I must begin,
13:49said he,
13:49by binding you both
13:51to absolute secrecy
13:52for two years.
13:53At the end of that time
13:54the matter will be
13:55of no importance.
13:57At present it is
13:57not too much to say
13:58that it is of such weight
14:00it may have an influence
14:01upon European history.
14:03I promise,
14:04said Holmes.
14:05And I,
14:06you will excuse
14:07this mask,
14:08continued our strange visitor.
14:10The august person
14:11who employs me
14:12wishes his agent
14:13to be unknown to you.
14:15And I may confess
14:16at once that the title
14:17by which I have just
14:18called myself
14:18is not exactly my own.
14:20I was aware of it,
14:22said Holmes dryly.
14:23The circumstances
14:24are of great delicacy.
14:26And every precaution
14:27has to be taken
14:28to quench
14:28what might grow
14:29to be an immense scandal
14:31and seriously compromise
14:32one of the reigning
14:33families of Europe.
14:34To speak plainly,
14:36the matter implicates
14:37the great house
14:38of Ormstein,
14:39hereditary kings
14:40of Bohemia.
14:41I was also aware
14:42of that,
14:43murmured Holmes,
14:45settling himself down
14:45in his armchair
14:46and closing his eyes.
14:48Our visitor glanced
14:49with some apparent surprise
14:51at the languid,
14:52lounging figure
14:53of the man
14:53who had been
14:54no doubt depicted
14:55to him
14:55as the most incisive
14:57reasoner
14:57and most energetic
14:58agent in Europe.
15:00Holmes slowly
15:00reopened his eyes
15:01and looked impatiently
15:03at his gigantic client.
15:04If your majesty
15:06would condescend
15:06to state your case,
15:08he remarked,
15:09I should be better
15:09able to advise you.
15:11The man sprang
15:11from his chair
15:12and paced up
15:13and down the room
15:14in uncontrollable agitation.
15:17Then,
15:17with a gesture
15:18of desperation,
15:19he tore the mask
15:20from his face
15:21and hurled it
15:22upon the ground.
15:23You are right,
15:24he cried,
15:25I am the king.
15:26Why should I attempt
15:27to conceal it?
15:28Why indeed,
15:30murmured Holmes.
15:31Your majesty
15:31had not spoken
15:32before I was aware
15:33that I was addressing
15:34Wilhelm Gottsreich
15:36Sigismund von Ormstein,
15:38Grand Duke
15:39of Castlefelstein
15:40and Hereditary King
15:41of Bohemia.
15:42But you can understand,
15:44said our strange visitor,
15:46sitting down once more
15:47and passing his hand
15:48over his high white forehead,
15:50you can understand
15:51that I am not accustomed
15:52to doing such business
15:53in my own person.
15:54Yet the matter
15:55was so delicate
15:56that I could not confide it
15:58to an agent
15:58without putting myself
15:59in his power.
16:00I have come incognito
16:02from Prague
16:02for the purpose
16:03of consulting you.
16:04Then,
16:05pray consult,
16:06said Holmes,
16:07shutting his eyes
16:08once more.
16:09The facts are briefly these.
16:11Some five years ago,
16:13during a lengthy visit
16:13to Warsaw,
16:15I made the acquaintance
16:16of the well-known
16:16adventurous,
16:18Irene Adler.
16:19The name is no doubt
16:20familiar to you.
16:21Kindly look her up
16:22in my index,
16:23doctor,
16:24murmured Holmes
16:24without opening his eyes.
16:26For many years,
16:27he had adopted
16:28a system
16:28of docketing
16:29all paragraphs
16:30concerning men
16:31and things,
16:32so that it was difficult
16:34to name a subject
16:35or a person
16:35on which he could not
16:36at once furnish information.
16:38In this case,
16:39I found her biography
16:40sandwiched in between
16:41that of a Hebrew rabbi
16:43and that of a staff commander
16:44who had written
16:45a monograph
16:46upon the deep-sea fishes.
16:48Let me see,
16:49said Holmes.
16:50Hum.
16:51Born in New Jersey
16:52in the year 1858.
16:54Contralto Hum.
16:55La Scala Hum.
16:57Prima Donna Imperial Opera
16:58of Warsaw, yes.
17:00Retired from operatic stage.
17:02Ha.
17:03Living in London.
17:04Quite so.
17:05Your Majesty,
17:06as I understand,
17:07became entangled
17:08with this young person,
17:09wrote her some
17:10compromising letters,
17:12and is now desirous
17:13of getting those letters back.
17:15Precisely so.
17:16But how?
17:17Was there a secret marriage?
17:19None.
17:19No legal papers
17:21or certificates?
17:22None.
17:23Then I failed
17:23to follow Your Majesty.
17:25If this young person
17:26should produce her letters
17:27for blackmailing
17:28or other purposes,
17:30how is she to prove
17:31their authenticity?
17:32There is the writing.
17:33Poo-poo.
17:34Forgery.
17:35My private notepaper.
17:37Stolen.
17:38My own seal.
17:39Imitated.
17:40My photograph.
17:42Bought.
17:43We were both
17:43in the photograph.
17:45Oh dear.
17:46That is very bad.
17:47Your Majesty
17:48has indeed
17:49committed an indiscretion.
17:50I was mad and sane.
17:52You have compromised
17:53yourself seriously.
17:55I was only crown prince then.
17:56I was young.
17:58I am but thirty now.
17:59It must be recovered.
18:01We have tried and failed.
18:02Your Majesty
18:03must pay.
18:05It must be bought.
18:06She will not sell.
18:07Stolen then.
18:09Five attempts
18:09have been made.
18:10Twice burglars
18:11in my pay
18:12ransacked her house.
18:13Once we diverted
18:14her luggage
18:15when she traveled.
18:16Twice she has been
18:17waylaid.
18:18There has been no result.
18:20No sign of it.
18:21Absolutely none.
18:22Holmes laughed.
18:23It is quite a pretty
18:24little problem.
18:25Said he.
18:26But a very serious
18:27one to me.
18:29Returned the king
18:29reproachfully.
18:31Very indeed.
18:32And what has she
18:32proposed to do
18:33with the photograph?
18:35To ruin me?
18:36But how?
18:37I am about to be married.
18:39So I have heard
18:40to Clotilde Lothman
18:41von Saxman Ingen,
18:43second daughter
18:43of the king
18:44of Scandinavia.
18:45You may know
18:46the strict principles
18:47of her family.
18:49She is herself
18:49the very soul
18:50of delicacy.
18:52A shadow of a doubt
18:53as to my conduct
18:54would bring the matter
18:55to an end.
18:56And Irene Adler
18:57threatens to send them
18:58the photograph.
19:00And she will do it.
19:01I know that she will do it.
19:02You do not know her.
19:04But she has a soul
19:05of steel.
19:06She has the face
19:07of the most beautiful
19:07of women.
19:08And the mind
19:09of the most resolute
19:10of men.
19:11Rather than I should
19:12marry another woman,
19:13there are no lengths
19:14to which she would not go.
19:16None.
19:17You are sure
19:17that she has not
19:18sent it yet?
19:19I am sure.
19:20And why?
19:21Because she has said
19:22that she would send it
19:23on the day
19:23when the betrothal
19:24was publicly proclaimed.
19:26That will be next Monday.
19:28Oh!
19:28Then we have three days yet,
19:30said Holmes with a yawn.
19:32That is very fortunate,
19:33as I have one or two
19:34matters of importance
19:35to look into
19:35just at present.
19:37Your Majesty will,
19:38of course,
19:39stay in London
19:40for the present.
19:41Certainly.
19:42You will find me
19:42at the Langham
19:43under the name
19:44of the Count von Cram.
19:45Then I shall drop you
19:46a line
19:47to let you know
19:47how we progress.
19:49Pray do so.
19:50I shall be all anxiety.
19:52Then,
19:53as to money,
19:54you have carte blanche?
19:56Absolutely.
19:57I tell you
19:57that I would give
19:58one of the provinces
19:59of my kingdom
20:00to have that photograph.
20:02And for present expenses?
20:03The King took
20:04a heavy shammy leather bag
20:06from under his cloak
20:06and laid it on the table.
20:08There are 300 pounds
20:10in gold
20:10and 700 in notes,
20:12he said.
20:13Holmes scribbled
20:13a receipt upon
20:14a sheet of his notebook
20:16and handed it to him.
20:18In Mademoiselle's address,
20:19he asked,
20:20Is Briny Lodge,
20:22Serpentine Avenue,
20:23St. John's Wood?
20:24Holmes took a note of it.
20:26One other question,
20:27said he,
20:28Was the photograph
20:28a cabinet?
20:29It was.
20:30Then,
20:31Good night,
20:32Your Majesty,
20:33and I trust
20:33that we shall soon
20:34have some good news
20:35for you.
20:36And good night,
20:36Watson,
20:37he added,
20:38as the wheels
20:39of the Royal Brougham
20:40rolled down the street.
20:41If you will be good enough
20:42to call tomorrow afternoon
20:43at 3 o'clock,
20:44I should like to chat
20:45this little matter
20:46over with you.
20:47At 3 o'clock precisely,
20:49I was at Baker Street,
20:50but Holmes had not yet returned.
20:52The landlady informed me
20:54that he had left the house
20:55shortly after 8 o'clock
20:56in the morning.
20:57I sat down beside the fire,
20:59however,
21:00with the intention
21:01of awaiting him,
21:02however long he might be.
21:04I was already deeply interested
21:06in his inquiry,
21:07for though it was surrounded
21:08by none of the grim
21:09and strange features
21:10which were associated
21:11with the two crimes
21:12which I have already recorded,
21:13still,
21:14the nature of the case
21:15and the exalted station
21:17of his client
21:17gave it a character
21:18of its own.
21:19Indeed,
21:20apart from the nature
21:21of the investigation
21:21which my friend had on hand,
21:23there was something
21:24in his masterly grasp
21:25of a situation
21:26and his keen,
21:27incisive reasoning,
21:29which made it a pleasure
21:29to me to study
21:30his system of work
21:31and to follow
21:32the quick,
21:33subtle methods
21:34by which he disentangled
21:35the most inextricable mysteries.
21:38So accustomed was I
21:39to his invariable success
21:40that the very possibility
21:42of his failing
21:43had ceased to enter
21:44into my head.
21:45It was close upon four
21:46before the door opened
21:47and a drunken-looking groom,
21:49ill-kempt and side-whiskered,
21:51with an inflamed face
21:53and disreputable clothes,
21:55walked into the room.
21:56Accustomed as I was
21:57to my friend's amazing powers
21:59in the use of disguises,
22:01I had to look three times
22:02before I was certain
22:03that it was indeed he.
22:04With a nod,
22:05he vanished into the bedroom.
22:07Once he emerged
22:08in five minutes
22:09tweed-suited
22:10and respectable,
22:11as of old.
22:12Putting his hands
22:13into his pockets,
22:14he stretched out his legs
22:15in front of the fire
22:16and laughed heartily
22:18for some minutes.
22:19Well, really,
22:20he cried,
22:20and then he choked
22:21and laughed again
22:22until he was obliged
22:23to lie back,
22:24limp and helpless
22:25in the chair.
22:26What is it?
22:27It's quite too funny.
22:29I'm sure you could
22:29never guess
22:30how I employed my morning
22:31or what I ended by doing.
22:33I can't imagine.
22:35I suppose that you have been
22:36watching the habits
22:37and perhaps the house
22:38of Miss Irene Adler.
22:40Quite so,
22:41but the sequel
22:42was rather unusual.
22:44I will tell you,
22:45however,
22:45I left the house
22:46a little after
22:47eight o'clock this morning
22:48in the character
22:49of a groom out of work.
22:51There is a wonderful sympathy
22:52and Freemasonry
22:54among horsey men.
22:55Be one of them
22:56and you will know
22:57all that there is to know.
22:59I soon found Briny Lodge.
23:01It is a bijou villa
23:02with a garden at the back,
23:03but built out in front
23:04right up to the road,
23:05two stories.
23:07Chubb locked to the door.
23:08Large sitting room
23:09on the right side,
23:10well furnished,
23:11with long windows
23:12almost to the floor
23:13and those preposterous
23:15English window fasteners
23:16which a child could open.
23:18Behind there was
23:18nothing remarkable,
23:20save that the passage window
23:21could be reached
23:22from the top
23:23of the coach house.
23:24I walked round it
23:25and examined it closely
23:26from every point of view,
23:28but without noting
23:29anything else of interest.
23:31I then lounged down the street
23:33and found,
23:34as I expected,
23:35that there was a muse
23:36in a lane
23:37which runs down
23:38by one wall of the garden.
23:39I lent the ostlers a hand
23:41in rubbing down their horses
23:42and received
23:43an exchange tuppence,
23:45a glass of half and half,
23:46two fills of shag tobacco,
23:48and as much information
23:49as I could desire
23:50about Miss Adler,
23:51to say nothing
23:52of half a dozen other people
23:53in the neighborhood
23:54in whom I was not
23:55in the least interested,
23:56but whose biographies
23:57I was compelled
23:58to listen to.
23:59And what of Irene Adler?
24:00I asked.
24:02Oh,
24:02she has turned
24:03all the men's heads down
24:04in that part.
24:05She is the dainiest thing
24:07under a bonnet
24:07on this planet.
24:09So say the serpentine muse
24:10to a man.
24:12She lives quietly,
24:13sings at concerts,
24:14drives out at five
24:15every day,
24:16and returns
24:17at seven sharp for dinner.
24:19Seldom goes out
24:19at other times,
24:21except when she sings.
24:22As only one male visitor,
24:24but a good deal of him.
24:25He is dark,
24:26handsome,
24:27and dashing.
24:28Never calls
24:29less than once a day,
24:30and often twice.
24:32He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton
24:33of the Inner Temple.
24:35See the advantages
24:36of a cabman
24:37as a confidant.
24:38They had driven him home
24:39a dozen times
24:40from serpentine muse,
24:42and knew all about him.
24:43When I had listened
24:44to all they had to tell,
24:45I began to walk up
24:47and down near
24:47Briny Lodge
24:48once more,
24:49and to think
24:50over my plan of campaign.
24:52This Godfrey Norton
24:53was evidently
24:54an important factor
24:55in the matter.
24:56He was a lawyer.
24:57That sounded ominous.
24:59What was the relation
24:59between them,
25:00and what the object
25:01of his repeated visits?
25:03Was she his client
25:04his friend,
25:05or his mistress?
25:06If the former,
25:07she had probably
25:08transferred the photograph
25:09to his keeping.
25:10If the latter,
25:11it was less likely.
25:13On the issue
25:13of this question
25:14depended whether
25:15I should continue
25:16my work at Briny Lodge,
25:18or turn my attention
25:19to the gentleman's chambers
25:20in the temple.
25:21It was a delicate point,
25:23and it widened
25:24the field of my inquiry.
25:25I fear that I bore you
25:27with these details,
25:28but I have to let you see
25:29my little difficulties
25:30if you are to understand
25:32the situation.
25:33I am following you closely,
25:34I answered.
25:35I was still balancing
25:36the matter in my mind
25:37when a handsome cab
25:39drove up
25:39to Briny Lodge,
25:41and a gentleman
25:42sprang out.
25:43He was a remarkably
25:44handsome man,
25:45dark,
25:46aquiline,
25:47and moustached,
25:48evidently the man
25:49of whom I had heard.
25:51He appeared to be
25:51in a great hurry,
25:53shouted to the cabin
25:53to wait,
25:54and brushed past
25:55the maid who opened
25:56the door with the air
25:57of a man who was
25:58thoroughly at home.
25:59He was in the house
26:00about half an hour,
26:01and I could catch
26:02glimpses of him
26:02in the windows
26:03of the sitting room,
26:04pacing up and down,
26:06talking excitedly,
26:07and waving his arms.
26:09Of her eye
26:09could see nothing.
26:10Presently he emerged,
26:12looking even more
26:13flurried than before.
26:14As he stepped up
26:16to the cab,
26:16he pulled a gold watch
26:17from his pocket
26:18and looked at it earnestly.
26:20Drive like the devil,
26:21he shouted,
26:22first to Gross
26:23and Hanky's
26:23in Regent Street,
26:25and then to the Church
26:25of St. Monica
26:26in the Edgware Road.
26:28Half a guinea
26:28if you do it
26:29in twenty minutes.
26:30Away they went,
26:32and I was just wondering
26:33whether I should not
26:34do well to follow them
26:35when up the lane
26:35came a neat little Landau,
26:37the coachman with his coat
26:39only half-buttoned,
26:40and his tie under his ear,
26:42while all the tags
26:43of his harness
26:43were sticking out
26:44of the buckles.
26:45It hadn't pulled up
26:46before she shot
26:46out of the hall door
26:47and into it.
26:48I only caught a glimpse
26:49of her at the moment,
26:50but she was a lovely woman
26:52with a face
26:53that a man might die for.
26:55The Church of St. Monica,
26:56John,
26:57she cried,
26:58and half a sovereign
26:59if you reach it
27:00in twenty minutes.
27:01This was quite too good
27:02to lose, Watson.
27:04I was just balancing
27:05whether I should run for it,
27:06or whether I should
27:07perch behind her Landau
27:08when a cab
27:09came through the street.
27:10The driver looked twice
27:11at such a shabby fare,
27:13but I jumped in
27:13before he could object.
27:15The Church of St. Monica,
27:17said I,
27:18and half a sovereign
27:19if you reach it
27:19in twenty minutes.
27:21It was twenty-five minutes
27:22to twelve,
27:23and of course
27:23it was clear enough
27:24what was in the wind.
27:25My cabbie drove fast.
27:27I don't think
27:28I ever drove faster,
27:29but the others
27:30were there before us.
27:31The cab and the Landau,
27:33with their steaming horses,
27:34were in front of the door
27:35when I arrived.
27:36I paid the man
27:37and hurried
27:38into the church.
27:39There was not a soul
27:40there save the two
27:41whom I had followed
27:42and a surplus clergyman
27:44who seemed to be
27:45expostulating with them.
27:46They were all three
27:47standing in a knot
27:48in front of the altar.
27:50I lounged up the side aisle
27:51like any other idler
27:52who has dropped
27:53into a church.
27:54Suddenly,
27:55to my surprise,
27:57the three at the altar
27:58faced round to me,
27:59and Godfrey Norton
28:00came running as hard
28:01as he could towards me.
28:03Thank God,
28:04he cried.
28:05You'll do.
28:06Come.
28:07Come.
28:07What then?
28:08I asked.
28:10Come, man, come.
28:11Only three minutes,
28:12or it won't be legal.
28:14I was half dragged
28:15up to the altar,
28:16and before I knew
28:17where I was,
28:17I found myself
28:18mumbling responses
28:19which were whispered
28:20in my ear,
28:21and vouching for things
28:22of which I knew nothing,
28:24and generally assisting
28:25in the secure
28:26tying up of Irene Adler,
28:27spinster,
28:28to Godfrey Norton,
28:30bachelor.
28:30It was all done
28:31in an instant,
28:32and there was the gentleman
28:33thanking me on the one side
28:35and the lady on the other
28:36while the clergyman
28:37beamed on me in front.
28:38It was the most preposterous
28:40position in which I ever
28:41found myself in my life,
28:42and it was the thought of it
28:44that started me laughing
28:45just now.
28:46It seems that there had been
28:47some informality
28:48about their license,
28:50that the clergyman
28:50absolutely refused
28:52to marry them
28:52without a witness
28:53of some sort,
28:55and that my lucky appearance
28:56saved the bridegroom
28:57from having to sally out
28:58into the streets
28:59in search of a best man.
29:00The bride gave me
29:02a sovereign,
29:03and I mean to wear it
29:03on my watch chain
29:04in memory of the occasion.
29:06This is a very unexpected
29:07turn of affairs,
29:09said I.
29:10And what then?
29:11Well,
29:11I found my plans
29:12very seriously menaced.
29:14It looked as if the pair
29:15might take an immediate
29:16departure,
29:17and so necessitate
29:19very prompt
29:19and energetic measures
29:21on my part.
29:22At the church door,
29:23however,
29:24they separated,
29:25he driving back
29:26to the temple,
29:27and she to her own house.
29:29I shall drive out
29:30in the park at five
29:31as usual,
29:32she said as she left him.
29:33I heard no more.
29:34They drove away
29:35in different directions,
29:37and I went off
29:38to make my own arrangements,
29:39which are
29:40some cold beef
29:41and a glass of beer,
29:43he answered,
29:44ringing the bell.
29:45I have been too busy
29:46to think of food,
29:47and I am likely
29:48to be busier still
29:49this evening.
29:50By the way,
29:51doctor,
29:52I shall want
29:53your cooperation.
29:54I shall be delighted.
29:55You don't mind
29:56breaking the law?
29:57Not in the least.
29:58Nor running
29:59a chance of arrest?
30:00Not in a good cause.
30:02Oh,
30:03the cause is excellent.
30:05Then I am your man.
30:06I was sure
30:06that I might rely on you,
30:08but what is it you wish?
30:10When Mrs. Turner
30:11has brought in the tray,
30:12I will make it clear to you.
30:14Now,
30:14he said as he turned
30:15hungrily on the simple fare
30:17that our landlady
30:17had provided,
30:18I must discuss it
30:19while I eat,
30:20for I have not much time.
30:22It is nearly five now.
30:23In two hours,
30:24we must be
30:25on the scene of action.
30:26Miss Irene,
30:27or Madam,
30:29rather,
30:29returns from her drive
30:30at seven.
30:31We must be at
30:32Briny Lodge
30:33to meet her.
30:34And what then?
30:35You must leave that to me.
30:37I have already arranged
30:38what is to occur.
30:39There is only one point
30:40on which I must insist.
30:42You must not interfere,
30:43come what may.
30:44You understand?
30:46I am to be neutral,
30:47to do nothing whatever.
30:48There will probably be
30:49some small unpleasantness.
30:51Do not join in it.
30:52It will end in my being
30:54conveyed into the house.
30:56Four or five minutes
30:57afterwards,
30:58the sitting room window
30:59will open.
31:00You are to station yourself
31:01close to that open window.
31:03Yes.
31:03You are to watch me,
31:05for I will be visible to you.
31:07Yes.
31:07And when I raise my hand,
31:09so you will throw
31:10into the room
31:10what I give you to throw,
31:12and will at the same time
31:13raise the cry of fire.
31:16You quite follow me?
31:17Entirely.
31:18It is nothing very formidable,
31:20he said,
31:21taking a long cigar-shaped roll
31:23from his pocket.
31:24It is an ordinary
31:25plumber smoke rocket,
31:27fitted with a cap
31:27at either end
31:28to make itself lighting.
31:30Your task is confined to that.
31:32When you raise your cry of fire,
31:34it will be taken up
31:35by quite a number of people.
31:37You may then walk
31:38to the end of the street,
31:39and I will rejoin you
31:40in ten minutes.
31:42I hope that I have
31:42made myself clear.
31:44I am to remain neutral,
31:46to get near the window,
31:47to watch you,
31:48and at the signal
31:48to throw in this object,
31:50then to raise the cry of fire,
31:52and to wait you
31:53at the corner of the street.
31:55Precisely.
31:56Then you may entirely rely on me.
31:58That is excellent.
31:59I think, perhaps,
32:00it is almost time
32:01that I prepare
32:02for the new role
32:03I have to play.
32:04He disappeared
32:04into his bedroom,
32:05and returned in a few minutes
32:07in the character
32:07of an amiable
32:08and simple-minded
32:10non-conformist clergyman.
32:11His broad black hat,
32:13his baggy trousers,
32:14his white tie,
32:15his sympathetic smile,
32:16and general look
32:17of peering
32:18and benevolent curiosity
32:20were such as
32:21Mr. John Hare alone
32:22could have equaled.
32:23It was not merely
32:24that Holmes changed
32:25his costume.
32:26His expression,
32:27his manner,
32:28his very soul,
32:29seemed to vary
32:30with every fresh part
32:31that he assumed.
32:33The stage lost
32:34a fine actor,
32:35even as science
32:36lost an acute reasoner,
32:38when he became
32:39a specialist in crime.
32:40It was a quarter past six
32:42when we left Baker Street,
32:43and it still wanted
32:44ten minutes to the hour
32:45when we found ourselves
32:46in Serpentine Avenue.
32:48It was already dusk,
32:49and the lamps
32:50were just being lighted
32:51as we paced up
32:52and down in front
32:53of Briny Lodge,
32:54waiting for the coming
32:55of its occupant.
32:56The house was just
32:57such as I had pictured it
32:58from Sherlock Holmes'
32:59succinct description,
33:01but the locality
33:02appeared to be less private
33:03than I expected.
33:04On the contrary,
33:05for a small street
33:06in a quiet neighborhood,
33:08it was remarkably animated.
33:10There was a group
33:11of shabbily dressed men
33:12smoking and laughing
33:13in a corner,
33:14a scissors grinder
33:15with his wheel,
33:16two guardsmen
33:17who were flirting
33:18with a nurse girl,
33:19and several well-dressed
33:20young men
33:21who were lounging up
33:22and down
33:22with cigars in their mouths.
33:24You see,
33:25remarked Holmes,
33:26as we paced to and fro
33:28in front of the house,
33:29this marriage
33:30rather simplifies matters.
33:32The photograph
33:32becomes a double-edged
33:34weapon now.
33:35The chances are
33:36that she would be
33:37as averse
33:37to its being seen
33:39by Mr. Godfrey Norton,
33:40as our client
33:41is to its coming
33:42to the eyes
33:43of his princess.
33:44Now the question is,
33:45where are we
33:46to find the photograph?
33:47Where, indeed?
33:49It is most unlikely
33:50that she carries it
33:51about with her.
33:52It is cabinet size,
33:54too large
33:54for easy concealment
33:56about a woman's dress.
33:57She knows
33:58that the king
33:59is capable
33:59of having her waylaid
34:01and searched.
34:02Two attempts
34:03of the sort
34:03have already been made.
34:04We may take it, then,
34:06that she does not
34:07carry it about with her.
34:08Where, then?
34:09Her banker
34:10or her lawyer?
34:11There is that
34:12double possibility,
34:14but I am inclined
34:14to think neither.
34:16Women are naturally
34:17secretive,
34:18and they like to do
34:19their own secreting.
34:20Why should she
34:21hand it over
34:21to anyone else?
34:22She could trust
34:23her own guardianship,
34:24but she could not tell
34:25what indirect
34:26or political influence
34:28might be brought
34:28to bear upon
34:29a businessman.
34:30Besides,
34:31remember that she
34:32had resolved
34:32to use it
34:33within a few days.
34:35It must be
34:35where she can
34:36lay her hands
34:36upon it.
34:37It must be
34:38in her own house,
34:39but it has twice
34:40been burgled.
34:41Shaw,
34:42they did not
34:43know how to look.
34:44But how will you look?
34:45I will not look.
34:46What then?
34:47I will get her
34:48to show me,
34:49but she will refuse.
34:51She will not be able to,
34:52but I hear
34:53the rumble of wheels.
34:54It is her carriage.
34:56Now carry out
34:56my orders
34:57to the letter.
34:58As he spoke,
34:59the gleam
34:59of the side lights
35:00of a carriage
35:01came round
35:02the curve
35:02of the avenue.
35:03It was a smart
35:04little landau
35:05which rattled up
35:06to the door
35:07of Briny Lodge.
35:08As it pulled up,
35:09one of the loafing men
35:10at the corner
35:11dashed forward
35:12to open the door
35:13in the hope
35:13of earning a copper,
35:15but was elbowed away
35:16by another loafer
35:17who had rushed up
35:18with the same intention.
35:19A fierce quarrel
35:20broke out,
35:21which was increased
35:22by the two guardsmen,
35:24who took sides
35:24with one of the loungers,
35:26and by the scissors grinder,
35:28who was equally hot
35:29upon the other side.
35:30A blow was struck,
35:31and in an instant
35:32the lady,
35:33who had stepped
35:34from her carriage,
35:35was the center
35:35of a little knot
35:36of flushed
35:37and struggling men
35:39who struck savagely
35:40at each other
35:41with their fists
35:42and sticks.
35:43Holmes dashed
35:44into the crowd
35:44to protect the lady,
35:46but just as he reached her,
35:48he gave a cry
35:48and dropped to the ground
35:50with the blood
35:51running freely
35:52down his face.
35:53At his fall,
35:54the guardsmen
35:55took to their heels
35:56in one direction
35:57and the loungers
35:58in the other,
35:58while a number
35:59of better-dressed people,
36:01who had watched
36:01the scuffle
36:02without taking part
36:02in it,
36:03crowded in to help
36:04the lady
36:04and to attend
36:05to the injured man.
36:07Irene Adler,
36:08as I will still call her,
36:09had hurried up the steps,
36:11but she stood at the top
36:12with her superb figure
36:13outlined against
36:14the lights of the hall,
36:15looking back
36:16into the street.
36:17Is the poor gentleman
36:18much hurt?
36:19She asked.
36:20He is dead,
36:21cried several voices.
36:23No, no,
36:23there's life in him,
36:24shouted another.
36:25But he'll be gone
36:26before you can get him
36:27to hospital.
36:28He's a brave fellow,
36:30said a woman.
36:31They would have had
36:31the lady's purse
36:32and watch
36:33if it hadn't been for him.
36:35They were a gang
36:35and a rough one, too.
36:37Ah, he's breathing now.
36:39He can't lie in the street.
36:41May we bring him in,
36:42Marm?
36:42Surely.
36:43Bring him into
36:44the sitting room.
36:45There is a comfortable sofa.
36:46This way, please.
36:48Slowly and solemnly,
36:50he was born
36:51into Briony Lodge
36:52and laid out
36:53in the principal room,
36:54while I still observed
36:55the proceedings
36:56from my post
36:56by the window.
36:58The lamps had been lit,
36:59but the blinds
37:00had not been drawn,
37:01so that I could see Holmes
37:02as he lay upon the couch.
37:04I do not know
37:05whether he was seized
37:06with compunction
37:07at that moment
37:07for the part he was playing,
37:09but I know that I never felt
37:10more heartily ashamed
37:11of myself in my life
37:13than when I saw
37:13the beautiful creature
37:14against whom I was conspiring,
37:16or the grace
37:17and kindliness
37:18with which she waited
37:19upon the injured man.
37:20And yet it would be
37:21the blackest treachery
37:22to Holmes
37:23to draw back now
37:24from the part
37:25which he had entrusted
37:26to me.
37:26I hardened my heart
37:27and took the smoke rocket
37:29from under my ulster.
37:31After all,
37:32I thought,
37:33we are not injuring her.
37:34We are,
37:35but preventing her
37:36from injuring another.
37:37Holmes had sat up
37:38upon the couch,
37:39and I saw him motion
37:40like a man
37:41who was in need of air.
37:43A maid rushed across
37:44and threw open the window.
37:46At the same instant
37:47I saw him raise his hand,
37:49and at the signal
37:49I tossed my rocket
37:51into the room
37:51with a cry of fire.
37:53The word was no sooner
37:54out of my mouth
37:55than the whole crowd
37:56of spectators.
37:57While dressed and ill,
37:59gentlemen,
38:00ostlers,
38:01and servant maids
38:01joined in a general
38:03shriek of fire.
38:05Thick clouds of smoke
38:06curled through the room
38:07and out at the open window.
38:09I caught a glimpse
38:10of rushing figures,
38:12and a moment later
38:13the voice of Holmes
38:13from within
38:14assuring them
38:15that it was a false alarm.
38:17Slipping through
38:17the shouting crowd,
38:19I made my way
38:20to the corner of the street,
38:21and in ten minutes
38:22was rejoiced
38:23to find my friend's arm
38:24and mine,
38:25and to get away
38:25from the scene of uproar.
38:27He walked swiftly
38:28and in silence
38:29for some few minutes
38:30until we had turned down
38:31one of the quiet streets
38:32which lead
38:33towards the edgeware road.
38:35You did it very nicely,
38:36doctor,
38:37he remarked.
38:38Nothing could have been better.
38:39It is all right.
38:41You have the photograph?
38:42I know where it is.
38:44And how did you find out?
38:45She showed me.
38:46As I told you she would,
38:48I am still in the dark.
38:49I do not wish
38:50to make a mystery,
38:52said he laughing.
38:53The matter was
38:53perfectly simple.
38:55You, of course,
38:56saw that everyone
38:57in the street
38:57was an accomplice.
38:59They were all engaged
39:00for the evening.
39:01I guessed as much.
39:02Then,
39:03when the row broke out,
39:05I had a little moist
39:06red paint
39:07in the palm of my hand.
39:08I rushed forward,
39:10fell down,
39:11clapped my hand
39:12to my face,
39:13and became
39:13a piteous spectacle.
39:15It is an old trick
39:16that also I could fathom.
39:18Then they carried me in.
39:20She was bound
39:20to have me in.
39:21What else could she do?
39:23And into her sitting room,
39:24which was the very room
39:26which I suspected.
39:27It lay between that
39:28and her bedroom,
39:29and I was determined
39:30to see which.
39:31They laid me on a couch.
39:33I motioned for air.
39:34They were compelled
39:35to open the window,
39:36and you had your chance.
39:38How did that help you?
39:39It was all important.
39:41When a woman thinks
39:42that her house
39:42is on fire,
39:43her instinct is at once
39:45to rush to the thing
39:46which she values most.
39:47It is a perfectly
39:48overpowering impulse,
39:50and I have more than once
39:51taken advantage of it.
39:53In the case of the
39:53Darlington substitution scandal,
39:55it was of use to me,
39:56and also in the
39:57Arnsworth Castle business.
39:59A married woman
40:00grabs at her baby.
40:01An unmarried one
40:02reaches for her jewel box.
40:04Now it was clear to me
40:05that our lady of today
40:06had nothing in the house
40:08more precious to her
40:09than what we are
40:10in quest of.
40:11She would rush
40:12to secure it.
40:13The alarm of fire
40:14was admirably done.
40:16The smoke
40:17and shouting
40:17were enough
40:18to shake nerves of steel.
40:20She responded beautifully.
40:22The photograph
40:22is in a recess
40:23behind a sliding panel
40:25just above
40:25the right bell pole.
40:27She was there
40:27in an instant,
40:28and I caught a glimpse
40:29of it as she half-drew it out.
40:31When I cried out
40:32that it was a false alarm,
40:33she replaced it,
40:34glanced at the rocket,
40:36rushed from the room,
40:37and I have not seen her since.
40:39I rose,
40:40and,
40:41making my excuses,
40:42escaped from the house.
40:44I hesitated
40:45whether to attempt
40:45to secure the photograph
40:47at once,
40:48but the coachman
40:48had come in,
40:49and as he was watching me
40:50narrowly,
40:51it seemed safer to wait.
40:53A little over-percipitance
40:54may ruin all.
40:56And now,
40:57I asked,
40:58our quest
40:59is practically finished.
41:00I shall call
41:01with the king tomorrow,
41:03and with you,
41:04if you care
41:04to come with us.
41:05We will be shown
41:06into the sitting room
41:07to wait for the lady,
41:09but it is probable
41:10that when she comes
41:10she may find
41:11neither us
41:12nor the photograph.
41:14It might be
41:14a satisfaction
41:15to his majesty
41:16to regain it
41:17with his own hands.
41:19And when will you call?
41:20At eight in the morning.
41:21She will not be up,
41:22so that we shall
41:23have a clear field.
41:25Besides,
41:25we must be prompt,
41:27for this marriage
41:27may mean a complete change
41:29in her life
41:30and habits.
41:31I must wire
41:32to the king
41:32without delay.
41:34We had reached Baker Street
41:35and had stopped
41:36at the door.
41:37He was searching
41:37his pockets
41:37for the key
41:38when someone passing
41:39said,
41:40Good night,
41:41Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
41:42There were several people
41:43on the pavement
41:44at the time,
41:44but the greeting
41:45appeared to come
41:46from a slim youth
41:47in an Ulster
41:48who had hurried by.
41:49I've heard that voice
41:50before,
41:51said Holmes,
41:52staring down
41:53the dimly lit street.
41:54Now,
41:55I wonder who the deuce
41:56that could have been.
41:57I slept at Baker Street
41:58that night,
41:59and we were engaged
42:00upon our toast
42:01and coffee
42:01in the morning
42:02when the king
42:03of Bohemia
42:04rushed into the room.
42:05You have really got it,
42:06he cried,
42:08grasping Sherlock Holmes
42:09by either shoulder
42:10and looking eagerly
42:11into his face.
42:13Not yet,
42:14but you have hopes?
42:15I have hopes.
42:16Then come,
42:17I am all impatience
42:18to be gone.
42:19We must have a cab.
42:21No,
42:21my broom is waiting.
42:22Then that will
42:23simplify matters.
42:25We descended
42:25and started off
42:26once more
42:27for Briny Lodge.
42:29Irene Adler
42:29is married,
42:30remarked Holmes.
42:32Married?
42:32When?
42:33Yesterday.
42:34But to whom?
42:35To an English lawyer
42:36named Norton.
42:38But she could not love him.
42:39I am in hopes
42:40that she does.
42:41And why in hopes?
42:43Because it would spare
42:44your majesty
42:44all fear
42:45of future annoyance.
42:47If the lady
42:48loves her husband,
42:49she does not
42:50love your majesty.
42:51If she does not
42:52love your majesty,
42:53there is no reason
42:54why she should interfere
42:55with your majesty's plan.
42:57It is true.
42:58And yet,
42:59well,
43:00I wish she had been
43:01of my own station.
43:03What a queen
43:03she would have made.
43:04He relapsed
43:05into a moody silence,
43:07which was not broken
43:08until we drew up
43:09in Serpentine Avenue.
43:10The door of Briny Lodge
43:12was open,
43:13and an elderly woman
43:14stood upon the steps.
43:15She watched us
43:16with a sardonic eye
43:17as we stepped
43:18from the brule.
43:19Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
43:21I believe,
43:21said she.
43:22I am Mr. Holmes,
43:24answered my companion,
43:25looking at her
43:26with a questioning
43:27and rather startled gaze.
43:29Indeed.
43:30My mistress told me
43:31that you were likely
43:31to call.
43:32She left this morning
43:33with her husband
43:34by the 515 train
43:35from Charing Cross
43:37for the continent.
43:38What?
43:38Sherlock Holmes
43:39staggered back,
43:40white with chagrin
43:41and surprise.
43:43Do you mean
43:43that she has left England?
43:45Never to return.
43:46And the papers,
43:47asked the king hoarsely.
43:49All is lost.
43:50We shall see.
43:52He pushed past
43:52the servant
43:53and rushed
43:53into the drawing room,
43:55followed by the king
43:56and myself.
43:57The furniture
43:58was scattered about
43:59in every direction,
44:00with dismantled shelves
44:01and open drawers,
44:03as if the lady
44:04had hurriedly ransacked them
44:05before her flight.
44:06Holmes rushed
44:07at the bell pull,
44:08tore back a small
44:09sliding shutter,
44:10and,
44:11plunging in his hand,
44:12pulled out a photograph
44:13and a letter.
44:15The photograph
44:15was of Irene Adler herself
44:17in evening dress.
44:18The letter was superscribed
44:20to Sherlock Holmes,
44:22ESQ to be left
44:23till called four.
44:24My friend tore it open,
44:25and we all three
44:27read it together.
44:28It was dated at midnight
44:29of the preceding night
44:30and ran in this way.
44:32My dear MR,
44:33Sherlock Holmes,
44:35you really did it
44:35very well.
44:37You took me in completely,
44:38until after the alarm
44:39of fire,
44:40I had not a suspicion.
44:42But then,
44:42when I found
44:43how I had betrayed myself,
44:45I began to think.
44:46I had been warned
44:47against you months ago.
44:48I had been told that,
44:50if the king employed
44:51an agent,
44:52it would certainly be you,
44:53and your address
44:54had been given me.
44:55Yet,
44:56with all this,
44:57you made me reveal
44:58what you wanted to know.
44:59Even after I became suspicious,
45:01I found it hard to think
45:03evil of such a dear,
45:04kind old clergyman.
45:06But,
45:07you know,
45:07I have been trained
45:08as an actress myself.
45:09Male costume
45:10is nothing new to me.
45:12I often take advantage
45:13of the freedom
45:14which it gives.
45:15I sent John,
45:16the coachman,
45:17to watch you,
45:18ran upstairs,
45:20got into my walking clothes,
45:21as I call them,
45:22and came down
45:23just as you departed.
45:25Well,
45:25I followed you to your door,
45:27and so made sure
45:28that I was really
45:28an object of interest
45:30to the celebrated
45:30Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
45:32Then I,
45:33rather imprudently,
45:35wished you good night,
45:36and started for the temple
45:37to see my husband.
45:39We both thought
45:40the best resource
45:41was flight,
45:42when pursued
45:42by so formidable
45:43an antagonist.
45:45So you will find
45:45a nest empty
45:46when you call tomorrow.
45:47As to the photograph,
45:49your client may rest
45:50in peace.
45:51I love,
45:52and am loved
45:53by a better man
45:54than he.
45:55The king may do
45:56what he will
45:56without hindrance
45:57from one whom
45:58he has cruelly wronged.
46:00I keep it only
46:00to safeguard myself,
46:02and to preserve
46:03a weapon
46:03which will always
46:04secure me
46:05from any steps
46:06which he might take
46:07in the future.
46:08I leave a photograph
46:09which he might care
46:10to possess,
46:11and I remain,
46:12dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
46:14very truly yours,
46:16Irene Norton,
46:17nay Adler,
46:19what a woman,
46:20oh what a woman,
46:21cried the king
46:22of Bohemia,
46:23when we had all three
46:24read this epistle.
46:26Did I not tell you
46:26how quick
46:27and resolute she was?
46:29Would she not have
46:29made an admirable queen?
46:31Is it not a pity
46:32that she was not
46:32on my level?
46:33From what I have seen
46:34of the lady,
46:35she seems,
46:36indeed,
46:37to be on a very
46:38different level
46:38to your majesty,
46:39said Holmes coldly.
46:41I am sorry
46:42that I have not been
46:42able to bring
46:43your majesty's business
46:44to a more successful
46:45conclusion.
46:46On the contrary,
46:47my dear sir,
46:48cried the king,
46:49nothing could be
46:50more successful.
46:52I know that her word
46:53is inviolate.
46:54The photograph
46:55is now as safe
46:56as if it were
46:57in the fire.
46:58I am glad to hear
46:59your majesty say so.
47:00I am immensely
47:01indebted to you.
47:02Pray tell me
47:03in what way
47:04I can reward you.
47:05This ring.
47:06He slipped an emerald
47:07snake ring
47:08from his finger
47:08and held it out
47:09upon the palm
47:10of his hand.
47:11Your majesty
47:11has something
47:12which I should
47:13value
47:13even more
47:14highly,
47:15said Holmes.
47:16You have but
47:16to name it,
47:17this photograph.
47:19The king stared
47:20at him
47:20in amazement.
47:21Irene's photograph,
47:22he cried.
47:23Certainly,
47:24if you wish it,
47:25I thank your majesty.
47:26Then there is
47:27no more
47:28to be done
47:28in the matter.
47:29I have the honor
47:30to wish you
47:31a very good morning.
47:32He bowed
47:33and turning away
47:34without observing
47:35the hand
47:35which the king
47:36had stretched out
47:37to him,
47:38he set off
47:38in my company
47:39for his chambers.
47:40And that was
47:41how a great scandal
47:42threatened to affect
47:43the kingdom of Bohemia
47:44and how the best plans
47:45of Mr. Sherlock Holmes
47:46were beaten
47:47by a woman's wit.
47:49He used to make merry
47:50over the cleverness
47:50of women,
47:51but I have not heard
47:52him do it of late.
47:54And when he speaks
47:55of Irene Adler
47:55or when he refers
47:57to her photograph,
47:58it is always
47:59under the honorable
48:00title of the woman.
Comments