June 9, 2025 • 43 mins
Dive into the riveting world of the legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes, in this second compilation of short stories penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Explore 12 enthralling adventures, serialized in The Strand from December 1892 to December 1893, each masterfully illustrated by Sidney Paget. Join Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, as they unravel the mysteries that baffle Londons finest. - Summary by David Clarke
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Adventure six in the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Adventure six, the Reigate Puzzle. It was some time before
the health of my friend mister Sherlock Holmes recovered from
the strain caused by his immense exertions in the spring
(00:21):
of eighty seven. The whole question of the Netherlands Sumatra
Company and of the colossal schemes of Baron Maupetaus are
too recent in the minds of the public, and are
too intimately concerned with politics and finance to be fitting
subjects for this series of sketches. They led, however, in
an indirect fashion, to a singular and complex problem, which
(00:44):
gave my friend an opportunity of demonstrating the value of
a fresh weapon among the many with which he waged
his lifelong battle against crime. On referring to my notes,
I see that it was upon the fourteenth of April
that I received a telegram from Leo which informed me
that Holmes was lying ill in the Hotel Dulon. Within
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twenty four hours I was in his sick room, and
was relieved to find that there was nothing formidable in
his symptoms. Even his iron constitution, however, had broken down
under the strain of an investigation which had extended over
two months, during which period he had never worked less
than fifteen hours a day, and had more than once,
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as he assured me, kept to his task for five
days at a stretch. Even the triumphant issue of his
labours could not save him from reaction. After so terrible
an exertion, and at a time when Europe was ringing
with his name, and when his room was literally ankled
deep with congratulatory telegrams, I found him a prey to
(01:49):
the blackest depression. Even the knowledge that he had succeeded
where the police of three countries had failed, and that
he had outmaneuvered at every point the most accomplished swindler
in Europe, was insufficient to rouse him from his nervous prostration.
Three days later we were back in Baker Street together, but
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it was evident that my friend would be much the
better for a change, and the thought of a week
of springtime in the country was full of attractions to me. Also,
my old friend, Colonel Hayter, who had come under my
professional care in Afghanistan had now taken a house near
Reigate in Surrey, and had frequently asked me to come
down to him upon a visit. On the last occasion,
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he had remarked that if my friend would only come
with me, he would be glad to extend his hospitality
to him. Also, a little diplomacy was needed, But when
Holmes understood that the establishment was a bachelor one and
that he would be allowed the fullest freedom, he fell
in with my plans, and a week after our return
from Lyons, we were under the colonel's roof. Hayter was
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a fine old soldier who had seen much of the world,
and he soon found, as I had expected, that Holmes
and he had much in common. On the evening of
our arrival, we were sitting in the colonel's gun room
after dinner. Holmes stretched upon the sofa while Hayter and
I looked over his little armory of Eastern weapons. By
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the way, said he suddenly, I think I'll take one
of these pistols upstairs with me in case we have
an alarm. An alarm, said I, yes, we have had
a scare in this part lately. Old Acton, who is
one of our County Magnates had his house broken into
last Monday. No great damage done, but the fellows are
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still at large. No clue, asked Holmes, cocking his eye
at the Colonel. None as yet. But the affair is
a petty one, one of our little country crimes, which
must seem too small for your attention, mister Holmes, after
this great international affair. Holmes waved away the compliment, though
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his smile showed that it had pleased him. Was there
any feature of interest I fancy not. The thieves ransacked
the library and got very little for their pains. The
whole place was turned upside down, drawers burst open, and
presses ransacked, with the result that an odd volume of
Pope's Homer, two plaited candlesticks, an ivory letter weight, a
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small oak barometer, and a ball of twine are all
that have vanished. What an extraordinary assortment, I exclaimed. Oh,
the fellows evidently grabbed hold of everything they could get.
Holmes grunted from the sofa. The county police ought to
make something of that, said he. Why it is surely
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obvious that, but I held up a warning finger. You
are here for a rest, my dear fellow, for heaven's sake,
don't get started on a new problem when your nerves
are all in shreds Holmes shrugged his shoulders with a
glance of comic resignation towards the Colonel, and the talk
drifted away into less dangerous channels. It was destined, however,
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that all my professional caution should be wasted for next morning.
The problem obtruded itself upon us in such a way
that it was impossible to ignore it, and our country
visit took a turn which neither of us could have anticipated.
We were at breakfast when the colonel's butler rushed in
with all his propriety shaken out of him. Have you
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heard the news, sir? He gasped at the Cunningham, Sir, Burglary,
cried the Colonel with his coffee cup in mid air murder.
The Colonel, whistled by jove, said he who is killed?
Then the j P or his son, nor either, Sir.
It was William the coachman shot through the art, Sir,
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and never spoke again. Who shot him?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Then?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
The burglar?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Sir?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
He was off like a shot and got clean away.
He just broke in at the pantry window when William
came on him and met his end in saving his
master's property. What time it was late last night, sir,
somewhere about twelve ah. Then we'll step over afterwards, said
the colonel coolly, settling down to his breakfast again. It's
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a barish business, he added, when the butler had gone.
He's our leading man about here is old Cunningham, a
very decent fellow too. He'll be cut up over this,
for the man has been in his service for years
and was a good servant. It's evidently the same villains
who broke into Acton's and stole that very singular collection,
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said Holmes, thoughtfully, precisely hum It may prove the simplest
matter in the world, but all the same, at first glance,
this is just a little curious, is it not? A
gang of burglars acting in the country might be expected
to vary the scene of their operations and not to
crack two cribs in the same district within a few days.
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When you spoke last night of taking precautions, I remember
that it passed through my mind that this was probably
the last parish in England to which the thief or
thieves would be likely to turn their attention, which shows
that I have still much to learn. I fancy it's
some local practitioner, said the colonel. In that case, of course,
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Acton's and Cunningham's are just the places he would go for,
since they are far the largest about here and richest.
Well they ought to be, but they've had a law
suit for some years which has sucked the blood out
of both of them. I fancy old Acton has some
claim on half of Cunningham's estate, and the lawyers have
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been at it with both hands. If it's a local villain,
there should not be much difficulty in running him down,
said Holmes with a yawn. All right, Watson, I don't
intend to meddle, Inspector, Forester, Sir, said the butler, throwing
open the door. The official, a smart, keen faced young fellow,
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stepped into the room. Good morning, Colonel, said he. I
hope I don't intrude, but we hear that mister Holmes
of Baker Street is here. The Colonel waved his hand
towards my friend, and the inspector bowed. We thought that
perhaps you would care to step across, mister Holmes. The
fates are against you, Watson said. He laughing. We were
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chatting about the matter when you came in, Inspector. Perhaps
you can let us have a few details. As he
leaned back in his chair in the familiar attitude, I
knew that the case was hopeless. We had no clue
in the acton affair, but here we have plenty to
go on, and there's no doubt it is the same party.
In each case. The man was seen, Ah, yes, sir,
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but he was off like a deer. After the shot
that killed poor William Kerwin was fired. Mister Cunningham saw
him from the bedroom window, and mister Alec Cunningham saw
him from the back passage. It was quarter to twelve
when the alarm broke out. Mister Cunningham had just got
into bed and mister Alick was smoking a pipe in
his dressing gown. They both heard William the coachman calling
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for help, and mister Alick ran down to see what
was the matter. The back door was open, and as
he came to the foot of the stairs he saw
two men wrestling together outside. One of them fired a shot,
the other dropped, and the murderer rushed across the garden
and over the hedge. Mister Cunningham, looking out of his bedroom,
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saw the fellow as he gained the road, but lost
sight of him. At once. Mister Alick stopped to see
if he could help the dying man, and so the
villain got clean away. Beyond the fact that he was
a middle sized man and dressed in some dark stuff,
we have no personal clue, but we're making energetic inquiries,
and if he is a stranger, we shall soon find
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him out. What was this William doing there? Did he
say anything before before he died? Not a word? He
lives at the lodge with his mother, and as he
was a very faithful fellow, we imagine that he walked
up to the house with the intention of seeing that
all was right there. Of course, this acting business has
put everyone on their guard. The robber must have just
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burst open the door. The lock has been forced when
William came upon him. Did William say anything to his
mother before going out? She is very old and deaf,
and we can get no information from her. The shock
has made her half witted, but I understand that she
was never very bright. There is one very important circumstance, however,
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Look at this. He took a small piece of torn
paper from a notebook and spread it out upon his knee.
This was found between the finger and thumb of the
dead man. It appears to be a fragment torn from
a larger sheet. You will observe that they, how are
mentioned upon it is the very time at which the
poor fellow met his fate. You see that his murderer
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might have torn the rest of the sheet from him,
or he might have taken this fragment from the murderer.
It reads almost as though it were an appointment. Holmes
took up the scrap of paper and fac simile of
which is here produced d at quarter to twelve. Learn
what may be presuming that is an appointment, continued the inspector.
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It is of course a conceivable theory that this William Kerwin,
though he had the reputation of being an honest man,
may have been in league with the thief. He may
have met him there, may even have helped him to
break in the door, and then they may have fallen
out between themselves. This writing is of extraordinary interest, said Holmes,
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who had been examining it with intense concentration. These are
much deeper waters than I had thought. He sank his
head upon his hands, while the inspector smiled at the
effect which his case had had upon the famous London specialist.
You will last remark, said Holmes, presently, as to the
possibility of there being an understanding between the burglar and
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the servant, and this being a note of appointment from
one to the other, is an ingenious and not entirely
impossible supposition. But this writing opens up. He sank his
head into his hands again, and remained for some minutes
in the deepest thought. When he raised his face again,
I was surprised to see that his cheek was tinged
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with color, and his eyes as bright as before his illness.
He sprang to his feet with all his old energy.
I'll tell you what, said he I should like to
have a quiet little glance into the details of this case.
There is something in it which fascinates me extremely. If
you will permit me, Colonel, I will leave my friend
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Watson and you and I will step around with the
inspector to test the truth of one or two little
fancies of mine. I'll be with you again in half
an hour. An hour and a half had elapsed before
the Inspector returned alone. Mister Holmes is walking up and
down in the field outside, said he he wants us
all four to go up to the house together to
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mister Cunningham's Yes, sir, what for? The inspector shrugged his shoulders.
I don't quite know, sir. Between ourselves, I think mister
Holmes had not quite got over his illness yet. He's
been behaving very queerly, and he's very much excited. I
don't think you need alarm yourself, said I. I have
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usually found that there was method in his madness. Some
folks might say there was madness in his method, muttered
the inspector. But he's all on fire, the start, Colonel,
So we'd best go out if you're ready. We found
Holmes pacing up and down in the field, his chin
sunk upon his breast and his hands thrust into his
trousers pockets. The matter grows in interest, said he Watson.
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Your country trip has been a distinct success. I've had
a charming morning. You've been up to the scene of
the crime, I understand, said the colonel. Yes, the Inspector
and I have made quite a little reconnaissance together. Any success. Well,
we've seen some very interesting things. I'll tell you what
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we did as we walk. First of all, we saw
the body of this unfortunate man. He certainly died from
a revolver wound as reported. Had you doubted it, then, oh,
it is as well to test everything. Our inspection was
not wasted. We then had an interview with mister Cunningham
and his son, who were able to point out the
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exact spot where the murderer had broken through the garden
hedge in his flight. That was of great interest. Naturally,
then we had a look at this poor fellow's mother.
We could get no information from her, however, as she
is very old and feeble. And what is the result
of your investigations the conviction that the crime is a
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very peculiar one. Perhaps our visit now may do something
to make it less obscure. I think that we are
both agreed, Inspector, that the fragment of paper in the
dead man's hand, bearing as it does the very hour
of his death written upon it, is of extreme importance.
It should give a clue, mister Owns. It does give
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a clue whoever wrote that note was the man who
brought William Kerwin out of his bed at that hour?
But where is the rest of that sheet? Of paper.
I examined the ground carefully in the hope of finding it,
said the inspector. It was torn out of the dead
man's hand. Why was some one so anxious to get
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possession of it because it incriminated him? And what would
he do with it? Thrust it into his pocket, most
likely never noticing that a corner of it had been
left in the grip of the corpse. If we could
get the rest of that sheet, it is obvious that
we should have gone a long way towards solving the mystery. Yes,
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but how can we get at the criminal's pocket before
we catched a criminal? Well, well, it was worth thinking over.
Then there is another obvious point. The note was sent
to William. The man who wrote it could not have
taken it otherwise, of course he might have delivered his
own message by word of mouth. Who brought the note then?
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Or did it come through the post? I have made inquiries,
said the inspector. William received a letter by the afternoon
post yesterday. The envelope was destroyed by him. Excellent, cried Holmes,
clapping the inspector on the back. You've seen the postman.
It is a pleasure to work with you. Well, here
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is a lodge, and if you will come up, colonel,
I will show you the scene of the crime. We
passed the pretty cottage where the murdered man had lived,
and walked up an oak lined avenue to the fine
old Queen Anne house, which bears the date of Malplaquey
upon the lintel of the door. Holmes and the inspector
led us round it until we came to the side gate,
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which is separated by a stretch of garden from the
hedge which lines the road. A constable was standing at
the kitchen door. Throw the door open, officer, said Holmes.
Now it was on these stairs that young mister Cunningham
stood and saw the two men struggling just where we are.
Old mister Cunningham was at that window, the second on
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the left, and he saw the fellow get away just
to the left of that bush. Then mister Alec ran
out and knelt beside the wounded man. The ground is
very hard, you see, and there are no marks to
guide us. As he spoke, two men came down to
the garden path from round the angle of the house.
The one was an elderly man with a strong, deep lined,
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heavy eyed face. The other, a dashing young fellow, whose bright,
smiling expression and showy dress were in strange contrast with
the business which had brought us there. Still at it, then,
said he to Holmes. I thought you Londoners were never
at fault. You don't seem to desove very quick after all. Ah,
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you must give us a little time, said Holmes. Good humoredly,
you'll want it, said young Alec Cunningham. Why I don't
see that we have any clue at all. There's only one,
answered the inspector. We thought that if we could only
find good heavens, mister Holmes, what is the matter. My
poor friend's face had suddenly assumed the most dreadful expression,
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his eyes rolled upwards, his features writhed in agony, and
with a suppressed groan, he dropped on his face upon
the ground, Horrified at the suddenness and severity of the attack.
We carried him into the kitchen, where he lay back
in a large chair and breathed heavily for some minutes. Finally,
with a shamefaced apology for his weakness, he rose once more.
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Watson would tell you that I have only just recovered
from a severe illness, he explained, I am liable to
these sudden nervous attacks. Shall I send you home in
my trap? Asked old Cunningham. Well, since I am here,
there is one point on which I should like to
feel sure we can very easily verify it. What was it? Well,
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it seems to me that it is just possible that
the arrival of this poor fellow William was not before,
but after the entrance of the burglar into the house.
You appear to take it for granted that although the
door was forced, the robber never got in. I fancy
that is quite obvious, said mister Cunningham gravely. Why my
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son Alec had not yet gone to bed, and he
would certainly have heard any one moving about. Where was
he sitting? I was smoking in my dressing room. Which
window is that? The last on the left, next to
my father's? Both of your lamps were lit. Of course,
undoubtedly there are some very singular points here, said Holmes, smiling.
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Is it not extraordinary that a burglar, and a burglar
who had had some previous experience, should deliberately break into
a house at a time when he could see from
the lights that two of the family were still afoot
He must have been a cool hand. Well, of course,
if the case were not an odd one, we should
not have been driven to ask you for an explanation,
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said young mister Alec. But as to your ideas that
the man has robbed the house before William tackled him,
I think it a most absurd notion. Wouldn't we have
found the place disarranged and missed the things which he
had taken. It depends on what the things were, said Holmes.
You must remember that we are dealing with a burglar
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who is a very peculiar fellow, and who appears to
work on lines of his own. Look, for example, at
the queer lot of things which he took from Acton's
What was it? A ball of string, a letter? Wait,
and I don't know what other osen ends. Well, we
are quite in your hands, mister Holmes, said old Cunningham.
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Anything which you or the inspector may suggest will most
certainly be done. In the first place, said Holmes, I
should like you to offer a reward coming from yourself,
for the officials may take a little time before they
would agree upon the sum, and these things cannot be
done too promptly. I have jotted down the form here,
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if you would not mind signing it. Fifty pounds is
quite enough, I thought I would willingly give you five hundred,
said the j P, taking the slip of paper and
the pencil which Holmes handed to him. This is not
quite correct, however, he added, glancing over the document. I
wrote it rather hurriedly.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You see, you begin whereas at about a quarter to
one on Tuesday morning an attempt was made, and so
on it was at a quarter to twelve.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
As a matter of fact, I was pained at the mistake,
for I knew how keenly Homes would feel any slip
of the kind. It was his speciality to be accurate
as to fact. But his recent illness had shaken him,
and this one little incident was enough to show me
that he was still far from being himself. He was
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obviously embarrassed for an instant while the inspector raised his
eyebrows and Alec Cunningham burst into a laugh. The old
gentleman corrected the mistake, however, and handed the paper back
to Holmes. Get it printed as soon as possible, He said,
I think your idea is an excellent one. Holmes put
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the slip of paper carefully away into his pocket book
and now, said he. It really would be a good
thing that we should all go over the house together
and make certain that this rather erratic burglar did not,
after all carry anything away with him. Before entering, Holmes
made an examination of the door which had been forced.
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It was evident that a chisel or strong knife had
been thrust in and the lock forced back with it.
We could see the marks in the wood where it
had been pushed in. You don't use bars, then, he asked,
We have never found it necessary. You don't keep a dog, yes,
but he is chained on the other side of the house.
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When do your servants go to bed about ten? I
understand that William was usually in bed also at that hour. Yes,
it is singular that on this particular night he should
have been up. Now I should be very glad if
you had have the kindness to show us over the house,
mister Cunningham. A stone flagged passage with the kitchens branching
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away from it, led by a wooden staircase directly to
the first floor of the house. It came out upon
the landing opposite to a second, more ornamental stair which
came up from the front hall. Out of this landing,
opened the drawing room and several bedrooms, including those of
mister Cunningham and his son. Holmes walked slowly, taking keen
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note of the architecture of the house. I could tell
from his expression that he was on a hot scent,
and yet I could not in the least imagine in
what direction his inferences were leading him. My good sir,
said mister Cunningham, with some impatience, This is surely very unnecessary.
That is my room at the end of the stairs,
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and my son's is the one beyond it. I leave
it to your judgment whether it was possible for the
thief to have come up here without disturbing us. You
must try round and get on a fresh scent. I
fancy the sun with a rather malicious smile. Still, I
must ask you to humor me a little further. I
should like, for example, to see how far the windows
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of the bedrooms command the front. This, I understand is
your son's room. He pushed open the door, and that
I presume is the dressing room in which he sat
smoking when the alarm was given. Where does the window
of that look out to He stepped across the bedroom,
pushed open the door, and glanced around the other chamber.
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I hope that you are satisfied now, said mister Cunningham, tartly.
Thank you. I think I have seen all that I wished. Then,
if it is really necessary, we can go into my room.
If it is not too much trouble. The j P
shrugged his shoulders and led the way into his own chamber,
which was a plainly furnished and commonplace room. As we
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moved across it in the direction of the window, Holmes
fell back until he and I were the last of
the group. Near the foot of the bed stood a
dish of oranges and a carafe of water. As we
passed it, Holmes, to my unutterable astonishment, leaned over in
front of me and deliberately knocked the whole thing over.
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The glass smashed into a thousand pieces, and the fruit
rolled about into every corner of the room. You've done it, now,
Watson said he coolly, A pretty mess you've made of
the carpet. I stooped in some confusion, and began to
pick up the fruit, understanding for some reason my companion
desired me to take the blame upon myself. The others
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did the same and set the table on its legs again. Hullo,
cried the inspector. Where's he's got to? Holmes had disappeared.
Wait here, an instant, said young Alec Cunningham. A fellow
is off his head in my opinion, Come with me, father,
and see where he has got to. They rushed down
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to the room, leaving the inspector, the colonel, and me
staring at each other. Upon my word, I am inclined
to agree with Marster Alick, said the official. It may
be the effect of his illness, but it seems to
me that his words were cut short by a sudden
scream of help, help, murder. With a thrill, I recognized
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the voice of that of my friend. I rushed madly
from the room on to the landing. The cries, which
had sunk down into a hoarse, inarticulate shouting, came from
the room which we had first visited. I dashed in
and on into the dressing room beyond. The two Cunninghams
were bending over the prostrate figure of Sherlock Holmes, the
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younger clutching his throat with both hands, while the elder
seemed to be twisting one of his wrists. In an instant,
the three of us had torn them away from him,
and Holmes staggered to his feet, very pale and evidently
greatly exhausted. Arrest these men, inspector, he gasped, on what charge?
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That of murdering their coachman William Kerwin. The inspector stared
about him in bewilderment. Oh come now, mister Holmes, said
he at last, I'm sure you don't really mean to
tut man. Look at their faces, cried Holmes curtly. Never
certainly have I seen a plainer confession of guilt upon
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human countenances. The older man seemed numbed and dazed, with
a heavy sullen expression upon his strongly marked face. The sun,
on the other hand, had dropped all that jaunty, dashing
style which had characterized him, and the ferocity of a
dangerous wild beast gleamed in his dark eyes and distorted
his handsome features. The inspector said nothing, but stepping to
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the door, he blew his whistle. Two of his constables
came at the call. I've no alternative, mister Cunningham said he.
I trust that this may all prove to be an
absurd mistake, but you can see that ah would you
drop it? He struck out with his hand, and a revolver,
which the younger man was in the act of cocking,
clattered down upon the floor. Keep that, said Holmes, quietly,
(29:13):
putting his foot upon it. You will find it useful
at the trial. But this is what we really wanted.
He held up a little crumpled piece of paper. The
remainder of the sheet, cried the inspector. Precisely, and where
was it? Where I was sure it must be. I'll
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make the whole matter clear to you presently. I think,
Colonel that you and Watson might return now, and I
will be with you again in an hour at the furthest.
The inspector and I must have a word with the prisoners,
but you will certainly see me back at luncheon time.
Sherlock Holmes was as good as his word, for about
(29:53):
one o'clock he rejoined us in the colonel's smoking room.
He was accompanied by a little elderly gentleman, who is
introduced to me as the mister Acton, whose house had
been the scene of the original burglary. I wish mister
Acton to be present while I demonstrated this small matter
to you, said Holmes, for it is natural that he
(30:14):
should take a keen interest in the details. I am afraid,
my dear colonel, that you must regret the hour that
you took in such a stormy petrol as I am.
On the contrary, answered the colonel warmly. I consider it
the greatest privilege to have been permitted to study your
methods of working. I confess that they quite surpass my expectations,
(30:36):
and that I am utterly unable to account for your result.
I have not yet seen the vestige of a clue.
I am afraid that my explanation may disillusion you, but
it has always been my habit to hide none of
my methods, either from my friend Watson or from any
one who might take an intelligent interest in them. But first,
as I am rather shaken by the knocking about which
(30:59):
I had in the dressing room, I think that I
shall help myself to a dash of your brandy. Colonel,
My strength had been rather tired of late. I trust
that you are no more of those nervous attacks. Sherlock
Holmes laughed heartily. Ha, we will come to that in
its turn, said he. I will lay an account of
(31:19):
the case before you in its due order, showing you
the various points which guided me in my decision. Pray
interrupt me if there is any inference which is not
perfectly clear to you. It is of the highest importance
in the art of detection to be able to recognize
out of a number of facts which are incidental and
which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated
(31:43):
instead of being concentrated. Now, in this case, there was
not the slightest doubt in my mind from the first
that the key of the whole matter must be looked
for in the scrap of paper in the dead man's hand.
Before going to this, I would draw your attention to
the fact that if Alec Cunningham's narrative was correct, and
if the assailant, after shooting William Kerwin had instantly fled,
(32:08):
then it obviously could not be he who tore the
paper from the dead man's hand. But if it was
not he, it must have been Alec Cunningham himself, for
by the time that the old man had descended, several
servants were upon the scene. The point is a simple one,
but the inspector had overlooked it because he had started
(32:29):
with the supposition that these county magnates had had nothing
to do with the matter. Now I make a point
of never having any prejudices, and of following docile wherever
fact may lead me. And so in the very first
stage of the investigation I found myself looking a little
askance at the part which had been played by mister
Alec Cunningham. And now I made a very careful examination
(32:53):
of the corner of paper which the inspector had submitted
to us. It was at once clear to me that
it formed part of a very remarkable document. Here it is.
Do you not now observe something very suggestive about it?
It has a very irregular look, said the Colonel. My
dear Sir, cried Holmes. There cannot be the least doubt
(33:15):
in the world that it has been written by two
persons doing alternate words. When I draw your attention to
the strong tease of at and two and ask you
to compare them with the weak ones of quarter and twelve,
you will instantly recognize the fact a very brief analysis
of these four words would enable you to say with
(33:36):
the utmost confidence that the learn and the maybe are
written in the stronger hand, and that the what in
the weaker. By jove, it's as clear as day, cried
the colonel. Why on earth should two men write a
letter in such a fashion. Obviously the business was a
bad one, and one of the men, who distrusted the other,
(33:58):
was determined that whatever was done, each should have an
equal hand in it. Now, of the two men, it
is clear that the one who wrote the at and
two was the ringleader. How do you get at that?
We might deduce it from the mere character of the
one hand as compared with the other. But we have
(34:19):
more assured reasons than that for supposing it. If you
examine this scrap with attention, you will come to the
conclusion that the man with the stronger hand wrote all
his words first, leaving blanks for the other to fill up.
These blanks were not always sufficient, and you can see
that the second man had a squeeze to fit his
quarter in between the AT and the two, showing that
(34:42):
the latter was already written. The man who wrote all
his words first is undoubtedly the man who planned the affair. Excellent,
cried mister Acton, But very superficial, said Holmes. We come now, however,
to a point which is of importance. You may may
not be aware that the deduction of a man's age
(35:02):
from his writing is one which has been brought to
considerable accuracy by experts. In normal cases, one can place
a man in his true decade with tolerable confidence. I
say normal cases, because ill health and physical weakness reproduce
the signs of old age, even when the invalid is
a youth. In this case, looking at the bold, strong
(35:24):
hand of the one and the rather broken back to
appearance of the other, which still retains its legibility, although
the teas have begun to lose their crossing, we can
say that the one was a young man and the
other was advanced in years, without being positively decrepit. Excellent,
cried mister Acton. Again. There is a further point, however,
(35:46):
which is subtler and of greater interest. There is something
in common between these hands. They belong to men who
are blood relatives. It may be most obvious to you
in the Greek ease, but to me there are many
small points which indicate the same thing. I have no
doubt at all that a family mannerism can be traced
(36:07):
in these two specimens of writing. I am only, of course,
giving you the leading results now of my examination of
the paper, there were twenty three other deductions which would
be of more interest to experts than to you. They
all tend to deepen the impression upon my mind that
the Cunninghams father and son had written this letter. Having
(36:28):
got so far, my next step was, of course to
examine into the details of the crime, and to see
how far they would help us. I went up to
the house with the inspector and saw all that was
to be seen. The wound upon the dead man was,
as I was able to determine with absolute confidence, fired
from a revolver at the distance of something over four yards.
(36:51):
There was no powder blackening on the clothes. Evidently, therefore
Alec Cunningham had lied when he said that the two
men were struggling when the shot was fired. Again, both
father and son agreed as to the place where the
man escaped into the road. At that point, however, as
it happens, there is a broadish ditch moist at the bottom.
(37:13):
As there were no indications of boot marks about this ditch,
I was absolutely sure not only that the Cunninghams had
again lied, but that there had never been any unknown
man upon the scene at all. And now I have
to consider the motive of this singular crime. To get
at this, I endeavored, first of all to solve the
(37:33):
reason of the original burglary At mister Acton's I understood
from something which the Colonel told us that a law
suit had been going on between you, mister Acton, and
the Cunninghams. Of course, it instantly occurred to me that
they had broken into your library with the intention of
getting at some document which might be of importance in
the case. Precisely so, said mister Acton. There can be
(37:58):
no possible doubt as to their intentions. I have the
clearest claim upon half of their present estate, and if
they could have found a single paper, which fortunately was
in the strong box of my solicitors, they would undoubtedly
have crippled our case. There you are, said Holmes, smiling.
(38:18):
It was a dangerous, reckless attempt in which I seemed
to trace the influence of young alc. Having found nothing,
they tried to divert suspicion by making it appear to
be an ordinary burglary, to which end they carried off
whatever they could lay their hands upon. That is all
clear enough, But there was much that was still obscure.
(38:41):
What I wanted above all, was to get the missing
part of that note. I was certain that Alec had
torn it out of the dead man's hand, and almost
certain that he must have thrust it into the pocket
of his dressing gown. Where else could he have put it.
The only question was whether it was still there. It
was worth an effort to find out, and for that
(39:01):
object we all went up to the house. The Cunninghams
joined us, as you doubtless remember, outside the kitchen door.
It was, of course of the very first importance that
they should not be reminded of the existence of this paper,
otherwise they would naturally destroy it without delay. The inspector
was about to tell them the importance which we attached
(39:22):
to it, when by the luckiest chance in the world,
I tumbled down in a sort of fit, and so
changed the conversation. Good Heavens, cried the colonel, laughing, do
you mean to say all our sympathy was wasted and
you'll fit an imposture speaking professionally. It was admirably done,
cried I, looking in amazement at this man who was
(39:44):
forever confounding me with some new phase of his astuteness.
It is an art which is often useful, said he.
When I recovered, I managed, by a device which had
perhaps some little merit of ingenuity, to get old Cunningham
to write the word twelve so that I might compare
it with the twelve upon the paper. Oh what an
(40:05):
ass I have been, I exclaimed. I could see that
you were commiserating me over my weakness, said Holmes, laughing.
I was sorry to cause you the sympathetic pain which
I know that you felt. We then went upstairs together,
and having entered the room and seen the dressing gown
hanging up behind the door, I contrived, by upsetting a
(40:26):
table to engage their attention for the moment, and slipped
back to examine the pockets. I had hardly got the paper, however,
which was as I had expected, in one of them,
when the two Cunninghams were on me, and would I
verily believe have murdered me then and there but for
your prompt and friendly aid. As it is, I feel
(40:46):
that young man's grip on my throat now, and the
father has twisted my wrist round in the effort to
get the paper out of my hand. They saw that
I must know all about it, you see, and the
sudden change from absolute security complete despair made them perfectly desperate.
I had a little talk with old Cunningham afterwards as
(41:07):
to the motive of the crime. He was tractable enough,
though his son was a perfect demon, ready to blow
out his own or anybody else's brains if he could
have got to his revolver. When Cunningham saw that the
case against him was so strong, he lost all heart
and made a clean breast of everything. It seems that
William had secretly followed his two masters on the night
(41:29):
when they made their raid upon mister Acton's, and having
thus got them into his power, proceeded under threats of
exposure to levy blackmail upon them. Mister Alick, however, was
a dangerous man to play games of that sort with.
It was a stroke of positive genius on his part
to see in the burglary scare which was convulsing the countryside,
(41:52):
an opportunity of plausibly getting rid of the man whom
he feared. William was decoyed up and shot, And had
they only got the whole of the note and paid
a little more attention to detail in the accessories, it
is very possible that suspicion might never have been aroused,
and the note I asked Sherlock Holmes placed the subjoined
(42:14):
paper before us. If you will only come around to
the east Gate, it will very much surprise you and
be of the greatest service to you and also to
Annie Morrison. But say nothing to anyone upon the matter.
It is very much the sort of thing that I expected,
said he. Of course, we do not yet know what
the relations may have been between Alec Cunningham, William Kerwin
(42:38):
and Annie Morrison. The result shows that the trap was
skillfully baited. I am sure that you cannot fail to
be delighted with the traces of heredity shown in the
peas and in the tales of the Gs. The absence
of the I dots in the old Man's writing is
also more characteristic. Watson, I think our quiet rest in
(42:59):
the country has been a distinct success, and I shall
certainly return much invigorated to Baker Street tomorrow. End of
the Reigate Puzzle.
Adventure six in the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Adventure six, the Reigate Puzzle. It was some time before
the health of my friend mister Sherlock Holmes recovered from
the strain caused by his immense exertions in the spring
(00:21):
of eighty seven. The whole question of the Netherlands Sumatra
Company and of the colossal schemes of Baron Maupetaus are
too recent in the minds of the public, and are
too intimately concerned with politics and finance to be fitting
subjects for this series of sketches. They led, however, in
an indirect fashion, to a singular and complex problem, which
(00:44):
gave my friend an opportunity of demonstrating the value of
a fresh weapon among the many with which he waged
his lifelong battle against crime. On referring to my notes,
I see that it was upon the fourteenth of April
that I received a telegram from Leo which informed me
that Holmes was lying ill in the Hotel Dulon. Within
(01:06):
twenty four hours I was in his sick room, and
was relieved to find that there was nothing formidable in
his symptoms. Even his iron constitution, however, had broken down
under the strain of an investigation which had extended over
two months, during which period he had never worked less
than fifteen hours a day, and had more than once,
(01:27):
as he assured me, kept to his task for five
days at a stretch. Even the triumphant issue of his
labours could not save him from reaction. After so terrible
an exertion, and at a time when Europe was ringing
with his name, and when his room was literally ankled
deep with congratulatory telegrams, I found him a prey to
(01:49):
the blackest depression. Even the knowledge that he had succeeded
where the police of three countries had failed, and that
he had outmaneuvered at every point the most accomplished swindler
in Europe, was insufficient to rouse him from his nervous prostration.
Three days later we were back in Baker Street together, but
(02:09):
it was evident that my friend would be much the
better for a change, and the thought of a week
of springtime in the country was full of attractions to me. Also,
my old friend, Colonel Hayter, who had come under my
professional care in Afghanistan had now taken a house near
Reigate in Surrey, and had frequently asked me to come
down to him upon a visit. On the last occasion,
(02:31):
he had remarked that if my friend would only come
with me, he would be glad to extend his hospitality
to him. Also, a little diplomacy was needed, But when
Holmes understood that the establishment was a bachelor one and
that he would be allowed the fullest freedom, he fell
in with my plans, and a week after our return
from Lyons, we were under the colonel's roof. Hayter was
(02:54):
a fine old soldier who had seen much of the world,
and he soon found, as I had expected, that Holmes
and he had much in common. On the evening of
our arrival, we were sitting in the colonel's gun room
after dinner. Holmes stretched upon the sofa while Hayter and
I looked over his little armory of Eastern weapons. By
(03:15):
the way, said he suddenly, I think I'll take one
of these pistols upstairs with me in case we have
an alarm. An alarm, said I, yes, we have had
a scare in this part lately. Old Acton, who is
one of our County Magnates had his house broken into
last Monday. No great damage done, but the fellows are
(03:36):
still at large. No clue, asked Holmes, cocking his eye
at the Colonel. None as yet. But the affair is
a petty one, one of our little country crimes, which
must seem too small for your attention, mister Holmes, after
this great international affair. Holmes waved away the compliment, though
(03:57):
his smile showed that it had pleased him. Was there
any feature of interest I fancy not. The thieves ransacked
the library and got very little for their pains. The
whole place was turned upside down, drawers burst open, and
presses ransacked, with the result that an odd volume of
Pope's Homer, two plaited candlesticks, an ivory letter weight, a
(04:21):
small oak barometer, and a ball of twine are all
that have vanished. What an extraordinary assortment, I exclaimed. Oh,
the fellows evidently grabbed hold of everything they could get.
Holmes grunted from the sofa. The county police ought to
make something of that, said he. Why it is surely
(04:41):
obvious that, but I held up a warning finger. You
are here for a rest, my dear fellow, for heaven's sake,
don't get started on a new problem when your nerves
are all in shreds Holmes shrugged his shoulders with a
glance of comic resignation towards the Colonel, and the talk
drifted away into less dangerous channels. It was destined, however,
(05:03):
that all my professional caution should be wasted for next morning.
The problem obtruded itself upon us in such a way
that it was impossible to ignore it, and our country
visit took a turn which neither of us could have anticipated.
We were at breakfast when the colonel's butler rushed in
with all his propriety shaken out of him. Have you
(05:24):
heard the news, sir? He gasped at the Cunningham, Sir, Burglary,
cried the Colonel with his coffee cup in mid air murder.
The Colonel, whistled by jove, said he who is killed?
Then the j P or his son, nor either, Sir.
It was William the coachman shot through the art, Sir,
(05:47):
and never spoke again. Who shot him?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Then?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
The burglar?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Sir?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
He was off like a shot and got clean away.
He just broke in at the pantry window when William
came on him and met his end in saving his
master's property. What time it was late last night, sir,
somewhere about twelve ah. Then we'll step over afterwards, said
the colonel coolly, settling down to his breakfast again. It's
(06:16):
a barish business, he added, when the butler had gone.
He's our leading man about here is old Cunningham, a
very decent fellow too. He'll be cut up over this,
for the man has been in his service for years
and was a good servant. It's evidently the same villains
who broke into Acton's and stole that very singular collection,
(06:38):
said Holmes, thoughtfully, precisely hum It may prove the simplest
matter in the world, but all the same, at first glance,
this is just a little curious, is it not? A
gang of burglars acting in the country might be expected
to vary the scene of their operations and not to
crack two cribs in the same district within a few days.
(07:02):
When you spoke last night of taking precautions, I remember
that it passed through my mind that this was probably
the last parish in England to which the thief or
thieves would be likely to turn their attention, which shows
that I have still much to learn. I fancy it's
some local practitioner, said the colonel. In that case, of course,
(07:23):
Acton's and Cunningham's are just the places he would go for,
since they are far the largest about here and richest.
Well they ought to be, but they've had a law
suit for some years which has sucked the blood out
of both of them. I fancy old Acton has some
claim on half of Cunningham's estate, and the lawyers have
(07:44):
been at it with both hands. If it's a local villain,
there should not be much difficulty in running him down,
said Holmes with a yawn. All right, Watson, I don't
intend to meddle, Inspector, Forester, Sir, said the butler, throwing
open the door. The official, a smart, keen faced young fellow,
(08:06):
stepped into the room. Good morning, Colonel, said he. I
hope I don't intrude, but we hear that mister Holmes
of Baker Street is here. The Colonel waved his hand
towards my friend, and the inspector bowed. We thought that
perhaps you would care to step across, mister Holmes. The
fates are against you, Watson said. He laughing. We were
(08:28):
chatting about the matter when you came in, Inspector. Perhaps
you can let us have a few details. As he
leaned back in his chair in the familiar attitude, I
knew that the case was hopeless. We had no clue
in the acton affair, but here we have plenty to
go on, and there's no doubt it is the same party.
In each case. The man was seen, Ah, yes, sir,
(08:51):
but he was off like a deer. After the shot
that killed poor William Kerwin was fired. Mister Cunningham saw
him from the bedroom window, and mister Alec Cunningham saw
him from the back passage. It was quarter to twelve
when the alarm broke out. Mister Cunningham had just got
into bed and mister Alick was smoking a pipe in
his dressing gown. They both heard William the coachman calling
(09:13):
for help, and mister Alick ran down to see what
was the matter. The back door was open, and as
he came to the foot of the stairs he saw
two men wrestling together outside. One of them fired a shot,
the other dropped, and the murderer rushed across the garden
and over the hedge. Mister Cunningham, looking out of his bedroom,
(09:33):
saw the fellow as he gained the road, but lost
sight of him. At once. Mister Alick stopped to see
if he could help the dying man, and so the
villain got clean away. Beyond the fact that he was
a middle sized man and dressed in some dark stuff,
we have no personal clue, but we're making energetic inquiries,
and if he is a stranger, we shall soon find
(09:54):
him out. What was this William doing there? Did he
say anything before before he died? Not a word? He
lives at the lodge with his mother, and as he
was a very faithful fellow, we imagine that he walked
up to the house with the intention of seeing that
all was right there. Of course, this acting business has
put everyone on their guard. The robber must have just
(10:17):
burst open the door. The lock has been forced when
William came upon him. Did William say anything to his
mother before going out? She is very old and deaf,
and we can get no information from her. The shock
has made her half witted, but I understand that she
was never very bright. There is one very important circumstance, however,
(10:39):
Look at this. He took a small piece of torn
paper from a notebook and spread it out upon his knee.
This was found between the finger and thumb of the
dead man. It appears to be a fragment torn from
a larger sheet. You will observe that they, how are
mentioned upon it is the very time at which the
poor fellow met his fate. You see that his murderer
(11:03):
might have torn the rest of the sheet from him,
or he might have taken this fragment from the murderer.
It reads almost as though it were an appointment. Holmes
took up the scrap of paper and fac simile of
which is here produced d at quarter to twelve. Learn
what may be presuming that is an appointment, continued the inspector.
(11:26):
It is of course a conceivable theory that this William Kerwin,
though he had the reputation of being an honest man,
may have been in league with the thief. He may
have met him there, may even have helped him to
break in the door, and then they may have fallen
out between themselves. This writing is of extraordinary interest, said Holmes,
(11:46):
who had been examining it with intense concentration. These are
much deeper waters than I had thought. He sank his
head upon his hands, while the inspector smiled at the
effect which his case had had upon the famous London specialist.
You will last remark, said Holmes, presently, as to the
possibility of there being an understanding between the burglar and
(12:10):
the servant, and this being a note of appointment from
one to the other, is an ingenious and not entirely
impossible supposition. But this writing opens up. He sank his
head into his hands again, and remained for some minutes
in the deepest thought. When he raised his face again,
I was surprised to see that his cheek was tinged
(12:31):
with color, and his eyes as bright as before his illness.
He sprang to his feet with all his old energy.
I'll tell you what, said he I should like to
have a quiet little glance into the details of this case.
There is something in it which fascinates me extremely. If
you will permit me, Colonel, I will leave my friend
(12:52):
Watson and you and I will step around with the
inspector to test the truth of one or two little
fancies of mine. I'll be with you again in half
an hour. An hour and a half had elapsed before
the Inspector returned alone. Mister Holmes is walking up and
down in the field outside, said he he wants us
all four to go up to the house together to
(13:15):
mister Cunningham's Yes, sir, what for? The inspector shrugged his shoulders.
I don't quite know, sir. Between ourselves, I think mister
Holmes had not quite got over his illness yet. He's
been behaving very queerly, and he's very much excited. I
don't think you need alarm yourself, said I. I have
(13:38):
usually found that there was method in his madness. Some
folks might say there was madness in his method, muttered
the inspector. But he's all on fire, the start, Colonel,
So we'd best go out if you're ready. We found
Holmes pacing up and down in the field, his chin
sunk upon his breast and his hands thrust into his
trousers pockets. The matter grows in interest, said he Watson.
(14:03):
Your country trip has been a distinct success. I've had
a charming morning. You've been up to the scene of
the crime, I understand, said the colonel. Yes, the Inspector
and I have made quite a little reconnaissance together. Any success. Well,
we've seen some very interesting things. I'll tell you what
(14:24):
we did as we walk. First of all, we saw
the body of this unfortunate man. He certainly died from
a revolver wound as reported. Had you doubted it, then, oh,
it is as well to test everything. Our inspection was
not wasted. We then had an interview with mister Cunningham
and his son, who were able to point out the
(14:45):
exact spot where the murderer had broken through the garden
hedge in his flight. That was of great interest. Naturally,
then we had a look at this poor fellow's mother.
We could get no information from her, however, as she
is very old and feeble. And what is the result
of your investigations the conviction that the crime is a
(15:07):
very peculiar one. Perhaps our visit now may do something
to make it less obscure. I think that we are
both agreed, Inspector, that the fragment of paper in the
dead man's hand, bearing as it does the very hour
of his death written upon it, is of extreme importance.
It should give a clue, mister Owns. It does give
(15:27):
a clue whoever wrote that note was the man who
brought William Kerwin out of his bed at that hour?
But where is the rest of that sheet? Of paper.
I examined the ground carefully in the hope of finding it,
said the inspector. It was torn out of the dead
man's hand. Why was some one so anxious to get
(15:48):
possession of it because it incriminated him? And what would
he do with it? Thrust it into his pocket, most
likely never noticing that a corner of it had been
left in the grip of the corpse. If we could
get the rest of that sheet, it is obvious that
we should have gone a long way towards solving the mystery. Yes,
(16:09):
but how can we get at the criminal's pocket before
we catched a criminal? Well, well, it was worth thinking over.
Then there is another obvious point. The note was sent
to William. The man who wrote it could not have
taken it otherwise, of course he might have delivered his
own message by word of mouth. Who brought the note then?
(16:30):
Or did it come through the post? I have made inquiries,
said the inspector. William received a letter by the afternoon
post yesterday. The envelope was destroyed by him. Excellent, cried Holmes,
clapping the inspector on the back. You've seen the postman.
It is a pleasure to work with you. Well, here
(16:50):
is a lodge, and if you will come up, colonel,
I will show you the scene of the crime. We
passed the pretty cottage where the murdered man had lived,
and walked up an oak lined avenue to the fine
old Queen Anne house, which bears the date of Malplaquey
upon the lintel of the door. Holmes and the inspector
led us round it until we came to the side gate,
(17:12):
which is separated by a stretch of garden from the
hedge which lines the road. A constable was standing at
the kitchen door. Throw the door open, officer, said Holmes.
Now it was on these stairs that young mister Cunningham
stood and saw the two men struggling just where we are.
Old mister Cunningham was at that window, the second on
(17:34):
the left, and he saw the fellow get away just
to the left of that bush. Then mister Alec ran
out and knelt beside the wounded man. The ground is
very hard, you see, and there are no marks to
guide us. As he spoke, two men came down to
the garden path from round the angle of the house.
The one was an elderly man with a strong, deep lined,
(17:57):
heavy eyed face. The other, a dashing young fellow, whose bright,
smiling expression and showy dress were in strange contrast with
the business which had brought us there. Still at it, then,
said he to Holmes. I thought you Londoners were never
at fault. You don't seem to desove very quick after all. Ah,
(18:18):
you must give us a little time, said Holmes. Good humoredly,
you'll want it, said young Alec Cunningham. Why I don't
see that we have any clue at all. There's only one,
answered the inspector. We thought that if we could only
find good heavens, mister Holmes, what is the matter. My
poor friend's face had suddenly assumed the most dreadful expression,
(18:42):
his eyes rolled upwards, his features writhed in agony, and
with a suppressed groan, he dropped on his face upon
the ground, Horrified at the suddenness and severity of the attack.
We carried him into the kitchen, where he lay back
in a large chair and breathed heavily for some minutes. Finally,
with a shamefaced apology for his weakness, he rose once more.
(19:06):
Watson would tell you that I have only just recovered
from a severe illness, he explained, I am liable to
these sudden nervous attacks. Shall I send you home in
my trap? Asked old Cunningham. Well, since I am here,
there is one point on which I should like to
feel sure we can very easily verify it. What was it? Well,
(19:30):
it seems to me that it is just possible that
the arrival of this poor fellow William was not before,
but after the entrance of the burglar into the house.
You appear to take it for granted that although the
door was forced, the robber never got in. I fancy
that is quite obvious, said mister Cunningham gravely. Why my
(19:52):
son Alec had not yet gone to bed, and he
would certainly have heard any one moving about. Where was
he sitting? I was smoking in my dressing room. Which
window is that? The last on the left, next to
my father's? Both of your lamps were lit. Of course,
undoubtedly there are some very singular points here, said Holmes, smiling.
(20:17):
Is it not extraordinary that a burglar, and a burglar
who had had some previous experience, should deliberately break into
a house at a time when he could see from
the lights that two of the family were still afoot
He must have been a cool hand. Well, of course,
if the case were not an odd one, we should
not have been driven to ask you for an explanation,
(20:40):
said young mister Alec. But as to your ideas that
the man has robbed the house before William tackled him,
I think it a most absurd notion. Wouldn't we have
found the place disarranged and missed the things which he
had taken. It depends on what the things were, said Holmes.
You must remember that we are dealing with a burglar
(21:00):
who is a very peculiar fellow, and who appears to
work on lines of his own. Look, for example, at
the queer lot of things which he took from Acton's
What was it? A ball of string, a letter? Wait,
and I don't know what other osen ends. Well, we
are quite in your hands, mister Holmes, said old Cunningham.
(21:22):
Anything which you or the inspector may suggest will most
certainly be done. In the first place, said Holmes, I
should like you to offer a reward coming from yourself,
for the officials may take a little time before they
would agree upon the sum, and these things cannot be
done too promptly. I have jotted down the form here,
(21:44):
if you would not mind signing it. Fifty pounds is
quite enough, I thought I would willingly give you five hundred,
said the j P, taking the slip of paper and
the pencil which Holmes handed to him. This is not
quite correct, however, he added, glancing over the document. I
wrote it rather hurriedly.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You see, you begin whereas at about a quarter to
one on Tuesday morning an attempt was made, and so
on it was at a quarter to twelve.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
As a matter of fact, I was pained at the mistake,
for I knew how keenly Homes would feel any slip
of the kind. It was his speciality to be accurate
as to fact. But his recent illness had shaken him,
and this one little incident was enough to show me
that he was still far from being himself. He was
(22:36):
obviously embarrassed for an instant while the inspector raised his
eyebrows and Alec Cunningham burst into a laugh. The old
gentleman corrected the mistake, however, and handed the paper back
to Holmes. Get it printed as soon as possible, He said,
I think your idea is an excellent one. Holmes put
(22:58):
the slip of paper carefully away into his pocket book
and now, said he. It really would be a good
thing that we should all go over the house together
and make certain that this rather erratic burglar did not,
after all carry anything away with him. Before entering, Holmes
made an examination of the door which had been forced.
(23:19):
It was evident that a chisel or strong knife had
been thrust in and the lock forced back with it.
We could see the marks in the wood where it
had been pushed in. You don't use bars, then, he asked,
We have never found it necessary. You don't keep a dog, yes,
but he is chained on the other side of the house.
(23:41):
When do your servants go to bed about ten? I
understand that William was usually in bed also at that hour. Yes,
it is singular that on this particular night he should
have been up. Now I should be very glad if
you had have the kindness to show us over the house,
mister Cunningham. A stone flagged passage with the kitchens branching
(24:03):
away from it, led by a wooden staircase directly to
the first floor of the house. It came out upon
the landing opposite to a second, more ornamental stair which
came up from the front hall. Out of this landing,
opened the drawing room and several bedrooms, including those of
mister Cunningham and his son. Holmes walked slowly, taking keen
(24:26):
note of the architecture of the house. I could tell
from his expression that he was on a hot scent,
and yet I could not in the least imagine in
what direction his inferences were leading him. My good sir,
said mister Cunningham, with some impatience, This is surely very unnecessary.
That is my room at the end of the stairs,
(24:47):
and my son's is the one beyond it. I leave
it to your judgment whether it was possible for the
thief to have come up here without disturbing us. You
must try round and get on a fresh scent. I
fancy the sun with a rather malicious smile. Still, I
must ask you to humor me a little further. I
should like, for example, to see how far the windows
(25:09):
of the bedrooms command the front. This, I understand is
your son's room. He pushed open the door, and that
I presume is the dressing room in which he sat
smoking when the alarm was given. Where does the window
of that look out to He stepped across the bedroom,
pushed open the door, and glanced around the other chamber.
(25:32):
I hope that you are satisfied now, said mister Cunningham, tartly.
Thank you. I think I have seen all that I wished. Then,
if it is really necessary, we can go into my room.
If it is not too much trouble. The j P
shrugged his shoulders and led the way into his own chamber,
which was a plainly furnished and commonplace room. As we
(25:55):
moved across it in the direction of the window, Holmes
fell back until he and I were the last of
the group. Near the foot of the bed stood a
dish of oranges and a carafe of water. As we
passed it, Holmes, to my unutterable astonishment, leaned over in
front of me and deliberately knocked the whole thing over.
(26:15):
The glass smashed into a thousand pieces, and the fruit
rolled about into every corner of the room. You've done it, now,
Watson said he coolly, A pretty mess you've made of
the carpet. I stooped in some confusion, and began to
pick up the fruit, understanding for some reason my companion
desired me to take the blame upon myself. The others
(26:38):
did the same and set the table on its legs again. Hullo,
cried the inspector. Where's he's got to? Holmes had disappeared.
Wait here, an instant, said young Alec Cunningham. A fellow
is off his head in my opinion, Come with me, father,
and see where he has got to. They rushed down
(27:00):
to the room, leaving the inspector, the colonel, and me
staring at each other. Upon my word, I am inclined
to agree with Marster Alick, said the official. It may
be the effect of his illness, but it seems to
me that his words were cut short by a sudden
scream of help, help, murder. With a thrill, I recognized
(27:21):
the voice of that of my friend. I rushed madly
from the room on to the landing. The cries, which
had sunk down into a hoarse, inarticulate shouting, came from
the room which we had first visited. I dashed in
and on into the dressing room beyond. The two Cunninghams
were bending over the prostrate figure of Sherlock Holmes, the
(27:43):
younger clutching his throat with both hands, while the elder
seemed to be twisting one of his wrists. In an instant,
the three of us had torn them away from him,
and Holmes staggered to his feet, very pale and evidently
greatly exhausted. Arrest these men, inspector, he gasped, on what charge?
(28:03):
That of murdering their coachman William Kerwin. The inspector stared
about him in bewilderment. Oh come now, mister Holmes, said
he at last, I'm sure you don't really mean to
tut man. Look at their faces, cried Holmes curtly. Never
certainly have I seen a plainer confession of guilt upon
(28:23):
human countenances. The older man seemed numbed and dazed, with
a heavy sullen expression upon his strongly marked face. The sun,
on the other hand, had dropped all that jaunty, dashing
style which had characterized him, and the ferocity of a
dangerous wild beast gleamed in his dark eyes and distorted
his handsome features. The inspector said nothing, but stepping to
(28:48):
the door, he blew his whistle. Two of his constables
came at the call. I've no alternative, mister Cunningham said he.
I trust that this may all prove to be an
absurd mistake, but you can see that ah would you
drop it? He struck out with his hand, and a revolver,
which the younger man was in the act of cocking,
clattered down upon the floor. Keep that, said Holmes, quietly,
(29:13):
putting his foot upon it. You will find it useful
at the trial. But this is what we really wanted.
He held up a little crumpled piece of paper. The
remainder of the sheet, cried the inspector. Precisely, and where
was it? Where I was sure it must be. I'll
(29:33):
make the whole matter clear to you presently. I think,
Colonel that you and Watson might return now, and I
will be with you again in an hour at the furthest.
The inspector and I must have a word with the prisoners,
but you will certainly see me back at luncheon time.
Sherlock Holmes was as good as his word, for about
(29:53):
one o'clock he rejoined us in the colonel's smoking room.
He was accompanied by a little elderly gentleman, who is
introduced to me as the mister Acton, whose house had
been the scene of the original burglary. I wish mister
Acton to be present while I demonstrated this small matter
to you, said Holmes, for it is natural that he
(30:14):
should take a keen interest in the details. I am afraid,
my dear colonel, that you must regret the hour that
you took in such a stormy petrol as I am.
On the contrary, answered the colonel warmly. I consider it
the greatest privilege to have been permitted to study your
methods of working. I confess that they quite surpass my expectations,
(30:36):
and that I am utterly unable to account for your result.
I have not yet seen the vestige of a clue.
I am afraid that my explanation may disillusion you, but
it has always been my habit to hide none of
my methods, either from my friend Watson or from any
one who might take an intelligent interest in them. But first,
as I am rather shaken by the knocking about which
(30:59):
I had in the dressing room, I think that I
shall help myself to a dash of your brandy. Colonel,
My strength had been rather tired of late. I trust
that you are no more of those nervous attacks. Sherlock
Holmes laughed heartily. Ha, we will come to that in
its turn, said he. I will lay an account of
(31:19):
the case before you in its due order, showing you
the various points which guided me in my decision. Pray
interrupt me if there is any inference which is not
perfectly clear to you. It is of the highest importance
in the art of detection to be able to recognize
out of a number of facts which are incidental and
which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated
(31:43):
instead of being concentrated. Now, in this case, there was
not the slightest doubt in my mind from the first
that the key of the whole matter must be looked
for in the scrap of paper in the dead man's hand.
Before going to this, I would draw your attention to
the fact that if Alec Cunningham's narrative was correct, and
if the assailant, after shooting William Kerwin had instantly fled,
(32:08):
then it obviously could not be he who tore the
paper from the dead man's hand. But if it was
not he, it must have been Alec Cunningham himself, for
by the time that the old man had descended, several
servants were upon the scene. The point is a simple one,
but the inspector had overlooked it because he had started
(32:29):
with the supposition that these county magnates had had nothing
to do with the matter. Now I make a point
of never having any prejudices, and of following docile wherever
fact may lead me. And so in the very first
stage of the investigation I found myself looking a little
askance at the part which had been played by mister
Alec Cunningham. And now I made a very careful examination
(32:53):
of the corner of paper which the inspector had submitted
to us. It was at once clear to me that
it formed part of a very remarkable document. Here it is.
Do you not now observe something very suggestive about it?
It has a very irregular look, said the Colonel. My
dear Sir, cried Holmes. There cannot be the least doubt
(33:15):
in the world that it has been written by two
persons doing alternate words. When I draw your attention to
the strong tease of at and two and ask you
to compare them with the weak ones of quarter and twelve,
you will instantly recognize the fact a very brief analysis
of these four words would enable you to say with
(33:36):
the utmost confidence that the learn and the maybe are
written in the stronger hand, and that the what in
the weaker. By jove, it's as clear as day, cried
the colonel. Why on earth should two men write a
letter in such a fashion. Obviously the business was a
bad one, and one of the men, who distrusted the other,
(33:58):
was determined that whatever was done, each should have an
equal hand in it. Now, of the two men, it
is clear that the one who wrote the at and
two was the ringleader. How do you get at that?
We might deduce it from the mere character of the
one hand as compared with the other. But we have
(34:19):
more assured reasons than that for supposing it. If you
examine this scrap with attention, you will come to the
conclusion that the man with the stronger hand wrote all
his words first, leaving blanks for the other to fill up.
These blanks were not always sufficient, and you can see
that the second man had a squeeze to fit his
quarter in between the AT and the two, showing that
(34:42):
the latter was already written. The man who wrote all
his words first is undoubtedly the man who planned the affair. Excellent,
cried mister Acton, But very superficial, said Holmes. We come now, however,
to a point which is of importance. You may may
not be aware that the deduction of a man's age
(35:02):
from his writing is one which has been brought to
considerable accuracy by experts. In normal cases, one can place
a man in his true decade with tolerable confidence. I
say normal cases, because ill health and physical weakness reproduce
the signs of old age, even when the invalid is
a youth. In this case, looking at the bold, strong
(35:24):
hand of the one and the rather broken back to
appearance of the other, which still retains its legibility, although
the teas have begun to lose their crossing, we can
say that the one was a young man and the
other was advanced in years, without being positively decrepit. Excellent,
cried mister Acton. Again. There is a further point, however,
(35:46):
which is subtler and of greater interest. There is something
in common between these hands. They belong to men who
are blood relatives. It may be most obvious to you
in the Greek ease, but to me there are many
small points which indicate the same thing. I have no
doubt at all that a family mannerism can be traced
(36:07):
in these two specimens of writing. I am only, of course,
giving you the leading results now of my examination of
the paper, there were twenty three other deductions which would
be of more interest to experts than to you. They
all tend to deepen the impression upon my mind that
the Cunninghams father and son had written this letter. Having
(36:28):
got so far, my next step was, of course to
examine into the details of the crime, and to see
how far they would help us. I went up to
the house with the inspector and saw all that was
to be seen. The wound upon the dead man was,
as I was able to determine with absolute confidence, fired
from a revolver at the distance of something over four yards.
(36:51):
There was no powder blackening on the clothes. Evidently, therefore
Alec Cunningham had lied when he said that the two
men were struggling when the shot was fired. Again, both
father and son agreed as to the place where the
man escaped into the road. At that point, however, as
it happens, there is a broadish ditch moist at the bottom.
(37:13):
As there were no indications of boot marks about this ditch,
I was absolutely sure not only that the Cunninghams had
again lied, but that there had never been any unknown
man upon the scene at all. And now I have
to consider the motive of this singular crime. To get
at this, I endeavored, first of all to solve the
(37:33):
reason of the original burglary At mister Acton's I understood
from something which the Colonel told us that a law
suit had been going on between you, mister Acton, and
the Cunninghams. Of course, it instantly occurred to me that
they had broken into your library with the intention of
getting at some document which might be of importance in
the case. Precisely so, said mister Acton. There can be
(37:58):
no possible doubt as to their intentions. I have the
clearest claim upon half of their present estate, and if
they could have found a single paper, which fortunately was
in the strong box of my solicitors, they would undoubtedly
have crippled our case. There you are, said Holmes, smiling.
(38:18):
It was a dangerous, reckless attempt in which I seemed
to trace the influence of young alc. Having found nothing,
they tried to divert suspicion by making it appear to
be an ordinary burglary, to which end they carried off
whatever they could lay their hands upon. That is all
clear enough, But there was much that was still obscure.
(38:41):
What I wanted above all, was to get the missing
part of that note. I was certain that Alec had
torn it out of the dead man's hand, and almost
certain that he must have thrust it into the pocket
of his dressing gown. Where else could he have put it.
The only question was whether it was still there. It
was worth an effort to find out, and for that
(39:01):
object we all went up to the house. The Cunninghams
joined us, as you doubtless remember, outside the kitchen door.
It was, of course of the very first importance that
they should not be reminded of the existence of this paper,
otherwise they would naturally destroy it without delay. The inspector
was about to tell them the importance which we attached
(39:22):
to it, when by the luckiest chance in the world,
I tumbled down in a sort of fit, and so
changed the conversation. Good Heavens, cried the colonel, laughing, do
you mean to say all our sympathy was wasted and
you'll fit an imposture speaking professionally. It was admirably done,
cried I, looking in amazement at this man who was
(39:44):
forever confounding me with some new phase of his astuteness.
It is an art which is often useful, said he.
When I recovered, I managed, by a device which had
perhaps some little merit of ingenuity, to get old Cunningham
to write the word twelve so that I might compare
it with the twelve upon the paper. Oh what an
(40:05):
ass I have been, I exclaimed. I could see that
you were commiserating me over my weakness, said Holmes, laughing.
I was sorry to cause you the sympathetic pain which
I know that you felt. We then went upstairs together,
and having entered the room and seen the dressing gown
hanging up behind the door, I contrived, by upsetting a
(40:26):
table to engage their attention for the moment, and slipped
back to examine the pockets. I had hardly got the paper, however,
which was as I had expected, in one of them,
when the two Cunninghams were on me, and would I
verily believe have murdered me then and there but for
your prompt and friendly aid. As it is, I feel
(40:46):
that young man's grip on my throat now, and the
father has twisted my wrist round in the effort to
get the paper out of my hand. They saw that
I must know all about it, you see, and the
sudden change from absolute security complete despair made them perfectly desperate.
I had a little talk with old Cunningham afterwards as
(41:07):
to the motive of the crime. He was tractable enough,
though his son was a perfect demon, ready to blow
out his own or anybody else's brains if he could
have got to his revolver. When Cunningham saw that the
case against him was so strong, he lost all heart
and made a clean breast of everything. It seems that
William had secretly followed his two masters on the night
(41:29):
when they made their raid upon mister Acton's, and having
thus got them into his power, proceeded under threats of
exposure to levy blackmail upon them. Mister Alick, however, was
a dangerous man to play games of that sort with.
It was a stroke of positive genius on his part
to see in the burglary scare which was convulsing the countryside,
(41:52):
an opportunity of plausibly getting rid of the man whom
he feared. William was decoyed up and shot, And had
they only got the whole of the note and paid
a little more attention to detail in the accessories, it
is very possible that suspicion might never have been aroused,
and the note I asked Sherlock Holmes placed the subjoined
(42:14):
paper before us. If you will only come around to
the east Gate, it will very much surprise you and
be of the greatest service to you and also to
Annie Morrison. But say nothing to anyone upon the matter.
It is very much the sort of thing that I expected,
said he. Of course, we do not yet know what
the relations may have been between Alec Cunningham, William Kerwin
(42:38):
and Annie Morrison. The result shows that the trap was
skillfully baited. I am sure that you cannot fail to
be delighted with the traces of heredity shown in the
peas and in the tales of the Gs. The absence
of the I dots in the old Man's writing is
also more characteristic. Watson, I think our quiet rest in
(42:59):
the country has been a distinct success, and I shall
certainly return much invigorated to Baker Street tomorrow. End of
the Reigate Puzzle.
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