A Study in Scarlet - Part 1, Chapter 6: Tobias Gregson Shows What He Can Do

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part one, Chapter six of A Study in Scarlet. This
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. Recorded by Laurie Ann Walden. A Study
in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Cunnan Doyle, Part one, Chapter six.
Tobias Gregson shows what he can do. The papers next

(00:24):
day were full of the Brixton mystery, as they termed it.
Each had a long account of the affair, and some
had leaders upon it. In addition, there was some information
in them which was new to me. I still retain
in my scrap book numerous clippings and extracts bearing upon
the case. Here is a condensation of a few of them.
The Daily Telegraph remarked that in the history of crime

(00:46):
there had seldom been a tragedy which presented stranger features.
The German name of the victim, the absence of all
other motive, and the sinister inscription on the wall all
pointed to its perpetration by political refugees and revolutionists. The
socialists had many branches in America, and the deceased had
no doubt infringed their unwritten laws and been tracked down

(01:07):
by them. After alluding airily to the vimngoerisht aquatafauna Carbonari,
the Marchioness de braun Villiers, the Darwinian theory, the principles
of Mathus, and the Ratcliffe Highway murders, the article concluded
by admonishing the government and advocating a closer watch over
foreigners in England. The Standard commented upon the fact that

(01:29):
lawless outrages of the sort usually occurred under a liberal administration.
They arose from the unsettling of the minds of the
masses and the consequent weakening of all authority. The deceased
was an American gentleman who had been residing for some
weeks in the metropolis. He had stayed at the boarding
house of Madame Charpontier in Torquay Terrace, Camberwell. He was

(01:50):
accompanied in his travels by his private secretary, mister Joseph Stangerson.
The two bade adieu to their landlady upon Tuesday, the
fourth Instant, and departed to Euston's station with the avowed
intention of catching the Liverpool Express. They were afterwards seen
together upon the platform. Nothing more is known of them
until mister Drebber's body was, as recorded, discovered in an

(02:13):
empty house in the Brixton Road, many miles from Euston.
How he came there or how he met his fate,
are questions which are still involved in mystery. Nothing is
known of the whereabouts of Stangerson. We are glad to
learn that mister Lestrade and mister Gregson of Scotland Yard
are both engaged upon the case, and it is confidently
anticipated that these well known officers will speedily throw light

(02:36):
upon the matter. The Daily News observed that there was
no doubt as to the crime being a political one.
The despotism and hatred of liberalism which animated the continental
governments had had the effect of driving to our shores
a number of men who might have made excellent citizens,
were they not soured by the recollection of all that
they had undergone. Among these men there was a stringent

(02:59):
code of honor, any infringement of which was punished by death.
Every effort should be made to find the Secretary Stangerson,
and to ascertain some particulars of the habits of the deceased.
A great step had been gained by the discovery of
the address of the house at which he had boarded,
a result which was entirely due to the acuteness and
energy of mister Gregson of Scotland Yard. Sherlock Holmes and

(03:23):
I read these notices over together at breakfast, and they
appeared to afford him considerable amusement. I told you that
whatever happened, Lestrade and Gregson would be sure to score.
That depends on how it turns out, Oh bless you,
It doesn't matter in the least. If the man is caught,
it will be on account of their exertions. If he escapes,

(03:45):
it will be in spite of their exertions. Its heads
I win and tails you lose. Whatever they do, they
will have followers also. Tou toujours en plusaul, KUIs ledmer,
What on earth is this? I cried for. At this
moment there came the pattering of many steps in the
hall and on the stairs, accompanied by audible expressions of

(04:07):
disgust upon the part of our landlady. It's the Baker
Street Division of the Detective Police Force, said my companion gravely,
And as he spoke, there rushed into the room half
a dozen of the dirtiest and most ragged street Arabs.
That ever, I clapped eyes on ten jun, cried Holmes
in a sharp tone, and the six dirty little scoundrels

(04:29):
stood in a line like so many disreputable statuettes. In future,
you shall send up Wiggins alone to report, and the
rest of you must wait in the street. Have you
found it Wiggins? No, sir, we hain't, said one of
the youths. I hardly expected you would. You must keep
on until you do. Here are your wages. He handed

(04:51):
each of them a shilling. Now off you go and
come back with a better report next time. He waved
his hand, and they scampered away downstairs like so many rats,
and we heard their shrill voices next moment in the street.
There's more work to be got out of one of
those little beggars than out of a dozen of the force.
Holmes remarked. The mere sight of an official looking person

(05:14):
seals men's lips. These youngsters, however, go everywhere and hear everything.
They are as sharp as needles too. All they want
is organization. Is it on this Brixton case that you
are employing them? I asked, yes, there is a point
which I wish to ascertain. It is merely a matter

(05:34):
of time. Hello, we are going to hear some news
now with a vengeance. Here is Gregson coming down the road,
with beatitude written upon every feature of his face, bound
for us. I know, yes, he is stopping there he is.
There was a violent peal at the bell, and in
a few seconds the fair haired detective came up the
stairs three steps at a time, and burst into our

(05:57):
sitting room. My dear fellow, he cried, wringing Holmes's unresponsive hand.
Congratulate me. I have made the whole thing as clear
as day. A shade of anxiety seemed to me to
cross my companion's expressive face. Do you mean that you
are on the right track, he asked, the right track? Why, sir,

(06:20):
we have the man under lock and key, and his
name is Arthur Charpontier, sub Lieutenant in Her Majesty's Navy,
cried Gregson, pompously, rubbing his fat hands and inflating his chest.
Sherlock Holmes gave a sigh of relief and relaxed into
a smile. Take a seat and try one of these cigars,

(06:42):
he said. We are anxious to know how you managed it.
Will you have some whiskey and water? I don't mind
if I do, the detective answered. The tremendous exertions which
I have gone through during the last day or two
have worn me out. Not so much bodily exertion, you understand,
as the strain upon the mind. You will appreciate that,

(07:02):
mister Sherlock Holmes, for we are both brain workers. You
do me too much, honor, said Holmes gravely. Let us
hear how you arrived at this most gratifying result. The
detective seated himself in the arm chair and puffed complacently
at his cigar. Then suddenly he slapped his thigh and
a paroxysm of amusement. The fun of it is, he cried,

(07:27):
that that fool lestrade, who thinks himself so smart, has
gone off upon the wrong track altogether. He is after
the Secretary Stangerson, who had no more to do with
the crime than the babe unborn. I have no doubt
that he has caught him by this time. The idea
tickled Gregson so much that he laughed until he choked.

(07:48):
And how did you get your clue? Ah? I'll tell
you all about it, of course, doctor Watson. This is
strictly between ourselves. The first difficulty which we had to
contend with, was the fine of this American's antecedents. Some
people would have waited until their advertisements were answered, or
until parties came forward and volunteered information. That is not

(08:10):
to bias Gregson's way of going to work. You remember
the hat beside the dead man, yes, said Holmes, by
John Underwood and Sons, one twenty nine Camberwell Road. Gregson
looked quite crestfallen. I had no idea that you noticed that,
He said, have you been there? No, ha, cried Gregson

(08:34):
in a relieved voice. You should never neglect a chance,
however small it may seem, to a great mind. Nothing
is little, remarked Holmes, sententiously. Well, I went to Underwood
and asked him if he had sold a hat of
that size and description. He looked over his books and
came on it at once. He had sent the hat

(08:55):
to a mister Drebber residing at Charpontier's boarding establishment toward
Key Terrace. Thus I got at his address smart, very smart,
murmured Sherlock Holmes. I next called upon Madame Charpentier, continued
the detective. I found her very pale and distressed. Her

(09:16):
daughter was in the room too, an uncommonly fine girl
she is too. She was looking red about the eyes,
and her lips trembled as I spoke to her. That
didn't escape my notice. I began to smell a rat.
You know the feeling, mister Sherlock Holmes, when you come
upon the right scent, a kind of thrill in your nerves.
Have you heard of the mysterious death of your late boarder,

(09:38):
mister Enoch Jay Drubber of Cleveland, I asked. The mother nodded.
She didn't seem able to get out a word. The
daughter burst into tears. I felt more than ever that
these people knew something of the matter. At what o'clock
did mister Drebber leave your house for the train? I asked?

(09:58):
At eight o'clock, she said, gulping in her throat to
keep down her agitation. His secretary, mister Stangerson, said that
there were two trains, one at nine fifteen and one
at eleven. He was to catch the first, and was
that the last which you saw of him? A terrible
change came over the woman's face as I asked the question,

(10:20):
Her features turned perfectly livid. It was some seconds before
she could get out the single word yes, And when
it did come, it was in a husky, unnatural tone.
There was silence for a moment, and then the daughter
spoke in a calm, clear voice. No good can ever
come of falsehood. Mother, she said, let us be frank

(10:41):
with this gentleman. We did see mister drebber again. God
forgive you, cried Madame Charpentier, throwing up her hands and
sinking back in her chair. You have murdered your brother.
Arthur would rather that we spoke the truth. The girl
answered firmly, You had best tell me all about it now,

(11:02):
I said, half confidences are worse than none. Besides, you
do not know how much we know of it. On
your head be it, Alice, cried her mother, and then
turning to me, I will tell you all, sir. Do
not imagine that my agitation on behalf of my son
arises from any fear lest he should have had a

(11:22):
hand in this terrible affair. He is utterly innocent of it.
My dread is, however, that in your eyes and in
the eyes of others, he may appear to be compromised. That, however,
is surely impossible. His high character, his profession his antecedents
would all forbid it. Your best way is to make
a clean breast of the facts, I answered, depend upon it.

(11:45):
If your son is innocent, he will be none the worse. Perhaps, Alice,
you had better leave us together, she said, and her
daughter withdrew. Now, sir, she continued, I had no intention
of telling you all this, but since my poor daughter
has disclosed it, I have no alternative. Having once decided
to speak, I will tell you all without omitting any

(12:08):
particular It is your wisest course, said I. Mister Drebber
has been with us nearly three weeks. He and his secretary,
mister Stangerson, had been traveling on the continent. I noticed
a Copenhagen label upon each of their trunks, showing that
that had been their last stopping place. Stangerson was a quiet,

(12:28):
reserved man, but his employer, I am sorry to say,
was far otherwise. He was coarse in his habits and
brutish in his ways. The very night of his arrival
he became very much the worse for drink, and indeed,
after twelve o'clock in the day he could hardly ever
be said to be sober. His manners towards the maid
servants were disgustingly free and familiar. Worst of all, he

(12:53):
speedily assumed the same attitude towards my daughter Alice, and
spoke to her more than once in a way which
fortunately she is too innocent to understand. On one occasion,
he actually seized her in his arms and embraced her,
an outrage which caused his own secretary to reproach him
for his unmanly conduct. But why did you stand all this,

(13:15):
I asked. I suppose that you can get rid of
your boarders when you wish. Missus Charpontier blushed at my
pertinent question. Would to God that I had given him
notice on the very day that he came, she said,
But it was a sore temptation. They were paying a
pound a day each fourteen pounds a week, and this

(13:35):
is the slack season. I am a widow, and my
boy in the navy has cost me much. I grudged
to lose the money. I acted for the best. This
last was too much, however, and I gave him notice
to leave on account of it. That was the reason
of his going. Well, my heart grew light when I

(13:56):
saw him drive away. My son is on leave just now,
but I did not tell him anything of all this,
for his temper is violent, and he is passionately fond
of his sister. When I closed the door behind him,
a load seemed to be lifted from my mind. Alas,
in less than an hour there was a ring at
the bell, and I learned that mister Drebber had returned.

(14:17):
He was much excited, and evidently the worse for drink.
He forced his way into the room where I was
sitting with my daughter, and made some incoherent remark about
having missed his train. He then turned to Alice, and
before my very face, proposed to her that she should
fly with him. You are of age, he said, and
there is no law to stop you. I have money

(14:39):
enough and to spare. Never mind the old girl here,
but come along with me now straightway, you shall live
like a princess. Poor Alice was so frightened that she
shrunk away from him, But he caught her by the
wrist and endeavored to draw her towards the door. I screamed,
and at that moment my son Arthur, came into the room.
What happened then, I do not no. I heard oaths

(15:01):
and the confused sounds of a scuffle. I was too
terrified to raise my head. When I did look up,
I saw Arthur standing in the doorway, laughing, with a
stick in his hand. I don't think that fine fellow
will trouble us again, he said, I will just go
after him and see what he does with himself. With
those words, he took his hat and started off down

(15:23):
the street. The next morning we heard of mister Drebber's
mysterious death. This statement came from missus Charpontier's lips, with
many gafts and pauses. At times, she spoke so low
that I could hardly catch the words. I made shorthand
notes of all that she said, however, so that there
should be no possibility of a mistake. It's quite exciting,

(15:46):
said Sherlock Holmes with a yawn. What happened next? When
missus Charpontier paused, the detective continued, I saw that the
whole case hung upon one point. Fixing her with my
eye a way which I always found effective with women,
I asked her at what hour her son returned? I

(16:06):
do not know, She answered not. No, No, he has
a latch key, and he let himself in after you
went to bed. Yes, when did you go to bed
about eleven? So your son was gone at least two hours, yes,
possibly four or five. Yes. What was he doing during

(16:31):
that time? I do not know, she answered, turning quite
to her very lips. Of course, after that there was
nothing more to be done. I found out where Lieutenant
Charpontier was, took two officers with me and arrested him.
When I touched him on the shoulder and warned him
to come quietly with us, he answered us as bold

(16:52):
as brass. I suppose you are arresting me for being
concerned in the death of that scoundrel Drebber, He said.
We have said nothing to him about it, so that
his alluding to it had a most suspicious aspect, very,
said Holmes. He still carried the heavy stick which the
mother described him as having with him when he followed Drebber.

(17:13):
It was a stout oak cudgel. What is your theory then, well,
my theory is that he followed Drebber as far as
the Brixton Road, when there a fresh altercation arose between them,
in the course of which Drebber received a blow from
the stick in the pit of the stomach, perhaps which
killed him, without leaving any mark. The night was so

(17:34):
wet that no one was about, so Charponier dragged the
body of his victim into the empty house. As to
the candle and the blood, and the riding on the wall,
and the ring, they may all be so many tricks
to throw the police on to the wrong scent. Well done,
said Holmes in an encouraging voice. Really, Gregson, you are

(17:55):
getting along. We shall make something of you. Yet I
flatter myself that I have managed it rather neatly, the
detective answered proudly. The young man volunteered a statement in
which he said that after following Drebber some time, the
latter perceived him and took a cab in order to
get away from him. On his way home, he met
an old shipmate and took a long walk with him.

(18:18):
On being asked where this old shipmate lived, he was
unable to give any satisfactory reply. I think the whole
case fits together uncommonly. Well, what amuses me is to
think of Lestrade, who had started off upon the wrong scent.
I am afraid he won't make much of it. Why,
by jove, here's the very man himself. It was indeed

(18:40):
Lestrade who had ascended the stairs while we were talking,
and who now entered the room. The assurance and jauntiness
which generally marked his demeanor in dress, were, however, wanting.
His face was disturbed and troubled, while his clothes were
disarranged and untidy. He had evidently come with the intention
of consulting with Sherlock Holmes, for on perceiving his colleague,

(19:02):
he appeared to be embarrassed and put out. He stood
in the center of the room, fumbling nervously with his
hat and uncertain what to do. This is a most
extraordinary case, he said, at last, a most incomprehensible affair.
Ah you find it so, mister Lestrade, cried Gregson triumphantly.

(19:22):
I thought you would come to that conclusion. Have you
managed to find the secretary, mister Joseph Stangerson? The Secretary,
Mister Joseph Stangerson, said Lestrade gravely was murdered at Halliday's
private hotel about six o'clock this morning. End of Part one,
Chapter six