Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part two, Chapter three 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 Anne Walden. A Study
in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Cunnan Doyle, Part two, Chapter three,
John Ferrier talks with the prophet. Three weeks had passed
(00:25):
since Jefferson Hope and his comrades had departed from Salt
Lake City. John Ferrier's heart was sore within him when
he thought of the young man's return and of the
impending loss of his adopted child. Yet her bright and
happy face reconciled him to the arrangement more than any
argument could have done. He had always determined, deep down
in his resolute heart, that nothing would ever induce him
(00:48):
to allow his daughter to wed a Mormon. Such marriage
he regarded as no marriage at all, but as a
shame and a disgrace. Whatever he might think of the
Mormon doctrines, upon that one point he was inflexible. He
had to seal his mouth on the subject, however, for
to express an unorthodox opinion was a dangerous matter in
(01:08):
those days in the land of the saints. Yes, a
dangerous matter, so dangerous that even the most saintly dared
only whisper their religious opinions with bated breath, lest something
which fell from their lips might be misconstrued and bring
down a swift retribution upon them. The victims of persecution
had now turned to persecutors on their own account, and
(01:30):
persecutors of the most terrible description. Not the Inquisition of Seville,
nor the German Vimgricht, nor the secret societies of Italy
were ever able to put a more formidable machinery in
motion than that which cast a cloud over the state
of Utah. Its invisibility and the mystery which was attached
to it made this organization doubly terrible. It appeared to
(01:54):
be omniscient and omnipotent, and yet was neither seen nor heard.
The man who held out against the Church vanished away,
and none knew whither he had gone or what had
befallen him. His wife and his children awaited him at home,
but no father ever returned to tell them how he
had fared at the hands of his secret judges. A
(02:14):
rash word or a hasty act was followed by annihilation.
And yet none knew what the nature might be of
this terrible power which was suspended over them. No wonder
that men went about in fear and trembling, and that
even in the heart of the wilderness they dared not
whisper the doubts which oppressed them. At first, this vague
and terrible power was exercised only upon the recalcitrants, who,
(02:37):
having embraced the Mormon faith, wished afterwards to pervert or
to abandon it. Soon, however, it took a wider range.
The supply of adult women was running short, and polygamy
without a female population on which to draw was a
barren doctrine. Indeed, strange rumors began to be bandied about,
rumors of murdered immigrants and rifled camps in regions where
(03:00):
Indians had never been seen. Fresh women appeared in the
harems of the elders, women who pined and wept, and
bore upon their faces the traces of an unextinguishable horror.
Belated wanderers upon the mountains spoke of gangs of armed men, masked,
stealthy and noiseless, who flitted by them in the darkness.
(03:21):
These tales and rumors took substance in shape, and were
corroborated and re corroborated until they resolved themselves into a
definite name. To this day, in the lonely ranches of
the West, the name of the Danite Band or the
Avenging Angels is a sinister and an ill omened one.
Fuller knowledge of the organization which produced such terrible results
(03:44):
served to increase, rather than to lessen, the horror which
it inspired in the minds of men. None knew who
belonged to this ruthless society. The names of the participators
in the deeds of blood and violence done under the
name of religion were kept profoundly secret. The very friend
to whom you communicated your misgivings as to the prophet
(04:04):
and his mission, might be one of those who would
come forth at night with fire and sword to exact
a terrible reparation. Hence every man feared his neighbor, and
none spoke of the things which were nearest his heart.
One fine morning, John Ferrier was about to set out
to his wheat fields when he heard the click of
the latch, and, looking through the window, saw a stout,
(04:26):
sandy haired, middle aged man coming up the pathway. His
heart leapt to his mouth, for this was none other
than the Great Brigham Young, himself full of trepidation, for
he knew that such a visit boded him. Little Good
Ferrier ran to the door to greet the Mormon chief.
The latter, however, received his salutations coldly, and followed him
(04:48):
with a stern face into the sitting room. Brother Ferrier,
he said, taking a seat and eyeing the farmer keenly
from under his light colored eyelashes. The true Believer have
been good friends to you. We picked you up when
you were starving in the desert. We shared our food
with you, led you safe to the chosen valley, gave
(05:08):
you a goodly share of land, and allowed you to
wax rich under our protection. Is this not so? It
is so, answered John Ferrier. In return for all this
we asked but one condition. That was that you should
embrace the true Faith and conform in every way to
its usages. This you promised to do, And this if
(05:31):
common report says, truly you have neglected. And how have
I neglected? It? Asked Ferrier, throwing out his hands in expostulation.
Have I not given to the common fund? Have I
not attended at the temple. Have I not where are
your wives? Asked young looking round him, Call the men
that I may greet them. It is true that I
(05:54):
have not married, Ferrier answered, But women were few, and
there were many who had better claims than I. I
was not a lonely man. I had my daughter to
attend to my wants. It is of that daughter that
I would speak to you, said the leader of the Mormons.
She has grown to be the flower of Utah and
has found favor in the eyes of many who are
(06:15):
high in the land. John Ferrier groaned internally. There are
stories of her which I would fain disbelieve, stories that
she is sealed to some gentile. This must be the
gossip of idle tongues. What is the thirteenth rule in
the Code of the Sainted Joseph Smith? Let every maiden
(06:35):
of the true faith marry one of the elect For
if she wed a gentile, she commits a grievous sin.
This being so, it is impossible that you, who profess
the Holy creed, should suffer your daughter to violate it.
John Ferrier made no answer, but he played nervously with
his riding whip upon this one point. Your whole faith
(06:57):
shall be tested. So it has been decided in the
sacred counsel of four. The girl is young, and we
would not have her wed gray hairs, neither would we
deprive her of all choice. We elders have many heifers. Footnote.
Heber C. Kimball, in one of his sermons, alludes to
his hundred wives under this endearing epithet end footnote. But
(07:20):
our children must also be provided. Stangerson has a son,
and Drebber has a son, and either of them would
gladly welcome your daughter to his house. Let her choose
between them. They are young and rich and of the
true faith. What say you to that Ferrier remained silent
for some little time, with his brows knitted. You will
(07:42):
give us time, he said, at last. My daughter is
very young. She is scarce of an age to marry.
She shall have a month to choose, said young rising
from his seat. At the end of that time, she
shall give her answer. He was passing through the door
when he turned with blushed face and flashing eyes. It
(08:03):
were better for you, John Ferrier. He thundered, that you
and she were now lying blanched skeletons upon the Sierra Blanco,
than that you should put your weak wills against the
orders of the Holy Four. With a threatening gesture of
his hand, he turned from the door, and Ferrier heard
his heavy steps scrunching along the shingly path. He was
(08:23):
still sitting with his elbow upon his knee, considering how
he should broach the matter to his daughter, when a
soft hand was laid upon his, and looking up, he
saw her standing beside him. One glance at her pale,
frightened face showed him that she had heard what had passed.
I could not help it, she said, in answer to
his look. His voice rang through the house. Oh, father, father,
(08:47):
what shall we do? Don't you scare yourself? He answered,
drawing her to him and passing his broad rough hand
caressingly over her chestnut hair. We'll fix it up somehow
or another. You don't find your fancy kind of lessening
for this chap, do you? A sob? And a squeeze
of his hand were her only answer. No, of course not.
(09:09):
I shouldn't care to hear, ye say, ye did. He's
a likely lad, and he's a Christian, which is more
than these folks here, in spite of all their praying
and preaching. There's a party starting for Nevada tomorrow, and
I'll manage to send him a message letting him know
the hole we are in. If I know anything of
that young man, he'll be back with a speed that
would whip electro telegraphs. Lucy laughed through her tears at
(09:33):
her father's description. When he comes, he will advise us
for the best. But it is for you that I
am frightened. Dear one hears one hears such dreadful stories
about those who oppose the prophet, something terrible always happens
to them. But we haven't opposed him yet, her father answered,
it will be time to look out for squalls. When
(09:53):
we do. We have a clear month before us. At
the end of that, I guess we had best shin
out of Utah. Leave Utah. That's about the size of it.
But the farm we will raise as much as we
can in money and let the rest go. To tell
the truth, Lucy, it isn't the first time I have
(10:14):
thought of doing it. I don't care about knuckling under
to any man as these folks do to their darned prophet.
I'm a free born American, and it's all new to
me guess I'm too old to learn. If he comes
browsing about this farm, he might chance to run up
against a charge of box shot traveling in the opposite direction.
But they won't let us leave. His daughter objected, Wait
(10:36):
till Jefferson comes, and we'll soon manage that. In the meantime,
don't you fret yourself, my dearie, and don't get your
eyes swelled up, else he'll be walkin into me when
he sees you. There's nothing to be afeared about, and
there's no danger at all. John Ferrier uttered these consoling
remarks in a very confident tone, but she could not
help observing that he paid unusual care to the fastening
(10:59):
of the doors that night, and that he carefully cleaned
and loaded the rusty old shotgun which hung upon the
wall of his bedroom. End of Part two, Chapter three
Part two, Chapter three 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 Anne Walden. A Study
in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Cunnan Doyle, Part two, Chapter three,
John Ferrier talks with the prophet. Three weeks had passed
(00:25):
since Jefferson Hope and his comrades had departed from Salt
Lake City. John Ferrier's heart was sore within him when
he thought of the young man's return and of the
impending loss of his adopted child. Yet her bright and
happy face reconciled him to the arrangement more than any
argument could have done. He had always determined, deep down
in his resolute heart, that nothing would ever induce him
(00:48):
to allow his daughter to wed a Mormon. Such marriage
he regarded as no marriage at all, but as a
shame and a disgrace. Whatever he might think of the
Mormon doctrines, upon that one point he was inflexible. He
had to seal his mouth on the subject, however, for
to express an unorthodox opinion was a dangerous matter in
(01:08):
those days in the land of the saints. Yes, a
dangerous matter, so dangerous that even the most saintly dared
only whisper their religious opinions with bated breath, lest something
which fell from their lips might be misconstrued and bring
down a swift retribution upon them. The victims of persecution
had now turned to persecutors on their own account, and
(01:30):
persecutors of the most terrible description. Not the Inquisition of Seville,
nor the German Vimgricht, nor the secret societies of Italy
were ever able to put a more formidable machinery in
motion than that which cast a cloud over the state
of Utah. Its invisibility and the mystery which was attached
to it made this organization doubly terrible. It appeared to
(01:54):
be omniscient and omnipotent, and yet was neither seen nor heard.
The man who held out against the Church vanished away,
and none knew whither he had gone or what had
befallen him. His wife and his children awaited him at home,
but no father ever returned to tell them how he
had fared at the hands of his secret judges. A
(02:14):
rash word or a hasty act was followed by annihilation.
And yet none knew what the nature might be of
this terrible power which was suspended over them. No wonder
that men went about in fear and trembling, and that
even in the heart of the wilderness they dared not
whisper the doubts which oppressed them. At first, this vague
and terrible power was exercised only upon the recalcitrants, who,
(02:37):
having embraced the Mormon faith, wished afterwards to pervert or
to abandon it. Soon, however, it took a wider range.
The supply of adult women was running short, and polygamy
without a female population on which to draw was a
barren doctrine. Indeed, strange rumors began to be bandied about,
rumors of murdered immigrants and rifled camps in regions where
(03:00):
Indians had never been seen. Fresh women appeared in the
harems of the elders, women who pined and wept, and
bore upon their faces the traces of an unextinguishable horror.
Belated wanderers upon the mountains spoke of gangs of armed men, masked,
stealthy and noiseless, who flitted by them in the darkness.
(03:21):
These tales and rumors took substance in shape, and were
corroborated and re corroborated until they resolved themselves into a
definite name. To this day, in the lonely ranches of
the West, the name of the Danite Band or the
Avenging Angels is a sinister and an ill omened one.
Fuller knowledge of the organization which produced such terrible results
(03:44):
served to increase, rather than to lessen, the horror which
it inspired in the minds of men. None knew who
belonged to this ruthless society. The names of the participators
in the deeds of blood and violence done under the
name of religion were kept profoundly secret. The very friend
to whom you communicated your misgivings as to the prophet
(04:04):
and his mission, might be one of those who would
come forth at night with fire and sword to exact
a terrible reparation. Hence every man feared his neighbor, and
none spoke of the things which were nearest his heart.
One fine morning, John Ferrier was about to set out
to his wheat fields when he heard the click of
the latch, and, looking through the window, saw a stout,
(04:26):
sandy haired, middle aged man coming up the pathway. His
heart leapt to his mouth, for this was none other
than the Great Brigham Young, himself full of trepidation, for
he knew that such a visit boded him. Little Good
Ferrier ran to the door to greet the Mormon chief.
The latter, however, received his salutations coldly, and followed him
(04:48):
with a stern face into the sitting room. Brother Ferrier,
he said, taking a seat and eyeing the farmer keenly
from under his light colored eyelashes. The true Believer have
been good friends to you. We picked you up when
you were starving in the desert. We shared our food
with you, led you safe to the chosen valley, gave
(05:08):
you a goodly share of land, and allowed you to
wax rich under our protection. Is this not so? It
is so, answered John Ferrier. In return for all this
we asked but one condition. That was that you should
embrace the true Faith and conform in every way to
its usages. This you promised to do, And this if
(05:31):
common report says, truly you have neglected. And how have
I neglected? It? Asked Ferrier, throwing out his hands in expostulation.
Have I not given to the common fund? Have I
not attended at the temple. Have I not where are
your wives? Asked young looking round him, Call the men
that I may greet them. It is true that I
(05:54):
have not married, Ferrier answered, But women were few, and
there were many who had better claims than I. I
was not a lonely man. I had my daughter to
attend to my wants. It is of that daughter that
I would speak to you, said the leader of the Mormons.
She has grown to be the flower of Utah and
has found favor in the eyes of many who are
(06:15):
high in the land. John Ferrier groaned internally. There are
stories of her which I would fain disbelieve, stories that
she is sealed to some gentile. This must be the
gossip of idle tongues. What is the thirteenth rule in
the Code of the Sainted Joseph Smith? Let every maiden
(06:35):
of the true faith marry one of the elect For
if she wed a gentile, she commits a grievous sin.
This being so, it is impossible that you, who profess
the Holy creed, should suffer your daughter to violate it.
John Ferrier made no answer, but he played nervously with
his riding whip upon this one point. Your whole faith
(06:57):
shall be tested. So it has been decided in the
sacred counsel of four. The girl is young, and we
would not have her wed gray hairs, neither would we
deprive her of all choice. We elders have many heifers. Footnote.
Heber C. Kimball, in one of his sermons, alludes to
his hundred wives under this endearing epithet end footnote. But
(07:20):
our children must also be provided. Stangerson has a son,
and Drebber has a son, and either of them would
gladly welcome your daughter to his house. Let her choose
between them. They are young and rich and of the
true faith. What say you to that Ferrier remained silent
for some little time, with his brows knitted. You will
(07:42):
give us time, he said, at last. My daughter is
very young. She is scarce of an age to marry.
She shall have a month to choose, said young rising
from his seat. At the end of that time, she
shall give her answer. He was passing through the door
when he turned with blushed face and flashing eyes. It
(08:03):
were better for you, John Ferrier. He thundered, that you
and she were now lying blanched skeletons upon the Sierra Blanco,
than that you should put your weak wills against the
orders of the Holy Four. With a threatening gesture of
his hand, he turned from the door, and Ferrier heard
his heavy steps scrunching along the shingly path. He was
(08:23):
still sitting with his elbow upon his knee, considering how
he should broach the matter to his daughter, when a
soft hand was laid upon his, and looking up, he
saw her standing beside him. One glance at her pale,
frightened face showed him that she had heard what had passed.
I could not help it, she said, in answer to
his look. His voice rang through the house. Oh, father, father,
(08:47):
what shall we do? Don't you scare yourself? He answered,
drawing her to him and passing his broad rough hand
caressingly over her chestnut hair. We'll fix it up somehow
or another. You don't find your fancy kind of lessening
for this chap, do you? A sob? And a squeeze
of his hand were her only answer. No, of course not.
(09:09):
I shouldn't care to hear, ye say, ye did. He's
a likely lad, and he's a Christian, which is more
than these folks here, in spite of all their praying
and preaching. There's a party starting for Nevada tomorrow, and
I'll manage to send him a message letting him know
the hole we are in. If I know anything of
that young man, he'll be back with a speed that
would whip electro telegraphs. Lucy laughed through her tears at
(09:33):
her father's description. When he comes, he will advise us
for the best. But it is for you that I
am frightened. Dear one hears one hears such dreadful stories
about those who oppose the prophet, something terrible always happens
to them. But we haven't opposed him yet, her father answered,
it will be time to look out for squalls. When
(09:53):
we do. We have a clear month before us. At
the end of that, I guess we had best shin
out of Utah. Leave Utah. That's about the size of it.
But the farm we will raise as much as we
can in money and let the rest go. To tell
the truth, Lucy, it isn't the first time I have
(10:14):
thought of doing it. I don't care about knuckling under
to any man as these folks do to their darned prophet.
I'm a free born American, and it's all new to
me guess I'm too old to learn. If he comes
browsing about this farm, he might chance to run up
against a charge of box shot traveling in the opposite direction.
But they won't let us leave. His daughter objected, Wait
(10:36):
till Jefferson comes, and we'll soon manage that. In the meantime,
don't you fret yourself, my dearie, and don't get your
eyes swelled up, else he'll be walkin into me when
he sees you. There's nothing to be afeared about, and
there's no danger at all. John Ferrier uttered these consoling
remarks in a very confident tone, but she could not
help observing that he paid unusual care to the fastening
(10:59):
of the doors that night, and that he carefully cleaned
and loaded the rusty old shotgun which hung upon the
wall of his bedroom. End of Part two, Chapter three
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