The Adventure of the Golden Prince-Nez - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Adventure of the Golden Pansnee. When I look at
the three massive manuscript volumes which contain our work for
the year eighteen ninety four, I confess that it is
very difficult for me, out of such a wealth of material,
to select the cases which are most interesting in themselves
and at the same time most conducive to a display

(00:21):
of those peculiar powers for which my friend was famous.
As I turn over the pages, I see my notes
upon the repulsive story of the Red Leech and the
terrible death of Crosby the Banker. Here also I find
an account of the Adulton tragedy and the singular contents
of the ancient British barrow. The famous Smith Mortimer succession

(00:43):
case comes also within this period, and so does the
tracking and arrest of Hurat the Boulevard Assassin, an exploit
which won for homes, an autograph letter of thanks from
the French President, and the Order of the Legion of Honor.
Each of these would furnish narrative, but on the whole
I am of opinion that none of them unites so

(01:04):
many singular points of interest as the episode of Yoxley
Old Place, which includes not only the lamentable death of
young Willoughby Smith, but also those subsequent developments which threw
so curious a light upon the causes of the crime.
It was a wild, tempestuous night towards the close of November.

(01:25):
Holmes and I sat together in silence all the evening.
He engaged with a powerful lens, deciphering the remains of
the original inscription upon a palimpsest. I deep in a
recent treatise upon surgery. Outside, the wind howled down Baker Street,
while the rain beat fiercely against the windows. It was

(01:45):
strange there in the very depths of the town, with
ten miles of man's handiwork on every side of us,
to feel the iron grip of nature, and to be
conscious that to the huge elemental forces, all London was
no more than the molehill that dot the fields. I
walked to the window and looked out on the deserted street.

(02:06):
The occasional lamps gleamed on the expanse of muddy road
and shining pavement. A single cab was splashing its way
from the Oxford Street end. Well, Watson, it's as well
we have not to turn out to night, said Holmes,
laying aside his lens and rolling up the palimpsest. I
have done enough for one sitting. It is trying work

(02:27):
for the eyes. So far as I can make out,
it is nothing more exciting than an abbey's account dating
from the second half of the fifteenth century. Hullo, Hello, Hello,
what's this? Amid the droning of the wind, there had
come the stamping of a horse's hoofs, and the long

(02:48):
grind of a wheel as it rasped against the curb.
The cab which I had seen, had pulled up at
our door. What can he want? I ejaculated as a
man stepped out of it. Want he wants us, and we,
my poor Watson, want overcoats and cravats and galoshes and

(03:10):
every aid that man ever invented to fight the weather.
Wait a bit, though, there's the cab off again. There's hope.
Yet he'd have kept it if he had wanted us
to come. Run down, my dear fellow, and open the door.
For all virtuous folk have been long in bed. When
the light of the hall lamp fell upon our midnight visitor,

(03:31):
I had no difficulty in recognizing him. It was young
Stanley Hopkins, a promising detective, in whose career Homes had
several times shown a very practical interest. Is he in?
He asked eagerly. Come up, my dear sir, said Holmes's
voice from above. I hope you have no designs upon

(03:51):
such a night as this. The detective mounted the stairs,
and our lamp gleamed upon his shining waterproof. I helped
him out of it, while Holmes knocked to blaze out
of the logs in the grate. Now, my dear Hopkins,
draw up and warm your toes, said he. Here's a cigar,
and the doctor has a prescription containing hot water and

(04:13):
a lemon, which is good medicine on a night like this.
It must be something important which has brought you out
in such a gale. It is indeed, mister Holmes, I
have had a bustling afternoon. I promised you. Did you
see anything of the Yoxley case in the latest editions?
I've seen nothing later than the fifteenth century to day. Well,

(04:35):
it's only a paragraph, and all wrong at that, so
you've not missed anything. I haven't let the grass grow
under my feet. It's down in Kent, seven miles from
Chatham and three from the railway line. I was wired
for at three fifteen, reached Joxley Old Place at five
conducted my investigation was back at Charing Cross by the
last train, and straight to you by cab, which means

(04:59):
I sa pose that you are not quite clear about
your case. It means that I can make neither head
nor tail of it. So far as I can see,
it is just as tangled a business as ever I handled.
And yet at first it seems so simple that one
couldn't go wrong. There's no motive, mister Holmes. That's what
bothers me. I can't put my hand on a motive.

(05:23):
Here's a man dead, there's no denying that. But so
far as I can see, no reason on earth why
any one should wish him arm Holmes lit his cigar
and leaned back in his chair. Let us hear about it,
said he. I've got my facts pretty clear, said Stanley Hopkins.
All I want now is to know what they all mean.

(05:45):
The story, so far as I can make out, is
like this. Some years ago this country house, Yoxley Old Place,
was taken by an elderly man who gave the name
of Professor Korham. He was an invalid keeping his bed
after time, and the other half hobbling around the house
with a stick or being pushed about the grounds by
the gardener in a bath chair. He was well liked

(06:09):
by the few neighbors who called upon him, and he
has the reputation down there of being a very learned man.
His household used to consist of an elderly housekeeper, missus Marker,
and of a maid, Susan Tarlton. These have both been
with him since his arrival, and they seem to be
women of excellent character. The professor is writing a learned book,

(06:32):
and he found it necessary about a year ago to
engage a secretary. The first two that he tried were
not successes, but the third, mister Willoughby Smith, a very
young man straight from the university, seems to have been
just what his employer wanted. His work consisted in writing
all the morning to the Professor's dictation, and he usually

(06:52):
spent the evening in hunting up references and passages which
bore upon the next day's work. This Willoughby Smith has
nothing against him, either as a boy at Uppingham or
as a young man at Cambridge. I have seen his testimonials,
and from the first he was a decent, quiet, hard
working fellow, with no weak spot in him at all.

(07:13):
And yet this is the lad whose met his death
this morning in the Professor's study, under circumstances which can
point only to murder. The wind howled and screamed at
the windows. Holmes and I drew closer to the fire,
while the young inspector slowly and point by point developed
his singular narrative. If you were to search all England

(07:37):
said he, I suppose you could find a household more
self contained or freer from outside influences. Old weeks would
pass and not one of them go past the garden gate.
The professor was buried in his work and existed for
nothing else. Young Smith knew nobody in the neighborhood, and
lived very much as his employer did. The two women

(07:59):
had nothing to take them from the house. Mortimer, the
gardener who wheels the bath chair, is an army pensioner,
an old crimean man of excellent character. He does not
live in the house, but in a three room cottage
at the other end of the garden. Those are the
only people that you'd find within the grounds of Yoxley
Old Place. At the same time, the gate of The

(08:22):
gardener is hundred yards from the main London to Chatham Road.
It opens with a latch and has nothing to prevent
anyone from walking in. Now I'll give it the evidence
of Susan Talton, who's the only person who can say
anything positive about the matter. It was in the forenoon
between eleven and twelve. She was engaged at the moment

(08:42):
in hanging some curtains in the upstairs front bedroom. Professor
Korham was still in bed for when the weather's badd
he seldom rises before midday. The housekeeper was busy with
some work in the back of the house. Willoughby Smith
had been in his bedroom, where he uses as a
sitting room, but the maid heard him at that moment
pass along the passage and descended the study immediately below her.

(09:07):
She did not see him, but she says that she
could not be mistaken in his quick, firm tread. She
did not hear the study door close, but a minute
or so later there was a dreadful cry in the
room below. It was a wild, hoarse scream, so strange
and unnatural that it might have come from either from
a man or a woman. At the same instant, there

(09:30):
was every thud which shook the old house, and then
all was silence. The maid stood petrified for a moment,
and then, recovering her courage, she ran downstairs. The study
door was shut, and she opened it. Inside young mister
Willoughby Smith was stretched upon the floor. At first she

(09:50):
couldn't see no injury, but as she tried to raise him,
she saw that blood was pouring from the underside of
his neck. It was pierced by a very small, but
very deep wound which had divided the carotid artery. The
instrument with which the injury had been inflicted lay upon
the carpet beside him. He was one of those small

(10:10):
sealing wax knives to be found on old fashioned writing tables,
with an ivory handle and a stiff blade. Was part
of the fittings of the professor's own desk. At first,
the maid thought that young Smith was already dead, but
on pouring some water from the carafe over his forehead,
he opened his eyes for an instant. The professor, he murmured,

(10:33):
it was she. The maid is prepared to swear that
those were the exact words. He tried desperately to say
something else, and he held his right hand up in
the air, then he fell back dead. In the meantime,
the housekeeper had also arrived upon the scene, but she
was just too late to catch the young man's dying words.

(10:54):
Leaving Susan with the body, she hurried to the professor's room.
He was sitting up in bed, horribly agitated, for he'd
heard enough to convince him that something terrible had occurred.
Missus Marker is prepared to swear that the Professor was
still in his night clothes, and indeed it was impossible
for him to dress without the help of Mortimer, whose

(11:16):
orders were to come at twelve o'clock. The professor declares
that he heard the distant cry, but that he knows
nothing more. He can give no explanation of the young
man's last words. The professor it was she, but imagines
that they were the outcome of delirium. He believes that
Willoughby Smith has not an enemy in the world, and

(11:38):
could give no reason for the crime. His first action
was to send Mortimer, the gardener for the local police.
A little later, the Chief Constable sent for me. Nothing
was moved before I got there, and strict orders were
given that no one would should walk upon the paths
leading to the house. It was a splendid chance of
putting your theories into practice. Missus to Sherlock Holmes, there

(12:01):
was really nothing wanting except mister Sherlock Holmes, said my companion,
with a somewhat bitter smile. Well, let us hear about it.
What sort of a job did you make of it?
I must ask you, first, mister Elmes, to glance at
this rough plan, which will give you a general idea
of the position of the professor's study and the various

(12:23):
points of the case. It will help you in following
my investigation. He unfolded the rough chart which I here reproduce,
and he laid it across Holmes's knee. I rose, and,
standing behind Holmes, studied it over his shoulder. It is
very rough, of course, and it only deals with the
points which seemed to me to be essential. All the

(12:44):
rest you'll see later for yourself. Now, first of all,
presuming that the assassin entered the house, how did he
or she come in? Undoubtedly by the garden path and
the back door, from which there's a direct access to
the study. The other way would have been exceedingly complicated.
The escape must have also been made along that line.

(13:06):
For of the two other exits from the room, one
was blocked by Susan as she ran downstairs, and the
other leads straight to the professor's bedroom. I therefore directed
my attention at once to the garden path, which was
saturated with recent rain and would certainly show any footmarks.
My examination showed me that I was dealing with a

(13:27):
cautious and expert criminal. No footmarks were to be found
on the path. There could be no question, however, that
someone had passed along the grass border which lines the path,
and that he had done so in order to avoid
leaving a track. I couldn't find anything in the nature
of a distinct impression, but the grass was trodden down,
and someone had undoubtedly passed. It could only have been

(13:51):
the murderer, since neither the gardener nor anyone else had
been there that morning and the rain had only begun
during the night. One moment said Holmes, where does this
path lead to to the road? How long is it?
A hundred yards or so? At the point where the

(14:11):
path passes through the gate, you could surely pick up
the tracks. Unfortunately, the path was tile at that point
well on the road itself. Now it was all trodden
in a maya. Well, then these tracks upon the grass,
were they coming or going? It was impossible to say.

(14:32):
There was never any outline. A large foot or a
small you could not distinguish. Holmes gave an ejaculation of impatience.
It has been pouring rain and blowing a hurricane ever since,
said he. It will be harder to read now than
the palimpsyst. Well, well, it can't be helped. And what

(14:52):
did you do, Hopkins, after you had made certain that
you had made certain of nothing? I think I made
certain of a good deal, Miss ster Omes. I knew
that someone had entered the house cautiously from without. I
next examined the corridor. It is lined with coconut matting,
and had taken no impression of any kind. This brought
me into the study itself. It is a scantily furnished room.

(15:16):
The main article is a large writing table with a
fixed bureau. This bureau consists of a double column of drawers,
with a central small cupboard between them. The drawers were open,
the cupboard locked. The draws, it seems, were always open,
and nothing of value was kept in them. There were
some papers of importance in the cupboard, but there were

(15:36):
no signs that this had been tampered with, and the
professor assures me that nothing was missing. It is certain
that no robbery has been committed. I come now to
the body of the young man. It was found near
the bureau and just to the left of it, as
marked upon that chart. The stab was on the right
side of the neck and from behind forward, so that

(15:57):
it's almost impossible that it could have been self inflicted,
unless he fell upon the knife, said Holmes. Exactly. The
idea crossed my mind, But we found the knife some
feet away from the body, so that seems impossible. Then,
of course there are the man's own dying words. And
finally there was this very important piece of evidence, which

(16:20):
was found clasped in the dead man's right hand. From
his pocket, Stanley Hopkins drew a small paper packet. He
unfolded it and disclosed a golden pans nee with two
broken ends of black silk cord dangling from the end
of it. Willoughby Smith at excellent sight, he added, there

(16:41):
can be no question that this was snatched from the
face of the person of the assassin. Sherlock Holmes took
the glasses into his hand and examined them with the
utmost attention and interest. He held them on his nose,
endeavored to read through them, went to the window and
stared up the street with them, looked at them most
minutely in the full light of the lamp, and finally,

(17:04):
with a chuckle, seated himself at the table and wrote
a few lines upon a sheet of paper, which he
tossed across to Stanley Hopkins. That's the best I can
do for you, said he. It may prove to be
of some use. The astonished detective read the note aloud.
It ran as follows. Wanted a woman of good address,

(17:27):
attired like a lady. She has a remarkably thick nose,
with eyes which are set close upon either side of it.
She has a pucket forehead, appearing expression, and probably rounded shoulders.
There are indications that she has had recourse to an
optician at least twice during the last few months. As
her glasses are of remarkable strength, and as opticians are

(17:50):
not very numerous, there should be no difficulty in tracing her.
Holmes smiled at the astonishment of Hopkins, which must have
been reflected upon my features. Surely my deductions are simplicity itself,
said he, it would be difficult to name any articles
which afford a finer field for inference than a pair

(18:11):
of glasses, especially so remarkable a pair as these, that
they belong to a woman, I infer from their delicacy,
and also, of course from the last words of the
dying man as to her being a person of refinement
and well dressed. They are, as you perceive, handsomely mounted
in solid gold, and it is inconceivable that any one

(18:35):
who wore such glasses could be slatternly. In other respects,
you will find that the clips are too wide for
your nose, showing that the lady's nose was very broad
at the base. This sort of nose is usually a
short and coarse one. But there is a sufficient number
of exceptions to prevent me from being dogmatic or from

(18:56):
insisting upon this point in my description. My own face
is a narrow one, and yet I find that I
cannot get my eyes into the center, nor near the center,
of these glasses. Therefore, the lady's eyes are set very
near to the sides of the nose. You will perceive, Watson,
that the glasses are concave and are unusual strength. A

(19:18):
lady whose vision has been so extremely contracted all her
life is sure to have the physical characteristics of such vision,
which are seen in the forehead, the eyelids, and the shoulders. Yes,
I said, I can follow each of your arguments. I confess, however,
that I am unable to understand how you arrive at
the double visit to the optician. Holmes took the glasses

(19:41):
in his hand. You will perceive he said that the
clips are lined with tiny bands of cork to soften
the pressure upon the nose. One of these is discolored
and worn to some slight extent, but the other is new.
Evidently one has fallen and off and been replaced. I

(20:02):
should judge that the older of them has not been
there for more than a few months. They exactly correspond.
So I gather that the lady went back to the
same establishment for the second by George. It's marvelous, cried Hopkins,
in an ecstasy of admiration, to think that I had
all that evidence in my end and never knew it.

(20:22):
I had intended hour to go the round of the
London opticians. Of course you would, meanwhile, have you anything
more to tell us about the case? Nothing, mister Olmes.
I think that you know as much as I do now,
probably more. We have had inquiries made as to any
stranger scene on the country roads or at the railway station.

(20:44):
We have heard of none. What beats me is the
ather want of all object in the crime, not a
ghost of a motive. Can any one suggest ah there?
I am not in a position to help you, but
I suppose you want us to come out out to morrow.
If it's not asking too much, mister Elmes. There's a

(21:05):
train from charing Cross to cham at six in the morning,
and we should be at Yoxley Owl Place between eight
and nine. Then we shall take it. Your case has
certainly some features of great interest, and I shall be
delighted to look into it. Well, it's nearly one and
we had best get a few hours sleep. I dare
say you can manage all right on the sofa in

(21:27):
front of the fire. I'll light my spirit lamp and
give you a cup of coffee before we start. The
gale had blown itself out next day, but it was
a bitter morning when we started upon our journey. We
saw the cold winter sun rise over the dreary marshes
of the Thames and the long sullen reaches of the river,
which I shall ever associate with our pursuit of the

(21:49):
Anderman Islander. In the earlier days of our career, after
a long and weary journey, we alighted at a small
station some miles from Chatham. While the horse was being
put into a trap at the local inn, we snatched
a hurried breakfast, and so we were all ready for
the business. When we at last arrived at Yoxley Old Place.

(22:10):
A constable met us at the garden gate, Well Wilson,
any news, no, sir, nothing, No reports of any stranger scene,
no sir. Down at the station, they're certain that no
stranger either came or went yesterday. Have you had any
inquiries made at inns and lodgings, Yes, sir, there is

(22:31):
no one we cannot account for. Well, it's only a
reasonable walk to Chatham. Any one might stay there or
take a train without being observed. This is the garden
path of which I spoke, mister Ohms. I'll pledge my
word that there was no mark on it yesterday. On
Which side were the marks on the grass? This side, sir,

(22:52):
This narrow margin of grass between the path and the
flower bed. I can't see the traces now, but they
were clear to me. Then, Yes, yes, some one has
passed along, said Holmes, stooping over the grass border. Our
lady must have picked her steps carefully, must she not,
since on the one side she would leave a track

(23:12):
on the path, and on the other an even clearer
one on the soft bed. Yes, sir, she must have
been a cool hand. I saw an intent look pass
over Holmes's face. You say that she must have come
back this way, Yes, sir, there is no other on
this strip of grass. Certainly, Miss raumes Hum. It was

(23:38):
a very remarkable performance. Very remarkable. Well, I think we've
exhausted the path. Let us go farther. This garden door
is usually kept open. I suppose then this visitor had
nothing to do but to walk in, the idea of
murder was not in her mind, or she would have
provided herself with some sort of weapon instead of having

(24:00):
to pick this knife off the writing table. She advanced
along this corridor, leaving no traces upon the coconut matting.
Then she found herself in this study. How long was
she there? We have no means of judging, not more
than a few minutes. Sir, I forgot to tell you
that Missus Marker, the housekeeper, had been in there tidying

(24:22):
not very long before, about a quarter of an hour.
She says, well, that gives us a limit. Our lady
enters this room and what does she do? She goes
over to the writing table. What for? Not for anything
in the drawers. If there had been anything worth her taking,
it would surely have been locked up. No, it was

(24:43):
for something in that wooden bureau. Hello, what is that
scratch upon the face of it? Just hold him, match Watson,
Why did you not tell me of this? Hopkins? The
mark which she was examining, began upon the brass work
on the right hand side of the keyhole and extended
for about four inches where it had scratched the varnish

(25:05):
from the surface. I noticed it, mister Elmes. But you'll
always find scratches around a keyhole. This is recent, quite recent.
See how the brass shines where it is cut. An
old scratch will be the same color as the surface.
Look at it through my lens. There's the varnish too,

(25:25):
like earth. On each side of a furrow is missus Marker.
There a sad faced elderly woman came into the room.
Did you dust this bureau yesterday morning? Yes, sir, did
you notice this scratch? No, sir, I did not. I
am sure you didn't, for a duster would have swept

(25:47):
away those shreds of varnish. Who has the key of
this bureau? If Professor keeps it on his watch chain.
Is it a simple key? Oh, sir, it's a chubb key.
Very good, missus Marker. You can go now. We are
making a little progress. Our lady enters the room, advances

(26:08):
to the bureau, and either opens it or tries to
do so. While she is thus engaged, Young Willoughby Smith
enters the room. In her hurry to withdraw the key,
she makes this scratch upon the door. He seizes her,
and she, snatching up the nearest object, which happens to
be this knife, strikes at him in order to make

(26:30):
him let go his hold. The blow is a fatal one.
He falls, and she escapes, either with or without. The
object for which she has come is Susan the maid.
There could any one have got away through that door
after the time that you heard the cry Susan, No, sir,
it is impossible. Before I get down the stairs and

(26:51):
have seen any one in the passage. Besides, the door
never opened, or I would have heard it. That settles
this exit. Then, no doubt the lady went out the
way she came. I understand that this other passage leads
only to the professor's room. There is no exit that way. No, sir,

(27:12):
we shall go down it and make the acquaintance of
the professor. Hello, Hopkins, this is very important, very important. Indeed,
the professor's corridor is also lined with cocoanut matting. Well, sir,
what of that? Don't you see any bearing upon the case? Well, well,

(27:33):
I don't insist upon it. No doubt I am wrong,
And yet it seems to me to be suggestive. Come
with me and introduce me. We passed down the passage,
which was of the same length as that which were
led to the garden. At the end was a short
flight of steps ending in a door. Our guide knocked
and then shushered us into the professor's bedroom. It was

(27:56):
a very large chamber, lined with innumerable volumes which had
overflowed from the shelves and lay in piles in the corners,
or were stacked all round at the base of the cases.
The bed was in the center of the room, and
in it, propped up with pillows, was the owner of
the house. I have seldom seen a more remarkable looking person.

(28:19):
It was a gaunt, aquiline face, which was turned towards us,
with piercing dark eyes, which lurked in deep hollows under
overhung and tufted brows. His hair and beard were white,
save that the latter was curiously stained with yellow. Around
his mouth, a cigarette glowed amid the tangle of white hair,

(28:39):
and the air of the room was feted with stale
tobacco smoke. As he held out his hand to Holmes,
I perceived that it was also stained with yellow nicotine.
A smoker, mister Holmes said, he speaking in well chosen
English with a curious, little mincing accent. Pray, take a cigarette,
and de sir, I can recommend them, for I have

(29:00):
especially prepared by iron IDs of Alexandria. He sends me
a thousand at a time, and I grieve to say
that I have to arrange for a fresh supply every fortnight. Bad, sir,
very bad. But an old man has few pleasures. Tobacco
and my work. That is all that is left to me.
Holmes had lit a cigarette and was shooting little darting

(29:21):
glances all over the room. Tobacco and my work, but
now only tobacco. The old man exclaimed, alas, what a
fatal interruption. Who could have foreseen such a terrible catastrophe?
So estimable a young man. I assure you that, after
a few months training he was an admirable assistant. What

(29:42):
do you think of the matter, mister Holmes, I have
not yet made up my mind. I shall indeed be
indebted to you if you can throw a light where
all is so dark to us, to a poor bookworm
and invalid like myself, such a blow is paralyzing. I
seem to have lost the faculty of the But you
are a man of action. You are a man of affairs.

(30:04):
It is part of the everyday routine of your life.
You can preserve your balance in every emergency. We are fortunate, indeed,
in having you at our side. Holmes was pacing up
and down one side of the room whilst the old
professor was talking. I observed that he was smoking with
extraordinary rapidity. It was evident that he shared our host's

(30:27):
liking for the fresh Alexandrian cigarettes. Yes, sir, it is
a crushing blow, said the old man. That is my
magnum opus, the pile of papers on the side table.
Yonder it is my analysis of the documents found in
the Coptic monasteries of Syria and Egypt, a work which
will cut deep at the very foundation of revealed religion.

(30:50):
With my enfeebled health, I do not know whether I
shall ever be able to complete it, now that my
assistant has been taken from me. Dear me, mister Holmes,
why you are even a quicker smoker than I am myself?
Holmes smiled. I am a connoisseur, said he, taking another
cigarette from the box, his fourth, and lighting it from

(31:12):
the stub of that which he had finished. I will
not trouble you with any lengthy cross examination, Professor Korham,
since I gathered that you were in bed at the
time of the crime and could know nothing about it.
I would only ask this, what do you imagine that
this poor fellow meant by his last words, the professor?

(31:33):
It was she? The professor shook his head. Susan is
a country girl, said he, And you know the incredible
stupidity of that class. I fancy that the poor fellow
murmured some incoherent, delirious words, and that she twisted them
into this meaningless message. I see you have no explanation

(31:54):
yourself of the tragedy. Possibly an accident, possibly I only
we breathe it among ourselves as suicide. Young men have
their hidden troubles, some affair of the heart, perhaps which
we have never known. It is a more probable surposition
and murder. But the eyeglasses, ah, I am only a student,

(32:17):
a man of dreams. I cannot explain the practical things
of life. But still we are aware, my friend, that
love gauges may take strange shapes by all means. Take
another cigarette. It is a pleasure to see anyone appreciate them.
So a fan, a glove, glasses, who knows what article
may be carried as a token or treasured when a

(32:39):
man puts an end to his life. This gentleman speaks
of footsteps in the grass. But after all, it is
easy to be mistaken on such a point as to
the knife. It might well be thrown far from the
unfortunate man as he fell. It is possible that I
speak as a child, But to me it seems that
Willoughby Smith has met his fate by his own hand.

(33:03):
Holmes seemed struck by the theory thus put forward, and
he continued to walk up and down for some time,
lost in thought and consuming cigarette after cigarette. Tell me,
Professor Korum, he said, at last, what is in that
cupboard in the bureau. Nothing that would help a thief family? Papers?

(33:24):
Let us from my poor wife, diplomas of universities which
have done me honor. Here is the key. You can
look for yourself. Holmes picked up the key and looked
at it for an instant, then he handed it back. No,
I hardly think that it would help me, said he.
I should prefer to go quietly down to your garden

(33:44):
and turn the whole matter over in my head. There
is something to be said for the theory of suicide
which you have put forward. We must apologize for having
intruded upon you, Professor Koram, and I promise that we
won't disturb you until after lunch at two o'clock. We
will come again and report to you anything which may
have happened in the interval. Holmes was curiously distray, and

(34:09):
we walked up and down the garden path for some
time in silence. Have your clue, I asked at last,
It depends upon those cigarettes that I smoked, said he.
It is possible that I am utterly mistaken. The cigarettes.
Will show me, my dear Holmes, I exclaimed, how on earth? Well, well,

(34:31):
you may see for yourself. If not, there's no harm done.
Of course, we always have the optician clue to fall
back upon, but I take a short cut when I
can get it. Ah, here is the good missus marker.
Let us enjoy five minutes of instructive conversation with her.

(34:52):
I may have remarked before that Holmes had, when he liked,
a peculiarly ingratiating way with women, and that he very
readily established her of confidence with them. In half the
time which he had named, he had captured the housekeeper's
good will and was chatting with her as if he
had known her for years. Yes, mister Elmes, it is

(35:12):
as you say, sir. He does smoke something terrible all
day and sometimes all night. Sir, I've seen that room
of a morning, Well, sir, he'd have thought it was
a London fog. Poor young mister Smith. And he was
a smoker also, but not as bad as a professor
his health. Well, I don't know that it's better nor worse.
For the smoking, ah, said Holmes, But it kills the appetite. Well,

(35:38):
I don't know about that, sir. I suppose the Professor
eats hardly anything. Well, he is variable. I'll say that
for him. I'll wager he took no breakfast this morning
and won't face his lunch after all the cigarettes I
saw him consume. Well, you're out there, sir, as it happens,
for he ate a remarkable big breakfast this morning. I

(36:00):
don't know when I've known him to make a better one,
and he's ordered a good dish of cutlets for the lunch.
I'm surprised myself, for since I came into that room
yesterday and saw young mister Smith lying there on the floor,
I couldn't bear to look at food. Well, it takes
all sorts to make a world, and the Professor hasn't
let it take his appetite away. We loitered the morning

(36:22):
away in the garden. Stanley Hopkins had gone down to
the village to look into some rumors of a strange
woman who had been seen by some children on the
Chatham Road the previous morning. As to my friend, all
his usual energy seemed to have deserted him. I'd never
known him handler case in such a half hearted fashion.
Even the news brought back by Hopkins that he had

(36:44):
found the children and that they had undoubtedly seen a
woman exactly corresponding with Holmes's description and wearing either spectacles
or eye glasses, failed to rouse any sign of keen interest.
He was more attentive when Susan, who waited upon us
at lunch, volunteered the information that she believed mister Smith

(37:04):
had been out for a walk yesterday morning, and that
he had only returned half an hour before the tragedy occurred.
I could not myself see the bearing of this incident,
but I clearly perceived that Holmes was weaving it into
the general scheme which he had formed in his brain. Suddenly,
he sprang from his chair and glanced at his watch.

(37:25):
Two o'clock. Gentlemen said he we must go up and
have it out with our friend the professor. The old
man had just finished his lunch, and certainly his empty
dish bore evidence to the good appetite with which his
housekeeper had credited him. He was indeed a weird figure.
As he turned his white mane and his glowing eyes
towards us. The eternal cigarette smoldered in his mouth. He

(37:50):
had been dressed and was seated in an arm chair
by the fire. Well, mister Holmes, have you solved this mystery? Yet?
He shoved a large tin of cigarett, which stood on
a table beside him, towards my companion. Holmes stretched out
his hand at the same moment, and between them they
tipped the box over the edge. For a minute or two,

(38:11):
we were all on our knees retrieving stray cigarettes from
impossible places. When we rose again, I observed Holmes's eyes
were shining and his cheeks tinged with color. Only at
a crisis. Have I seen those battle signals flying? Yes,
said he, I have solved it. Stanley Hopkins, and I

(38:34):
stared in amazement. Something like a sneer quivered over the
gaunt features of the old professor. Indeed in the garden.
No here here, when this instant you are surely joking,
mister Sherlock Holmes. You compel me to tell you that

(38:55):
this is too serious a matter to be treated in
such a fashion. I have four and tested every link
of my chain, Professor Korham, and I am sure that
it is sound. What your motives are, or what exact
part you play in this strange business. I am not
yet able to say. In a few minutes, I shall
probably hear it from your own lips. Meanwhile, I will

(39:18):
reconstruct what is past for your benefit, so that you
may know the information which I still require. A lady
yesterday entered your study. She came with the intention of
possessing herself of certain documents which were in your bureau.
She had a key of her own. I have had
an opportunity of examining yours, and I do not find

(39:39):
that slight discoloration which the scratch made upon the varnish
would have produced. You were not an accessary therefore, and
she came so far as I can read the evidence
without your knowledge, to rob you. The Professor blew a
cloud from his lips. This is most interesting and instructive,
said he have you no more to add. Surely, having

(40:02):
traced this lady so far, you can also say what
has become of her. I will endeavor to do so.
In the first place, she was seized by your secretary
and stabbed him in order to escape this catastrophe. I
am inclined to regard as an unhappy accident, For I
am convinced that the lady had no intention of inflicting

(40:23):
so grievous an injury. An assassin does not come unarmed.
Horrified by what she had done, she rushed wildly away
from the scene of the tragedy. Unfortunately for her, she
had lost her glasses in the scuffle, and as she
was extremely short sighted, she was really helpless without them.

(40:44):
She ran down a corridor which she imagined to be
that by which she had come. Both were lined with
coconut matting, and it was only when it was too
late that she understood that she had taken the wrong passage,
and that her retreat was cut off behind her. What
was she to do? She could not go back, she
could not remain where she was. She must go on.

(41:07):
She went on. She mounted a stair, pushed open a door,
and found herself in your room. The old man sat
with his mouth open, staring wildly at homes. Amazement and
fear were stamped upon his expressive features. Now, with an effort,
he shrugged his shoulders and burst into insincere laughter. All

(41:29):
very fine, mister Holmes, said he. But there is one
little floor in your splendid theory. I was myself in
my room, and I never left it during the day.
I am aware of that, Professor Coorham. And you mean
to say that I could be upon that bed and
not to be aware that a woman had entered my room.

(41:49):
I never said so. You were aware of it. You
spoke with her, You recognized her, You aided her to escape. Again,
the ffessor burst into high keyed laughter. He had risen
to his feet, and his eyes glowed like embers. You
are mad, he cried, You are talking insanely. I helped

(42:11):
her to escape. Where is she now? She is there,
said Holmes, and he pointed to a high bookcase in
the corner of the room. I saw the old man
throw up his arms. A terrible convulsion passed over his
grim face, and he fell back in his chair. At
the same instant, the bookcase at which Holmes pointed swung

(42:34):
round upon a hinge, and a woman rushed out into
the room. You are right, she cried, in a strange
foreign voice. You are right. I am here. She was
brown with the dust and draped with the cobwebs which
had come from the walls of her hiding place. Her face, too,
was streaked with grime and at the best, she could

(42:55):
never have been handsome, for she had the exact physical
characteristics which Holmes had divined, with in addition a long
and obstinate chin. What with her natural blindness, and what
with the change from dark to light, she stood as
one dazed, blinking about her to see where and who
we were. And yet in spite of all these disadvantages,

(43:20):
there was a certain nobility in the woman's bearing, a
gallantry in the defiant chin and in the upraised head
which compelled something of respect and admiration. Stanley Hopkins had
laid his hand upon her arm and claimed her as
his prisoner, but she waved him aside, gently, and yet
with an overmastering dignity which compelled obedience. The old man

(43:42):
lay back in his chair with a twitching face and
stared at her with brooding eyes. Yes, sir, I am
your prisoner, she said. From where I stood, I could
hear everything, and I know that you have learned the truth.
I confess it all. It was I who killed the
young man. But you are right you say it was

(44:04):
an accident. I did not even know that it was
a knife which I held in my hand, for in
my despair I snatched anything from the table and struck
at him to make him let me go. It is
the truth that I tell, madam, said Holmes. I am
sure that it is the truth. I fear that you
are far from well. She had turned the dreadful color

(44:27):
the more ghastly. Under the dark dust streaks upon her face.
She seated herself on the side of the bed. Then
she resumed. I have only a little time here, she said,
But I would have you know the whole truth. I
am this man's wife. He is not an Englishman, he
is a Russian. His name I will not tell. For

(44:49):
the first time, the old man stirred. God bless you, Anna,
he cried, God bless you. She cast a look at
the deepest disdain in his direction. Why should you cling
so hard to that wretched life of yours, Sergius, said she.
It has done harm too many, and good to none,
not even to yourself. However, it is not for me

(45:12):
to cause the frail thread to be snapped before God's time.
I have enough already upon my soul since I crossed
the threshold of this cursed house. But I must speak
or I shall be too late. I have said, gentlemen
that I am this man's wife. He was fifty and
I a foolish girl of twenty. When we are married.

(45:32):
It was in a city of Russia, a university. I
will not name the place. God bless you, Anna, murmured
the old man again. We were reformers, revolutionists, nihilists, you understand,
he and I and many more. Then there came a
time of trouble. A police officer was killed, many were arrested.

(45:55):
Evidence was wanted, and in order to save his own
life and to earn a great reward, my husband betrayed
his own wife and his companions. Yes, we were all
arrested upon his confession. Some of us found our way
to the gallows, and some to Siberia. I was among
these last. But my term was not for life. My

(46:18):
husband came to England with his ill gotten gains and
has lived in quiet ever since, knowing well that if
the Brotherhood knew where he was, not a week would
pass before justice would be done. The old man reached
out a trembling hand and helped himself to a cigarette.
I am in your hands, Anna, said he. You were

(46:40):
always good to me. I have not yet told you
the height of his villainy, said she among our comrades
of the order, there was one who was the friend
of my heart. He was noble, unselfish, loving all that
my husband was not. He hated violence. We were all guilty,

(47:00):
if that is guilt, but he was not. He wrote forever,
dissuading us from such a course. These letters would have
saved him. So would my diary, in which from to
day I had entered both my feelings towards him and
the view which each of us had taken. My husband
found and kept both diary and letters. He hid them,

(47:23):
and he tried hard to swear away the young man's life.
In this he failed. But Alexis was sent a convict
to Siberia, where now, at this moment he works in
a salt mine. Think of that, you villain, You villain.
Now now, at this very moment, Alexis a man whose

(47:45):
name you are not worthy to speak, works and lives
like a slave. And yet I have your life in
my hands, and I let you go. You were always
a noble woman, Anna, said the old man, puffing at
his cigaret. She had risen, but she fell back again
with a little cry of pain. I must finish, she said,

(48:08):
when my term was over. I set myself to get
the diary and letters, which, if sent to the Russian government,
would procure my friend's release. I knew that my husband
had come to England. After months of searching, I discovered
where he was. I knew that he still had the diary,
for when I was in Siberia. I had a letter
from him, once reproaching me and quoting some passages from

(48:32):
his pages. Yet I was sure that with his revengeful nature,
he would never give it to me of his own
free will. I must get it for myself. With this object,
I engaged an agent from a private detective firm who
entered my husband's house as a secretary. It was your
second secretary, Seergus, the one who left you so hurriedly.

(48:56):
He found that papers were kept in the cupboard, and
he got an impression of the key. He would not
go farther. He furnished me with a plan of the house,
and he told me that in the forenoon the study
was always empty, as the secretary was employed up here.
So at last I took my courage in both hands

(49:16):
and I came down to get the papers for myself.
I succeeded, but at what a cost. I had just
taken the paper and was locking the cupboard when the
young man seized me. I had seen him already that morning.
He had met me on the road, and I had
asked him to tell me where Professor Koram lived, not

(49:36):
knowing that he was in his employ Exactly exactly, said Holmes.
The secretary came back and told his employer of the
woman he had met. Then, in his last breath, he
tried to send a message that it was she, the
she whom he had just discussed with him. You must

(49:58):
let me speak, said the woman, in an imperative voice,
and her face contracted as if in pain. When he
had fallen, I rushed from room, chose the wrong door,
and found myself in my husband's room. He spoke of
giving me up. I showed him that if he did so,
his life was in my hands. If he gave me
to the law, I could give him to the brotherhood.

(50:21):
It was not that I wished to live for my
own sake, but it was that I desired to accomplish
my purpose. He knew that I would do what I said,
that his own fate was involved in mine. For that
reason and for no other, he shielded me. He thrust
me into that dark hiding place, a relic of old
days known only to himself. He took his meals in

(50:43):
his own room, and so was able to give me
part of his food. It was agreed that when the
police left the house, I should slip away by night
and come back no more. But in some way you
have read our plans. She tore from the bosom of
her dress a small packet. These are my last words,

(51:04):
said she. Here is the packet which will save Alexis.
I confide it to your honor and to your love
of justice. Take it. You will deliver it at the
Russian embassy. Now I have done my duty, and stop her,
cried Holmes. He had bounded across the room and had
wrenched a small file from her hand. Too late, she said,

(51:25):
sinking back on the bed. Too late, I took the
poison before I left my hiding place. My head swims.
I am going. I charged you, sir, to remember the packet.
A simple case, and yet in some ways an instructive one,
Holmes remarked. As we traveled back to town. It hinged

(51:46):
from the outset upon the pansnee. But for the unfortunate
chance of the dying man having seized these, I am
not sure that we could have ever reached our solution.
It was clear to me from the strength of the
glasses that the wearer must have been very blind and
helpless when deprived of them. When you asked me to
believe that she walked along a narrow strip of grass

(52:09):
without once making a false step, I remarked, as you
may remember, that it was a noteworthy performance. In my mind,
I set it down as an impossible performance, save in
the unlikely case that she had a second pair of glasses.
I was forced therefore to consider seriously the hypothesis that
she had remained within the house. On perceiving the similarity

(52:32):
of the two corridors, it became clear that she might
very easily have made such a mistake, and in that
case it was evident that she must have entered the
professor's room. I was keenly on the alert therefore, for
whatever would bear out this supposition, and I examined the
room narrowly for anything in the shape of a hiding place.

(52:55):
The carpet seemed continuous and firmly nailed, so I dismissed
the idea of a track door. There might well be
a recess behind the books. As you are aware, such
devices are common in old libraries. I observed that books
were piled on the floor at all other points, but
that one bookcase was left clear. This then might be

(53:16):
the door. I could see no marks to guide me,
but the carpet was of a dun color, which lends
itself very well to examination. I therefore smoked a great
number of those excellent cigarettes, and I dropped the ash
all over the space in front of the suspected bookcase.
It was a simple trick, but exceedingly effective. I then

(53:39):
went downstairs and I ascertained, in your presence, Watson, without
your perceiving the drift of my remarks, that Professor Coreham's
consumption of food had increased, as one would expect when
he is supplying a second person. We then ascended to
the room again, when by upsetting the cigarette box, I

(53:59):
obtained a very excellent view of the floor, and was
able to see quite clearly from the traces upon the
cigarette ash, that the prisoner had, in our absence, come
out from her retreat. Well, Hopkins, here we are at
Charing Cross, and I congratulate you on having brought your
case to a successful conclusion. You are going to headquarters,

(54:21):
no doubt, I think, Watson, you and I will drive
together to the Russian Embassy. End of the Adventure of
the Golden Pansney.