February 11, 2025 • 41 mins
Solve crimes with the great detective in "Sherlock Holmes Short Stories." Featuring classic tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, this podcast brings you the brilliant deductions and thrilling adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the world of Holmes, these timeless mysteries will keep you captivated.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The adventure of the Engineer's Thumb. Of all the problems
which have been submitted to my friend mister Sherlock Holmes
for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were
only two which I was the means of introducing to
his notice, that of mister Hatherley's Thumb and that of
Colonel Warburton's Madness. Of these, the latter may have afforded
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a finer view for an acute and original observer, but
the other was so strange in its inception and so
dramatic in its details, that it may be the more
worthy of being placed upon record, even if it gave
my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of reasoning
by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story has,
I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers,
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but like all such narratives, its effect is much less
striking when set forth on block in a single half
column of print, than when the facts slowly evolve before
your own eyes, and the mystery clears gradually away as
each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to
the complete truth. At the time, the circumstances made a
deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years
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has hardly served to weaken the effect. It was in
the summer of eighty nine, not long after my marriage,
that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize.
I had returned to civil practice, and had finally abandoned
homes in his Baker's street rooms, although I continually visited him,
and occasionally even persuaded him to forego his bohemian habits
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so far as to come and visit us. My practice
had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at
no very great distance from Paddington's station, I got a
few patients from among the officials. One of these whom
I had cured of a painful and lingering disease. Was
never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavoring to
send me on every sufferer over whom he might have
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any influence. One morning, at a little before seven o'clock,
I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door
to announce that two men had come from Paddington and
were waiting in the consulting room. I dressed hurriedly, for
I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial
and hastened downstairs. As I descended my old ally, the
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guard came out of the room and closed the door
tightly behind him. I've got him in here, he whispered,
jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He's all right. What
is it? Then? I asked for his manner suggested that
it was some strange creature which he had caged up
in my room. It's a new patient, he whispered. I
thought i'd bring him round myself. Then he couldn't slip
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away there he is all safe and sound. I must
go now, doctor, I have my duties just the same
as you. And off he went, this trusty toute, without
even giving me time to thank him. I entered my
consulting room and found a gentleman seated by the table.
He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed,
with a soft cloth cap which he had laid down
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upon my books. Round one of his hands. He had
a handkerchief wrapped which was mottled all over with blood stains.
He was young, not more than five and twenty, i
should say, with a strong masculine face, but he was
exceedingly pale, and gave me the impression of a man
who was suffering from some strong agitation which it took
all his strength of mind to control. I am sorry
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to knock you up so early, doctor, he said, but
I have had a very serious accident during the night.
I came in by train this morning, and on inquiring
at Paddington as to where I might find a doctor,
a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here. I gave
the maid a card, but I see that she has
left it upon the side table. I took it up
and glanced at it. Mister Victor Heatherley, hydraulic engineer, sixteen
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a Victoria's Street, third floor. That was the name, style
and abode of my morning visitor. I regret that I
have kept you waiting, said I, sitting down in my
library chair. You are fresh from a night journey, I understand,
which is in itself a monotonous occupation. Oh my night
could not be called monotonous, said he, and laughed. He
laughed very heartily, with a high ringing note, leaning back
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in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical
instincts rose up against that laugh. Stop it, I cried,
pull yourself together, and I poured out some water from
a craft. It was useless. However, he was off in
one of those hysterical outbursts which come upon a strong
nature when some great crisis is over and gone. Presently,
he came to himself once more, very weary and pale looking.
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I have been making a fool of myself, he gasped,
Not at all, drink this. I dashed some brandy into
the water, and the color began to come back to
his bloodless cheeks. That's better, said he. And now, doctor,
perhaps you would kindly attend to my thumb, or rather
to the place where my thumb used to be. He
unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave
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even my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it.
There were four protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy
surface where the thumb should have been. It had been
hacked or torn right out from the roots. Good Heavens,
I cried, this is a terrible injury. It must have
bled considerably. Yes it did. I fainted when it was done,
and I think that I must have been senseless for
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a long time. When I came to, I found that
it was still bleeding. So I tied one end of
my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist, and braced it
up with a twig. Excellent. You should have been a surgeon.
It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came
within my own province. This has been done, said I,
examining the wound by a very heavy and sharp instrument,
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a thing like a cleaver, said he, an accident, I
presume by no means what a murderous attack. Very murderous. Indeed,
you horrify me. I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it,
and finally covered it over with cotton wadding and carbalized bandages.
He lay back without wincing, though he bit his lip
from time to time. How is that? I asked? When
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I had finished capital between your brand and your bandage,
I feel a new man. I was very weak, but
I've had a good deal to go through. Perhaps you
had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently
trying to your nerves. Oh no, not now. Now I
shall have to tell my tale to the police, but
between ourselves. If it were not for the convincing evidence
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of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if
they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one,
and I have not much in the way of proof
with which to back it up. And even if they
believe me, the clues which I can give them are
so vague that it is a question whether justice will
be done. Hah, cried I. If it is anything in
the nature of a problem which you desired to see solved,
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I should strongly recommend you come to my friend, mister
Sherlock Holmes before you go to the official police. Oh,
I have heard of that fellow, answered my visitor, and
I should be very glad if he would take the
matter up, though of course I must use the official
police as well. Would you give me an introduction to him?
I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself.
I should be immensely obliged to you. We'll call a
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cab and go together. We shall just be in time
to have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel
equal to it? Yes, I shall not feel easy until
I have told my story. Then my servant will call
a cab and I shall be with you. In an instant,
I rushed upstairs, explain the matter shortly to my wife,
and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with
my new acquaintance to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes was as
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I expected, lounging about his sitting room in his dressing gown,
reading the agony column of the Times, and smoking his
before breakfast pipe, which was composed of all the plugs
and dattles left from his smokes of the day before,
all carefully dried and collected in the corner of the
mantel piece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion,
ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a
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hearty meal. When it was concluded, he settled our new
acquaintance upon the sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head,
and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach.
It is easy to see that your experience has been
no common one, mister Hatherley, said, he pray, lie down
there and make yourself absolutely at home. Tell us what
you can, but stop when you are tired, and keep
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up your strength with a little stimulant. Thank you, said
my patient. But I have felt another man since the
doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has
completed the cure. I shall take up as little of
your valuable time as possible, so I shall start at
once upon my peculiar experiences. Holmes sat in his big
arm chair with the weary, heavy lidded expression which failed
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his keen and eager nature, while I sat opposite to him,
and we listened in silence to the strange story which
our visitor detailed to us. You must know, said he
that I am an orphan and a bachelor, residing alone
in lodgings in London. By profession, I'm a hydraulic engineer,
and I have had considerable experience of my work during
the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner and Matheson,
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the well known firm of Greenwich. Two years ago, having
served my time, and having also come into a fair
sum of money through my poor father's death, I determined
to start in business for myself and took professional chambers
in Victorious Street. I suppose that every one finds his
first independent start in business a dreary experience. To me,
it has been exceptionally so. During two years I've had
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three consultations in one small job, and that is absolutely
all that my profession has brought me. My gross takings
amount to twenty seven pounds ten shillings every day from
nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. I
waited in my little den, until at last my heart
began to sink, and I came to believe that I
should never have any practice at all. Yesterday, however, just
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as I was thinking of leaving the office, my clerk
entered to say, there was a gentleman waiting who wished
to see me upon business. He brought up a card too,
with the name of Colonel Lysander Stark engraved upon it.
Close at his heels came the colonel himself, a man
rather over the middle size, but of an exceeding thinness.
I do not think that I have ever seen so
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thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose
and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn
quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed
to be his natural habit, and due to no disease,
for his eye was bright, his step brisk and bearing,
assured he was plainly but neatly dressed. And his age,
I should judge, would be nearer forty than thirty. Mister Hatherley,
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said he, with something of a German accent. You've been
recommended to me, mister Hatherley as being a man who
is not only proficient in his profession, but is also
discreet and capable of preserving a secret. I bowed, feeling
as flattered as any young man would at such an address.
May ask who it was who gave me so good
a character. Well, perhaps it is better that I should
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not tell you that just at this moment I have
it from the same source that you are both an
orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.
That is quite correct, I answered, But you will excuse
me if I say that I cannot see how all
this bears upon my professional qualifications. I understand that it was
on a professional matter that you wish to speak to me,
undoubtedly so, but you will find that all I say
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is really to the point I have a professional commission
for you. But absolute secrecy is quite essential. Absolute secrecy,
you understand, and of course we may expect that more
from a man who is alone than from one who
lives in the bosom of his family. If I promise
to keep a secret, said I, you may absolutely depend
upon my doing so. He looked very hard at me
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as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I
had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. Do
you promise, then, he said, at last, yes, I promise
absolute and complete silence, before, during, and after no reference
to the matter at all, either in word or writing.
I have already given you my word. Very good. He
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suddenly sprang up and, darting like lightning across the room.
He flung open the door. The passage outside was empty.
That's all right, said he, coming back. I know that
clerks are sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now
we can talk in safety. He drew up his chair
very close to mine and began to stare at me
again with the same questioning and thoughtful look. A feeling
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of repulsion and of something akin to fear had begun
to writes within me at the strange antics of this
fleshless man. Even my dread of losing a client could
not restrain me from showing my impatience. I beg that
you will state your business, sir, said I. My time
is of value. Heaven forgive me for that last sentence,
But the words came to my lips. How would fifty
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guineas for a knight's work suit you? He asked most admirably.
I say a night's work, but an hour's would be
nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion about a
hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If
you show us what is wrong, we shall soon set
it right ourselves. What do you think of such a
commission as that? The work appears to be light and
the pay munificent. Precisely so, we shall want you to
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come to night by the last train where too, to
Ayford in Berkshire. It is a little place near the
borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of reading. There
is a train from Paddington which would bring you there
at about eleven fifteen. Very good. I shall come down
in a carriage to meet you. There is a drive then, Yes,
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our little place is quite out in the country. It
is a good seven miles from Ayford station. Then we
can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there be
no chance of a train back. I should be compelled
to stop the night. Yes, we could easily give you
a shakedown. That is very awkward. Could I not come
at some more convenient hour? We have judged it best
that you should come late. It is to recompense you
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for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a
young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an
opinion from the very heads of your profession. Still, of course,
if you would like to draw out of the business,
there is plenty of time to do so. I thought
of the fifty guineas of how very useful they would
be to me. Not at all said I, I shall
be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes. I
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should like, however, to understand a little more clearly what
it is that you wish me to do. Quite so,
it is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which
we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity.
I have no wish to commit you to anything without
your having it all laid before you. I suppose that
we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers entirely, then the matter stands.
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Thus you are probably aware that Fuller's Earth is a
valuable product, and that it is only found in one
or two places in England. I have heard so. Some
little time ago I bought a small place, a very
small place within ten miles of reading. I was fortunate
enough to discover that there was a deposit of Fuller's
earth in one of my fields. On examining it, however,
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I found that this deposit was a comparatively small one,
and that it formed a link between two very much
larger ones upon the right and left both of them. However,
in the grounds of my neighbors. These good people were
absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite
as valuable as a gold mine. Naturally, it was to
my interest to buy their land before they discovered its
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true value, but unfortunately I had no capital by which
I could do this. I took a few of my
friends into the secret, however, and they suggested that we
should quietly and secretly work our own little deposit, and
then in this way we should earn the money which
would enable us to buy the neighboring fields. This we
have now been doing for some time, and in order
to help us in the operations, we erected a hydraulic press.
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This press, as I've already explained, has got out of order,
and we wish your advice upon the subject. We guard
our secret very jealously, however, and if it once became
known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house,
it would soon rouse inquiry, and then if the facts
came out, it would be good bye to any chance
of getting these fields and carrying out our plans. That
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is why I have made you promise me that you
will not tell a human being that you are going
to Aford tonight. I hope that I make it all plain.
I quite follow you, said I. The only point which
I could not quite understand was what use you could
make of a hydraulic press in excavating full as earth, which,
as I understand, is dug out like gravel from a pit.
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Ah said he carelessly. We have our own process. We
compressed the earth into bricks so as to remove them
without revealing what they are. But that is a mere detail.
I have taken you fully into my confidence now, mister Hatherley,
and I have shown you how I trust you. He
rose as he spoke. I shall expect you then at
aefort at eleven fifteen. I shall certainly be there, and
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not a word to a soul. He looked at me
with the last long, questioning gaze, and then pressing my
hand in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room. Well,
when I came to think it all over, in cool Blood.
I was very much astonished, as you may both think,
at this sudden commission which had been entrusted to me.
On the one hand, of course, I was glad, for
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the fee was at least tenfold what I should have
asked had I set a price upon my own services,
and it was possible that this order might lead to
other ones. On the other hand, the face and manner
of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me,
and I could not think that his explanation of the
Fuller's earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my
coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should
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tell any one of my errand And however, I threw
all fears to the winds ate a hearty supper, drove
to Paddington and started off, Having obeyed to the letter
the injunction as to holding my tongue at reading, I
had to change not only my carriage but my station. However,
I was in time for the last trained ayfort and
I reached the little dim lit station after eleven o'clock.
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I was the only passenger who got out there, and
there was no one upon the platform save a single
sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed out through
the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of the
morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without
a word, he grasped my arm and hurried me into
a carriage, the door of which was standing open. He
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drew up the windows on either side, tapped on the woodwork,
and away we went, as fast as the horse could go.
One horse, interjected Holmes, yes, only one. Did you observe
the color? Yes, I saw it by the side lights
when I was stepping into the carriage. It was a chestnut,
tired looking or fresh? Oh, fresh and glow. Thank you.
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I'm sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most
interesting statement. Away we went, then, and we drove for
at least an hour. Colonel Lysander Stark had said that
it was only seven miles, but I should think from
the rate that we seemed to go, and from the
time that we took that it must have been nearer twelve.
He sat at my side in silence all the time,
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and I was aware more than once when I glanced
at his direction, that he was looking at me with
great intensity. The country road seemed to not be very
good in that part of the world, for we lurched
and jolted terribly. I tried to look out of the
windows to see something of where we were, but they
were made of frosted glass, and I could make out
nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light.
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Now and then I hazarded some remark to break the
monotony of the journey, but the Colonel answered only in monosyllables,
and the conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping
of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of
a gravel drive, and the carriage came to a stand.
Colonel Lysander Stark sprang out, and as I followed after him,
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pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front
of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of
the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed
to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of
the house. The instant that I had crossed the threshold,
the door slammed heavily behind us, and I heard faintly
the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away.
It was pitch dark inside the house, and the Colonel
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fumbled about looking for matches, and muttering under his breath.
Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage,
and a long golden bar of light shot out in
our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with
a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head,
pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could
see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with
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which the light shone upon her dark dress, I knew
that it was a rich material. She spoke a few
words in a foreign tongue, in a tone as though
asking a question, and when my companion answered in a
gruff monosyllable, she gave such a start that the lamp
nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her,
whispered something in her ear, and then pushing her back
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into the room from whence she had come, he walked
towards me again, with the lamp in his hand. Perhaps
you will have the kindness to wait in this room
for a few minutes, said he, throwing open another door.
It was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a
round table in the center, on which several German books
were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the
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top of a harmonium beside the door. I shall not
keep you waiting an instant, said he, and vanished into
the darkness. I glanced at the books upon the table,
and in spite of my ignorance of German, I could
see that the two of them were treatises on science,
the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across
to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse
of the countryside. But an oak shutter, heavily barred, was
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folded across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There
was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage,
but otherwise ever was deadly still. A vague feeling of
uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these German people?
And what were they doing living in this strange out
of the way place? And where was this place? I
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was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all
I knew, but whether north, southeast or west, I had
no idea for that matter. Reading and possibly other large
towns were within that radius, so the place might not
be so secluded after all. Yet it was quite certain
from the absolute stillness that we were in the country.
I paced up and down the room, humming a tune
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under my breath to keep up my spirits, and feeling
that I was thoroughly earning my fifty guinea fee. Suddenly,
without any preliminary sound, in the midst of the utter stillness,
the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman
was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall
behind her, the yellow light for my lamp beating upon
her eager and beautiful face. I could see at a
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glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight
sent a chill to my own heart. She held up
one shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and
she shot a few whispered words of broken English at me,
her eyes glancing back like those of a frightened horse,
into the gloom behind her. I would go, said she,
trying hard as it seemed to me to speak calmly.
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I would go. I should not stay here. There is
no good for you to do. But madam, I said,
I have not yet done what I came for. I
cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine. It
is not worth your while to wait, She went on,
You can pass through the door, no one hinders. And then,
seeing that I smiled and shook my head, she suddenly
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threw aside her constraint and made a step forward with
her hands rung together. For the love of Heaven, she whispered,
get away from here before it is too late. But
I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready
to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle
in the way. I thought of my fifty guinea fee,
of my wearisome jeary ernie, and of the unpleasant night
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which seemed to be before me. Was it all to
go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having
carried out my commission and without the payment which was
my due. This woman might, for all I knew, be
a monomaniac with a stout bearing. Therefore, though her manner
had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I
still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining
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where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties
when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several
footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an
instant threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and
vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come.
The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short, thick
man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases
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of his double chin, who was introduced to me as
mister Ferguson. This is my secretary and manager, said the Colonel.
By the way, I was under the impression that I
left this door shut just now. I feared that you
have felt the draft. On the contrary, said I. I
opened the door myself because I felt the room to
be a little close. He shot one of his suspicious
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looks at me. Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,
said he, mister Ferguson, and I will take you up
to see the machine. I had better put my hat on,
I suppose. Oh, no, it is in the house what
you dig Fuller's earth in the house. No, no, this
is only where we can press it. But never mind that.
All we wish you to do is to examine the
machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.
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We went upstairs together, the Colonel first with the lamp,
the fat manager and I behind him. It was a
labyrinth of an old house with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases,
and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed
out by the generations who had crossed them. There were
no carpets and no sign of any furniture above the
ground floor. While the plaster was peeling off the walls
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and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches.
I tried to put on as an unconcerned air as possible,
But I had not forgotten the warnings of the lake,
even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen
eye upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a
morose and silent man, but I could see from the
little that he had said that he was at least
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a fellow countryman. Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before
a low door, which he unlocked. Within was a small
square room in which the three of us could hardly
get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the Colonel
ushered me in. We are now said he actually within
the hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly unpleasant
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thing for us if any one were to turn it
on the ceiling of this small chamber is really the
end of the descending piston, and it comes down with
the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There
are small lateral columns of water outside which received the force,
and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which
is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but
(25:52):
there is some stiffness in the working of it, and
it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you
will have the goodness to look it over and to
show us how we can set it right. I took
the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly.
It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising
enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and pressed down
the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by
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the wishing sound that there was a slight leakage which
allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders.
An examination showed that one of the indie rubber bands,
which was round the head of a driving rod, had
shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along
which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the
loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions,
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who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical
questions as to how they should proceed to set it right.
When I had made it clear to them, I returned
to the main chamber of the machine and took a
good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It
was obvious at a glance that the story of the
Fuller's Earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be
absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be
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designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood,
but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and
when I came to examine it, I could see a
crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped
and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was,
when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw
the cadaverous face of the Colonel looking down at me.
(27:18):
What are you doing there, he asked. I felt angry
at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as
that which he had told me. I was admiring your
Fuller's Earth, said I. I think that I should be
better able to advise you as to your machine, if
I knew what the exact purpose was for which it
was used. The instant that I uttered the words, I
(27:38):
regretted the rashness of my speech. His face sat hard,
and a baleful light sprang up in his gray eyes.
Very well, said he, you shall know all about the machine.
He took a step backward, slammed the little door, and
turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards it
and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure
and did not given the least to my kicks and shoves. Hullo,
(28:00):
I held, Hullo. Colonel let me out. And then suddenly,
in the silence, I heard a sound which sent my
heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the
levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had
set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon
the floor where I had placed it. When examining the
trough by its light, I saw that the black ceiling
(28:22):
was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily. But as none
knew better than myself, with a force which must within
a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp, I threw
myself screaming against the door, and dragged with my nails
at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out,
but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries.
(28:42):
The ceiling was only foot or two above my head,
and with my hand upraised, I could feel its hard,
rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the
pain of my death would depend very much upon the
position in which I met it. If I lay on
my face, the weight would come upon my spine, and
I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the
(29:03):
other way, perhaps, And yet had I the nerve to
lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering
down upon me, already I was unable to stand erect
when my eye caught something which brought a gush of
hope back to my heart. I have said that though
the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls were
of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around,
(29:24):
I saw a thin line of yellow light between two
of the boards, which broadened and broadened as a small
panel was pushed backward. For an instant I could hardly
believe that here was indeed a door which led away
from death. The next instant, I threw myself through and
lay half fainting upon the other side. The panel had
closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp,
(29:45):
and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two
slabs of metal told me how narrow had been my escape.
I was recalled to myself by frantic plucking at my wrist,
and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of
a narrow corridor, while a woman bent over me and
tugged at me with her left hand, while she held
a candle in her right. It was the same good
friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. Come, come,
(30:08):
she cried breathlessly. They will be here in a moment.
They will see that you are not there. Oh, do
not waste the so precious time, But come this time.
At least I did not scorn her advice. I staggered
to my feet and ran with her along the corridor
and down a winding stair. The latter led to another
broad passage, and just as we reached it, we heard
the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices,
(30:31):
one answering the other from the floor in which we were,
and from the one beneath my guide stopped and looked
about her like one who was at her WIT's end.
Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom,
through the window of which the moon was shining brightly.
It is your only chance, said she. It is high,
but it may be that you can jump it. As
she spoke, a light sprang into view at the further
(30:52):
end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure
of Colonel Lysander Stark, rushing forward, with the lantern in
one hand and a weapon like a butcher's cleaver in
the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the window,
and looked out how quiet and sweet and wholesome the
garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be
more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill,
(31:13):
but I hesitated to jump until I should have heard
what passed between my savior and the ruffian who pursued me.
If she were ill used, then at any risks, I
was determined to go back to her assistance. The thought
had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at
the door, pushing his way past her, But she threw
her arms round him and tried to hold him back Fritz, Fritz,
(31:34):
she cried in English. Remember your promise, after the last
time you said it should not be again. He will
be silent. Oh, he'll be silent. You are mad, Alise,
he shouted, struggling to break away from her. You will
be the ruin of us. He has seen too much.
Let me pass, I say. He dashed her to one side, and,
rushing to the window, cut at me with his heavy weapon.
(31:54):
I had let myself go and was hanging by the
hands to the sill when his blow fell. I was
conscious of a dull pain. My grip loosened, and I
fell into the garden below. I was shaken, but not
hurt by the fall, so I picked myself up and
rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run,
for I understood that I was far from being out
of danger. Yet suddenly, however, as I ran, a deadly
(32:17):
dizziness and sickness came over me. I glanced down at
my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and then for the
first time saw that my thumb had been cut off,
and that the blood was pouring from my wound. I
endeavored to tie my handkerchief round it, but there came
a sudden buzzing in my ears, and next moment I
fell into a dead faint among the rose bushes. How
(32:40):
long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have
been a very long time, for the moon had sunk
and a bright morning was breaking. When I came to myself,
my clothes were all sodden with dew, and my coat
sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb. The
smarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars
of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet
with the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe
(33:01):
from my pursuers. But to my astonishment, when I came
to look round me, neither house nor garden were to
be seen. I had been lying in an angle of
the hedge, close by the high road, and just a
little lower down was a long building, which proved, upon
my approaching it, to be the very station at which
I had arrived upon the previous night. Were it not
for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had
(33:23):
passed during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.
Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about
the morning train. There'd be one to reading in less
than an hour. The same porter was on duty. I
found as had been there when I arrived. I inquired
of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel Lysander's Stark.
The name was strange to him. Had he observed a
(33:45):
carriage the night before waiting for me? No? He had not.
Was there a police station anywhere near? There was one
about three miles off. It was too far for me
to go. Weak and ill as I was, I determined
to wait until I got back to town before telling
my storyry to the police. It was a little past
six when I arrived, so I went first to have
my wound a dressed, and then the doctor was kind
(34:06):
enough to bring me along here. I put the case
into your hands, and shall do exactly what you advise.
We both sat in silence for some little time after
listening to this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down
from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in
which he placed his cuttings. Here is an advertisement which
will interest you, said he. It appeared in all the
(34:28):
papers about a year ago. Listen to this lost on
the ninth mister Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty six, a hydraulic engineer,
left his lodgings at ten o'clock at night and has
not been heard of since. Was dressed in et cetera,
et cetera. Ha, that represents the last time that the
colonel needed to have his machine overhauled. I fancy good, heavens,
(34:49):
cried my patient. Then that explains what the girl said.
Undoubtedly it is quite clear that the colonel was a
cool and desperate man who has absolutely determined that nothing
should stand in the way of his little game, like
those out and out pirates who will leave no survivor
from a captured ship. Well, every moment now is precious,
so if you feel equal to it, we shall go
down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to
(35:11):
starting for Ayford. Some three hours or so afterwards, we
were all in the train together, bound from Reading to
the little Berkshire village. There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer,
Inspector Brad Street of Scotland Yard, a plain's clothesman, and myself.
Brad Street had spread an ordnance map of the county
out upon the seat and was busy with this compass
drawing a circle with Ayford for its center. There you are,
(35:34):
said he. That circle is drawn at a radius of
ten miles from the village. The place we want must
be somewhere near that line. You said, ten miles. I think, sir,
it was an hour's good drive. And you think that
they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious.
They must have done so. I have a confused memory too,
of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere. What I cannot understand,
(35:56):
said I, is why they should have spared you when
they found you lying fainting in the garden. Perhaps the
villain was softened by the woman's entreaties. I hardly think
that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in
my life. Oh we shall soon clear up all that,
said Bradstreet. Well, I have drawn my circle, and I
only wish I knew at what point upon it the
folk that we are in search of are to be found.
(36:19):
I think I could lay my finger on it, said
Holmes quietly. Really, now, cried the inspector. You've formed your opinion.
Come now we shall see who agrees with you. I
say it is south, for the country is more deserted
there and I say east, said my patient. I am
for west, remarked the plains clothesman. There are several quiet
little villages up there, and I am for north, said I,
(36:39):
because there are no hills there. And our friend says they.
He did not notice the carriage go up any come,
cried the inspector, laughing. It's a very pretty diversity of opinion.
We have boxed the compass among us, who do you
give your casting vote to? You are all wrong, but
we can't all be Oh, yes you can. This is
my He placed his finger in the center of the circle.
(37:03):
This is where we shall find them. But the twelve
mile drive, gasp, Patherley, six out and six back. Nothing simpler.
You say yourself that the horse was fresh and glossy
when you get in. How could it be that if
it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads. Indeed, it
is a likely ruse, enough, observed Bradstreet thoughtfully. Of course,
there can be no doubt as to the nature of
(37:25):
this gang, none at all, said Holmes. They are coiners
on a large scale, and have used the machine to
form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.
We have known for some time that a clever gang
was at work, said the inspector. They've been turning out
half crowns by the thousand. We even traced them as
far as Redding, but could get no farther, for they'd
covered their traces in a way that showed that they
(37:46):
were very old hands. But now, thanks to this lucky chance,
I think that we have got them right enough. But
the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined
to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled
into Ayford's State, we saw a gigantic column of smoke
which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees
in the neighborhood and hung like an immense Ostrich feather
(38:08):
over the landscape. A house on fire, asked brad Street,
as the train steamed off again on its way. Yes, sir,
said the station master. When did it break out? I
hear that it was during the night, sir, but has
got worse, and the whole place is in a blaze.
Whose house is it? Doctor Becker's? Tell me broke in
the engineer? Is doctor Becker? A German, very thin with
(38:28):
a long, sharp nose. The station master laughed heartily, No, sir,
doctor Becker is an Englishman, and there isn't a man
in the parish who has a better lined waistcoat. But
he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as
I understand, who is a foreigner. And he looks as
if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm.
The station master had not finished his speech before we
(38:49):
were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The
road topped a low hill, and there was a great, widespread,
whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every
chink and window, while in the garden in front three
fire engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under
That's it, cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. There is the
gravel drive, and there are the rose bushes where I lay.
(39:10):
That second window was the one that I jumped from. Well,
at least, said Holmes, you have had your revenge upon them.
There could be no question that it was your oil lamp, which,
when it was crushed in the press, set fire to
the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited
in the chase after you to observe it at the time.
Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for your
friends of last night, though I very much fear that
(39:31):
they are a good hundred miles off by now, and
Holmes's fears came to be realized, for from that day
to this no word has ever been heard either of
the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman.
Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing
several people and some very bulky boxes, driving rapidly in
the direction of Reading. But there all traces of the
(39:54):
fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes's ingenuity failed ever to discover
the least clue as to their whereabo. The firemen had
been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had
found within, and still more so by discovering a newly
severed human thumb upon a window sill of the second floor.
About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and
(40:15):
they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had
fallen in, and the whole place had been reduced to
such an absolute ruin that, save some twisted cylinders and
iron piping, not a trace remained of the machinery which
had cost our unfortunate acquaintance. So dearly, large masses of
nickel out of tin were discovered stored in an outhouse,
but no coins were to be found, which may have
(40:36):
explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been
already referred to. How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed
from the garden to the spot where he recovered his
senses might have remained forever a mystery, were it not
for the soft mold, which told us a very plain tale.
He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one
of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually
(40:59):
large ones. On the whole it was most probable that
the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than
his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious
man out of the way of danger. Well, said our
engineer ruefully, as we took our seats to return once
more to London. It has been a pretty business for me.
I have lost my thumb and I have lost a
(41:19):
fifty guinea fee, and what have I gained? Experience, said Holmes,
laughing indirectly. It may be of value, you know, you
have only to put it into words to gain the
reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.
The adventure of the Engineer's Thumb. Of all the problems
which have been submitted to my friend mister Sherlock Holmes
for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were
only two which I was the means of introducing to
his notice, that of mister Hatherley's Thumb and that of
Colonel Warburton's Madness. Of these, the latter may have afforded
(00:22):
a finer view for an acute and original observer, but
the other was so strange in its inception and so
dramatic in its details, that it may be the more
worthy of being placed upon record, even if it gave
my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of reasoning
by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story has,
I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers,
(00:44):
but like all such narratives, its effect is much less
striking when set forth on block in a single half
column of print, than when the facts slowly evolve before
your own eyes, and the mystery clears gradually away as
each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to
the complete truth. At the time, the circumstances made a
deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years
(01:07):
has hardly served to weaken the effect. It was in
the summer of eighty nine, not long after my marriage,
that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize.
I had returned to civil practice, and had finally abandoned
homes in his Baker's street rooms, although I continually visited him,
and occasionally even persuaded him to forego his bohemian habits
(01:28):
so far as to come and visit us. My practice
had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at
no very great distance from Paddington's station, I got a
few patients from among the officials. One of these whom
I had cured of a painful and lingering disease. Was
never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavoring to
send me on every sufferer over whom he might have
(01:49):
any influence. One morning, at a little before seven o'clock,
I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door
to announce that two men had come from Paddington and
were waiting in the consulting room. I dressed hurriedly, for
I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial
and hastened downstairs. As I descended my old ally, the
(02:10):
guard came out of the room and closed the door
tightly behind him. I've got him in here, he whispered,
jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He's all right. What
is it? Then? I asked for his manner suggested that
it was some strange creature which he had caged up
in my room. It's a new patient, he whispered. I
thought i'd bring him round myself. Then he couldn't slip
(02:30):
away there he is all safe and sound. I must
go now, doctor, I have my duties just the same
as you. And off he went, this trusty toute, without
even giving me time to thank him. I entered my
consulting room and found a gentleman seated by the table.
He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed,
with a soft cloth cap which he had laid down
(02:51):
upon my books. Round one of his hands. He had
a handkerchief wrapped which was mottled all over with blood stains.
He was young, not more than five and twenty, i
should say, with a strong masculine face, but he was
exceedingly pale, and gave me the impression of a man
who was suffering from some strong agitation which it took
all his strength of mind to control. I am sorry
(03:12):
to knock you up so early, doctor, he said, but
I have had a very serious accident during the night.
I came in by train this morning, and on inquiring
at Paddington as to where I might find a doctor,
a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here. I gave
the maid a card, but I see that she has
left it upon the side table. I took it up
and glanced at it. Mister Victor Heatherley, hydraulic engineer, sixteen
(03:34):
a Victoria's Street, third floor. That was the name, style
and abode of my morning visitor. I regret that I
have kept you waiting, said I, sitting down in my
library chair. You are fresh from a night journey, I understand,
which is in itself a monotonous occupation. Oh my night
could not be called monotonous, said he, and laughed. He
laughed very heartily, with a high ringing note, leaning back
(03:58):
in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical
instincts rose up against that laugh. Stop it, I cried,
pull yourself together, and I poured out some water from
a craft. It was useless. However, he was off in
one of those hysterical outbursts which come upon a strong
nature when some great crisis is over and gone. Presently,
he came to himself once more, very weary and pale looking.
(04:20):
I have been making a fool of myself, he gasped,
Not at all, drink this. I dashed some brandy into
the water, and the color began to come back to
his bloodless cheeks. That's better, said he. And now, doctor,
perhaps you would kindly attend to my thumb, or rather
to the place where my thumb used to be. He
unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave
(04:41):
even my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it.
There were four protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy
surface where the thumb should have been. It had been
hacked or torn right out from the roots. Good Heavens,
I cried, this is a terrible injury. It must have
bled considerably. Yes it did. I fainted when it was done,
and I think that I must have been senseless for
(05:03):
a long time. When I came to, I found that
it was still bleeding. So I tied one end of
my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist, and braced it
up with a twig. Excellent. You should have been a surgeon.
It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came
within my own province. This has been done, said I,
examining the wound by a very heavy and sharp instrument,
(05:23):
a thing like a cleaver, said he, an accident, I
presume by no means what a murderous attack. Very murderous. Indeed,
you horrify me. I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it,
and finally covered it over with cotton wadding and carbalized bandages.
He lay back without wincing, though he bit his lip
from time to time. How is that? I asked? When
(05:46):
I had finished capital between your brand and your bandage,
I feel a new man. I was very weak, but
I've had a good deal to go through. Perhaps you
had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently
trying to your nerves. Oh no, not now. Now I
shall have to tell my tale to the police, but
between ourselves. If it were not for the convincing evidence
(06:06):
of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if
they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one,
and I have not much in the way of proof
with which to back it up. And even if they
believe me, the clues which I can give them are
so vague that it is a question whether justice will
be done. Hah, cried I. If it is anything in
the nature of a problem which you desired to see solved,
(06:27):
I should strongly recommend you come to my friend, mister
Sherlock Holmes before you go to the official police. Oh,
I have heard of that fellow, answered my visitor, and
I should be very glad if he would take the
matter up, though of course I must use the official
police as well. Would you give me an introduction to him?
I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself.
I should be immensely obliged to you. We'll call a
(06:49):
cab and go together. We shall just be in time
to have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel
equal to it? Yes, I shall not feel easy until
I have told my story. Then my servant will call
a cab and I shall be with you. In an instant,
I rushed upstairs, explain the matter shortly to my wife,
and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with
my new acquaintance to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes was as
(07:12):
I expected, lounging about his sitting room in his dressing gown,
reading the agony column of the Times, and smoking his
before breakfast pipe, which was composed of all the plugs
and dattles left from his smokes of the day before,
all carefully dried and collected in the corner of the
mantel piece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion,
ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a
(07:34):
hearty meal. When it was concluded, he settled our new
acquaintance upon the sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head,
and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach.
It is easy to see that your experience has been
no common one, mister Hatherley, said, he pray, lie down
there and make yourself absolutely at home. Tell us what
you can, but stop when you are tired, and keep
(07:56):
up your strength with a little stimulant. Thank you, said
my patient. But I have felt another man since the
doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has
completed the cure. I shall take up as little of
your valuable time as possible, so I shall start at
once upon my peculiar experiences. Holmes sat in his big
arm chair with the weary, heavy lidded expression which failed
(08:17):
his keen and eager nature, while I sat opposite to him,
and we listened in silence to the strange story which
our visitor detailed to us. You must know, said he
that I am an orphan and a bachelor, residing alone
in lodgings in London. By profession, I'm a hydraulic engineer,
and I have had considerable experience of my work during
the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner and Matheson,
(08:39):
the well known firm of Greenwich. Two years ago, having
served my time, and having also come into a fair
sum of money through my poor father's death, I determined
to start in business for myself and took professional chambers
in Victorious Street. I suppose that every one finds his
first independent start in business a dreary experience. To me,
it has been exceptionally so. During two years I've had
(09:01):
three consultations in one small job, and that is absolutely
all that my profession has brought me. My gross takings
amount to twenty seven pounds ten shillings every day from
nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. I
waited in my little den, until at last my heart
began to sink, and I came to believe that I
should never have any practice at all. Yesterday, however, just
(09:23):
as I was thinking of leaving the office, my clerk
entered to say, there was a gentleman waiting who wished
to see me upon business. He brought up a card too,
with the name of Colonel Lysander Stark engraved upon it.
Close at his heels came the colonel himself, a man
rather over the middle size, but of an exceeding thinness.
I do not think that I have ever seen so
(09:44):
thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose
and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn
quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed
to be his natural habit, and due to no disease,
for his eye was bright, his step brisk and bearing,
assured he was plainly but neatly dressed. And his age,
I should judge, would be nearer forty than thirty. Mister Hatherley,
(10:08):
said he, with something of a German accent. You've been
recommended to me, mister Hatherley as being a man who
is not only proficient in his profession, but is also
discreet and capable of preserving a secret. I bowed, feeling
as flattered as any young man would at such an address.
May ask who it was who gave me so good
a character. Well, perhaps it is better that I should
(10:29):
not tell you that just at this moment I have
it from the same source that you are both an
orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.
That is quite correct, I answered, But you will excuse
me if I say that I cannot see how all
this bears upon my professional qualifications. I understand that it was
on a professional matter that you wish to speak to me,
undoubtedly so, but you will find that all I say
(10:52):
is really to the point I have a professional commission
for you. But absolute secrecy is quite essential. Absolute secrecy,
you understand, and of course we may expect that more
from a man who is alone than from one who
lives in the bosom of his family. If I promise
to keep a secret, said I, you may absolutely depend
upon my doing so. He looked very hard at me
(11:13):
as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I
had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. Do
you promise, then, he said, at last, yes, I promise
absolute and complete silence, before, during, and after no reference
to the matter at all, either in word or writing.
I have already given you my word. Very good. He
(11:35):
suddenly sprang up and, darting like lightning across the room.
He flung open the door. The passage outside was empty.
That's all right, said he, coming back. I know that
clerks are sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now
we can talk in safety. He drew up his chair
very close to mine and began to stare at me
again with the same questioning and thoughtful look. A feeling
(11:57):
of repulsion and of something akin to fear had begun
to writes within me at the strange antics of this
fleshless man. Even my dread of losing a client could
not restrain me from showing my impatience. I beg that
you will state your business, sir, said I. My time
is of value. Heaven forgive me for that last sentence,
But the words came to my lips. How would fifty
(12:18):
guineas for a knight's work suit you? He asked most admirably.
I say a night's work, but an hour's would be
nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion about a
hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If
you show us what is wrong, we shall soon set
it right ourselves. What do you think of such a
commission as that? The work appears to be light and
the pay munificent. Precisely so, we shall want you to
(12:40):
come to night by the last train where too, to
Ayford in Berkshire. It is a little place near the
borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of reading. There
is a train from Paddington which would bring you there
at about eleven fifteen. Very good. I shall come down
in a carriage to meet you. There is a drive then, Yes,
(13:00):
our little place is quite out in the country. It
is a good seven miles from Ayford station. Then we
can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there be
no chance of a train back. I should be compelled
to stop the night. Yes, we could easily give you
a shakedown. That is very awkward. Could I not come
at some more convenient hour? We have judged it best
that you should come late. It is to recompense you
(13:22):
for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a
young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an
opinion from the very heads of your profession. Still, of course,
if you would like to draw out of the business,
there is plenty of time to do so. I thought
of the fifty guineas of how very useful they would
be to me. Not at all said I, I shall
be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes. I
(13:44):
should like, however, to understand a little more clearly what
it is that you wish me to do. Quite so,
it is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which
we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity.
I have no wish to commit you to anything without
your having it all laid before you. I suppose that
we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers entirely, then the matter stands.
(14:05):
Thus you are probably aware that Fuller's Earth is a
valuable product, and that it is only found in one
or two places in England. I have heard so. Some
little time ago I bought a small place, a very
small place within ten miles of reading. I was fortunate
enough to discover that there was a deposit of Fuller's
earth in one of my fields. On examining it, however,
(14:27):
I found that this deposit was a comparatively small one,
and that it formed a link between two very much
larger ones upon the right and left both of them. However,
in the grounds of my neighbors. These good people were
absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite
as valuable as a gold mine. Naturally, it was to
my interest to buy their land before they discovered its
(14:47):
true value, but unfortunately I had no capital by which
I could do this. I took a few of my
friends into the secret, however, and they suggested that we
should quietly and secretly work our own little deposit, and
then in this way we should earn the money which
would enable us to buy the neighboring fields. This we
have now been doing for some time, and in order
to help us in the operations, we erected a hydraulic press.
(15:11):
This press, as I've already explained, has got out of order,
and we wish your advice upon the subject. We guard
our secret very jealously, however, and if it once became
known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house,
it would soon rouse inquiry, and then if the facts
came out, it would be good bye to any chance
of getting these fields and carrying out our plans. That
(15:32):
is why I have made you promise me that you
will not tell a human being that you are going
to Aford tonight. I hope that I make it all plain.
I quite follow you, said I. The only point which
I could not quite understand was what use you could
make of a hydraulic press in excavating full as earth, which,
as I understand, is dug out like gravel from a pit.
(15:52):
Ah said he carelessly. We have our own process. We
compressed the earth into bricks so as to remove them
without revealing what they are. But that is a mere detail.
I have taken you fully into my confidence now, mister Hatherley,
and I have shown you how I trust you. He
rose as he spoke. I shall expect you then at
aefort at eleven fifteen. I shall certainly be there, and
(16:15):
not a word to a soul. He looked at me
with the last long, questioning gaze, and then pressing my
hand in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room. Well,
when I came to think it all over, in cool Blood.
I was very much astonished, as you may both think,
at this sudden commission which had been entrusted to me.
On the one hand, of course, I was glad, for
(16:36):
the fee was at least tenfold what I should have
asked had I set a price upon my own services,
and it was possible that this order might lead to
other ones. On the other hand, the face and manner
of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me,
and I could not think that his explanation of the
Fuller's earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my
coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should
(16:58):
tell any one of my errand And however, I threw
all fears to the winds ate a hearty supper, drove
to Paddington and started off, Having obeyed to the letter
the injunction as to holding my tongue at reading, I
had to change not only my carriage but my station. However,
I was in time for the last trained ayfort and
I reached the little dim lit station after eleven o'clock.
(17:21):
I was the only passenger who got out there, and
there was no one upon the platform save a single
sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed out through
the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of the
morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without
a word, he grasped my arm and hurried me into
a carriage, the door of which was standing open. He
(17:41):
drew up the windows on either side, tapped on the woodwork,
and away we went, as fast as the horse could go.
One horse, interjected Holmes, yes, only one. Did you observe
the color? Yes, I saw it by the side lights
when I was stepping into the carriage. It was a chestnut,
tired looking or fresh? Oh, fresh and glow. Thank you.
(18:01):
I'm sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most
interesting statement. Away we went, then, and we drove for
at least an hour. Colonel Lysander Stark had said that
it was only seven miles, but I should think from
the rate that we seemed to go, and from the
time that we took that it must have been nearer twelve.
He sat at my side in silence all the time,
(18:21):
and I was aware more than once when I glanced
at his direction, that he was looking at me with
great intensity. The country road seemed to not be very
good in that part of the world, for we lurched
and jolted terribly. I tried to look out of the
windows to see something of where we were, but they
were made of frosted glass, and I could make out
nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light.
(18:43):
Now and then I hazarded some remark to break the
monotony of the journey, but the Colonel answered only in monosyllables,
and the conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping
of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of
a gravel drive, and the carriage came to a stand.
Colonel Lysander Stark sprang out, and as I followed after him,
(19:03):
pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front
of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of
the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed
to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of
the house. The instant that I had crossed the threshold,
the door slammed heavily behind us, and I heard faintly
the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away.
It was pitch dark inside the house, and the Colonel
(19:26):
fumbled about looking for matches, and muttering under his breath.
Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage,
and a long golden bar of light shot out in
our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with
a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head,
pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could
see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with
(19:47):
which the light shone upon her dark dress, I knew
that it was a rich material. She spoke a few
words in a foreign tongue, in a tone as though
asking a question, and when my companion answered in a
gruff monosyllable, she gave such a start that the lamp
nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her,
whispered something in her ear, and then pushing her back
(20:08):
into the room from whence she had come, he walked
towards me again, with the lamp in his hand. Perhaps
you will have the kindness to wait in this room
for a few minutes, said he, throwing open another door.
It was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a
round table in the center, on which several German books
were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the
(20:28):
top of a harmonium beside the door. I shall not
keep you waiting an instant, said he, and vanished into
the darkness. I glanced at the books upon the table,
and in spite of my ignorance of German, I could
see that the two of them were treatises on science,
the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across
to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse
of the countryside. But an oak shutter, heavily barred, was
(20:51):
folded across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There
was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage,
but otherwise ever was deadly still. A vague feeling of
uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these German people?
And what were they doing living in this strange out
of the way place? And where was this place? I
(21:12):
was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all
I knew, but whether north, southeast or west, I had
no idea for that matter. Reading and possibly other large
towns were within that radius, so the place might not
be so secluded after all. Yet it was quite certain
from the absolute stillness that we were in the country.
I paced up and down the room, humming a tune
(21:33):
under my breath to keep up my spirits, and feeling
that I was thoroughly earning my fifty guinea fee. Suddenly,
without any preliminary sound, in the midst of the utter stillness,
the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman
was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall
behind her, the yellow light for my lamp beating upon
her eager and beautiful face. I could see at a
(21:56):
glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight
sent a chill to my own heart. She held up
one shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and
she shot a few whispered words of broken English at me,
her eyes glancing back like those of a frightened horse,
into the gloom behind her. I would go, said she,
trying hard as it seemed to me to speak calmly.
(22:17):
I would go. I should not stay here. There is
no good for you to do. But madam, I said,
I have not yet done what I came for. I
cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine. It
is not worth your while to wait, She went on,
You can pass through the door, no one hinders. And then,
seeing that I smiled and shook my head, she suddenly
(22:39):
threw aside her constraint and made a step forward with
her hands rung together. For the love of Heaven, she whispered,
get away from here before it is too late. But
I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready
to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle
in the way. I thought of my fifty guinea fee,
of my wearisome jeary ernie, and of the unpleasant night
(23:01):
which seemed to be before me. Was it all to
go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having
carried out my commission and without the payment which was
my due. This woman might, for all I knew, be
a monomaniac with a stout bearing. Therefore, though her manner
had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I
still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining
(23:22):
where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties
when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several
footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an
instant threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and
vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come.
The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short, thick
man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases
(23:45):
of his double chin, who was introduced to me as
mister Ferguson. This is my secretary and manager, said the Colonel.
By the way, I was under the impression that I
left this door shut just now. I feared that you
have felt the draft. On the contrary, said I. I
opened the door myself because I felt the room to
be a little close. He shot one of his suspicious
(24:05):
looks at me. Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,
said he, mister Ferguson, and I will take you up
to see the machine. I had better put my hat on,
I suppose. Oh, no, it is in the house what
you dig Fuller's earth in the house. No, no, this
is only where we can press it. But never mind that.
All we wish you to do is to examine the
machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.
(24:27):
We went upstairs together, the Colonel first with the lamp,
the fat manager and I behind him. It was a
labyrinth of an old house with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases,
and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed
out by the generations who had crossed them. There were
no carpets and no sign of any furniture above the
ground floor. While the plaster was peeling off the walls
(24:50):
and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches.
I tried to put on as an unconcerned air as possible,
But I had not forgotten the warnings of the lake,
even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen
eye upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a
morose and silent man, but I could see from the
little that he had said that he was at least
(25:11):
a fellow countryman. Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before
a low door, which he unlocked. Within was a small
square room in which the three of us could hardly
get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the Colonel
ushered me in. We are now said he actually within
the hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly unpleasant
(25:31):
thing for us if any one were to turn it
on the ceiling of this small chamber is really the
end of the descending piston, and it comes down with
the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There
are small lateral columns of water outside which received the force,
and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which
is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but
(25:52):
there is some stiffness in the working of it, and
it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you
will have the goodness to look it over and to
show us how we can set it right. I took
the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly.
It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising
enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and pressed down
the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by
(26:14):
the wishing sound that there was a slight leakage which
allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders.
An examination showed that one of the indie rubber bands,
which was round the head of a driving rod, had
shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along
which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the
loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions,
(26:34):
who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical
questions as to how they should proceed to set it right.
When I had made it clear to them, I returned
to the main chamber of the machine and took a
good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It
was obvious at a glance that the story of the
Fuller's Earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be
absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be
(26:57):
designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood,
but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and
when I came to examine it, I could see a
crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped
and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was,
when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw
the cadaverous face of the Colonel looking down at me.
(27:18):
What are you doing there, he asked. I felt angry
at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as
that which he had told me. I was admiring your
Fuller's Earth, said I. I think that I should be
better able to advise you as to your machine, if
I knew what the exact purpose was for which it
was used. The instant that I uttered the words, I
(27:38):
regretted the rashness of my speech. His face sat hard,
and a baleful light sprang up in his gray eyes.
Very well, said he, you shall know all about the machine.
He took a step backward, slammed the little door, and
turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards it
and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure
and did not given the least to my kicks and shoves. Hullo,
(28:00):
I held, Hullo. Colonel let me out. And then suddenly,
in the silence, I heard a sound which sent my
heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the
levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had
set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon
the floor where I had placed it. When examining the
trough by its light, I saw that the black ceiling
(28:22):
was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily. But as none
knew better than myself, with a force which must within
a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp, I threw
myself screaming against the door, and dragged with my nails
at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out,
but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries.
(28:42):
The ceiling was only foot or two above my head,
and with my hand upraised, I could feel its hard,
rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the
pain of my death would depend very much upon the
position in which I met it. If I lay on
my face, the weight would come upon my spine, and
I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the
(29:03):
other way, perhaps, And yet had I the nerve to
lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering
down upon me, already I was unable to stand erect
when my eye caught something which brought a gush of
hope back to my heart. I have said that though
the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls were
of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around,
(29:24):
I saw a thin line of yellow light between two
of the boards, which broadened and broadened as a small
panel was pushed backward. For an instant I could hardly
believe that here was indeed a door which led away
from death. The next instant, I threw myself through and
lay half fainting upon the other side. The panel had
closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp,
(29:45):
and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two
slabs of metal told me how narrow had been my escape.
I was recalled to myself by frantic plucking at my wrist,
and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of
a narrow corridor, while a woman bent over me and
tugged at me with her left hand, while she held
a candle in her right. It was the same good
friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. Come, come,
(30:08):
she cried breathlessly. They will be here in a moment.
They will see that you are not there. Oh, do
not waste the so precious time, But come this time.
At least I did not scorn her advice. I staggered
to my feet and ran with her along the corridor
and down a winding stair. The latter led to another
broad passage, and just as we reached it, we heard
the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices,
(30:31):
one answering the other from the floor in which we were,
and from the one beneath my guide stopped and looked
about her like one who was at her WIT's end.
Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom,
through the window of which the moon was shining brightly.
It is your only chance, said she. It is high,
but it may be that you can jump it. As
she spoke, a light sprang into view at the further
(30:52):
end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure
of Colonel Lysander Stark, rushing forward, with the lantern in
one hand and a weapon like a butcher's cleaver in
the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the window,
and looked out how quiet and sweet and wholesome the
garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be
more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill,
(31:13):
but I hesitated to jump until I should have heard
what passed between my savior and the ruffian who pursued me.
If she were ill used, then at any risks, I
was determined to go back to her assistance. The thought
had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at
the door, pushing his way past her, But she threw
her arms round him and tried to hold him back Fritz, Fritz,
(31:34):
she cried in English. Remember your promise, after the last
time you said it should not be again. He will
be silent. Oh, he'll be silent. You are mad, Alise,
he shouted, struggling to break away from her. You will
be the ruin of us. He has seen too much.
Let me pass, I say. He dashed her to one side, and,
rushing to the window, cut at me with his heavy weapon.
(31:54):
I had let myself go and was hanging by the
hands to the sill when his blow fell. I was
conscious of a dull pain. My grip loosened, and I
fell into the garden below. I was shaken, but not
hurt by the fall, so I picked myself up and
rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run,
for I understood that I was far from being out
of danger. Yet suddenly, however, as I ran, a deadly
(32:17):
dizziness and sickness came over me. I glanced down at
my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and then for the
first time saw that my thumb had been cut off,
and that the blood was pouring from my wound. I
endeavored to tie my handkerchief round it, but there came
a sudden buzzing in my ears, and next moment I
fell into a dead faint among the rose bushes. How
(32:40):
long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have
been a very long time, for the moon had sunk
and a bright morning was breaking. When I came to myself,
my clothes were all sodden with dew, and my coat
sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb. The
smarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars
of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet
with the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe
(33:01):
from my pursuers. But to my astonishment, when I came
to look round me, neither house nor garden were to
be seen. I had been lying in an angle of
the hedge, close by the high road, and just a
little lower down was a long building, which proved, upon
my approaching it, to be the very station at which
I had arrived upon the previous night. Were it not
for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had
(33:23):
passed during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.
Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about
the morning train. There'd be one to reading in less
than an hour. The same porter was on duty. I
found as had been there when I arrived. I inquired
of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel Lysander's Stark.
The name was strange to him. Had he observed a
(33:45):
carriage the night before waiting for me? No? He had not.
Was there a police station anywhere near? There was one
about three miles off. It was too far for me
to go. Weak and ill as I was, I determined
to wait until I got back to town before telling
my storyry to the police. It was a little past
six when I arrived, so I went first to have
my wound a dressed, and then the doctor was kind
(34:06):
enough to bring me along here. I put the case
into your hands, and shall do exactly what you advise.
We both sat in silence for some little time after
listening to this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down
from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in
which he placed his cuttings. Here is an advertisement which
will interest you, said he. It appeared in all the
(34:28):
papers about a year ago. Listen to this lost on
the ninth mister Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty six, a hydraulic engineer,
left his lodgings at ten o'clock at night and has
not been heard of since. Was dressed in et cetera,
et cetera. Ha, that represents the last time that the
colonel needed to have his machine overhauled. I fancy good, heavens,
(34:49):
cried my patient. Then that explains what the girl said.
Undoubtedly it is quite clear that the colonel was a
cool and desperate man who has absolutely determined that nothing
should stand in the way of his little game, like
those out and out pirates who will leave no survivor
from a captured ship. Well, every moment now is precious,
so if you feel equal to it, we shall go
down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to
(35:11):
starting for Ayford. Some three hours or so afterwards, we
were all in the train together, bound from Reading to
the little Berkshire village. There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer,
Inspector Brad Street of Scotland Yard, a plain's clothesman, and myself.
Brad Street had spread an ordnance map of the county
out upon the seat and was busy with this compass
drawing a circle with Ayford for its center. There you are,
(35:34):
said he. That circle is drawn at a radius of
ten miles from the village. The place we want must
be somewhere near that line. You said, ten miles. I think, sir,
it was an hour's good drive. And you think that
they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious.
They must have done so. I have a confused memory too,
of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere. What I cannot understand,
(35:56):
said I, is why they should have spared you when
they found you lying fainting in the garden. Perhaps the
villain was softened by the woman's entreaties. I hardly think
that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in
my life. Oh we shall soon clear up all that,
said Bradstreet. Well, I have drawn my circle, and I
only wish I knew at what point upon it the
folk that we are in search of are to be found.
(36:19):
I think I could lay my finger on it, said
Holmes quietly. Really, now, cried the inspector. You've formed your opinion.
Come now we shall see who agrees with you. I
say it is south, for the country is more deserted
there and I say east, said my patient. I am
for west, remarked the plains clothesman. There are several quiet
little villages up there, and I am for north, said I,
(36:39):
because there are no hills there. And our friend says they.
He did not notice the carriage go up any come,
cried the inspector, laughing. It's a very pretty diversity of opinion.
We have boxed the compass among us, who do you
give your casting vote to? You are all wrong, but
we can't all be Oh, yes you can. This is
my He placed his finger in the center of the circle.
(37:03):
This is where we shall find them. But the twelve
mile drive, gasp, Patherley, six out and six back. Nothing simpler.
You say yourself that the horse was fresh and glossy
when you get in. How could it be that if
it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads. Indeed, it
is a likely ruse, enough, observed Bradstreet thoughtfully. Of course,
there can be no doubt as to the nature of
(37:25):
this gang, none at all, said Holmes. They are coiners
on a large scale, and have used the machine to
form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.
We have known for some time that a clever gang
was at work, said the inspector. They've been turning out
half crowns by the thousand. We even traced them as
far as Redding, but could get no farther, for they'd
covered their traces in a way that showed that they
(37:46):
were very old hands. But now, thanks to this lucky chance,
I think that we have got them right enough. But
the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined
to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled
into Ayford's State, we saw a gigantic column of smoke
which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees
in the neighborhood and hung like an immense Ostrich feather
(38:08):
over the landscape. A house on fire, asked brad Street,
as the train steamed off again on its way. Yes, sir,
said the station master. When did it break out? I
hear that it was during the night, sir, but has
got worse, and the whole place is in a blaze.
Whose house is it? Doctor Becker's? Tell me broke in
the engineer? Is doctor Becker? A German, very thin with
(38:28):
a long, sharp nose. The station master laughed heartily, No, sir,
doctor Becker is an Englishman, and there isn't a man
in the parish who has a better lined waistcoat. But
he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as
I understand, who is a foreigner. And he looks as
if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm.
The station master had not finished his speech before we
(38:49):
were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The
road topped a low hill, and there was a great, widespread,
whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every
chink and window, while in the garden in front three
fire engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under
That's it, cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. There is the
gravel drive, and there are the rose bushes where I lay.
(39:10):
That second window was the one that I jumped from. Well,
at least, said Holmes, you have had your revenge upon them.
There could be no question that it was your oil lamp, which,
when it was crushed in the press, set fire to
the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited
in the chase after you to observe it at the time.
Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for your
friends of last night, though I very much fear that
(39:31):
they are a good hundred miles off by now, and
Holmes's fears came to be realized, for from that day
to this no word has ever been heard either of
the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman.
Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing
several people and some very bulky boxes, driving rapidly in
the direction of Reading. But there all traces of the
(39:54):
fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes's ingenuity failed ever to discover
the least clue as to their whereabo. The firemen had
been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had
found within, and still more so by discovering a newly
severed human thumb upon a window sill of the second floor.
About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and
(40:15):
they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had
fallen in, and the whole place had been reduced to
such an absolute ruin that, save some twisted cylinders and
iron piping, not a trace remained of the machinery which
had cost our unfortunate acquaintance. So dearly, large masses of
nickel out of tin were discovered stored in an outhouse,
but no coins were to be found, which may have
(40:36):
explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been
already referred to. How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed
from the garden to the spot where he recovered his
senses might have remained forever a mystery, were it not
for the soft mold, which told us a very plain tale.
He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one
of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually
(40:59):
large ones. On the whole it was most probable that
the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than
his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious
man out of the way of danger. Well, said our
engineer ruefully, as we took our seats to return once
more to London. It has been a pretty business for me.
I have lost my thumb and I have lost a
(41:19):
fifty guinea fee, and what have I gained? Experience, said Holmes,
laughing indirectly. It may be of value, you know, you
have only to put it into words to gain the
reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.
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